Yesterday, Steve Green of Hobby Lobby announced the selection of two semi-finalists for the gift of the Northfield Campus. As reported in The Washington Post and Christianity Today, the two institutions are the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board and Grand Canyon University Foundation of Phoenix, Arizona. The Green family hopes to arrive at a final decision within the next month.

After we failed to reach an agreed upon $5 million benchmark fundraising goal on December 31, 2011, the Green family of Hobby Lobby respectfully informed us that they would begin looking for another organization to whom they could give the campus.

They also assured us that they would request that the ultimate recipient be open to the possibility of collaborating with us to the end that C.S. Lewis College might utilize part of the campus, at least for its early start-up phase.

Ultimately, we know that our vision for the College and our future students is much bigger than the physical location in Northfield. It remains to be seen, then, whether we are intended to launch on the Northfield site in some way or at another location.

Wherever we settle in, I can assure you, the vision of C.S. Lewis College remains very much alive. As the question of location is further resolved, and as we move forward with the next phase in our journey, we will take great care to keep you apprised of developments.

Throughout this amazing adventure, we know that God is on the throne and is worthy to be trusted in and through every circumstance. While we press on with our site planning and fundraising for the founding of C.S. Lewis College, we ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

We also ask you to join us in praying for the Green family as they make their way towards a final decision on the ultimate use of the Northfield Campus.

Yours for the journey,

J. Stanley Mattson
President and Founder
C.S. Lewis Foundation