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FORMER ABC LEADER NAMED ALUM OF YEAR
A
1966 graduate of ABSW’s Covina campus who went on to a distinguished
career as an American Baptist denominational leader has been named
Alum of the Year.
The Rev. William Cline graduated in 1966. He served on the staff
of First Baptist Church of Covina, Calif., then pastored the Conejo
Valley Baptist Church in Thousand Oaks, Calif., before heading east
to direct Evangelism and Social Concern for the American Baptist
Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Following his 10-year tenure with the region, Cline joined the
staff of National Ministries, ABC/USA, in 1983 with responsibilities
in new church planting.
Throughout his career, Cline served as a chaplain in the Naval
reserve. In 1996 he was named director of chaplaincy for National
Ministries, working with more than 600 ABC chaplains and pastoral
counselors serving in the U.S. and around the world.
Cline retired in 2000, and his ministry continued at Central Baptist
Church of Wayne, Pa., where he served on the Board of Stewardship
and encouraged his congregation to address both evangelism and social
justice.
“Bill Cline is one of the most genuine, gracious, and warm-hearted
individuals I have known,” says the Rev. Gordon C. Bennett,
a 1960 graduate of ABSW, former professor at Eastern University
in St. Davids, Pa., and fellow member with Cline at Central Baptist
Church. “He has a passion for Christ, for evangelism and social
justice, and for peace, and he seems to be constantly growing as
he keeps looking for more challenges, reading widely and seeking
new challenges to broaden his experience.
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