The Ripple Effect of Bible College: An Alumni's Story
She lived next door to a little Village Missions church in central Idaho, and people often thought they were the pastor's family.
They were wrong.
Marcia Leake's father would attend church on holidays, but he otherwise held church — and Christians — at arm's length.
Too hypocritical, thought the hard-working rancher and World War II veteran.
But Marcia's little 6-year-old heart longed to go to church and learn about Jesus. She attended a Good News Club, and her teacher, Audrey Baldwin, shared about God's love and salvation. Marcia asked Jesus to be her savior, and she never turned back.
She loved Jesus so much, and she longed for her father to know Him, too. She would cry for him and leave tracts around the house — which she discovered was not the way to witness to her father.
When Marcia was a junior in high school, a choir from Montana Institute of the Bible came and sang at her church. She perused the MIB catalog and began to wonder what it would be like to go to a college where the women around her shared her heart and love for the Lord.
Mention of attending Montana Institute of the Bible, however, met sharp disapproval from her father.
Eventually, Marcia convinced her parents to take her to Youth Days at MIB in Lewistown, Montana. The experience confirmed her desire to attend, and as they drove over the cattle guard to return to Idaho, her father's heart began to thaw.
My Father turned to me and he said, 'Marcia, I don't know about you going to college there, but I've never seen people that love one another like they do.' That really touched my heart, and that was the first brick in the path to my father's change that was going to take place in his life.
Marcia continued to work hard at her studies in high school — graduating as class valedictorian. While proud of her accomplishment, it meant receiving several scholarships that would have to be turned down if she attended Montana Institute of the Bible, another hurdle to her father letting her go!
Finally, Marcia bravely requested to attend MIB for only the 1-year certificate program, after which she would transfer to another college.
Her father relented, and Marcia went off to MIB.
"I just thoroughly soaked everything up that first year," Marcia said. "The faculty poured into my little heart and my life as we spent weekends oftentimes in their homes. It was wonderful for me!"
By Christmas, she no longer wanted to attend just one year. She wanted to get a 3-year degree in Christian education. But when she asked her father for permission, he told her she was making a mistake and that he wanted to see a list of colleges to which she had applied by Easter.
Discouraged, but committed to honoring her father and working out her faith, Marcia returned to Lewistown and asked her MIB friends to pray for her father.
Marcia returned home for Easter, anxious about the conversation she knew was coming and sad about likely having to leave MIB. But when she walked in the front door of her house, she overheard a conversation...
I kid you not, I walked into the door of our home and my father was talking about me going back to MIB, and I didn't say a word.
Marcia returned to MIB and met Mike Leake in the same singing group that had visited her little church and started her MIB journey. They grew to love each other, and Mike knew he wanted to ask for Marcia's hand in marriage.
A ranch boy himself, Mike offered to help Marcia's father with ranch chores when he visited to make the request. As the two men worked side by side, Marcia's dad opened up to Mike about all the tragedies he'd endured in World War II, expressing his frustration that he had lived while others hadn't. Mike encouraged him to look at his survival as an opportunity from God to give his life to Jesus and help others.
Nearly 20 years after little Marcia had cried for her daddy to know God's love — and through the witness of a man she'd met at a college her father didn't want her to attend — Marcia's father gave his life to Christ.
"I thought back on God's plan, and I thought back to my childhood, and I was glad my dad never said the words to accept Christ to appease a little girl," Marcia said. "Rather, when God changed my father's heart, it was for real, and it was genuine, and I saw a change in his life."
Mike baptized Marcia's mom and dad, who eventually moved to a new town in Idaho and began attending a church where several MIB alumni attended. They were discipled by those MIB alumni, and Marcia's dad found great joy in singing in the church choir and working with men from the church to repair camp facilities so kids with disabilities could attend camp — and learn about Jesus.
Mike and Marcia married and entered ministry together in Great Falls. He was a pastor, and she was a teacher. They've ministered to hundreds of people in their lifetime through churches, schools, group and one-on-one discipleship, and mission trips.
"Montana Institute of the Bible was not just a college for me. God used it not only in my life to formulate a solid foundation in the Word of God and in family life, but in answering the heart-cry of a little girl 20 years later for my father to come to know Christ and to serve Christ through the prayers and the influence of MIB students and graduates."
One desire and the courage to pray for it impacted far more than one life. That is the ripple effect of Bible college, and the legacy of schools like Montana Institute of the Bible and Montana Bible College.
Author's note: It was a privilege for me to connect with Marcia via video call and hear her story. For one, her voice is so soothing! I could listen to her tell stories all day long. But more than that, I know it takes courage to share your story — especially on camera.
Marcia enlisted the help of two people from her church in Oregon to produce this recording, one lending their home-based recording studio and the other running the video equipment while Marcia and I chatted on video call. Marcia went above and beyond to share her story because she and Mike have lived the value of a Bible college education and because they want others to see that value — and support it as God leads them.
You may discover more about how to support students and stories like Marcia's on our website. We are entering the year-end giving season, and your donations at this time ensure full funding for our annual fund.
Thank you for taking the time to watch and/or read Marcia's story!
~Hannah Sheely, MBC Development Director
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