SEBTS hosts annual Global Missions Week
By Chad Burchett/SEBTS
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) – How does Jesus desire to reach the nations? By empowering and sending His Church into the harvest. That mission remains unchanged, which is why Jesus’ words in Luke 10:2 are as urgent today as they were then. The harvest is still plentiful, but the workers are few.
On Feb. 13-17, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) hosted its annual Global Missions Week, an annual missions celebration with opportunities for students to learn how they too can join in the harvest.
“We annually set aside this week in our calendar to unite and focus our hearts on the task of the Great Commission,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin. “This week is a wonderful reminder to prioritize the mission of our Lord in our own lives and in our churches and to learn from current missionaries. It is also a time of celebration as we rejoice in stories of God’s faithfulness and the advancement of His mission all around the world.”
Gathering missionaries from North America, Africa, East Asia and various countries around the world, Global Missions Week provided students face-to-face time with field personnel from the International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB). Students heard from missionaries in their classes and had opportunities to participate in round table discussions with missionaries, share a meal with them, and even sign up for coffee with them to ask personal ministry questions.
Students were also introduced to church planting opportunities through NAMB’s Send Network and through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Calling students to join in God’s mission, chapel and other event speakers challenged students to consider the beauty of the Gospel message and the world’s desperate need to hear the truth about King Jesus.
“In November, the population of the earth passed the 8 billion mark,” Zane Pratt, the IMB’s vice president for global training, shared during Tuesday’s chapel. “Somewhere between 3 and 4 billion of them have little to no access to the Gospel. … Those people make up about 6,000 of the more than 11,000 people groups on the earth.”
As Pratt reminded attendees, these staggering numbers are intolerable. Global lostness is not merely a problem because of what people do not have but because of who they do not know or worship. God deserves all worship, and He created humans to be worshippers. That is why the command to evangelize and make disciples is fundamentally about worship.
“The Gospel is the good news about God,” Pratt said. “The task of evangelism and missions is not fundamentally a life insurance transaction. It is fundamentally an act of worship.”
SBTS Hispanic program adds doctor of ministry degree
By Travis Hearne/SBTS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is now offering a fully Spanish online D.Min. degree with cohorts starting once a year.
SBTS Provost Paul Akin said the new degree will build upon the success of Southern’s Online Hispanic Program, which has equipped ministers across the Spanish-speaking world since 2016.
“The Spanish D.Min. is held to the highest standard of academic rigor,” Akin said. “At the same time, it is tailored for pastors and church leaders. The online format gives Hispanic pastors and church leaders an opportunity to immediately apply what they are learning in their local context.”
Southern has a history of leading efforts in Spanish theological education and is one of the few institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools approved to offer MA and MDiv degrees fully in Spanish. As OHP enrollment increased, so did the demand for post-graduate education.
Roberto Carrera, director of the Online Hispanic Program, and Felipe Castro, director of Hispanic Initiatives, saw the need to offer the D.Min. Carrera was named director of the program in 2021.
“For years, many of our graduates expressed a desire to continue furthering their studies,” Carrera said. “Many asked quite pointedly if we’d ever offer a doctorate’s degree. We saw a need for more pastors and church leaders to become the thought leaders and expert practitioners in their sphere of influence, and the D.Min. at Southern is uniquely suited to meet this need.”
In view of the new degree, Akin preached at Iglesia Bautista Internacional, the church of pastor and Southern professor Miguel Núñez, on Feb. 5. Núñez has served on the SBTS faculty since 2016 and will host seminars in the Dominican Republic.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Miguel Núñez,” Akin said. “He is integral to our Spanish M.Div. and will be an anchor to the Spanish D.Min. Each cohort will have its first semester in the Dominican Republic at the Instituto Integridad y Sabiduría – giving fellow students and our professors the opportunity to connect.”
Akin said the new degree is a natural next step in fulfilling the Great Commission and will prepare Spanish pastors and church leaders with the best of theological education.
“I am convinced that there is a great opportunity for Southern Seminary to help train and equip a rising generation of pastors and church leaders across Latin and South America,” Akin said. “This initiative is a natural outflow of our commitment to the Great Commission and a desire to see Spanish-speaking pastors, missionaries, and church leaders equipped to serve the Lord in the years ahead.”
For more information on Spanish degree programs and admissions, visit the Online Hispanic Program page.
Father, son preach back-to-back MBTS chapel services; seminary receives gift
By Brett Fredenberg/MBTS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) – Midwestern Seminary hosted two special chapel services on February 21-22, featuring father and son preachers Jared and Eddie Bumpers. Following Wednesday’s chapel, Eddie Bumpers and Wesley Vance presented the seminary a special gift on behalf of Crossway Baptist Church.
Jared Bumpers, who serves as assistant professor of preaching and evangelism at Midwestern Seminary, and Eddie Bumpers, who serves as senior pastor of Crossway Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., emphasized the themes of discipleship and greatness in back-to-back chapel services.
E. Bumpers commented on the delight to preach alongside his son in this week’s chapel services, saying, “It’s always a joy to get to hear my son preach. He’s not only one of my favorite preachers, but also one of my favorite people. It’s a joy and honor to hear him and be with the Midwestern Seminary community this week.”
“It was a joy to get to hear Dr. Eddie Bumpers and Dr. Jared Bumpers preach in chapel this week,” said President Jason Allen. “Both father and son are gifted preachers, and I am very thankful for both of them and their respective ministries. Additionally, Crossway Baptist Church is a strategic partner for Midwestern Seminary, and I am so thankful for their generosity towards our students.”
To view this week’s chapel services, visit here.
