Beginning in the 1960s, both Gordon Divinity School and Conwell School of Theology experienced new challenges. In 1961, Temple University 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.[4] While Temple University hoped Russell Conwell's legacy would continue to grow through their new religious studies department, J. Howard Pew and Daniel Poling, a Baptist minister and member of Temple's board, felt Conwell's vision to train Baptist ministers would be neglected.[5] Poling contacted evangelistBilly Graham who agreed to help if he could appoint both a board of trustees of his choosing and faculty members he trusted.[6][7] Graham, in turn, contacted his close friend Harold Ockenga who was due to take the presidency of Gordon College and oversee the financially stressed divinity school. Rather than see two evangelical 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. J. Howard Pew agreed to financially back the merger on the condition that the seminary must be divorced from an undergraduate institution.[6] Under the leadership of evangelistBilly Graham and Boston pastor Harold Ockenga along with the financial backing of J. Howard Pew, Gordon-Conwell began holding classes in 1969. Pew provided "$2 million to purchase the land, [Carmelite Junior Seminary in Hamilton], and several million more to refurbish existing facilities and to build and stock a library."[6]Harold Ockenga was selected as its first president.[8]Stuart Babbage was the first vice-president and also served on the faculty alongside Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, R.C. Sproul, Walter Mueller, and Richard Lovelace among others.[9]
Gordon-Conwell initially received protests and negative press for moving theological out of the inner city. In response, Stephen Mott, Michael E. Haynes, pastor of Twelfth Baptist ChurchinRoxbury and state representative,[10] 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.[11]
Other former presidents include Robert E. Cooley (1981–1997) who founded the Charlotte campus[12] and Walter Kaiser, Jr. (1997–2006). The brief tenure of James Emery White (2006–07) saw White resign in less than a year into his post[13] leading to the interim tenure of Haddon Robinson (2007–08).[14] The President appointed after Robinson's interim post was Dennis Hollinger (2009–2019).
The Kerr building on Gordon-Conwell's Hamilton campusThe Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Roxbury, Boston
The main 118-acre (0.48 km2) residential campus is in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. There are additional campuses in Boston, Massachusetts and Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a location in Jacksonville, Florida. 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.[18] 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.[19] The Jacksonville location opened in February 2006 as an extension of the Charlotte campus and today operates as a location for the seminary's Networked Education program.[20] The Jacksonville campus is located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.[21]
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.[22] 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.[23]
On May 16, 2022, Gordon-Conwell announced plans to sell part or all of the South Hamilton campus due to long-term financial health, the effect of the campus, facility maintenance costs, and also acknowledging more remote learning.[24] The following year, the seminary announced that it would be staying on the Hamilton campus and selling its underutilized apartments while continuing to provide student housing.[25]
Gordon Divinity School and Conwell Theological Seminary were both from the Baptist heritage. When Gordon-Conwell was refounded in 1969, however, the seminary was purposefully founded with no specific Christian denominational 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[26] and the Mission and Purpose[27] of the seminary are based on Protestant and evangelicaldoctrines, such as biblical inerrancy.
Gordon-Conwell is part of the Boston Theological Institute (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.
As of Fall 2022, 1,330 students were enrolled at Gordon-Conwell.[28] The seminary once offered over 20 degrees but has recently restructured their programs to only offer the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M.), Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), and five specialized master's degrees.
^Hilty, James (2010). Temple University: 125 Years of Service to Philadelphia, the Nation, and the World. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN978-1-4399-0019-2.
^ abcMartin, William (2018). A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN9780310353324.
^Hollinger, Dennis (February 2, 2012). "A Message from President Hollinger". Our construction deadline is May 1, in order to accommodate a Lausanne event being held at the Seminary May 29 – June 1
^Email to student body from Dr. Dennis Hollinger. August 22, 2013.
^Julius Kim (2015). Preaching the Whole Counsel of God: Design and Deliver Gospel-Centered Sermons. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. pp. back cover. ISBN9780310519645.
^"Review of Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar. Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. VanPelt. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. 46: 415–17. 2003.
