Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, presented a $100,000 gift to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the seminary announced Monday (Oct. 10). He also announced a matching gift on behalf of Pastor Ed Young that would be given by Second Baptist Church Houston.
Hawkins, senior adviser and ambassador-at-large of the seminary, said, “We are so encouraged by this latest sign of God’s provision for our seminary during this time of transition and financial challenge. I want to thank my dear friend, Jack Graham, and his wonderful congregation for this generous gift, as well as Ed Young and his congregation.”
He continued, “We deeply appreciate gifts of all sizes from individuals and churches and other friends in our Southern Baptist family. Together, these gifts will ensure a strong future for our seminary to provide conservative theological education for God-called men and women.”
Graham, who is a graduate of SWBTS, said Prestonwood wanted “to be a part of investing in the future of the seminary and to do something now that is just the beginning of what I believe is going to be an incredible recovery of stability and strength of our seminary going forward.”
In a statement, Young said, “I’m delighted that my congregation is able to join my friend Jack Graham and Prestonwood in giving this special gift to Southwestern Seminary. Although I’m not a graduate, Southwestern has been a blessing to our congregation, and I know how important Southwestern is to our state and beyond in providing doctrinally sound theological education.”
Investing in the future
Graham noted, “It’s about building a new generation of young men and women who are going to serve Christ around the world.”
“We’re investing in the seminary,” he added, “but that means we’re investing in young men and women, really, men and women of all ages, who hear the call of God and want to get as prepared as possible to take the message of Jesus to the world.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
