Seminary for a Day Events Strengthen Virginia Churches

As a Great Commission seminary, Southeastern seeks to equip students to serve local churches and lead them toward greater faithfulness to the mission of King Jesus. That is why Southeastern is delighted to continue its ongoing Seminary for a Day partnership with the SBCV by sending professors to teach and encourage local church leaders.

This recent week-long training initiative consisted of 6 one-day events taught by 5 Southeastern professors in strategic locations throughout the state. Covering a variety of biblical, theological, and ministerial topics relevant to everyday local church ministry, sessions included:

• “Christology and Ministry Today” with Ken Keathley (September 13)
• “Authority in Christ’s Church: How Congregations and Leaders Serve Under Jesus’s Lordship” with Ben Merkle (September 18)
• “Something Old, Something New: Keys to the Theology of Matthew” with Chuck Quarles (September 18-19)
• “Cultivating a Missional Identity in your Church” with George Robinson (September 19)
• “Pastor as Counselor” with Steven Wade (September 20)

“I’m excited to see SBCV church leaders gaining access to this kind of training and connecting with Southeastern’s professors because as our church leaders grow in knowledge they will grow in leadership,” commented Jeff Mingee, regional strategist for the SBCV in southeast Virginia.

After the Seminary for a Day initiative originally launched in the spring, attendees reported that they were grateful for the interaction close to home with Southeastern professors and fellow church leaders and were encouraged to continue growing in God’s word as they persevere in ministry.

“After local pastors attended our first Seminary for a Day event in the spring, they left encouraged and inspired,” noted John Sharp, director of church engagement and mobilization for the SBCV. “Many local pastors decided this opportunity was too good to enjoy alone and brought staff, deacons, elders, and lay church leaders with them this semester.”

“Participants in Seminary for a Day have walked away with a deeper worship of God and a greater appreciation for our Southern Baptist seminaries,” added Mingee. “They’ve grown in their confidence in the Southern Baptist Convention as a whole as they see the quality of professors training our seminary students.”

As the second Seminary for a Day initiative this year, these events have become a strategic part of how Southeastern and the SBCV partner to strengthen and resource local churches. Helping to connect Southern Baptist churches with one of their Southern Baptist seminaries, the Seminary for a Day initiative in Virginia provides attendees with deep biblical and theological training close to home and sustained interaction with Southeastern professors outside the classroom.

Southeastern is grateful for opportunities like the Seminary for a Day initiative that enable its professors to offer in-context training for local church leader and church members. Southeastern is also grateful to work closely with the SBCV, which shares Southeastern’s passion for serving local churches and fulfilling the Great Commission. Through the vision and coordination of the SBCV, Southeastern has been able to directly encourage and equip hundreds of pastors through regional events like the Seminary for a Day initiative.

“Our goal with Seminary for a Day continues to be that our minds would be stretched and our hearts would soar in adoration of Jesus Christ,” noted Mingee.

Our goal with Seminary for a Day continues to be that our minds would be stretched and our hearts would soar in adoration of Jesus Christ.

“The motivation behind Seminary for a Day was to encourage SBCV pastors, church leaders, and church members to love the Lord their God with all their mind (Luke 10:27),” continued Mingee. “We have such high caliber scholars and professors at Southeastern, and we want to see our churches equipped and encouraged by those professors.”

“We believe this will be an ongoing opportunity to encourage and further equip church leaders and also to demonstrate to others sensing a call to ministry that it is possible to receive world class theological education, even as a working adult later in life,” commented Sharp.

To find out more about upcoming events and how Southeastern can partner with your church, association, or convention visit sebts.edu/churchleaders. To view recordings of past Seminary for a Day events, check out archived messages on the SBCV website.