KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) — As 2024 draws to a close, the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) and Spurgeon College community celebrate God’s kind providence to the institution over the past year. Through various initiatives, faculty achievements and enrollment growth, 2024 has been marked by God’s blessings on the institution’s mission for the church.
Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College continue to grow both in enrollment and offerings, with 2024 marking 12 consecutive years of enrollment growth. During commencement ceremonies in May and December, the seminary and college awarded more than 500 degrees and certificates to undergraduate, master’s and doctoral graduates.
Expanded For the Church Cohorts for residential master’s students launched in fall 2024 with two new cohorts in Biblical Studies and Theological Studies. In November, the seminary announced that 100% first-year tuition scholarships will be extended to 105 new cohort participants in the 2025–26 academic year.
The Spurgeon College Fusion program, now in its 19th year, commissioned nine teams for overseas service in summer 2024. Growth at the college also included the addition of men’s and women’s cross country to intercollegiate sports. The Spurgeon Knights celebrated historic moments in 2024 as men’s basketball and men’s soccer participated in the NCCAA national tournaments, with men’s basketball placing third overall.
Midwestern Seminary also celebrated the expansion and achievements of its faculty this year. Four new faculty members, including Donald S. Whitney, were elected in 2024, and five faculty members were installed in endowed chairs:
- Thomas S. Kidd, the John and Sharon Yeats Endowed Chair of Baptist Studies
- Joe M. Allen III, the Gary Taylor Endowed Chair of Missions and Evangelism
- Donald S. Whitney, the John H. Powell Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry
- Jason S. DeRouchie, the Rich and Judy Hastings Endowed Chair of Old Testament Studies
- Patrick Schreiner, the Gene and Jo Downing Chair of Biblical Studies.
Midwestern Seminary faculty continued to produce and publish works to serve the church, including:
- “The Storied Life: Christian Writing as Art and Worship” by Jared C. Wilson
- “Christ Our All: Poems for the Christian Pilgrim” by Geoffrey Chang
- “Preaching and The Great Commission,” edited by Jason K. Allen
- “Christian History: From the Reformation to the Present” by Thomas S. Kidd
- “Proclaiming the Triune God: The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Life of the Church” by Matthew Barrett, et al.
Midwestern Seminary also celebrated new initiatives to serve the church beyond Kansas City.
In August, the seminary announced a partnership between the Spurgeon Library and Reformation Heritage Books to republish Charles Spurgeon’s 63 sermon volumes. In October, the Midwestern Institute for Preaching & Preachers was launched to provide resources and sharpening for preachers throughout the Midwest region. The Institute was made possible by a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment.
Research opportunities for the students and faculty included a UK study tour and the regional meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) hosted at Midwestern Seminary in April. More than 40 Midwestern Seminary Ph.D. students, graduates and faculty presented at the annual meeting of ETS in San Diego in November.
Midwestern Seminary hosted several conferences and events to serve ministry leaders throughout the year. Welcoming more than 1,500 guests to campus, the 2024 For the Church National Conference explored ministry faithfulness for the beauty of the church.
The seminary also hosted a 9Marks Conference on church membership, the third annual Spurgeon Library Conference and a For the Church Micro-Conference at the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Indianapolis.
The seminary community benefited from lectures and sermons by special guests. Speakers included Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Distinguished Professor D. A. Carson, Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler, Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director Wes Fowler, Union School of Theology President and Professor Michael Reeves, Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley, and a panel on “Being Baptist” with Southwestern Seminary President David S. Dockery.For the third consecutive year, Midwestern Seminary expressed its thankfulness for pastors around the country with various resources to encourage them, including a $10,000 giveaway for a pastor to enjoy a family vacation and to meet a need in his church.
