Baxter’s History

Baxter Institute Timeline

1964

Baxter Institute logo

Founded in Mexico.

Baxter Institute had its beginning in Mexico in 1964. It was named for Leta Baxter, a sister in California who was very evangelistic in her outreach to teens and to women who came to Hollywood desiring to enter the entertainment industry and fell by the wayside. The dream for the biblical institute was to equip and train Latin American students who had completed high school.

Entrance requirements would be high; students would be required to maintain high moral standards, and to earn good grades. In addition, students would spend weekends in evangelistic efforts, giving practical experience to ground the classroom theory.

With these aspirations in mind, property was located in Mexico City to begin this four-year institute. The West End Church of Christ in Nashville was among the first to become involved in this work; the Garden Oaks Church in Houston was close behind.

Harris Goodwin (1964-1995), who served as the founder and first president of Baxter, and Dan Coker provided important leadership during the early days in Mexico.

1978

Moved to Honduras

Difficulties with the Mexican government prompted the school’s relocation to Honduras in 1978. The primary challenge upon arrival was renovating the property. The carpentry workshop was converted to house offices, a library, teachers’ cubicles, a cafeteria, and a kitchen, while the adjacent building became dormitories for single students. Married students resided off-site.

1979

CELO Course

The Extension Course for Leaders and Workers (CELO) is a program that began under the direction of Arnoldo Mejía and was written by all the professors at the Baxter Institute at that time.

1981-1989

Chile, 1981.

Global Campaigns

The Global Campaigns were established by Jim Frazier and Dan C. Coker, and were an essential part of the development of Baxter Institute students during the 1980s. These campaigns were carried out in the capitals or major cities of countries throughout the Americas. Abilene Christian University, Harding University, and Oklahoma Christian University also took part in this process.

1982

Ladies of Baxter

The Baxter Ladies, which is a volunteer association of women interested in supporting all the needs of the institute’s students. The idea was born on July 18, 1982, at Kate Howard’s home in Nashville, Tennessee.

1984

Dental Clinic

In 1984, a dental clinic began operating in the Amicus house, as the building adjacent to the Institution’s offices was known at the time. It all started with an initiative by three dentists, Steve Speck from Nashville, Tennessee, and Tom Miller and Stan Smith from Houston, Texas. They encouraged other colleagues to travel to Tegucigalpa to provide dental services twice a year.

1986 – 1987

Single bedrooms.

The work was dedicated on October 16, 1987, in honor of Mr. Walter Fraizer, an American citizen who devoted much of his life to promoting the evangelism program of the Churches of Christ, with a particular emphasis on Latin America.

1989

Medical Clinic

On June 1, 1989, 17 people arrived at the Baxter Institute to work on the new “Casa Amicus” program. Most were from the United States and included two pediatricians, two general practitioners, two nurses, two laboratory technicians, a pharmacist, an engineer, and seven volunteers. Care was provided from June 2 to 7, benefiting 244 children and 166 adults, treated by doctors John Gore, David McCauley, and William Young from Tennessee, and Dr. Jorge Aguilera from Honduras.

1991

Dedication of the James Moody Adams Healthcare Complex

The healthcare complex consisted of a medical clinic and a dental clinic, a nutrition program, and three classrooms for educating beneficiaries. At that time, the medical clinic already had full-time staff providing care to low-income individuals.

1991

Edificio Administrativo Harris Lee Goodwin.

Architect Russel Logan, bishop of the Church of Christ in Woodlands, Texas, designed the plans for the new building in Honduras, which was executed by engineer Leonel Juárez, assisted by engineer Eduardo Sánchez. Materials such as natural quarry stone, glazed brick, cedar, mahogany, and other local precious woods were used.

1992

Baxter Ladies’ Cafeteria

In 1992, the third construction project, a building intended for a cafeteria, was carried out. On October 25th of that year, it was dedicated in honor of the Baxter Ladies of Nashville, Tennessee, who contributed $150,000 for its construction. The architect was Russel Logan, an elder of the Church of Christ in Texas, and the construction was carried out by engineer Leonel Juárez Díaz.

1992

First promotion of Graduates in Theology.

That same year, a group of candidates for the Bachelor of Theology degree graduated for the first time in history, after five years of study. The graduates were Carlos Estrada, Carlos Presilla, Jesús Aguilar, Bartolo Félix, and Rigoberto Vargas, under the name Harris Lee Goodwin. The twenty-third generation of Bachelors of Theology also graduated, which included Herbert Martínez, Moisés Avendaño, Bienvenido Cuevas, Armando Castañeda, Adrián Díaz, Jairo Banegas, Henry Gonzales, and Henry Figueroa, who took the name “Ladies of Baxter” Generation.

1994

Construction of the Burton and Sissie Coffman Married Student Housing Building

In 1994, the final construction project of the Baxter Institute was completed, consisting of a residential complex of 15 apartments for married students in its first stage, dedicated to the Burton and Sissy Coffman couple. The apartments, designed for 14 families, have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and a pantry. This first phase was inaugurated on November 20, 1994, in honor of these servants of the Lord who served the Institute.

The second part of the complex was dedicated in May 2002 in memory of T.C. (Bill) Miller, an elder of the Church of Christ and a friend of the Baxter Institute. These fully furnished apartments can house 21 families of married students with children.

1996

Calvin Henry´s Precidency.

Calvin and Linda Henry

In October 1996, Brother Calvin Henry assumed the presidency of the Baxter Institute. This was the first time in history that a change of president had occurred in the leadership of the Baxter Institute. In a special ceremony held in the auditorium of the Baxter Institute on October 6 of that year, and with the presence of 250 guests, Brother Harris Goodwin, in a symbolic act, passed the scepter to Brother Calvin Henry, who, accepting the new position, promised to be faithful to the original principles of the Institute, faithful to the will of God, and faithful to the Church of Christ. Brother Calvin, along with his wife Linda Allen Henry, had extensive experience in the work of the Lord, having been missionaries in Costa Rica and Colombia, in addition to having worked in the United States.

1998

Hurricane Mitch

The disaster left almost 1,500,000 victims, including 5,657 dead, 8,058 missing, 12,272 injured, and 285,000 homeless, who sought refuge in more than 1,375 temporary shelters, with the Baxter Institute being one of them, as the surrounding colonies were under the waters of the San José River. The international response was quick and generous, especially from the United States, sending teams and brigades with tons of medicine, food, and clothing for those affected, in addition to building houses for the neediest families.

1999

Michelle Hernández de Aguilar Building Dedication.

In 1999, a building in the clinic area was dedicated to Sister Digna Michelle Aguilar, wife of Professor Miguel Osvaldo Aguilar. Currently, beauty and dressmaking classes are held in this building for the mothers in the nutrition program.

2000

Christian Training Program (PEC)

This program was designed for Local Churches, for preachers, teachers, and leaders who actively participate in different congregations in Tegucigalpa. In the beginning, the program consisted of 12 subjects divided into two groups: some students attended on Tuesdays and Fridays, and others only on Saturdays. The first class graduated in 2002.

2002

Baxter Youth Encounter

The event was held for three days, with young people from Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Approximately 500 people attended. In subsequent years, these events continued. For 15 years, the youth gatherings were one of the events that most nourished the youth of the Church of Christ in Central America.

2003

Dedication of the Arnoldo Mejía Library.

Professor Arnoldo Mejía, admired for his vast knowledge and his example, was posthumously honored by the Institute authorities by dedicating the library in his honor, a fundamental space in the students’ education.

2004

Steve White’s presidency.

Steven and Jeanne White

In July 2004, Dr. Steve Dale White assumed the presidency of the Amicus Association. Dr. White, with more than 15 years of experience at the Institute, including 7 as a member of the Board of Directors, held a doctorate in Public Accounting and an extensive background in higher education. In addition, he had almost forty years of work experience in Latin America. The faculty, staff, and students warmly welcomed Dr. White and his wife, Jeanne.

2009

Howard Norton‘s presidency.

Howard and Jane Norton

 On July 1, 2009, Dr. Howard Norton assumed the presidency of the Baxter Institute, accompanied by his wife Jane Norton. He was the fourth president of the institution. He had many years of experience as a missionary in Brazil, preacher, and educator, having served as a Bible professor and assistant dean of the Bible department at Harding University.

2013

Steve Teel’s presidency.

Stephen and Dianna Teel

Dr. Stephen Teel took the helm at Baxter on January 1, 2013. He is the fifth president of the Baxter Institute. Steve attended Freed-Hardeman (’70-’73) and Harding (’74) as an undergraduate. He holds two master’s degrees from Harding School of Theology (’75-’77). Steve completed his doctorate there in 2010. He has ministered for more than 19 years in three congregations in Florida, Louisiana, and North Carolina, and his foreign mission work lasted 15 years in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1980-95).

Improvements of the Campus

In the early ’90s, the institute was greatly enhanced with the construction of a men’s dorm and the administration building complex including classrooms, library, computer lab, and chapel. The construction of its cafeteria, amphitheater, and married student apartments followed. The Baxter Clinic was added with the purpose of serving and ministering to the impoverished of Tegucigalpa.

Campus Today

61th Aniversary

Baxter Institute has celebrated its 61th anniversary, and the churches of Christ in Latin America have expanded in that time period. Baxter graduates have established many of those congregations, started two-year preacher schools, staffed Christian orphanages, spearheaded radio broadcasting, and initiated numerous publications.