I spent my last Christmas on campus—but not the campus you’re thinking of. I’m talking about the original campus where Bob Jones University got its start, in Bay County, Florida.

Bob Jones College was founded in 1927, for the purpose of educating and encouraging Christian young people in a world that was growing more hostile to the Christian faith. BJC’s time in the Panhandle was  brief—six years, to be exact—and it was moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, at the height of the Great Depression. In 1947, the school was moved to a larger campus in Greenville, South Carolina, the campus that we know today.

Fast forward about 75 years to when my family visited Panama City, Florida, for Christmas break last month. We had a wonderful time, but the highlight for me was when we drove to see the BJC campus, which was only a 30-minute drive from the city.

I wasn’t expecting to find much. Apparently, most of the buildings were demolished over time after BJC moved out. The bricks were repurposed to build houses, and a neighborhood and a golf course were built over the land.

There were a few reminders of the old college. Two lone archways marked the entrance, and a stone monument declared that this was the original site of “The World’s Most Unusual University”. The neighborhood also boasts two streets that serve as reminders of its heritage—College Boulevard and Bob Jones Drive.

This was all we had expected to see, and it was exciting. However, while we were taking pictures, a local family saw us and waved us over.

“Are you from Bob Jones University?” they asked.

As it turned out, the couple knew a lot about the history of BJC and were more than happy to share it with us. They told us how most of the large trees in the area had been planted by the Jones family—large, majestic trees that are nearly identical to the ones they planted here at the Greenville campus. The family also told us that while all the college buildings had been torn down, several of the neighborhood homes were built on their foundations.

Then they dropped a bombshell—there was still a wall left from one of the old campus buildings, and they happened to own the property. They gave us permission to take pictures and to take a few bricks as souvenirs if we wanted. We were pleasantly surprised—what were the odds of this happening?

A few minutes later, we found ourselves looking down at the foundation of Bob Jones College—a brick wall in the middle of a lawn, no higher than my knees. Most people wouldn’t have been impressed, because they wouldn’t know the story. This building was once the home of students like us. This building represented the hopes and dreams of Dr. Bob Jones Sr., a man who wanted to give those students a quality, Biblical education. This was the place where that dream began to be a reality. And by the grace of God, that dream is still a reality nearly 100 years later.

When we left the old campus, I took a small brick from the wall with me. It sits on my bookshelf as a reminder—both of our school’s heritage, and of what God can do when you serve Him faithfully. No goal is impossible so long as He supports you, no matter what ups or downs you face along the way