The Freeman Lecture Series for Servant Leadership at Sterling College featured the youngest speaker to date, 25-year-old award-winning director Brian Ivie. Only a few years older than the majority of the audience, Ivie shared his experience, knowledge and insight that influenced and challenged the entire crowd. Joining the students and staff at Sterling College, student leaders from surrounding area high schools came to hear Ivie at the Freeman Lecture Series.

Ivie directed “The Drop Box,” a documentary about South Korean Pastor Lee Jong-rak and the box he made at his house for mothers to drop off babies that they were not willing to take care of. The documentary was seen by more than a quarter million theatre attendees upon its release and has won several awards from film festivals around the country. To date, Pastor Lee has saved over 940 children with the box he built into his house wall.

“[Pastor Lee] shared the gospel with every woman that came to him, and he counsels the majority of them. I would say a quarter of the women who come to him end up keeping their child or end up coming back. So that is really his heart, too. It’s not to break up families. It is to restore a situation if he can, and if he can’t, to remove the child from a dangerous place,” said Ivie during a question-and-answer session after the convocation.

The Freeman Lecture Series focuses on the concept of servant leadership, its potential to influence and change society, and the resulting practical and successful management skills that can easily be applied to diverse situations. Ivie explained how servant leadership changed his life through watching Pastor Lee and his quest to change culture based on the revolution that has happened in his personal life.

“Brian is a humble, articulate and visionary young man. Although he has only been a Christian for four years, his mentors, like Pastor Lee, have given him a depth of wisdom and a passion for evangelism that is very challenging. His goal is to truly make films that bring glory to God and to present the gospel both to the masses and in face-to-face conversations. Our students and staff alike were challenged by his boldness and passion for Christ,” said David Landis, vice president for administration and institutional initiatives.

The Freeman Lecture Series was founded in 2014 on the idea that servant leadership not only has the potential to influence societal change, but can also provide both practical and successful management skills that can easily be applied to diverse situations. The series seeks to educate individuals on the various values and applications of leadership by highlighting the servant leadership attributes present in others.

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kansas, with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.