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Golden Gate names Turner to research/planning post


SAN FRANCISCO (BP)–Officials at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary have made a key personnel move to ensure the school maintains a focus on the leadership development of students in its academic and administrative programs, naming Chris Turner as director of enrollment management and institutional effectiveness.

Turner has served as director of recruitment and admissions at Golden Gate since 1998.

“This gives us the opportunity to strengthen all the programs of Golden Gate with a concerted analysis and evaluation of our work at each of our five campuses in the western United States,” Melick said. “Dr. Turner has served the seminary in an exemplary way these last three years and we are excited about what his service will mean to us in the coming years.”

While continuing to supervise the recruitment and admissions operation at Golden Gate, Turner in his new position will be responsible for working with faculty and administrators to analyze the seminary’s planning processes and correlate them with student demographics and ministry trends in Southern Baptist life.

“We want to ensure everything we do has the primary purpose of developing our students into the kinds of leaders God wants for their current and future ministry,” said William O. Crews, president of the San Francisco-area seminary. “We never want to assume we can just coast along with ‘business-as-usual’ without paying attention to the changes occurring in ministry today. With his firm belief in our mission, Dr. Turner will play a significant part in the ongoing effectiveness of Golden Gate’s ministry.”

Turner, 38, is a member of BayMarin Community Church in San Rafael, Calif.

Prior to coming to Golden Gate Seminary, he served as the co-pastor of the North Spokane (Wash.) Community Church. He has also spent seven years in student and campus ministry leadership positions with Northwest Baptist Convention.

He earned a doctor of philosophy in educational leadership from Washington State University, master of divinity and master of religious education degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas and a bachelor of science degree from Lander University in South Carolina.

He also has served as Baptist student minister for the Dallas Baptist Association from 1989-91 and as youth and children’s minister for the Siloam Baptist Church in Ninety Six, S.C., from 1985-87. He was licensed to the gospel ministry by the Siloam church and was ordained to the ministry by Fairview Baptist Church in Greer, S.C. He has published articles in Curriculum In Context and The Student.

In other organizational changes:

Karen White, a 1991 graduate of Golden Gate’s Christian education program, has been named director of admissions. White began service at the seminary two years ago as admissions counselor. Prior to her service at Golden Gate, she worked for The Mortgage Network, an Internet-based company.

She earned a bachelors of arts in music from California Baptist University in Riverside. She is a member of the BayMarin congregation.

Mary Jennings, administrative assistant to the dean of academic affairs at Golden Gate since 1998, has been named registrar. In addition to her support staff role, she has also served the seminary as academic affairs grant director and managing editor of the academic catalog.

Prior to her service at Golden Gate, Jennings served on the staff of Jews for Jesus in San Francisco. She earned a bachelor of arts in public relations and a master of arts in public communication from California State University at Chico.

She is a member of Abiding Way Church in San Anselmo, Calif.
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  • Cameron Crabtree