“The greatest want of the world is the want of men” and women… Men and women who will not be bought by applause or sold to addiction Men and women who in their inmost souls are true and honest Who do not fear to call sin, especially in themselves, by its right name Men and women whose consciences are educated by the Bible to know their duty Men and women who will do right though every being derides them

A great want comes from a great lack; men and women like those described above are rare and of gemstone value.  Their brand of character isn’t inherited or bartered for.  It comes out of the fire of self-discipline and “the surrender of self for the service of God and man” (Education, p. 57, Ellen G. White).  It was with the goal of apprenticing this kind of young men and women as leaders in personal evangelism that Southern Outreach Leadership School was founded in 1998.

 Recognizing that leaders lead others after their own example, Southern Union visionaries Joe Holloway, Rocky Davis, Larry Carter, Herb Montgomery, Bryan del Valle, and Wes Scarborough set aside time to think and pray this school into action.  The founding principles were to focus on the message of the cross as the power of God to transform students, to encourage thought dependent on God and independent of others to promote self-government of the school by the students with input from faculty to encourage leadership character in students through outreach ministries and service and to strengthen the ministries of the church, especially of literature evangelism, youth ministries and Bible work with energetic thinkers and doers.

 For seven years SOULS has contributed eternal value to the lives of faculty and staff, students, community and church members, to the Florida Conference and Southern Union in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  Over 75 students have attended, and of those more than 65 percent are still involved in a professional ministry or are continuing their ministry training.  As long as the greatest want is of great character, there will be a great need for great schools like SOULS.

By Ethan Bird, SOULS faculty alumnus