The six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries recently celebrated graduates during fall commencement ceremonies.
See reports from each of the six seminaries below:
Gateway Seminary
Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg challenged 59 graduates to “stand firm in the face of opposition” to the gospel and the “onslaught of difficulties in our world” during the seminary’s Dec. 11 winter commencement. Preaching from Philippians 3:17-4:1, Iorg urged graduates to draw on relationships with veteran leaders in their lives and maintain “an eternal perspective on our ministry.” Three students, Clifford James Jenkins, Carola Fernanda Manriquez Poz, and Stephen Paul Baum, received the Presidential Leadership Award, named for former Gateway President William O. Crews.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College celebrated more than 224 conferred degrees Dec. 10 during the seminary’s 70th fall commencement. Midwestern Seminary also graduated 29 ministry leaders earning their Spanish language certificates. “This is the seventieth commencement exercise in Midwestern Seminary’s history,” MBTS President Jason Allen told graduates. “This is not like an ordinary commencement service; it is a worship service. We are here to celebrate graduates and honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College honored 200 graduates during a Dec. 11 commencement ceremony. Eighteen doctoral degrees, 90 master’s degrees and 92 undergraduate degrees and certificates were awarded. NOBTS President Jamie Dew urged graduates to not let their ministry work become an idol and to make sure serving Christ is the focus of all they do. “‘For unto us a child has been born,’” Dew said, pointing to Isaiah 9:6-7. “There is a King and there is a Kingdom coming, and this is what we seek.”
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated 237 fall college and seminary graduates during their Dec. 10 commencement ceremony, including 43 doctoral graduates, 170 graduate-level students, and 17 undergraduate students. Preaching from John 3:16, President Danny Akin focused on the urgency of the gospel as more than 155,000 are dying each day without Christ. “That’s why some of you are going to go across the world and share the gospel with unreached people groups … That’s why some of you are going to go to rural churches that need to be revitalized.”
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary recognized 233 students at its 228th commencement, with 159 graduates walking across the stage to accept their degrees. Pointing to Micah 5:1-5 and John 10:11, SBTS President Albert Mohler focused his message on graduates “shepherding the flock” on mission fields, classrooms, counseling sessions and local churches. “We are seeing minister-shepherds sent out into the world,” said Mohler, recognizing David was a shepherd-king in the Old Testament and Christ is the “Good Shepherd, the eternal shepherd king.”
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College honored more than 300 students during the Dec. 3 commencement exercises held in Fort Worth. Preaching from Isaiah 40, SWBTS President Adam W. Greenway urged graduates to both “comfort God’s people” and “cry out” to the lost. The commencement ceremony included 31 doctoral candidates, and 33 states and 20 nations were represented. The graduating class included students enrolled in the doctor of ministry, master of divinity, master of arts in Christian education, master of arts in Biblical counseling and bachelor of arts in Christian studies degree programs at Southwestern Seminary and TBC.
The seminaries are supported in part by the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ unified plan for giving. About 22% of all CP contributions received by the SBC are directed to the six theological seminaries and the SBC Historical Library and Archives. In addition, the seminaries are supported by endowments, donations, tuition and fees, the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention reports.
