KANSAS CITY, Mo—At the Fall Trustee Meeting on October 14-15, Midwestern Seminary trustees celebrated another year of enrollment growth, installed two faculty members in endowed chairs, announced a new Vice President of Institutional Advancement, and approved a project to add campus housing for residential students.
President’s Report
Amidst encouraging reports of enrollment growth and continued financial health, President Jason Allen began his President’s Report by reminding trustees from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, “Our boast is in the Lord.”
He said, “There aren’t many of us in the room, dare I say there aren’t any of us in the room, that in the world standards are impressive. What Paul is saying here is that that’s not accidental, nor is that to be regretted. That is a part of the divine plan.”
He continued, “If you look back for 2000 years, it has never been the elites who have built the Church. God has always chosen common folk, like us. This is why I love Southern Baptists because we are common folk who love Jesus, the Bible, the Church, the Great Commission, and who love our students as well.”
“Today we get to make several delightful announcements about board actions and institutional achievements. We celebrate again this year, for our 12th consecutive year, a record enrollment. God gave us more than 5,400 students for the 2023-24 academic year. We’re up 4% in heads and 7% in hours taken this fall compared to fall of 2023. For this announcement, we put our boast in the Lord, not the Admissions team or Executive team.”
Allen went on to boast in the Lord for providing yet another year of healthy financial reports and for approving new building initiatives.
As a part of new capital projects, trustees approved a $1.75M renovation project on the Koehn-Myers Center for the purpose of adding housing and a home for the Fusion program. The renovation will add capacity for 60 additional students in campus housing.
The additional housing for Fusion students at the Koehn-Myers Center will further fulfill its named purpose, to exist as a center for world evangelism. The project is anticipated to be complete prior to the fall 2025 semester. Additional building projects approved included a new playground on campus to serve the growing base of residential students with families.
Additionally, Allen celebrated the installment of two faculty members in endowed chairs and announced a new Vice President of Institutional Advancement.
Jason DeRouchie, research professor of Old Testament and biblical theology, was installed in the Rich and Judy Hastings Endowed Chair of Old Testament Studies; and Patrick Schreiner, the director of the Residency Ph.D. program and associate professor of New Testament and biblical theology, was installed in the Gene and Jo Downing Chair of Biblical Studies.
Speaking to their installments, Allen said, “An institution’s quality and strength is not in the giftedness of its administrators. It’s not in the size of its endowment. It’s not in the quantity of its students. It’s not the beauty of its buildings. It’s in the quality and strength of the faculty itself.”
He said, “As President, the thing I am most proud of at Midwestern Seminary is the quality of this faculty. Dr. DeRouchie and Dr. Schreiner are Exhibit A of the strength of this faculty.”
President Allen also announced Dr. Lane Harrison as the new Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Midwestern Seminary.
Sharing his gratitude for Dr. Harrison, Allen said, “It is the provision of the Lord to bring such a servant to lead and fill this strategic role. In light of God’s kind providence in all of this, our boast is in the Lord.”
He concluded his address, stating, “Every announcement we make today, every hire we celebrate, every ribbon we cut, we’re reminded that our boast is in the Lord.”
Additional Trustee Business
Additional trustee business included the election of two professors to the faculty, one reelection, three promotions, and the approval of two sabbaticals.
In recommendations from the Academic Committee, the trustees elected to the faculty Minjae Kwon as assistant professor of Christian education in Korean Studies, Tyler Sykora as assistant professor of biblical studies, and reelected Jared Bumpers as assistant professor of preaching and evangelism.
Additionally, trustees approved promoted Samuel Bierig to associate professor of biblical and systematic theology, T. Dale Johnson to professor of biblical counseling, and Rio Kim to associate professor of Christian studies.
Trustees also approved sabbaticals for professors Jason DeRouchie and John Lee.
Midwestern Seminary’s Board of Trustees consists of 35 members and meets biannually in October and April.
