Gordon-Conwell
Renewal
Join Gordon-Conwell in this season of renewal!
We are a multidenominational, evangelical seminary committed to equipping Church leaders to think theologically, engage globally, and live biblically. Amid changes in higher education and the Church, we are prayerfully reimagining the seminary in a way that allows us to expand our reach and better fulfill our mission for God’s glory. This is called our Renewal.
A precursor of this Renewal was the Pivot, which led us to leverage the economic value of underutilized apartments on the Hamilton campus while still providing on-campus housing for our Life Together experience. The seminary is also stewarding the property of the underutilized Boston (CUME) campus as we continue to provide urban ministerial education.
Learn about the many aspects of our strategic and spiritual renewal.
Institutional Renewal Through the Strategic Plan
Magnify High Academic Standards
Deepen Spiritual & Character Formation
Extend Global Missional Engagement
Ensure Sustainable Operations
A Highlight of Campus Renewals:
Focusing on People, Not Property for Mission Advancement
Hamilton & Boston Renewal FAQS
Hamilton: With the sale of the apartments, is student housing available?
Yes! We will remain on the Hamilton campus, and new students are welcome and encouraged to experience residential education in the Life Together model!
The ownership of the apartments will change, but student housing will remain available for full-time Hamilton students in our dormitories and the apartments. Read more about the agreement and commitment to residential community.
Hamilton: What is community life like on campus?
Life Together Wednesdays is an exciting new initiative on the Hamilton campus inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together. Bonhoeffer envisioned theological education happening in the context of worship, discipleship, service, and fellowship. To that end, on Wednesdays, we intentionally gather to practice a rhythm of Life Together, characterized by prayer, worship, and fellowship. Be known, be present, be together!
Hamilton: Will there be other changes on campus?
We will continue to work and study together on the Hamilton campus as we uphold a model of residential theological education in the pattern of Life Together. We will also continue to assess the use of our spaces so that they are “right-sized” for our community. Our goal is to reduce growing maintenance and utility costs, especially on underutilized spaces, while enhancing our campus for Life Together.
A Hamilton Renewal Committee chaired by President Sunquist was appointed to guide this work of providing recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the best use of our land and spaces. The Committee consists of staff and faculty, including alumni. After meeting for several months, the Committee presented a recommendation to centralize the “academic energy” of the Hamilton campus in the Kerr Building, as was done historically. This covers two vital parts of our strategic plan: ensuring sustainable operations and deepening character and spiritual formation. The Board approved a phased approach of low-cost, high-impact changes to begin in late Fall 2024.
Boston: What are the plans for the CUME campus & building?
The CUME building is a great asset God has provided for us. At this time, it is underutilized and costly to maintain as many students are studying online. Therefore, we are working with realtors to steward the property that God has provided for us so that we can better support urban ministerial training for decades to come. The building may be sold, leased, or a combination of these arrangements.
Boston: Will CUME still offer in-person classes and training?
Yes. As in the past, classes will be offered primarily in Boston churches, but now in a hybrid format so that people in other urban centers can also be equipped.
Additional Resources
Magnify High Academic Standards
Our high scholarship standards extend to support new generations who are preparing to apply God’s unchanging Word to the complexities of our rapidly changing world.
Examples of Initiatives:
- Launching a PhD program for training global Christian leaders.
- Utilizing Gordon-Conwell Institute to equip lay leaders in the Church.
Deepen Spiritual & Character Formation
Our graduates and lay leaders are known as people who simultaneously desire knowledge and the Fruit of the Spirit.
Examples of Initiatives:
- Discipling every Gordon-Conwell student as an integrated element of the learning experience. Learn about the Discipleship Experience.
- Embracing creativity and the arts in theological education to bridge scholarship and personal experience. Learn about the Leighton Ford Initiative.
- Expanding counseling programs to respond to the desperate need in the church and society.
Extend Global Missional Engagement
Gordon-Conwell prepares leaders to continue God’s mission across all barriers so that all have an opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and to experience the love and justice of God.
Examples of Initiatives:
- Increasing our presence in the City of Boston in a way that also extends the ministry of our Boston campus (CUME).
- Partnering with denominations, parachurch networks, and more. Learn about our partnerships.
- Enhancing theological education in Korea through Gordon-Conwell Institute’s (GCI) Ministry Competency Program.
- Engaging students in Overseas Missions Practicum.
Establish Sustainable Operations
Gordon-Conwell’s mission demands wisdom and prudence, while rapid changes in technology, societies, economies, and politics demand attentiveness and adaptability.
Examples of initiatives:
- Consolidating Student Services across the seminary.
- Reconfiguring campuses and buildings to be a destination space for students and the community to connect, study, learn, and grow.
- Growing the scholarship fund and Partnership Program to lift the burden of a Gordon-Conwell education for all students.