Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

with its main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses in Boston, Massachusetts;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

; and

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. 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.

History

Gordon-Conwell arose primarily from the merging and refounding of two separate schools, Gordon Divinity School, formerly of

Gordon College Gordon College may refer to: * Gordon State College, a public college in Barnesville, Georgia * Gordon College (Massachusetts), a Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts * Government Gordon College, a Christian college in Rawalpindi, Pakistan * ...

(1889) in

Wenham, Massachusetts Wenham () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 census. The town of Wenham, originally settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1643, has retained much of its historic character and rural scenery ...

, and the Conwell School of Theology (1888), formerly of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Both schools were founded in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

heritage. Both

Adoniram Judson Gordon Adoniram Judson "A. J." Gordon (1836–1895) was an American Baptist preacher, writer, composer, and founder of Gordon College and Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary. Life Gordon was born in New Hampton, New Hampshire, on April 19, 1836. His ...

and

Russell Conwell Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphi ...

, the namesakes of Gordon-Conwell, were Baptist ministers; Gordon's divinity school was first established as Gordon Bible Institute in 1889, while Conwell's theological school was originally chartered as

Temple College Temple College is a public community college in Temple, Texas, with regional branch campuses at other locations in Central Texas. History Temple Junior College was founded in 1926 to serve post-secondary students in eastern Bell County, Texa ...

in 1888. In addition, the Boston Evangelical Institute, founded as

Revere Lay College Revere may refer to: Brands and companies *Revere Ware, a U.S. cookware brand owned by World Kitchen * Revere Camera Company, American designer of cameras and tape recorders *Revere Copper Company * ReVere, a car company recognised by the Classic ...

, also merged with Gordon-Conwell. Beginning in the 1960s, both Gordon Divinity School and Conwell School of Theology experienced new challenges. In 1961,

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. While

hoped

's legacy would continue to grow through their new religious studies department,

J. Howard Pew John Howard Pew (1882–1971) was an American philanthropist and president of Sunoco (Sun Oil Company). Biography J. Howard Pew was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1882 and raised as a devout Presbyterian. In 1886 Pew's father, Joseph Newton P ...

and Daniel Poling, a Baptist minister and member of Temple's board, felt Conwell's vision to train Baptist ministers would be neglected. Poling contacted

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

Billy Graham who agreed to help if he could appoint both a board of trustees of his choosing and faculty members he trusted. Graham, in turn, contacted his close friend Harold Ockenga who was due to take the presidency of

and oversee the financially stressed divinity school. Rather than see two

seminaries compete, Graham proposed merging the two schools to form one evangelical school on the East coast to mirror Fuller Theological Seminary's place on the West Coast.

agreed to financially back the merger on the condition that the seminary must be divorced from an undergraduate institution. Under the leadership of

Billy Graham and Boston pastor Harold Ockenga along with the financial backing of

, Gordon-Conwell began holding classes in 1969. Pew provided "$2 million to purchase the land,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

], and several million more to refurbish existing facilities and to build and stock a library." Harold Ockenga was selected as its first president.

Stuart Babbage Stuart Barton Babbage (4 January 1916 – 16 November 2012) was an Anglican priest. Babbage was educated at Auckland Grammar School, the University of Auckland and King's College London. He was ordained in 1940. His first post was as a curate ...

was the first vice-president and also served on the faculty alongside

Philip Edgcumbe Hughes Philip Edgcumbe Hughes (1915–1990) was an Anglican clergyman and New Testament scholar whose life spanned four continents: Australia, where he was born; South Africa, where he spent his formative years; England, where he was ordained; and the ...

, R.C. Sproul, Walter Mueller, Richard Lovelace among others. Gordon-Conwell initially received protests and negative press for moving theological out of the inner city. Stephen Mott,

Michael E. Haynes Michael E. Haynes (May 9, 1927 – September 12, 2019) was an American minister and politician in the state of Massachusetts. His parents, Gustavus and Edna, were immigrants from Barbados.Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury and state representative, and Gordon-Conwell trustees located Roxbury as the key location for inner city ministerial education. In 1976, the Boston-campus in Roxbury, the Campus for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) was founded. Classes were originally held in Haynes' Twelfth Baptist Church. Eldin Villafañe, Dean Borgman, and Stephen Mott were among the first faculty to teach at CUME. Other former presidents include Robert E. Cooley (1981–97) who founded the Charlotte campus and Walter Kaiser, Jr. (1997–2006). The brief tenure of

James Emery White James Emery White (born December 20, 1961), is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; President of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture and hosts Churc ...

(2006–07) saw White resign in less than a year into his post leading to the interim tenure of

Haddon Robinson Haddon W. Robinson (21 March 1931 22 July 2017) was the Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching, senior director of the Doctor of Ministry program, and former interim President at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He was also ...

(2007–08). The President appointed after Robinson's interim post was Dennis Hollinger (2009–2019). On October 12, 2017, Dennis Hollinger announced his intention to retire on June 30, 2019. Scott Sunquist, an alumnus of Gordon-Conwell and former Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies and Professor of World Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, succeeded Hollinger as the seventh president in July 2019.

Campuses

The Kerr building on Gordon-Conwell's Hamilton Campus

The main

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

campus is in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. There are secondary campuses in Boston, Massachusetts;

; and

. 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. 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. The Jacksonville campus opened in February 2006 and was originally an extension of the Charlotte campus, though it now is the fourth campus for Gordon-Conwell. The Jacksonville campus is located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. 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. 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. On May 16, 2022, Gordon-Conwell announced plans to sell the South Hamilton campus in 2023 due to long-term financial health, the effect of the campus, facility maintenance costs, and also acknowledging more remote learning.

Organization

Gordon Divinity School and Conwell Theological Seminary were both from the

heritage. When Gordon-Conwell was refounded in 1969, however, the seminary was purposefully founded with no specific

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

al 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 and the Mission and Purpose of the seminary are based on

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and

doctrines, such as biblical inerrancy. Gordon-Conwell is part of the

Boston Theological Institute The Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (BTI), originally the Boston Theological Institute, is the largest theological consortium in the world, bringing together the resources of theological schools and seminaries throughout the greater ...

(BTI), a consortium of nine theological schools in the Greater 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.

Academics

As of Fall 2019, 1,660 students were enrolled at Gordon-Conwell. The seminary offers 20 degrees including the

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

(M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M.), Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), and a wide range of specialized master's degrees. Gordon-Conwell has been accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada since 1964 and by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...

since 1985. It is also certified by the United States Government for the training of veterans and the education of chaplains for military service.

Notable faculty

John Jefferson Davis John Jefferson Davis is Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he has taught since 1975. He is an ordained Presbyterian pastor (Presbyterian Church USA). Thought Davis has been activ ...

, Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics * Donald Fairbairn, Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early Christianity * Dennis Hollinger, President Emeritus; Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics * Gordon Hugenberger, Ranked Adjunct Professor of Old Testament * Walter Kaiser, Jr., President Emeritus; Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Old Testament Ethics *

Richard Lints Richard Lints is the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Hamilton Campus. He is also the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell and is an author. Lints has been with G ...

, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dean of Hamilton Campus; Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology * Gary D. Pratico, Senior Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Language * J. Ramsey Michaels, J. Ramsey Michaels Professor of New Testament *

, Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching; Senior Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program * Douglas Stuart, Professor of Old Testament *

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

, Distinguished Senior Research Professor *

, Ranked Adjunct Professor of Theology and Culture

Former faculty

Barry Corey Barry H. Corey (born November 28, 1961) is the eighth and current president of Biola University, located in Southern California. Corey became Biola's president on July 1, 2007, succeeding Clyde Cook, who retired after serving as Biola's president ...

, former Vice President/Chief Academic Officer and Academic Dean * Gregory Beale, former Professor of New Testament and current professor at Westminster Theological Seminary * Walter Kaiser, Jr., emeritus Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and former President *

Meredith G. Kline Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and Old Testament scholar. He also had degrees in Assyriology and Egyptology. Academic career Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M ...

, former Professor of Old Testament *

Stephen Charles Mott Stephen Charles Mott (b. April 9, 1940) is a teacher among Evangelical Christians in the U.S. in the teaching and academic study of social ethics since the early 1970s. Education He has a BD degree from Wheaton College, Illinois, and a Ph.D. ...

, Professor of Christian Social Ethics *

William D. Mounce William D. Mounce (born 17 February 1953) is a scholar of New Testament Greek. William Mounce is the son of a noted scholar Robert H. Mounce. He lives as a writer in Washougal, Washington. He is the President of Biblical Training, a non-profit or ...

, former Professor of New Testament * Roger R. Nicole, former Professor of Theology * Harold Ockenga, former President of Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary *

Timothy Tennent Timothy C. Tennent (born September 24, 1959) is an American theologian who is the current president of Asbury Theological Seminary. Education Tennent's education includes a B.A. from Oral Roberts University, an M.Div. from Gordon Conwell (1984) ...

, former Professor of World Missions and Indian Studies *

Gordon Fee Gordon Donald Fee (May 23, 1934 – October 25, 2022) was an American-Canadian Christian theologian who was an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God (USA). He was professor of New Testament Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British ...

, former Professor of New Testament * Scott M. Gibson, former Haddon W. Robinson Professor of Preaching

Notable alumni

* Edwin David Aponte, executive director, the Louisville Institute *

Diana Butler Bass Diana Butler Bass (born February 19, 1959) is an American historian of Christianity and an advocate for progressive Christianity. She is the author of eleven books, many of which have won research or writing awards. Bass earned a PhD in re ...

, notable author, blogger, and church historian *

Benjamin L. Corey Benjamin L. Corey is an American political activist, theologian, author, blogger, and speaker. He is a prominent figure within the Emerging Church Movement, Progressive Christianity, and radical Christianity while self-identifying as an Anabaptis ...

, notable author and blogger for Patheos *

Mark Dever Mark E. Dever (born August 28, 1960) is a theologian and the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks (formerly known as the Center for Church Reform), a Christian ministry he co-founded "i ...

, pastor of the

Capitol Hill Baptist Church Capitol Hill Baptist Church is a Baptist church located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., six blocks from the United States Capitol. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Mark Dever serves as the senior pastor of the church, wh ...

in Washington, D.C. * Kevin DeYoung, author, pastor, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...

, Charlotte * Gil Dodds, distance runner and athlete * Michael Gerald Ford, Baptist minister and oldest child of Gerald R. Ford and Betty Ford * Robert Godfrey, former president of

Westminster Seminary California Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed tradition, Reformed and Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Christianity, Christian seminary in Escondido, California. It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia un ...

Kimberly Hahn Kimberly Hahn (née Kirk; born 1957) is an American Catholic apologist and author, and member of the Steubenville City Council. She is the eldest child of Jerry and Patricia Kirk, and is married to apologist and author Scott Hahn. Hahn was bor ...

, Catholic apologist and author * Scott Hahn, Catholic apologist and theologian, Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University of Steubenville *

Stephen A. Hayner Stephen A. Hayner (June 23, 1948 – January 31, 2015) was an American Presbyterian minister who was the president of Columbia Theological Seminary, a professor, an author, and the former president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Early ...

, former president of Columbia Theological Seminary, pastor, professor, former president of

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...

Donald J. Harlin Donald J. Harlin (August 14, 1935 – February 9, 2015) was an American Air Force major general who served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. A native of Flushing, New York, where he was born in 1935, Harlin is an ordained Bap ...

, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force * Kathy Keller, Christian writer, wife of Tim Keller * Timothy Keller, pastor,

Redeemer Presbyterian Church Redeemer Presbyterian Church ( PCA), is a church located in New York City, founded in 1989 by Timothy J. Keller, who retired as pastor in July 2017. The family of Redeemer churches includes Redeemer Downtown (Sr. Pastor John Lin), Redeemer West Si ...

Gary N. Knoppers Gerald "Gary" Neil Knoppers (November 14, 1956 – December 22, 2018) was a professor in the Department of Theology at University of Notre Dame. He wrote books and articles regarding a range of Old Testament and ancient Near Eastern topics. He i ...

, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Brock Kreitzburg Brock Kreitzburg (born February 16, 1976) is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2001. Career biography A graduate from the University of Toledo and a native of Akron, Ohio, Kreitzburg has been in the US Bobsled program since 2001. ...

, Olympic bobsledder *

Woodrow Kroll Woodrow Michael Kroll (born October 21, 1944) is an evangelical preacher and radio host. He was the president and Bible teacher for the international ''Back to the Bible'' radio and television ministry. He was president of Davis College (formerly ...

, president and Bible teacher for the

Back to the Bible Back to the Bible is an international Christian ministry based in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. History Founded in 1939 by Theodore H. Epp on radio station KFOR (AM) in Lincoln, Nebraska, Back to the Bible expanded by supporting missionarie ...

radio and television ministry *

William L. Lane William L. Lane (1931– March 8, 1999) was an American New Testament theologian and professor of biblical studies. Background and education Lane earned his B.A. from Wesleyan University, his M.Div. from Gordon Divinity School (1955), his Th.M. ...

, New Testament theologian and professor of biblical studies *

Quigg Lawrence Raymond Quigg Lawrence Jr. (born 1959) is an American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was consecrated in 2013 as bishop suffragan in the Atlantic coast network of PEARUSA, which in 2016 became the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our ...

, Anglican bishop *

Neil Lebhar Neil Gedney Lebhar (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was the first bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, a newly formed diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. He has been rector of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Jack ...

, Anglican bishop *

Esau McCaulley Esau McCaulley (born 1979) is an American biblical scholar and assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, Illinois, canon theologian for the Anglican Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others, as well as a theologian-in-residence ...

, author and Assistant Professor of New Testament at

Wheaton College, Illinois Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a stop on the Underground Railroad and graduated one of Illinois' first bl ...

Bill Murdoch Bill Murdoch (born January 10, 1945 died August 16, 2022) was a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2011, representing the riding of Bruce—Grey—O ...

, Anglican bishop *

Wendy Murray Wendy Murray (formerly Wendy Murray Zoba, born January 1956) is a prolific writer best known for her books about religion. Wendy Murray grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio (1980), ma ...

, journalist * Roger Nicole, Swiss Reformed theologian * Felix Orji, bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of the West (ACNA) The Anglican Diocese of the West (formerly known as the Missionary Diocese of CANA West) is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America and formerly of the Church of Nigeria North American Mission. It was one of the four missionary dioceses o ...

* Robert M. Price, theologian and writer noted for

Christ myth theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternatively ...

Phillip Sandifer Phillip Sandifer (born 10 May, 1959) is an American writer, musician, recording artist and music producer. His music is primarily known within the Americana and Inspirational music field. Personal life Phillip Sandifer was born in Baltimore, Ma ...

, writer, recording artist * Talbert W. Swan, II, prelate, Church Of God In Christ, author, president, Greater Springfield NAACP *

, president of Asbury Theological Seminary * Ben Witherington III, biblical scholar and professor of New Testament studies at Asbury Theological Seminary * Xiong Yan, a Chinese dissident and a U.S. Army chaplain at the Warrant Officer Career College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Seminaries and theological colleges in Massachusetts Seminaries and theological colleges in North Carolina Seminaries and theological colleges in Florida Educational institutions established in 1969 Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges Wenham, Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Essex County, Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Charlotte, North Carolina 1969 establishments in Massachusetts