While Wayland is preparing to kick off the public phase of its Second Century Campaign this summer, one donor is anxious for the giving to start.
“I'm really excited about the campaign and am expecting great things from it. All those things will be wonderful for the school and the needs are many,” said Sally Shaw of Lockney, board member and the first official donor to the campaign. “I have a deep concern for Wayland and want the best for it. I want this campaign to succeed and have looked with great anticipation for it to begin.”
Shaw was so excited about one part of the campaign's objectives - the new Flores Bible Building with mission center and chapel - that she made her initial gift more than a year ago, a true sign of her commitment to the project and the university. At the time, Shaw said she thought she was just spurring on the building effort, not realizing then she was kicking off the campaign.
“I've been hearing about the need for a new religion building since I came on the board and thought it was a good idea,” she said, adding that the university and the religion department held great significance to her family.
Shaw's late husband Kelton attended Wayland for one year before joining the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II. His father and mother had both attended, and his father earned a religion degree to prepare him for a preaching career. Two of Shaw's brothers also attended WBU and were ministers, and many nieces and nephews on both sides came to WBU.
Kelton was serving on Wayland's board when he died in 1995, and Sally was asked to fill out his term. She did so, then stayed to serve nine more years, sitting out the mandatory year and coming back on the board recently. It was that service, and her own classroom experience, that solidified in her a love for Wayland and its people.
“I took a few classes myself just for personal growth and I saw how dedicated the professors were to the whole student, not just academically but in other areas,” she said. “So I've tried to contribute to every campaign that has gone on at Wayland over the years in some way.”
Shaw sees giving as a joy and said she feels being able to contribute in any way is a blessing from God. It's one she hopes others will experience as well. The current effort, in conjunction with Wayland's centennial celebration, gives her cause for excitement about the future.
“I think (the campaign) will enhance the university and increase the desire for students to attend,” she said. “The needs are so great, and the value of Wayland to this area is unbelievable. When I think of all the students that have gone there over 100 years, I would think the missionary arm of the church has been carried out for sure.
“I think WBU has been blessed because they have stayed true to their ideals. It's such a blessing to me and I want others to have that joy as well.”
There's been a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak, since Wayne Evans left the campus of Wayland Baptist University more than 45 years ago. Coming to Wayland on a basketball scholarship, Evans was already married with three sons when he came to Plainview from New York.
Two years, two more sons and several school rebounding and scoring records later, Evans left to return to New York. But the experience he had while at Wayland remained close and would serve him well in later years when he experienced the rocky roads life often brings.
Years later, as a successful real estate and mortgage broker living in Florida, Evans and wife Lynda were able to give back a portion of God's blessings by making a $500,000 pledge to the Pete and Nelda Laney Student Activities Center, dedicated on Feb. 17. In return, the university named the center's gymnasium after Evans, a fitting tribute to someone who found a second home on the WBU basketball court, playing under Coach Dr. Ed Billings from 1960-62.
But Evans is quick to point out that the gift does not represent pride over his own accomplishments but the immense gratitude the couple has to God for providing for them over the years.
"We're using this as a platform to show how God has been so good to us over the years," Evans said. "Until recently, we have not been financially rewarded for our efforts, but in the last few years, we have been blessed financially. Since we have that income, we've been able to tithe more than 10 percent, and that has probably changed my life more than anything. More than buying things for myself, I've been able to give to others and support God's work."
Evans said since he's found the joy in giving to a variety of ministry opportunities - including the Gideons, Greater Things Ministries and an athletic scholarship for the University of Miami - he has been amazed at how much God has continued to bless and open the doors for the couple to be generous. But he believes their humility and gratitude have been keys to their success.
In fact, his desire to give God all the glory for his success meant he was at first leery of making a gift that came with naming rights.
"When the opportunity came up for the naming of the gymnasium, I thought it would be embarrassing to me at first. It's saying 'look what I did,' and it wasn't what I did, it was what God did," he said. "God used my wife to convince me that I have a story to tell, and this was a great opportunity to share that with everyone. Here's a guy who has hit the bottom and bounced back and look what he's been able to do with God's help. It was a very humbling experience."
Evans knows about working hard and paying his dues. After leaving WBU, he worked in insurance and financial services for many years, setting industry standards for both sales and management in New York, California and Florida. He married Lynda in 1976 and they have two grown daughters.
The couple currently owns Kids Depot Realty, which lists and sells privately-owned preschools and childcare centers. They also own and operate several centers and consider the business a ministry to children and staff members. They are active in their church and support other Christian ministries as well.
In 2007, Evans returned to the Wayland campus for the first time in many years to receive the Distinguished Service Alumni Award at homecoming. That visit rekindled his love and appreciation for his alma mater, and he shared from the heart during his award acceptance speech about how Wayland had impacted his life.
Since he didn't grow up in a Christian home, Evans related to current WBU students at the chapel, he believed coming to Wayland was a critical part of God's plan for his life. He credits his coach, many of his teammates, classmates and professors with sowing the seeds of his life in Christ.
Those experiences and his deep gratitude to God and his alma mater made the decision to support the new facility easier for Evans. It also shows, he said, a continued faith in God's provision.
"This (pledge) commitment comes from our future earnings, and it shows our faith in God for our future to provide for us," he said. "Once this commitment is satisfied, I hope to be able to give to other building projects and WBU ministries as well. Until you give way beyond your expectations, other Christians will never witness the blessings of giving."
His one regret, Evans said, is that it took him so long to discover the joy of giving. Now, he's hooked on it.
"All of this is His anyway, so you're just giving back to God. I look at giving as a privilege, not a duty," he said. "No matter what people may take from me, I would never want them to take away my privilege of giving."
Evans said more than anything, the dedication on Feb. 17 was special because he was joined by four of his seven children, especially two sons who he said, "saw a new dad they didn't know."
"If this was God's way of showing my boys about His love and trusting in him, then that alone was worth it," he said, noting he believes God will use the gift - as he does every dollar given to his glory - in mighty ways to touch students' lives.
"There were people who made a difference in my life while I was at Wayland without facilities like this. If you can provide things here that would help keep students out of places that don't glorify God, how can you not want to be a part of that? Praise God."