KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Overlapping with Great Commission Week, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s (MBTS) spring trustee meeting highlighted the institution’s ongoing stewardship to equip and send out faithful ministers for the church.

In his president’s report, President Jason Allen emphasized the seminary’s aspirations to develop graduates marked by faithfulness in life and ministry.

Speaking from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Allen noted three aspects of faithfulness in Paul’s example of ministry to the Thessalonians: faithful preaching, faithful shepherding and faithful living.

Allen pointed to the bold witness and gentle care that Paul exhibited to the Thessalonians as an example of the faithful preaching and shepherding for which Midwestern Seminary aims to prepare students.

“We want our graduates to perceive that the people of God are not just a laboratory in which we preach,” Allen said, adding, “The church is a flock we shepherd, a body we nurture. The church is real people with real hurts and real burdens, whom we seek to strengthen in Christ.”

Expounding Paul’s example of tireless and unselfish effort to advance the gospel among the Thessalonians, Allen noted, “What a great template to aspire for in ministers, for those of us who minister ourselves and for those of us who are entrusted to train ministers — to seek to cultivate faithful preaching and teaching, faithful shepherding, and faithful living.”

Allen then highlighted recent accomplishments toward this goal at Midwestern Seminary, including initiatives for spiritual development among residential students, growth in financial assets, and recent improvements to campus amenities. Allen also noted the institution’s current total headcount of 5,416 for the 2024-2025 year, a 4% increase year-to-date, and its record full-time equivalent total of 1,862.

“We see all these signs and so much more as indicators of God’s kindness on us and of the entrustment we have,” Allen said.

Trustee business

Trustee approvals included an institutional budget of nearly $37.5 million for the 2025-2026 year, a 6% increase from the previous budget of $35.3 million. The trustees also approved an upgrade of two essential applications in the institution’s educational technology stack.

Academic approvals included the elections of Arnaldo Achucarro to assistant professor of Christian studies, John Meade to professor of Old Testament, and Peter Gurry to associate professor of New Testament.

Reelections included Todd Chipman, associate professor of biblical studies; Thomas Kidd, research professor of Church history; and Jung Hoon Kim, associate professor of Christian studies. Trustees also approved the promotions of Andrew King to associate professor of biblical studies, Jared Bumpers to associate professor of preaching and evangelism, and Geoffrey Chang to associate professor of historical theology, as well as a sabbatical for Dale Johnson, professor of biblical counseling, in spring 2026.

In addition, two faculty members were elected to endowed chairs. Matthew Swain, assistant dean of worship ministries, was elected to the Wayne and Berna Dean Lee Endowed Chair of Church Music and Worship Ministries. Michael McMullen, professor of church history, was elected to the Lee and Tammy Roberson Endowed Chair of Church History.

Allen also reported that Leslie Umstattd has been appointed to serve full-time as director of Christian education programs alongside her existing role as associate professor of Christian education and ministry to women.

During the plenary session, trustee Ed Maddox shared, “Midwestern Seminary has an incredible faculty, and I am so excited about how God is using them to bring forth the next generation of His servants in the churches. We’re blessed.”

Great Commission Week

The Spring Trustee Meeting was held in concert with Great Commission Week, for which Kevin Ezell preached in a special chapel service. Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), delivered a sermon from Philippians 3:1-17, encouraging the seminary community to “aim higher” in their pursuit of knowing Christ.

Addressing students in the room, Ezell noted the temptation to become puffed up through seminary study. As he expounded Paul’s example in Philippians 3, he encouraged the audience not to focus on their past growth in knowledge or spiritual accomplishments but to strive for continued maturity for the sake of the gospel.

“Spiritually speaking, sometimes we give ourselves credit for things that then give us a pass on today or tomorrow,” he said. “But if we’re really going to focus on the Great Commission, we have to get up every morning and say, ‘God, thank you for today and all that is before me.’”

Ezell encouraged every student in the room to build a relationship with a mentor and with “someone to invest in.”

“We’re in this together, the Great Commission,” Ezell said, concluding, “I’m so thankful for what God has called us to do. But we swing and miss when we fail to take adequate preparation of our own hearts, of growing in the knowledge of His resurrection and becoming more and more like Him.”

Following the sermon, Ezell joined Allen for a Q&A luncheon featuring a discussion of NAMB’s church planting work. The conversation addressed the importance of ministry preparation for church planters and the local church’s role in planting churches. Ezell also shared his encouragement in seeing churches multiply throughout major cities and college towns across North America.

Great Commission Week concluded with the April 9 chapel service, in which Ezell joined Allen for a second conversation focusing on church planting and ministry faithfulness. To watch both chapel services, visit mbts.edu/events/chapel.