In this episode, Dr. G expands on a key conviction behind his leadership as Academic Dean: if the best students will go anywhere the best teachers are, then finding those teachers becomes one of the most important responsibilities in the entire school. For him, that meant investing far more time than most academic deans to search out gifted, godly, student-loving faculty members. Instead of relying on stacks of resumes, Dr. G went where the people were. At the annual Evangelical Theological Society meetings — a gathering of thousands of scholars and aspiring professors — he realized he was sitting in a gold mine. While others quietly exchanged resumes and job postings, he set up what felt like an open-door office: a simple sign inviting anyone who wanted to teach Bible. Interview after interview, year after year, he searched for those rare individuals who weren’t just good scholars but exceptional teachers. But the real test came down to one crucial question — a question designed to reveal whether a candidate valued mentoring as much as Multnomah did. Rather than asking how they felt about mentoring (everyone answered that the same way), he asked who they were currently mentoring and to describe the relationship. That question separated the truly student-focused teachers from those who only hoped to be someday. For Dr. G, that distinction was everything.

In This Video
• Why finding great faculty was one of Dr. G’s highest priorities
• How ETS conferences became a “gold mine” for identifying future teachers
• The role trusted seminaries played in recommending top candidates
• The interview process that helped shape Multnomah’s faculty culture
• The single question that revealed whether someone was truly a mentor

About This Series
This video is part of a collection celebrating the story, ministry, and legacy of Dr. Garry Friesen (Dr. G), honoring the heritage of Multnomah School of the Bible / Multnomah University and the continuing work God is doing through new ministries around the world.

Stay Connected
If these stories encourage you, feel free to like, subscribe, and share with others who knew and loved Multnomah — and with believers growing in faith in Rwanda and beyond. Videos are also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ABCMultnomah.

Donate
The production of these videos was provided by the Multnomah Family Team, if you would like to help sponsor more videos like this, please contact us here.