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CIU makes a powerful impact at Providence Home

A shepherd's heart: CIU alumnus Rob Settle (center, blue shirt), with some of the men of Providence Home. (Photo provided)
Executive Director and CIU alumnus Rob Settle (right), prays with board member Henry Hennagan (left) and volunteer David Coleman at Providence Home. (Photo provided)

Executive Director and CIU alumnus Rob Settle (right), prays with board member Henry Hennagan (left) and volunteer David Coleman at Providence Home. (Photo provided)

By Bob Holmes


There are probably few ministries in the 黑料视频 area that have felt the positive, powerful impact of 黑料视频 more than , a transitional home for men in recovery who desire to overcome substance abuse.


For the last 16 years, the 57-year-old ministry on North Main Street has been under the direction of two CIU alumni. Ken Ritchie, a former CIU staff member who graduated from the in 1990, served as Providence Home executive director from 2004 until his retirement in 2013. Rob Settle was then appointed to take his place. Settle earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1982 and Seminary degree in 2000. He would later serve as an administrator at before coming to Providence Home. 听


鈥淕od has always developed me and called me to be a shepherd,鈥 Settle said when asked why he serves at Providence Home. 鈥淎nywhere I鈥檝e gone I鈥檝e had that shepherding aspect in my life.鈥


But he says another part of his background also helps at a place like Providence Home. He studied Law Enforcement in junior college and used to be the police chief and a pastor at the same time in the small town of Cameron, South Carolina.


鈥淭he joke was that if Rob stops you, do you know what happens? You have to listen to four of Rob鈥檚 messages,鈥 Settle recalled with a laugh.


At Providence Home, Settle says he ministers to guys he would have stopped as a police chief. When he interviewed for the Providence Home position, Ritchie, the outgoing executive director, told him he was 鈥減erfect for the job鈥 because he understood both criminal justice and Christianity.


鈥淪o for me to come in here and minister to guys who have been in prison, minister to guys who have been in trouble with the law, to have a shepherd鈥檚 heart and a law enforcement background is a comfort for the guys,鈥 Settle said. 鈥淚 love these men, no matter what background they鈥檝e come from. But I still believe in justice and mercy, but if I err, I err on the side of mercy.鈥 听


From Homeless to Board Member


A longtime CIU influence at Providence Home is a man who used to be on the receiving end of the ministry. CIU Postmaster J.W. Hayes is on the Providence Home Board of Directors. But his introduction to Providence Home was a need to stave off hunger in the days when the ministry offered daily meals to the homeless. Hayes had addictions that led him to live on the streets until New Year鈥檚 Eve 1989 when he came to repentance through Christ in a jail cell. Now, he often speaks to the Providence Home residents from personal experience.


鈥淚 was there, right where they鈥檙e at,鈥 Hayes says. 鈥淎nd I am where I am now, so I know what God can do.鈥


Hayes has had a steady job in CIU鈥檚 post office for 28 years, offering a living example of God鈥檚 grace to the Providence Home residents.


鈥淚鈥檝e come full circle. I鈥檓 a tax paying, law-abiding citizen. I鈥檓 real proud of that,鈥 Hayes says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 take that lightly. The Lord just changed my whole insight.鈥


A Female Perspective


A newer Providence Home Board member is CIU Assistant Athletics Director who says in a on the Providence Home website that she is 鈥渁ll in鈥 at the ministry. Abbott joined the board in 2019 soon after the death of her father, John Erickson, who had a big influence on her life. Erickson was a former University of Wisconsin basketball coach and former president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).


鈥淚鈥檓 sensitive to the role of my father as he was a protector, and a provider, and an encourager,鈥 Abbott said. 鈥淭here are men who come to Providence Home that have lost that, and are seeking that, and they can find that in their heavenly Father (at Providence Home). It鈥檚 a special ministry, very practical, for men.鈥


Other CIU influence past and present include:听


  • Chas Sulita, a 1982 alumnus, is a Providence Home case worker
  • The late Dr. Bob Kallgren, who served at CIU as a vice president, was the chairman of the Providence Home Board for several years
  • Henry Hennagan, a former CIU staff member, is a current Providence Home Board member
  • Ken Ritchie is still involved as a board member.听

An Even Greater Love


As Providence Home celebrates the dedication of a new modern dorm and the expansion of other facilities on its growing campus, Settle says God is teaching him more important lessons than how to read architectural drawings.


鈥淚 almost get a little teary-eyed when I think about some of this,鈥 Settle begins, saying that his shepherd鈥檚 heart 鈥渉as gone to a new level,鈥 and noting the deaths of some current and former Providence Home residents. 听


鈥淚 have a greater love for men like these, much more than when I first came in. It鈥檚 much deeper now. Life is short. My heart is so much more compassionate for them. None of us are promised tomorrow.鈥


听- The author of this article, Bob Holmes, served as a Providence Home board member for 12 years, most of those years as board secretary.


听ranks 黑料视频 the听,听and CIU is #2 in the state for听Best College Campus.听CIU also consistently ranks听among the Top Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report.听听on enrollment at CIU and听听or call听(800) 777-2227, ext. 5024.听听听听听听

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