SEBTS Global Missions Week calls students to consider the nations
By Mary Asta Mountain, SEBTS
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — “We’re an inquisitive people who almost always want to know more, especially if it seems like we’re missing something,” said Chuck Lawless to open the first chapel service of Global Missions Week, an annual celebration of the Great Commission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS).
“Just looking at the world that God has created ought to remind us that there is a Creator. Creation shows the power of God without a word,” said Lawless, who serves as senior professor of evangelism and missions at Southeastern. “Here’s the problem: recognizing that there is a Creator isn’t enough to fix our broken relationship with that Creator.”
Preaching from Psalm 19, Lawless challenged students, staff and faculty to consider the nations as he highlighted the evident display of God’s glory in creation and the lack of access unreached people have to the revealed Word of God.
“Pause with me to consider this fact,” Lawless urged attendees. “For 4 billion plus people in the world today who have little or no access to the gospel, this psalm stops here.”
His words expressed both Southeastern’s reason for Global Missions Week and the heart behind the institution’s continued Great Commission focus.
A week of engagement and mobilization
At the start of each spring semester, the community of Southeastern Seminary and Judson College gather around the institution’s shared mission: the Great Commission.
Global Missions Week is a dedicated time for students, staff, faculty and supporters of Southeastern to recenter around this mission and consider anew their role in God’s kingdom work.
This spring’s Global Missions Week, Feb. 10-14, offered numerous opportunities for students to engage with missionaries and church planters serving all across the world. From a multi-day missions fair to one-on-one conversations over coffee, the events prioritized personal, thought-provoking interactions during which students could speak with and learn from those actively laboring on the mission field.
“Global Missions Week is Southeastern’s crown jewel of the student calendar,” said Keelan Cook, instructor of Christian missions and director of the CGCS. “For one week every year, we raise up the task of missions as a focus point for students, faculty, and staff. Global Missions Week gives Southeastern a chance to celebrate that which we hold at the very center of our purpose: equipping students to fulfill the Great Commission.”
“This year’s events,” he added, “became a highwater mark for on campus mobilization. Hundreds of students participated in the missions fair, with dozens scheduling time to meet with a missionary and discuss a potential calling to missions.”
While many of the events throughout the week reached students considering missions for the first time, others addressed the practicalities and challenges of the mission field, seeking to encourage those already preparing for that work.
On Monday night, the week began with a kickoff dinner in the Center for Great Commission Studies (CGCS) and continued the following morning, bright and early, with a campus-wide missions prayer walk at 6:30am.
Tuesday night featured a panel of missionaries who spoke on the topic of parenthood on the mission field. Hosted by the distance learning office, the event was held both in person and online for those who wanted to join from afar.
Gateway launches one-year master’s program for CBU graduates
By Tyler Sanders, Gateway
ONTARIO, Calif. — Gateway Seminary is launching a new master’s degree program built for California Baptist University’s (CBU) School of Christian Ministries’ graduates.
“This partnership between Gateway and CBU represents our shared desire to attract and retain more ministry leaders for churches in California,” said Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary.
This new degree program enables CBU students with a bachelor’s in applied theology, Christian studies, Christian ministries, or intercultural studies to apply nine hours of undergraduate coursework to the Master of Biblical and Theological Studies. The degree is a new 36-credit-hour degree created for CBU graduates. This offers CBU students a 4+1 program: a 4-year bachelor’s at CBU plus a 1-year master’s at Gateway.
Courses will be taught by faculty from both Gateway and CBU, including Chris Morgan, dean of the School of Christian Ministries at CBU.
“We are grateful for Dr. Groza and Gateway Seminary’s commitment to developing ministry leaders for California and beyond,” Morgan said. “Working together will even more effectively equip students to serve churches from a strong biblical and theological foundation.”
In addition to the nine credit hours students transfer from their bachelor programs, 27 credit hours will be completed at the seminary’s campus in Ontario, Calif. In the fall and spring terms, students can take 12 hours of coursework in biblical studies, theology and church history, as well as a year-long ministry practicum focused on theological reflection and hands-on ministry practice. In the summer, all students may participate in a fully funded, international mission trip through Gateway’s Beyond program for three hours of credit.
Undergirding this partnership is a vision to prepare pastors and ministers for churches in California. In this way, both CBU and Gateway provide unique and affordable opportunities for students to prepare in the challenging ministry context of the American West.
“Serving a church in California makes an ideal training ground for ministry,” said Groza.
“With this partnership, Gateway will be shaping leaders who can thrive in any ministry context. Our hope is that more students will commit to a lifetime of ministry in the West.”
To learn more, visit gs.edu/4+1.
