Christian and Emily Banks Return to the West as Traveling Reps
August 30, 2023
Over the last several weeks, Christian and Emily (Anderson) Banks have been busy scheduling visits to various ministries across the United States. In just a few weeks more, the two will begin completing their itinerary as traveling reps for Faith Baptist Bible College.
For Emily, who grew up in Sheridan, Wyoming, Faith has been a part of her family history. Her grandparents and parents are alumni of the school, and she graduated in 2022 with an Associate of Arts degree in Biblical Studies. Christian grew up in the West also. He lived in Port Orchard, Washington, until he moved with his family to Wisconsin before his senior year of high school. He graduated from Faith in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Studies and an emphasis in youth ministries.
Given their western roots, both are excited to represent the school for six weeks along the West Coast. They will also spend several weeks in the Midwest as well as a few weeks in the Southeast and New England. The two are excited to see ministries across the country. Much of their intended audience will be high school students in Christian schools and youth groups, although they will also have many opportunities to introduce the college to church congregations and attendees at conferences.
For both Christian and Emily, Faith has played an integral part in their spiritual journey. Christian credits his time at Faith for radically reshaping his affections. “I’m excited to talk about my experiences at Faith with the students we meet,” Christian said. “My own testimony is an expression of God’s use of Faith and its people. I showed up and didn’t care about learning or spiritual growth. A lot of kids are that way, but their lives can be changed the way mine was while at Faith. I had never been in a place with people who pushed me so strongly to learn. Classes and counseling sessions and conversations with deans and friends helped me to love being in God’s Word.”
Emily visited Faith in October of her senior year of high school and hated it. That may be surprising given her family’s history with the college, but, as she explained, she was unsaved at the time. “I wasn’t a Christian, so I didn’t want to be around Christians. I wanted to go somewhere else and pursue a career. When God saved me in March, my perspective changed. After my conversion, I wanted to deepen my understanding of God’s Word and wanted to see the world through a Biblical worldview. Classes such as Introduction to Bible Study and various counseling courses opened my eyes to truths I had not noticed before.”
The role Faith faculty, staff, and students played in their own spiritual growth motivates Christian and Emily to share with others how God continues to use the college for His glory. When asked what he hopes to accomplish as a traveling rep, Christian commented that he especially wants to convey to prospective students that Faith is a place where they “will be discipled to love God’s Word more and His church more in an environment that fosters love for people and academic pursuits. Students pursue an academic degree with a focus on using that degree to serve the local church.” Emily added that she also wants to encourage prospective students to “take a year to invest in other people and allow others to invest in their spiritual lives. Careers will wait. Get a solid, Biblical understanding of what the Christian life should look like. Take at least a year to invest in spiritual, lasting endeavors.”
We hope that many of you will meet Christian and Emily at some point in their travels this year. If you would like to schedule them to give a presentation to your ministry, contact banksc@faith.edu.