By Kaleigh Zierk | Echo
The Taylor community is often referred to as a large family. To some people, the term "family" may mean close friends, roommates and mentors at Taylor. To the Dodge family, it means mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle and so on.
Although Taylor students and alumni may have relatives from different generations who attended Taylor, none have been as consistent as the Dodge family.
Sophomore Zach Alford is a fourth generation member of the Dodge family to attend Taylor. But the one who started the trend was his great-grandfather, Bishop Ralph E. Dodge.
"What I remember is how faithful and humble of a man (my great-grandfather) was. He only emphasized how God worked in his life, as if to say that God could've used anyone else to do what he did. This was all to the effect that others would give glory to God," Zach said.
Ralph grew up on a farm in Iowa, working hard with his family to put food on the table. As he got older, he felt God calling him to ministry, but wasn't quick to accept. In his autobiography, "The Revolutionary Bishop," Ralph explains his conflicting emotions about going into ministry and how he ultimately took the first step in accepting the call.
"Finally I realized that I had to make a decision. In spite of my having said 'no' so many times, the problem was still with me. So, one rainy July afternoon, alone in my room, I reversed myself. To begin my training for the ministry I applied for admission to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana."
God provided for Ralph throughout his years at Taylor, bringing him an encouraging professor, Barton Rees Pogue, and a godly wife, Eunice (Davis) Dodge. After graduating in 1931, Ralph continued with seminary training in Boston, relying on God to see him through the next step in his education and every step to come.
Ralph realized his call was to be a missionary in Africa. He and Eunice married in June 1934 and left for Africa in 1936 with their firstborn son, Ralph Edward Dodge Jr. (Ed Dodge), thus beginning the trend of ministry in Africa through generations of the Dodge family.
Two of Ralph and Eunice's children, Ed and Clifford, enrolled at Taylor. Ed followed in his parents' footsteps and married a Taylor classmate, pursued a call to teach public health in Africa and endowed two scholarships.
Ed's children, Randall Dodge and Amy (Dodge) Alford, continued the Taylor family tradition and both married Taylor classmates. Randall co-founded the MAHE program at Taylor and has also endowed a scholarship. Additionally, Randall is Chief Operations Officer for Project Mercy and has helped several Ethiopian students attend Taylor.
Randall's children, Rachel and Reid, graduated from Taylor, while Amy's son, Zach Alford, is currently a sophomore. Throughout all the Dodge generations at Taylor there has been a common theme: God's calling and ministry.
"Taylor University has impressed upon our family the importance of sharing the redemptive love and truth of Jesus Christ with a world in need. That has manifested itself through an intergenerational family investment in Africa, from full-time missions in Angola and Zambia to medicine and public health in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe to rural community development in Ethiopia today," Randall said. "It has also been evident in the commitment of family members to community . . . Whether through my grandfather (Ralph Dodge) staying and eating in the homes of African pastors when he traveled, or through our adult children (Rachel Peterson and Reid Dodge) living in and loving an urban community as young alumni."
Although Taylor seems to be the obvious college of choice for many members of the Dodge family, it really comes down to personal conviction.
"The fact that so many of my family members have been to Taylor was a really big driving force . . . but I didn't want that to be the sole thing," Zach said. "Taylor has really good science and math programs and . . . a Christian liberal arts school really appealed to me."
Randall also explains how his choice to come to Taylor was based on what it had to offer.
"I wanted to be challenged intellectually . . . and wanted to form the foundations of a worldview that would serve me for the rest of my life. I would say I got all that and . . . the relationships and intentional community, as well as opportunities to serve others in local and global contexts."
Every Dodge member has had their own unique Taylor experience, but all lead a life of love and ministry to a world in need. "Living out the gospel with neighbors has been a high priority that I believe has been taught and reinforced through the intentional community that we have all experienced at Taylor," Randall said.
