 Gordon-Conwell's Shield Logo | |
Former names | Gordon College of Theology and Mission, Gordon Divinity School, Conwell School of Theology |
|---|---|
| Motto | Think Theologically, Engage Globally, Live Biblically |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1969 merger, 1888 (as Gordon Divinity School), 1889 (as Conwell School of Theology) |
Religious affiliation | Protestant,evangelical |
Academic affiliations | BTI,ATS |
| President | Scott W. Sunquist |
| Students | 1,734 |
| Location | ,, United States 42°36′46″N70°50′43″W / 42.6129°N 70.8453°W /42.6129; -70.8453 |
| Website | gordonconwell |
 | |
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is anevangelicalseminary with its main campus inHamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses inBoston, Massachusetts;Charlotte, North Carolina; andJacksonville, Florida. According to the Association of Theological Schools, Gordon-Conwell ranks as one of the largest evangelical seminaries in North America in terms of total number of full-time students enrolled.[1]
Gordon-Conwell arose primarily from the merging and refounding of two separate schools, Gordon Divinity School, formerly ofGordon College (1889) inWenham, Massachusetts, and the Conwell School of Theology (1888), formerly ofTemple University inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. Both schools were founded in theBaptisttheological heritage. BothAdoniram Judson Gordon andRussell Conwell, the namesakes of Gordon-Conwell, were Baptist ministers; Gordon's divinity school was first established as Gordon Bible Institute in 1889,[2] while Conwell's theological school was originally chartered asTemple College in 1888. In addition, theBoston Evangelical Institute, founded asRevere Lay College, also merged with Gordon-Conwell.[3]
Beginning in the 1960s, both Gordon Divinity School and Conwell School of Theology experienced new challenges. In 1961,Temple University became a public university and was forced to divest the theological school, thus re-establishing the previous school of theology as a religious studies department.[4] WhileTemple University hopedRussell Conwell's legacy would continue to grow through their new religious studies department,J. Howard Pew and Daniel Poling, a Baptist minister and member of Temple's board, felt Conwell's vision to train Baptist ministers would be neglected.[5] Poling contactedevangelistBilly Graham who agreed to help if he could appoint both a board of trustees of his choosing and faculty members he trusted.[6][7] Graham, in turn, contacted his close friendHarold Ockenga who was due to take the presidency ofGordon College and oversee the financially stressed divinity school. Rather than see twoevangelical seminaries compete, Graham proposed merging the two schools to form one evangelical school on the East coast to mirrorFuller Theological Seminary's place on the West Coast.J. Howard Pew agreed to financially back the merger on the condition that the seminary must be divorced from an undergraduate institution.[6] Under the leadership ofevangelistBilly Graham and Boston pastorHarold Ockenga along with the financial backing ofJ. Howard Pew, Gordon-Conwell began holding classes in 1969. Pew provided "$2 million to purchase the land, [Carmelite Junior Seminary inHamilton], and several million more to refurbish existing facilities and to build and stock a library."[6]Harold Ockenga was selected as its first president.[8]Stuart Babbage was the first vice-president and also served on the faculty alongsidePhilip Edgcumbe Hughes,R.C. Sproul, Walter Mueller, andRichard Lovelace among others.[9]
Gordon-Conwell initially received protests and negative press for moving theological out of the inner city. In response,Stephen Mott,Michael E. Haynes, pastor ofTwelfth Baptist Church inRoxbury and state representative,[10] and Gordon-Conwell trustees locatedRoxbury as the key location for inner city ministerial education. In 1976, the Boston-campus inRoxbury, the Campus for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) was founded. Classes were originally held in Haynes' Twelfth Baptist Church. Eldin Villafañe, Dean Borgman, andStephen Mott were among the first faculty to teach at CUME.[11]
Other former presidents include Robert E. Cooley (1981–1997) who founded the Charlotte campus[12] andWalter Kaiser Jr. (1997–2006). The brief tenure ofJames Emery White (2006–07) saw White resign in less than a year into his post[13] leading to the interim tenure ofHaddon Robinson (2007–08).[14] The President appointed after Robinson's interim post wasDennis Hollinger (2009–2019).
On October 12, 2017,Dennis Hollinger announced his intention to retire on June 30, 2019.[15] Scott Sunquist, an alumnus of Gordon-Conwell and former Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies and Professor ofWorld Christianity atFuller Theological Seminary inPasadena, California, succeeded Hollinger as the seventh president in July 2019.[16][17]
The main 118-acre (0.48 km2)residential campus is inSouth Hamilton, Massachusetts. There are additional campuses inBoston, Massachusetts andCharlotte, North Carolina, as well as a location inJacksonville, Florida. The campus in Boston is known as the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME), and it is a program offered exclusively through part-time night and weekend classes. The CUME campus also focuses primarily on urban and cross-cultural ministry in an urban setting.[18] The Charlotte program was founded in 1992, and it offers courses on weekends, evenings and through week-long intensive courses, and generally attracts an older student body.[19] The Jacksonville location opened in February 2006 as an extension of the Charlotte campus and today operates as a location for the seminary's Networked Education program.[20] The Jacksonville campus is located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.[21]
On February 2, 2012, the school began renovations of two large rooms in the main administrative and residence building on their South Hamilton campus. The 'Old Book Center' has been transformed into 'Alumni Hall,' a space for events and conferences dedicated to the alumni of Gordon-Conwell.[22] In August 2013, a donor gifted several hand-carved tables, chairs, couches, and art work for the Great Hall. In honor of this donor, the space was renamed the Pierce Great Hall.[23]
On May 16, 2022, Gordon-Conwell announced plans to sell part or all of the South Hamilton campus due to long-term financial health, the effect of the campus, facility maintenance costs, and also acknowledging more remote learning.[24] The following year, the seminary announced that it would be staying on the Hamilton campus and selling its underutilized apartments while continuing to provide student housing.[25]
Gordon Divinity School and Conwell Theological Seminary were both from theBaptist heritage. When Gordon-Conwell was refounded in 1969, however, the seminary was purposefully founded with no specificChristian denominational affiliation. Today, Gordon-Conwell has students from over 90 different denominations, as well as students from over 40 countries around the world. Theologically, the Statement of Faith[26] and the Mission and Purpose[27] of the seminary are based onProtestant andevangelicaldoctrines, such asbiblical inerrancy.
Gordon-Conwell is part of theBoston Theological Institute (BTI), a consortium of nine theological schools in theGreater Boston area and the Carolina Theological Consortium, a consortium of four theological schools in North and South Carolina.
Gordon-Conwell is overseen by the main administration at the Hamilton campus. Each of the other three campuses is overseen by a campus dean, who reports directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and main campus administration.
As of Fall 2022, 1,330 students were enrolled at Gordon-Conwell.[28] The seminary once offered over 20 degrees but has recently restructured their programs to only offer theMaster of Divinity (M.Div.),Master of Theology (Th.M.),Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), and five specializedmaster's degrees.
Gordon-Conwell has beenaccredited by theAssociation of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada since 1964[29] and by theNew England Commission of Higher Education or its predecessor since 1985. It is also certified by the United States Government for the training of veterans and the education of chaplains for military service.[30]
Our construction deadline is May 1, in order to accommodate a Lausanne event being held at the Seminary May 29 – June 1
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
