Lancaster Bible College has a special graduation tradition that also has a special meaning: a Servant’s Towel.

Since 1933, servant leadership has been the culture of Lancaster Bible College. The mission of LBC is to educate Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving Him in the Church and society. Christ was the ultimate example of servanthood, as God Incarnate willingly humbled himself by taking the form of a man.

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus took not only the bread and the cup as lasting symbols of His self-giving love, but also a servant’s towel. He stepped down from the seat of honor, took off His outer clothing, put a towel around His waist and washed His disciples’ feet. In so doing, He offered them a profound and radically counter-culture demonstration of the very heart of God. The joy-filled life in which He invites His followers to participate involves taking up the towel with Him.

The servant’s towel is more than a symbol at LBC. It is a tangible expression of our mission, reminding graduates that everything they have accomplished and will accomplish comes by participating in the servant ministry of Jesus Christ.

The servant’s towel is reminiscent of the emphasis placed, throughout students’ LBC experience, on serving one another in love. Today, our graduates receive not only academic degrees, but also towels as they embark on a new phase of their servant ministry to the Church and society. The servant’s towel contains a printed reminder of Jesus’ ministry to His disciples. Our prayer is that our graduates will accept the challenge to follow Christ’s example of servant leadership.