Alumni

Welcome back, friends and alumni!  At Belleville Christian School, our relationship with alumni is important to us.  Regardless of whether you graduated from BMS or BCS, we hope that you remain an active member of the school community, and participate in our programs and giving opportunities. To ensure you're receiving all alumni updates, email Gwen with your contact information or stop by the school anytime for a visit!  While you're hear, take a few moments to read and reflect on the testimonies shared below, and learn more about what other alumni are doing and the ongoing impact of our graduates in Alumni Spotlights!

Nominate Your Peers!

The Alumni Awards function as a way of recognizing someone whose life has reflected the mission of BCS: develop minds, build faith, and be disciples. Who have you seen cultivating excellence and a passion for Christ? How are your fellow alumni teaching Biblical truths to the next generation, impacting their peers at work, honoring the Lord with their time, reaching out to their neighbors and community? Help us share these stories and recognize the Lord's work in us by submitting nominations for the alumni awards.  Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds! Nominations may be submitted at any time to the Development Office.

Alumni Award Recipients 2005-2024

2024:   Gerald Peachey, ‘66 and Adam Peachey, ’07 
2023:   Darren & Caryn Peachey, ‘84 & ’83 and Steven Yoder, '13 
2022:   JB Eby, '88 and Aaron Spicher, '08 
2021:   Earl Peachey, '70 and Curtis Kauffman, '07 
2020:   Rhonda (Harshbarger) Gibbons, '84 and Larry Kauffman, '01 
2019:   Gregg Kanagy, '85 and Charity Kauffman, '03 
2018:   Dr. Mark Zook, '68 and Denise (Yoder) Peachey, '10 
2017:   J. Lorne Peachey, '57 and Ashlee Kauffman, '08 
2016:   Conrad Kanagy, '82, Cassandra Byler and Hannah Peachey, '12 
2015:   Ray Byler, '53 and Jewel (Mummau) Peachey, '00 
2014:   Dr. Dennis King, '64 and Brian Renno, '96 
2013:   Harry Lee Renno, ‘63 and Rebecca Barr, ‘00   
2012:   Dr. Beryl Brubaker, ’60 and Katie Neer, ’03 
2011:   Julia Alleman, ’61 and Michael Yoder, ’96 
2010:   Marv Peachey, ’60 and Dion Peachey, ’95 
2009:   Irene Shrock, ’59 
2008:   Elam Peachey, ’58 
2007:   Lester Yoder, ’57 
2006:   Joanne Kauffman, ’56 
2005:   Ralph Metzler, ’55 
 

Each year Belleville Christian School awards alumni with the Alumnus of the Year award, and a Young Alumnus of the Year (graduate within the past 20 years) award.  The recipients are nominated by fellow alumni and are individuals whose life demonstrates work or service that cultivates excellence and a passion for Christ.  As you come across fellow alumni, keep this award in mind and nominate a deserving alumnus!

Alumni Testimonies

Jonathan Yoder, Class of 1970

My memory bank is filled with experiences as a student at BMS. I attended from first grade through grade twelve, graduating in 1970.  There was never a question about where I would attend school.  I do not recall even questioning going to BMS. It was a central part of my formative years for which I continue to be grateful.  The reflections I am sharing are a summary of what I continue to celebrate about BMS and its impact upon my life. 

The value of shared community 
My BMS experience uplifted the value of a community coming together for a common mission.  I have wonderful memories of Parent’s Day held each year where everyone came together for a morning program, lunch and afternoon softball games. The eighth grade boys would play against their dads and then the high school team played against the alumni.  I recall my excitement when it was our year to play our dads.  I even remember that we won by the score of 24-6. I also recall playing against the alumni when I was a senior. That game did not go as well as we lost 7-2. 

The Christmas season was a special time as the community gathered for the annual school Christmas program. The venue was full as the classes participated in the program which culminated each year with all of us singing “Mary’s Lullaby.”  As I ponder that memory, the emotion still wells up in my spirit. 

I recall the community gathering for the school sale to raise funds.  I am still touched when I am able to return for the auction and experience the community of the school working together to make the sale happen. 

Baccalaureate and Commencement services were always well attended as the community gathered to celebrate those graduating. After the Commencement service was concluded, the audience formed a line and greeted each of the graduates. I found this to be a meaningful expression of community love and encouragement. 

Being a member of the basketball team brought a sense of togetherness. Our gym was small and inadequate in many ways, yet I loved it. I recall a game where I forgot my basketball jersey and went home to get it. It was snowing and I missed the corner at John D. Zook’s place and got stuck. Someone in the Zook residence helped me get unstuck which was appreciated but getting stuck made me late to the game! Thankfully, coach Del Glick extended grace. And then there was the basketball tournament at Delaware County Christian School and the year we lost to them at the buzzer in overtime.  That remains a painful memory. Yet over the years I have on occasion met someone who was there and remembers that game. It did put BMS on the map so to speak and it was through a contact at this tournament that I ended up playing in college. 

These and other experiences set an example of the value of shared community joining together in a common cause that still resonates in my heart today and for which I am deeply thankful.

The value of a Christ-centered, shared community
The common cause that energized BMS was Christian education. There was a common denominator at the center of this shared community and that was allegiance to the person of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.  As students, we knew this to be true. There was a uniqueness to who we were and what we were all about. 

This was expressed by the faculty and administration. They were Christians and integrated the Scriptures into the classroom. Bible classes were part of the curriculum where the Bible and faith came together in the context of Anabaptist thought and practice.  My Dad taught Bible at BMS for 23 years. I recently encountered a BMS alumni couple who expressed how much the Bible classes taught by Dad have meant to them over the years.  

“In first grade, our teacher Miss Frey assigned each student a Bible verse that began with the same letter as the first letter of our name. Since my cousin Jerold was given the “J” verse, I was assigned the “K” verse; “Keep thy tongue from evil,” Psalm 34:13.  That verse has stayed with me over all the years.”

Chapel services were a regular part of our spiritual life. A few years ago, I reconnected with a hymn we sang in chapel. “I Owe the Lord a Morning Song” was sung a number of times as we began the day. I had not heard this hymn in years but when I did one day while listening to Christian radio, the words all came back to me as though it was yesterday. And then I discovered that this hymn was written around 1900 by a Mennonite pastor named Amos Herr who lived in Lancaster, Pa.  This has become a favorite hymn of mine that I at times sing to myself in the morning as I am taking our dogs for a walk. 

The spiritual foundation I received at BMS has served me well in my life and ministry. A shared community that is centered in Christ has great value in providing a spiritual compass to guide one’s heart and mind in all of the seasons of life. In many ways, what brought BMS together is what brings a church together.  This example has served me well in my years of pastoral ministry. 

Part of my journey with BMS later involved teaching and coaching for two years. My wife Susan also taught during that time and we experienced the blessings of BMS together. It was during this season that the fire took place. While we grieved our loss, we experienced the community coming together to rebuild and continue the Christ centered mission of the school.  We witnessed in a new way the value of a Christ centered shared community. Later, our daughter Suzanne began her academic journey by attending kindergarten at BMS before we moved away. She still remembers with great fondness her teacher Jean Byler and some of her classmates. 

While the memory bank fades a bit as one grows older, I still recall with deep thanksgiving my years at BMS.  I am grateful that my parents, Ivan and Mary Yoder believed in Christian Education and valued investing in sending their 5 children to BMS. And yes, my Dad was one of my teachers and was even the principal when I was in the fourth grade!  But this never became an issue because I knew we were all together in the mission of BMS. 

Finally, I am grateful for my classmates, the class of 1970. While I do not see them that often, when we do connect, there is a bond that unites us together spiritually and historically. We experienced together the value of a Christ centered shared community in our educational journey. For that, I thank God and pray that God will continue to be glorified through the life and ministry of BCS.

Alexis Peachey, Class of 2017

In about 1986 my grandfather, Stan Miller, began working at BMS. Throughout the years since then, both of my aunts and my mom also worked here. This school has always been a part of my life and has very much affected what I have done since graduating in 2017.

My years at BMS were full of many good moments and some very challenging. I was given the opportunity to step into leadership roles that I did not feel qualified for, but was encouraged in by staff and faculty. It was here at BMS that I began learning what it meant to live a life of service and was given the chance to practice that.

One of the hardest things that happened to me during my time at BMS also revealed to me the blessing of this community. When my mom got sick and passed away just after my freshman year of high school, it was here that I found comfort from friends and was surrounded by teachers who genuinely cared for me during that time. My brother and I were supported and surrounded by a community of people who prayed for us and encouraged us. The small class size at BMS allows teachers to know their students and to fully invest in them and I am so grateful for how that was displayed to me during my time here.

After graduating from BMS in 2017, I participated in the REACH program, a 9 month mission program based out of Columbus, Ohio. I spent 3 months at the training center in Columbus doing a Discipleship Training School and then went on to spend 6 months overseas. I traveled with a group of 3 other girls to Spain for 3 months where we connected with the local church and encouraged the believers there. We then moved onto Northern Cyprus for 3 months where we participated in worship and prayer nights with believers there and organized English conversation classes at the local university. We also had the opportunity to spend time with several girls from Iraq who had lost family members to Isis. My time in each of these countries taught me a lot about myself and gave me a better perspective of how big the world is and how much bigger our God is.

After completing the REACH program, I interned with them in Columbus for a year as their Food Services Assistant. My year serving in Columbus was a difficult and growing year for me, but gave me the opportunity to serve in ways that I never had before. I was able to step into leadership and was given the opportunity to work with youth.

After interning in Columbus, God guided me back to Big Valley, much to my dismay. After traveling the world, coming home was kind of a disappointment and I can't tell you the amount of times that I prayed that God would open up the doors for me to go elsewhere. Despite my disappointment and discontentment, I tried to make the most of where God had me in that season. I was soon asked to help with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries as well as with the Radiate Youth Group at Locust Grove. While I felt very unqualified to serve in either of these roles, I accepted and found so much joy in working with high school youth. God gave me a lot of opportunities to pour into the youth and build relationships and I loved it!

About 2 or 2 ½ years into being back in the valley, I was finally feeling content with where God had me. I loved my job, was active at my church and loved my youth kids. In the spring of 2022, I felt the Lord nudging me to go to Rosedale Bible College. Because I finally loved the season of life that I was in, I was reluctant to listen. I didn't give it much more thought because it didn't feel practical for me to quit my full time job and, at 23, go to college.

The Lord let me forget about it for a few months but then gave me a rude awakening. In late July of 2022 I got word that a friend had passed away very unexpectedly. She was only a few years older than me and she worked at Rosedale in the admissions office. Her passing made me think about how short life is and made me question what more I could be doing. The weekend after Erika passed away was the Rosedale Network of Churches annual Multiply Conference and I had the privilege of attending. It was there that I felt the Lord nudging me yet again to attend Rosedale. I still didn't want to go and tried to come up with every excuse not to, but I felt an unexplainable peace about it.

Listening to the Lord's guidance and going to Rosedale was one of the best things that I have ever done. Rosedale gave me the opportunity to grow in my relationship with the Lord and gave me a greater understanding and appreciation for His Word. It provided me with a community of friends that I know will last a lifetime and again reminded me of the value of doing life with others. Between my years at Rosedale, I was able to work at a summer camp in Minnesota where I worked as a lifeguard and guided canoe trips in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. Rosedale also opened up doors for me to participate in a 3 week leadership canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness and to go on a 6 week study abroad trip to Turkey, where we took classes and traveled to several Biblical sites in Turkey.

During the fall of my final year at Rosedale, I was starting to think about what I was going to do after I graduated. Gator Camp kept coming to my mind and I decided that I was going to reach out to Chief Greg to see if he had any positions available in the office, thinking that there was almost no chance that he would. It didn't take long for him to get back to me and schedule a time to call. He called me during my Christmas break to discuss a job opportunity and said that he wanted to fly me down to Florida to discuss it in person.

I flew down the first weekend of March, praying that God would make it clear whether or not that was His next step for me. As soon as I got there, I felt an overwhelming peace and excitement. In the beginning of June, just two weeks after graduating from Rosedale, I packed my car and moved to Florida. While it has only been a few months since I got to Camp, it has been an incredible season of life so far.

For those of you who are not familiar with Gator Camp, it is a 15-18 month program for 11-15 year old boys who struggle in school or at home. The boys that we serve come from broken backgrounds and a lot of them have had unimaginable things happen to them in their young lives. While my job is not on the front lines of Camp, it has been a blessing to be able to serve in whatever capacity I can. There have been at least 16 BMS alumni that have worked at Gator Camp. What an awesome testimony to God's goodness and the ways that He is using both BMS and Gator Camp to further His Kingdom.

God has again blessed me with a wonderful community in this season of my life. Working at Camp has been wonderful, but also very difficult. There is a heaviness that accompanies the type of ministry that Gator Camp is and I am so thankful to have a strong, prayerful community to walk through it with. Please keep us in your prayers as we serve troubled boys in Southwest Florida.

My family and my years here at BMS provided a foundation for my faith that has helped to guide me throughout the last several years. Since graduating, I have been able to see better how God is using BMS to bring up leaders and to further His Kingdom. Thank you to all of the staff and faculty who sacrifice daily to be here and to pour into your students. You are making an impact, even when it may not feel like it.
 

Steven Yoder, Class of 2013

I’m thankful for the emphasis BMS placed on worship and the growth I was able to experience because of that. Weekly worship chapels gave me the opportunity to expand upon my gifts and learn to lead in a team setting. From early on in my experience at BMS, I had the opportunity to see service in action. As a young student I remember being amazed at the amount of folks that dedicated their time, gifts, and assets to put on successful auctions year after year. Then having the opportunity to participate in the setup as a middle and high school student, I even more so appreciated and saw the value of a community coming together to ensure another generation of kids could experience a quality, Christ-centered education.

I was also made aware of the value of service at BMS through various outreach opportunities. Through activities like picking up trash along Jack’s Mountain Road, cleaning out houses with MDS in Long Island after flooding, or painting playground benches in Mount Union, I learned the value of humbling myself and recognizing the needs around me. It was truly a blessing to be a student at a school where the administration, faculty and staff not only encouraged Christian service, but also were willing to serve right alongside you and draw out your natural gifts in the process.

I’m continually thankful for the ways in which BMS impacted my Christian worldview. I witnessed and have come to value the necessity of a Christian community and support system. BMS placed in me the value of discipleship; allowing yourself to be mentored while also being a mentor to others. Through the example of many faculty, staff, and coaches, I learned the value of servant leadership and how to be a team player.

BMS also instilled in me a desire to look for and see God’s handiwork daily. I have the opportunity in working at the mill to interact with those in our community, hear about God’s faithfulness in their lives, encourage them and be encouraged. I get to be a part of a body of believers at Locust Grove where I’m encouraged to participate and grow alongside other folks who are seeking God. It’s been a blessing to find ways to give back to the community that invested so greatly in me as a young person and still does today. I’m thankful for BMS and the ways it pushed me and encouraged me to be a part of the Body of Christ.
 

Michael Yoder, Class of 1996 (shared at the 2020 Fall Fellowship Dinner)

We are gathered here tonight to reflect on God’s faithfulness to the BMS community over the past 75 years.  We remember the times of extreme blessing and also the times when we weren't sure if we were going to be able to keep our doors open.  During these times and all times in between, we continued to be influencing the next generation.  And the next.  And the next.

As we as a school community sacrificed, fundraised, formed committees, endured long meetings, discussed, discerned and prayed for the future of BMS, we were influencing generations to come.  The thing is, it wasn't only the current students that were the reasons so much energy was put into the decisions made at those meetings…it was so much bigger than that.

At BMS, we are preparing students for the next steps after high school…college, trade school, missions and the workforce. We are proud of producing a wide variety of professionals, laborers and church leaders.

However, we have also produced Sunday school teachers who have taught and influenced community leaders.   We have influenced little league coaches who have coached doctors and nurses.  We have encouraged future pastors who mentored and guided lawyers and electricians.  We have influenced dispatchers who have become school board presidents.  We have inspired farmers whose children go on to be missionaries and take good news of salvation to the ends of the earth.

So let’s remember that our influence here at BMS does not stop with our current students and the careers they choose.  We may have the chance to speak into some of these students' lives for only a year or two. However, what we do and say has the potential to stick with them as they leave here.

Belleville Mennonite School has made disciples and equipped men and women for lives of service for 75 years.  And I’ll add to that, lives of influence … for the kingdom of God.

May God give us HIS favor as we continue to be faithful servants at BMS. Let us be thankful for those who have gone before us as testaments of God’s sustaining grace.  Let us never forget the heritage of faithfulness that has been passed on through their Godly lives.  And most importantly, let us be leaders who do not sway from the Truth so that future generations will call us faithful as well.  

Katie (Neer) Alderfer, Class of 2003

“During my 13 years at BMS I learned a lot about the value of community. The small school environment and intentional work of the faculty and staff to develop the lives, intellect and character of each student certainly helped develop my foundational values. I had good and bad times, easy years and really hard years. The community was consistent in its presence in my life.  I didn't appreciate how meaningful and formative that community was for me until I was away from it for a number of years.

Community- in the sense that I am thinking of it- doesn't just happen. It isn't just a group of people who happen to regularly be in the same place. It's a commitment to being authentically present with one another, honoring and nurturing the individual qualities of each part to promote the wellbeing of the whole.

Reflecting on how my time at BMS prepared me for life after graduation, the gift of being supported, redirected, celebrated and challenged by that formative community is most meaningful to me. I carry those values into both my personal and professional life now as a nurse practitioner and always enjoy coming home to the BMS community that has those same qualities it did when I was a student.”