IWU Honors Outstanding Alumni

Two Indiana Wesleyan University Alumni whose ministries have touched – and transformed – the lives of thousands of people were honored at IWU’s annual Homecoming banquet. The honorees were Jay Height and Dwight Robertson.

Reverend Jay Height, who received an M.A. degree in Ministry from IWU in 2005, joined Shepherd Community Center in 1995 and has been its executive director since 1998. The ministry, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty, serves 3,500 families on the near eastside of Indianapolis.

In his 10 years as executive director of Shepherd Community, Height has grown the budget from $100,000 to $4.2 million and the number of staff members from three to more than 60. In addition, he completed renovations of Shepherd’s old facilities as well as a $3.4 million renovation and relocation to the current community center.

Height also serves as the senior pastor of a 200-member Nazarene Church that is affiliated with Shepherd Community. Here is what Height says of his role as pastor: "I feel strongly that you have to have a church attached to any ministry of this kind. The authority for the ministry comes from the church."

Height recently began discussions with IWU leaders and Wesleyan pastors in the Marion area to lay plans for starting a similar ministry in Grant County. Such a ministry would provide multiple learning opportunities for IWU students.

Height has received numerous honors for his work in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Business Journal named him one of the "Top 40 Leaders Under 40", and the Indianapolis Police Department honored him as the Crime Fighter of the Year.

Jay and his wife, Jayne, along with their three children, live in the community, which they serve on the east side of downtown Indianapolis.

Reverend Dwight Robertson, who received a B.S. degree in Christian Education from IWU in 1979, is the Founder and President of Kingdom Building Ministries.

KBM, whose team of 14 itinerant speakers now travels nationwide, had humble beginnings here in Marion in 1986. Here is what Robertson says of the early days:

"We had $5 to start with. An old garage behind the Marion home of Dennis Ott and his wife, Teresa, became our first KBM office. Dennis was the ministry coordinator, and Teresa was the fulltime staff member. Circumstances were humble. The pay was, too."

When KBM outgrew the garage, the ministry moved to a house on the IWU campus. In return for free office space, Robertson agreed to promote IWU during his travels and to help arrange youth conferences on campus.

Fewer than 100 students were attending high school conferences at IWU when Robertson and his team stepped in. Three years later, hundreds of students were coming each year, and IWU had begun what would be two decades of record enrollment.

KBM moved its offices to the Denver area in 1991. Its mission is to challenge and inspire deeply committed and nominal Christians to love God deeply and to live lives of active ministry.

In recent years, a key component of KBM’s ministry has been its Laborers Institute, which was established to train people to carry out Jesus’ challenge to his disciples to "send out laborers into his harvest fields."

Robertson and his wife, Dawn, live in Denver with their two children.