Educational Experience
M.A., M.Div. Cincinnati Christian Seminary;
M.A. University of Missouri-Columbia;
B.A. Cincinnati Bible College;
Wheaton College (att.)
Ministry Experience
Born September 29, 1932, in northeastern Indianan, he was graduated from Garrett High School in 1950. He was ordained to the Christian ministry by the First Church of Christ, Garrett, on July 19, 1954.
He preached his first sermon in southern Michigan while still in High School. During his college days in the Cincinnati Bible Seminary, he held ministries at Milford, Ky., Cedar Lake Church of Christ near Waterloo, Indiana, and at Fairborn, Ohio. He was also assistant minister at the Lockland Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. While in the Seminary he was active in the Phileusebian Literary Society, the college chorale, and traveled for several years as a member of a quartet. He received 6 letters in basketball from the Seminary.
He has earned three degrees from the Cincinnati Bible Seminary. In 1954 he was granted the Bachelor of Arts degree, and delivered the Valedictory address at the commencements services. The Master of Arts was conferred upon him in 1955, and the Master of Divinity degree in 1957. His theses for these last two degrees were “The Biblical Teaching Concerning Paradise,” and “The Return of Christ.” Further post-graduate work has been taken under Merrill C. Tenney at Wheaton College. In 1983 he was granted a Master of Arts Degree in Library Science from the University of Missouri.
Since 1957, he has been the head of the New Testament Department at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo. In addition to teaching courses on New Testament books, he has served as professor Greek Language in the school, and also taught courses in missions and apologetics. For 14 years he served as head coach of the basketball team, and for over 20 years as athletic director at the college. He then served as faculty representative to the Midwest Christian College Conference, an athletic conference of several Bible Colleges, which he helped found in 1962. From 1958 to 2001 he served as the Librarian at the college. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Near Eastern Archaeological Society. He is listed in the first and second editions of Who’s Who in Religion, and in the 1994 and later editions of Who’s Who Among America’s College and University Teachers.
For twelve years he served as evangelist with the churches at Cherry Box, Berry, Benton City, Pleasant Grove, and Hunnewell, Missouri. In the years since he has been traveling throughout the Midwest on weekends, representing the college, and recruiting young people into the specialized leadership ministry for churches and mission fields. In recent years he has also held interim ministries at Kentucky Road Christian Church in Mexico, Mo, at the Ninth Street Christian Church in Eldon, Missouri and at the Ethel Christian Church in Ethel, Missouri.
In his work among the churches in evangelism, Prof. Reese has held revival meetings in a number of states both east and west of the Mississippi; he has been camp evangelist in over two dozen church camps in the United States and Canada. In the summer of 1988 he was one of the featured speakers at the Brush Run Revival held at the same place in W. Va., where Alexander Campbell preached his first sermon in the early 1800’s. In 1991, he was involved in the Open Forum Program with the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.) where “Implications for Christian Unity in Acts 2” between that Group and the Christian Churches were investigated. In 1993 he was involved in Restoration Forum XI, where matters of faith and opinion were discussed as part of an ongoing effort to heal the split in the Restoration Movement between congregations who use the instrument and those who do not.
Prof. Reese has appeared numerous times on the program of the North American Christian Convention, often being involved in the Archaeology and Bible Studies portion of this national convention. In 1999 he was invited to serve on the continuation committee of the convention. He has also served on several teams sent by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges to evaluate American and Canadian college’s progress towards meeting accreditation standards.
In his travels abroad, Prof. Reese toured Greece and the Holy Land in the summer of 1970, making a special study of the Life of Christ in the light of the geographical and archaeological sites in Northern Galilee. During the summer of 1973, he and his family helped in the new church planting work on the mission field in the Anchorage, Alaska area. In the summer of 1974, he and his wife helped in the new mission work in the Boston, Mass., area. Again in the summer of 1978 he revisited both these areas, to help in the work, and to evaluate the areas in preparation for recruiting more missionaries to go to these areas. In the summer of 1994, at the invitation of one of our missionaries in Thailand, he was part of a group called “Teachers ‘n Thailand” (TNT), who were involved in an intensive training session for local church leaders from the villages around Chiangmai.
As an author, Prof. Reese has written extensive course syllabi on eleven books of the New Testament, and a syllabus of 400 pages of supplementary notes for use in Greek classes at Central Christian College. He is the author of several college textbooks. The first one, New Testament History: Acts, was first published in 1966, and over 50,000 copies are now in print. In 1996 it was translated into Russian for use by the churches and Bible Colleges in the former Soviet Union. In 1999, translation of the this book into Chinese was begun, and in 2006 translation into Spanish. His second book, New Testament Epistles: Romans, came off the presses just before Christmas, 1987. In 2004, it too was translated into Russian. New Testament Epistles: Hebrews was published in 1993; New Testament Epistles: 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, became available in January of 1999. New Testament Epistles: 1 Corinthians was published in 2004. New Testament Epistles: Peter and Jude, was first printed in 2004. Forthcoming before the end of 2007 will be New Testament Epistles: James and 1,2,3 John.
Also published in facsimile form are his Brief Introductions to New Testament Books and Basic Bible Doctrines. In loose-leaf format are commentaries on the Life of Christ (parts 1 and 3), 2 Corinthians, and Revelation. As part of his preparation for the 1970 Lectureship at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, he authored the booklet Let’s Study Prophecy. He also has written numerous pamphlets and tracts, including Do All Speak in Tongues? and The Joy of the Holy Spirit. He contributes to religious periodicals. In early 1984 he made a series of videotaped studies on leadership training for use on the mission field. In 1992, his Acts class was videotaped in anticipation of producing a Bible Correspondence course based on these videotapes. He has also taught classes on apologetics and the history of missions, especially the missions supported by the churches of the Restoration Movement.
Prof. Reese’s series of studies on topics of contemporary interest, such as the Holy Spirit, the World of the Occult, the Second Coming of Christ, elder’s and deacon’s clinics, and Teacher Training Classes, are in demand both in local churches, on college campuses, and in national conventions.
STUDENT APPRECIATION
“The person who most filled the position of a model to me would be Gareth Reese. Mr. Reese is usually very busy and difficult to spend time with outside of class. The age gap is also a factor as well, but he always takes time to answer every question he can after class, giving as much time as is needed. His life, past and present, has been a model to me while at Central. To hear about his dedication to the work of Central in the earlier years and to see how he continues to live his life now gives him great credibility with me. He not only cares deeply about his Lord and his work, but he cares deeply about each of the students as a father cares for the development of his children. These are evident in his thorough classes and prompt discipline. He has taught me to search for truth in my study of the Scriptures, even if it demands sacrifice and is not appreciated. I have learned that a committed follower of Christ will produce fruit that transcends many borders and challenges. I have also seen how to persevere through ailments and difficulty.” -CCCB Graduate
