The Talbot School of Theology got a pleasant surprise when a donor informed President Barry Corey earlier this month of a $3 million commitment toward the seminary’s building project.

Announced via e-mail to faculty and staff, the gift came in just after Corey spoke in chapel Dec. 5 about the university’s financial belt-tightening. When he received a call from the unnamed donor just before the Christmas tree lighting, Corey said he was stunned.

“[God] showed up. My jaw dropped,” Corey wrote. “My faith is weak at times. God bolstered it that day. We have much more to look forward to as we remain in Christ.”

With the $3 million, gifts and pledges now total $7.5 million. Corey said the university has now made “significant progress” toward the completion of Phase I. This step in the project involves building a 30,617 square-foot building adjacent to Feinberg Hall, complete with 7 classrooms, 31 academic offices, a faculty meeting room, prayer chapel, two conference rooms, and a Ph.D. seminar room, according to the Biola Web site. Total costs: $19 million.

The endeavor is a $55.4-million, two-phase building project that will house the growing school, which currently enrolls about 1,000 students.