Published September 23, 2019 in Summit Magazine
Aaron Marshall (’96, ’19) is the CEO of BCS, a technology deployment company in Arkansas. He leads his management team, builds strategic customer relationships and manages financial performance. Marshall says the best thing about his job is “the influence and impact I get to have, from the executive management team all the way to the team members who work in the warehouse.” While many of Marshall’s management team members are followers of Jesus, most of his employees are not. He says, “I get to show them how a business owner can lead an organization and love them as a team member like Jesus would. That can be incredibly powerful.”
Marshall recently graduated from CSU with his Master of Arts, and he accepted a position as a member of CSU’s Board of Trustees. He first graduated with highest honor with his Bachelor of Science in Bible, and he attended Baptist Bible Seminary in the late ‘90s.
“Fundamentally, my time as a student at CSU built a foundation of character, faith and leadership that has served me well since,” explains Marshall. “I certainly gained a great deal of knowledge through the academic experience, but the application of what we learned and the intentional discipleship process that took place in the dorm environment and from faculty and staff who invested in me as a student were foundational for the rest of my life.”
After graduation, Marshall experienced unexpected turns in his life path. “No one could have predicted what was in store for me,” he admits. “I never expected to not be in a vocational ministry role, but that’s exactly what happened. Fortunately, the foundation of my faith and the leadership skills I learned at CSU translated into the business world.”
Leader in His Church
Marshall volunteers at Fellowship Bible Church’s Fayetteville campus as a community shepherd. He and a fellow businessman administrate the small group ministry consisting of over 90 small groups. Through this ministry, Marshall has had “a front row seat to God’s work in discipleship” in his church.
Donor for New Hospital
Marshall, who had life-saving open heart surgery at 18-months-old, was eager to get involved when the Children’s Hospital in Little Rock announced they were building a new hospital in Springdale. Without this new hospital, medical care for Marshall’s home region was a three-and-a-half-hour drive or a helicopter life flight away in Little Rock. Through different circumstances in his life,
Marshall has learned that God expects us to be thankful, dependent and generous. Because of that, he and his wife Jaye T., believe they have “a responsibility to be generous with our resources to benefit the most vulnerable.” They believe they are “blessed to be a blessing.” Through the help of the community and some very generous families, the hospital was fully funded prior to completion. Marshall had the honor of naming the butterfly garden outside the hospital in memory of his mother who had recently passed away.
Advocate for the Homeless
Marshall saw the growing poverty and homeless problem in his region, specifically a homeless camp on some undeveloped property that grew to 140 people living in tents and under tarps, and he knew something needed to be done. He collaborated with a friend to conceive of New Beginnings Village. This “bridge housing” will provide shelter and also take the homeless one step closer to service providers and programs.
The New Beginnings Village will consist of 20 micro-shelters and a nearly 3,000-square-foot service building. Residents will be admitted into a low-barrier program and, within a few weeks, they will begin addressing their mental health, addiction or other issues with intensive case management. Residents will re-learn what it takes to live in a community of people as a responsible citizen. The goal will be for each resident to make enough progress in 90-180 days to be handed over to existing service providers or programs to continue their journey.
Marshall hopes the small groups from his church will connect with this project to “adopt” a micro-shelter and form relationships with the residents that come through that unit. “This could be an impactful opportunity for the body of Christ to engage with the most vulnerable in our community in a safe environment and bring the gospel and the love of Jesus into the equation.” Ground was broken in April, and they hope to accept residents by November.
Trustee for Alma Mater
Joining the CSU Board of Trustees was not something on Marshall’s radar. He says, “Over the last few years, as I got reacquainted with the school, I was encouraged by my experience. Ultimately, I have a high degree of trust in Dr. Jim Lytle and his leadership. He was the dean of men when I was a student and taught “building a biblical lifestyle.” I’ve read a chapter of Proverbs every day since 1993 because of him.” Marshall shares that he was “scared and nervous” at first about coming back to contribute to his alma mater, but he found that “relationships picked up where they left off” and he was “extended far more grace” than he expected.
Foundation for Faith
Marshall says that CSU’s “secret sauce” is the people who “teach and translate the truth intentionally in students’ lives in a way that creates a foundation of faith for whatever life thereafter entails.” With increased academic options and degrees, he believes that CSU can make an exponential impact.
Alumni with a Purpose
To fellow CSU alumni, Marshall says, “Regardless of where life has taken you, there’s a warm welcome in store for you at CSU. The current administration, staff and faculty want to re-engage with all of us in a genuine way. If you’d give us a chance to win your trust and show you how God is at work here, and as a result around the globe, you’ll be glad you did.”
Marshall says there are more ways than ever for alumni to engage with CSU and to help its students be best prepared for whatever life may have for them after graduation. CSU embraces ministry as a lifestyle, regardless of vocation, and allows for every alumnus to feel connected with some part of the institution or some member of the student body. Marshall encourages, “The possibilities are endless, but each one of us can do something.”
By Mariah Fredenburg (’19)
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