SBC Life Articles by Kathie Chute

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) – A Jonathan Edwards Center will be established at Gateway Seminary, Jeff Iorg, the Southern Baptist entity's president, has announced for the Los Angeles-area Ontario campus. The center, or JEC, will be affiliated with the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University in New Haven, Ct. An agreement between the two institutions was signed in October. "The JEC at Gateway Seminary will serve as a research, education and publications hub for the study of Edwards and his connection with Baptist history," Iorg said. "We expect to officially open the center in the Gateway Seminary library sometime in 2018."

DENVER (BP) -- Gateway Seminary's core enrollment is increasing and the seminary is healthier financially than it has ever been, President Jeff Iorg reported to trustees during their Oct. 9-10 meeting in Denver. One of Gateway's five campuses is located in Denver, in addition to the Southern California main campus in Ontario and campuses in Fremont, Calif.; Phoenix; and Vancouver, Wash.

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Gateway Seminary honored Peter Chin, senior pastor of Global Mission Church in Korea, during chapel services Oct. 5 for his friendship and partnership with the seminary in shaping leaders who expand God's Kingdom around the world. Global Mission Church is the largest Baptist church in Korea, with more than 30,000 members and 24 worship services each week in the greater Seoul area. The chapel service was followed by a luncheon dialogue between Chin and Jeff ...

Trustees of Gateway Seminary approve a $12.4 million budget for 2017-2018 and elect a new director of its Chinese bilingual program.

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, told trustees at their first meeting on the new Southern California campus that he debated delivering the shortest written report in the institution's history. "It would have simply said, 'We moved. Any questions?'" Iorg said. "I think that pretty much sums up the last six months."

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Launching a series of events opening the new campus of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, President Jeff Iorg warned students of "unintended consequences" of a seminary education. The Aug. 29 convocation and first day of classes will be followed by celebratory events Oct. 5-8, including a dedication service, a gala featuring contemporary hymnists Keith and Kristyn Getty and a festival complete with food trucks, tours and other activities at the new Southern California campus in Ontario.

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- About 500 Southern Baptists gathered June 12 for the opening sessions of WMU's 2016 Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Mo. With a theme of "By All Means," the two Sunday programs recognized current and retired missionaries, as well as International Mission Board staff, and celebrated Wanda Lee's service as she retires as executive director of WMU.

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP) -- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary closed its main campus in the San Francisco Bay Area on June 3 to prepare for its 400-mile move to Southern California. After a ceremonial locking of the doors at 4 p.m., President Jeff Iorg sent out a campus-wide email that read, “The Mill Valley campus of Golden Gate Seminary is now closed. We press on!” The Southern Baptist seminary had been located in the Bay Area since its founding in 1944.

SACATON, Ariz. (BP) -- As soon as Eric Gibbs stepped onto the Tohono O'odham Nation, one of the largest Native American reservations in the country, he felt a love for the people there. "After seeing the needs of that community, I knew my time in Arizona would be more than just a week," Gibbs said of the short-term mission trip he took as a college student, a trip he didn't think much about beforehand. Gibbs returned home to finish his degree and continue his service as a youth minister. But he and his wife Brittany began to pray about relocating to Arizona for long-term ministry.

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP) -- Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, charged the seminary's graduating class May 20 to "talk about the Gospel, live a transformed life, work quietly where you serve and give God the glory." The commencement service, one of five ceremonies across five campuses, signaled the end of closing events for the seminary as it looks toward a name change to Gateway Seminary at the ...