February 12, 2015
It is amazing how quickly one year goes by! I have been serving as President of Sioux Falls Seminary for one year now, and I am continually inspired by the people working at Sioux Falls Seminary, the students we serve, and the stories I hear from alums, givers, churches, and others who have walked alongside the seminary at some point in its 157-year history. Indeed, God is doing great work in and through Sioux Falls Seminary, and we are blessed to have the opportunity to participate in his mission.
In the months of February, March, and April, we are focusing on how, as followers of Christ, we participate in God’s work and follow Christ into mission. Participation in the mission of God extends beyond individuals and to the work of organizations such as Sioux Falls Seminary. Our seminary community has worked diligently over the past 12 months to consider how Sioux Falls Seminary might participate in the mission of God. In the paragraphs that follow, I will share what we have discerned to be our calling and institutional mission as well as some of the ways we have pursued that calling in this past year.
As our faculty, staff, therapists, and board members prayed and discerned together how Sioux Falls Seminary might be called to participate in God’s work, we settled on the idea that our mission is to develop servants for their participation in the Kingdom mission. In essence, we serve in God’s Kingdom by providing systems of theological education and integrative counseling that are accessible, affordable, relevant, and faithful for the purpose of empowering people where they are. In doing so, we offer a journey toward God’s hope.
Developing servants for their participation in the Kingdom mission is a multi-faceted task. We work with pastors, counselors, community organizers, business leaders, bankers, nonprofit leaders, spiritual directors, and many others. So what does this mean we do?
We participate in the gospel by:
It has been great to see our faculty, staff, therapists, and board members develop new ways to pursue our calling. In the past twelve months, we have:
Above all, we have grown closer together as a community of people seeking to discern God’s will for the life of the seminary. I recently gave a presentation at a gathering for seminary presidents. It was a blessing to share with others the great work God is doing in Sioux Falls. I am humbled by the opportunity to be president of an institution like Sioux Falls Seminary. This past year has been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for the future!