A DIFFERENT PATH
Lynn Terrill is a 1979 Finance and Banking graduate of Missouri State University. Unlike many graduates of the FGB Department, Lynn says he uses his financial education in a quest to save souls, not dollars and cents. Lynn utilizes his business expertise in the service of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, administering the budgets of Southern Baptist missions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Terrill knew upon graduation from high school that he would like to major in either Finance or Accounting due to his enjoyment of math and bookkeeping classes in his secondary school education. He also knew that he wanted to work in an area that would provide him opportunities to serve other people. Lynn relates that after much prayer and contemplation, he chose a major in Finance and Banking. His first semester of business courses reinforced that this was the correct major for him. At the time, he had no idea that he would be applying the skills learned at Missouri State to calculate conversions for more than 20 currencies and to oversee accounting systems and processes in five countries. Throughout his career, he has referred back to his original text books and notes to solve problems or create new systems or processes to better support missionaries and report back to the International Mission Board’s supporters.
When Lynn was a student at Southwest Missouri State (the name of Missouri State University at the time), he did not have much time for extracurricular activities. He commuted to school and worked part time to support himself during his studies. Lynn recalls that Dr. Charles Boyd was especially helpful and encouraging during his studies here. After graduation, Lynn went to work as a loan officer at Great Southern Bank, where he worked from 1979 to 1981. Although compound interest is powerful, Lynn says he received a call from an even more powerful force and left business to attend the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1981. He went to work for the International Mission Board in 1982 and has worked around the globe ever since providing administrative support to Baptist missionaries.
When asked for his advice to current FGB students, Terrill says students should use their time at the University to lay a solid foundation for lifetime learning by cultivating good learning skills and habits. Life is too short and important to be wasted. Terrill says that, if you are not learning something new or how to improve what you are presently doing, you are moving backward. Terrill also reminds students that life is more than just making money, and that students should seek to make their lives and work count for something good by reinvesting in as many “someone elses” as possible.
Terrill, originally from Marshfield, Missouri, recently moved from Prague in the Czech Republic to Richmond, Virginia, where he resides with his wife Glenda. Glenda earned an undergraduate degree at Southwest Baptist University (SBU) in Bolivar and a graduate degree from the University of Missouri, both in music education. Lynn and Glenda have two children, a son Jonathan and a daughter Jessica. Jonathan is currently attending SBU and will graduate this December. Jessica graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in May 2008.