Carl Edward Sanders, II

Carl Edward Sanders II was born May 17th, 1958, and passed away from a rare form of liposarcoma (cancer) on March 6, 2023 at age 64. 

You can watch his March 25th memorial service at this link: https://vimeo.com/event/3183419/cbb3e42a38  

  Originally from Walled Lake, MI, he graduated from Walled Lake Central High School in 1976. He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for one year. He then transferred to Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, MN, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1980. He attended Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis, earning his MDiv in 1983. He also holds a Master of Sacred Theology and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (1995). He married Carla Johnson in 1981.

  Carl taught at the college and seminary level since 1999 at several schools: Bethel University (St. Paul, MN), Northwestern College (St. Paul), and Washington Bible College (Washington, DC), where he also served as chair of the Bible and Theology Department. From 2013-2022 he was a Professor of Theology at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary.

  Carl was well-liked by his students for his down-to-earth presentation of Bible doctrine—students quickly learned that he loved talking about theology and had a quick wit. His strengths as a lecturer were his ability to distill the information into essential elements and his good-natured, fair way of explaining differences in theological positions. Carl was keenly interested in urban ministry and served in racially diverse urban congregations for many years. His interest in local church experience helped him practice theology in ways that reflected the diversity present in the body of Christ. He strove to make theology interesting and practical.

  In the last 12 years of his life he became involved in ministry to mainland Chinese students and visiting scholars. He was particularly gifted in explaining Christianity in a simple and compelling way, and taught Bible studies to groups and individuals both here and in China until a month before his passing. Three trips to China with his wife Carla between 2015 and 2019 gave him great joy as he was able to visit with the students he had taught.

    Carl is survived by his wife Carla Johnson Sanders, his sons Carl E. Sanders III (Lizzie Schechter) and Gregory Sanders (Herschel Lisette Sanders); his daughters Ashtony Sanders and Cherie Sanders; his father Carl E. Sanders Sr. (Janet Sanders), his brother Jon Sanders (Karla Sanders), his sister Keren Whitney (Christopher Whitney); his grandchildren Lisette, Tarn, Saoirse, and Normandy Sanders. 

  Carl is preceded in death by his mother Evelyn Sanders and his sister Pamela Sanders.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to our ministry, China Outreach Ministries (our local group is called China Friends College Park); please designate in memory of Carl Sanders.  Please call the China Outreach office at (717)591-3500 from 8:30-4:30 ET, and they will guide you through the process.