Leaving a Great Commission Legacy: The 2026 Southeastern Women’s Breakfast

Married for 48 years, Dr. and Mrs. Akin have walked together through the joys and challenges of life, experiencing the faithfulness of God and the blessing of partnership in ministry. Having seen God grow their family from two to 25 with four sons, four daughters-in-law, and 15 grandchildren, the Akins learned the invaluable lesson of prioritizing family and devotion to Christ amid a busy and flourishing ministry.

For the Akins, maintaining biblical priorities requires intentionality and Christlike sacrifice. Celebrating Mrs. Akin’s loving and sacrificial investment in their sons, Dr. Akin said, “They are four young men who are in ministry and love the Lord because of the influence and impact of their mother. We determined early that we would pour our lives into our family.”

“If you look in the dictionary for the word ‘servant’, you’ll find her picture,” Dr. Akin said.

Mrs. Akin’s selfless spirit not only in the home but also at Southeastern Seminary continues to bear fruit in the lives of women throughout the convention. Candi Powers, women’s life coordinator; Kelly King, assistant professor of Christian Ministry; and Sophie Rhoads, Southeastern alumna all voiced appreciation for Mrs. Akin’s impact alongside Dr. Akin.

For the past 22 years, the Akins have also faithfully served Southeastern Seminary and Judson College as president and first lady. What has marked their leadership at Southeastern is the Great Commission passion that they developed early in their ministry together. Recounting a formative international mission trip in the early 2000s, the Akins recalled how God gripped their hearts for the Great Commission when they came face to face with the world’s greatest problem: lostness.

“We saw the massive lostness of the world,” Dr. Akin said, “and God really gripped our hearts. Seeing how lost the world was really motivated us to help Southeastern be more about the Great Commission.”

In the months and years to follow, the Great Commission became the Akins’ driving passion and Southeastern’s rallying mission. Now Southeastern stands as the Great Commission seminary of the SBC, and the Akins’ legacy extends through the thousands of men and women who have been inspired by their leadership and have answered God’s call to carry the life-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ to rural churches, urban centers, and hard-to-reach places around the world.

This expanding Great Commission legacy is a shared one — made possible by Dr. and Mrs. Akin’s simple joy in Christ and in each other and their singular resolve to serve Jesus above all together.

“We love being together and getting to do things for the Lord together,” Mrs. Akin said. The Akins’ life together demonstrates the powerful potential of a marriage rooted in the gospel, expressed in sacrifice, and oriented toward the Great Commission.

Thanks in part to the Akins’ faithful example and leadership, Southeastern Seminary and Judson College exist to equip men and women to answer God’s call to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission in their homes, on the mission field, and in public ministry, leaving Great Commission legacies of their own wherever God calls them.

To learn more about how Southeastern uniquely equips women to fulfill their calling to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission, visit sebts.edu/women.