A Growing Institution with Growing Needs
By Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.,
President
L
Four of the recent graduates
were awarded Master of
Divinity degrees, two were
awarded Bachelor of Divinity
degrees and four were
awarded Master of Arts
degrees. We also had the
privilege of conferring two
honorary doctorate degrees
(Doctor of Divinity) on men who
have been faithful advocates of
the Reformed faith for many
years. One honorary degree
was presented to Richard
Phillips, pastor of Second
Presbyterian Church (PCA) here
in Greenville. The second
honorary degree was
presented to Ian Hamilton,
pastor of Cambridge
Presbyterian Church (EPCEW)
in England and a Trustee of
Greenville Seminary.
The commencement address
was given by Dr. Derek
Thomas, Minister of Preaching
and Teaching at First
Presbyterian Church in
Columbia, S.C. and
Distinguished Visiting Professor
of Systematic and Historical
Theology at Reformed
Theological Seminary. Dr.
Thomas used the text of 2
Timothy 4:1-5 to particularly
challenge those graduates
At our Fall Convocation, Pastor
Marty Martin of Fellowship
Presbyterian Church in Greer,
S.C., delivered the keynote
address, exhorting from 1
Corinthians 1:4-9 on the theme
“Give Thanks for God’s People”
(see story on page 3)..
O
ur enrollment has been
increasing, and it is very
encouraging to see more and
more graduates moving out to
serve the Church of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
As we completed the last
academic year, we had much
over which to rejoice. We are
delighted to see God
continuing to expand our
missionary influence. We now
have graduates serving God in
Albania, Brazil, Canada, the
Czech Republic, Great Britain,
Haiti, Italy, Mexico, New
Zealand, South Africa, South
Korea, Switzerland, and
Zambia. This new year, we
have students either on
campus or in our distance
program from Belgium,
Canada, China, Great Britain,
India, New Zealand, Nigeria,
and Peru. We have men
serving in over twelve
denominations and
associations and in three
countries doing missionary
work with the goal of forming
national presbyteries.
We are very thankful to the
many people God has raised
up to support this ministry in
prayer and giving. Would you
prayerfully consider making a
donation to the on-going work
of Greenville Seminary? During
the first month of our current
fiscal year that began July 1,
we ran a deficit of nearly
$38,000. Donations remain
below what was budgeted.
Whether or not you are able to
send a gift at this time, please
pray that the Lord will provide
for our needs. We continue to
operate on a strict budget, with
an increase in operation
expenses.
Please also pray that our
students and alumni will
continue to grow in faithfulness
to the Word of God. Please
pray for the faculty and trustees
of Greenville Seminary as we
continue in the ministry of
training faithful men to uphold
His Word. God uses the
prayers and gifts of His people
to sustain this work, and we
hope that you will participate
with us and rejoice in that work,
for which we desire to give Him
all glory and honor.
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Foundations Newsletter
Building on an Old Foundation
an uncommon school for uncommon times
ast Spring, ten graduates
joined the ranks of
Greenville Seminary alumni.
This Fall 15 new students
entered GPTS for the 2012-13
academic year.
going out as ministers. The
address was an
encouragement to all who
were able to attend.
PO Box 690, 200 East Main Street, Taylors, SC 29687, 864-322-2717
www.gpts.edu • info@gpts.edu
Foundations Newsletter
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
2nd Edition • 2012
4
2nd Edition • 2012
Internships: Rounding Out the Classroom with Practical
Experience
I
nternships are a significant
piece of the seminarian’s experience. The seminary classroom component serves its
very important purpose; but
the opportunity to receive pastoral mentoring, wisdom from
elders, and experience in the
pulpit is not only necessary, it
is vital to the growth and development of men called to
serve in Christian ministry.
Summer internships fulfill
these roles and more.
been able to preach every
Sunday night, and will be
preaching morning and evening on a number of occasions.” Mike was given the opportunity to take part — even
take the lead — in counseling
and discipleship of members.
He said the Faith OPC family
welcomed him
and his growing family.
during corporate worship at
Westminster OPC, as well as
at a retirement home situated
next to the church.
Chris noted, “Not only was I
able to experience the pastoral ministry from the inside, but
my entire family experienced
the love
and fellowship of the
larger body
of Christ.”
“Our experience here has
Other stubeen overdents servwhelmingly
ing interpositive. God
ships this
has used this
summer
time to deepen
in me a love for
Chris and GraceAnn Cashen with were Lowell Ivey,
His Church and
daughters Katie and Anna
New Jerto help confirm
Several Greenville Theological
sey; Michael Hutchinson, Wisfor me that He is calling me to
Presbyterian Seminary stuconson; Jeremy Logan, Ohio;
serve in the Gosdents had
Jeffrey Carter, North Carolina;
pel ministry,” he
the opportuRob Dykes, South Carolina;
said.
nity this
and Bryan Prouty, Colorado.
summer to
Across the contiparticipate
Internships are not limited to
nent, Chris Cashen
in an intern
summertime. Some churches
was given the opprogram
in the Greenville area have
portunity to serve
throughout
made it a practice to use
as intern to Westthe country.
GPTS students for long-term
minster Orthodox
From New
internships. Fellowship PresPresbyterian
Jersey to
byterian Church (PCA) in
Church in Orange
California,
Greer, S.C., for example, last
County, California.
Mike, Nate and Katy Myers
Reformed
year extended a full-year inChris said Pastor
churches
ternship to Steve Walton, who
B.J. Gorrell, one of
heeded the call and took on
has been followed by student
the first GPTS graduates, exthe task of welcoming a semiStephen Cook when Mr. Walposed him to many varied
narian to their local body for
ton, a 2012 graduate, left to
pastoral experiences, includthe summer months. Among
take up his new ministry as an
ing pastoral home visits, and
them were Mike Myers and
Army chaplain and church
provided valuable “real-time”
Chris Cashen.
planter in Germany.
counsel throughout the entire
summer. Like Mike, Chris was
From Faith Orthodox PresbyteJoshua Sparkman has served
given opportunities to teach,
rian Church in Elmer, New Jerfor two years as intern at
to lead worship, and to exhort
sey, Mike Myers wrote, “I have
Contents
Internships:
Rounding out the
Classroom with
Practical Experience
Pages 1-2
Self-governance
and Accountability
Page 2
Convocation 2012
Page 3
Supporting Our
Ministry to
International
Students
Page 3
A Growing
Institution with
Growing Needs
Page 4
Visit our web site. Scan
the code below on your
smartphone.
1
Greenville’s Second Presbyterian Church (PCA) under Pastor
Richard Phillips and the pastoral staff.
Lori and Joshua
Sparkman
He has taught classes, preached, visited the sick and shutins, helped lead a singles
group, counseled, preached in
prison, attended session and
presbytery meetings, and assisted in worship.
“Weekly pastoral staff meetings
have been of the greatest service in developing a love for
[the] church. In these staff
meetings I got to observe how
mature God-loving men sought
to take care of the local
church,” says Joshua. “Secondly, I have had the privilege of
spending one-on-one time,
twice a month, with Pastor Paul
Settle, who is currently helping
me further develop a view of
the pastoral ministry that expresses itself in love and service to God and His church.”
He adds, “One aspect I like
most about Greenville Semi-
nary's curriculum is how few
ecclesiastical and pastoral
classes there are, because the
seminary desires the Lord to
develop the students' pastoral
heart and love for the bride of
Christ in the context of the local
church.“
If your church is interested in
having an intern for the summer or for a longer term, please
contact Dr. Tony Curto, PO Box
690, Taylors SC 29687 or email Registrar Kathleen Curto
at registrar@gpts.edu.
GPTS: Self-governance and Accountability
I
t was with great joy and satisfaction that we recently received an official agreement
from Sovereign Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church
(OPC) to enter
into a Sponsoring
Church Court relationship with
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
The Hickory, N.C.
church is the first
in several years to take this
step of commitment to GPTS,
bringing the total to 13 churches, presbyteries or denominations. The seminary Board of
Trustees is expected to ratify
this covenant when it next
meets in November.
Check out the new
“Confessing our
Hope” Podcast
Blog. Find it at:
confessingourhope.
com. You find news
about broadcasts
and links to all
programs.
We are frequently asked about
the denominational affiliation of
Greenville Seminary, but because of our unique position
with regard to the general
church we sometimes struggle
to answer that question. The
terms “non-denominational”
and “undenominational” do not
properly describe us, since we
are committed to and closely
aligned with a number of denominations. Sometimes the
terms “transdenominational”
and “interdenominational”
come to mind, but these too
are not a completely accurate
descriptor of our position vis-àvis the church.
“Independent” is perhaps the
least appropriate term to describe us. True, we were
founded more than 25 years
ago by an ad hoc group of individuals concerned about the
future directions of the church
and committed to the historic
confessions of our commonly
held Reformed and Presbyterian faith. We are a board-governed institution, but we have
always been committed to the
principle of the accountability
of seminaries to the so-called
"courts" of the church. This
combination of self-governance and commitment to accountability has given rise to
our unique relationship to
sponsoring church denominations, presbyteries and local
church governing bodies.
Sovereign Grace will be entering into this fraternity of twelve
church bodies who have previously pledged to hold us to fullest faithfulness to the Word of
God and the particular system
of doctrine which Presbyterianism has derived from the sacred Scriptures of the Christian
faith. We look forward to welcoming them among our overseers and anticipate a long and
fruitful relationship as we labor
together for our Lord’s Kingdom.
For a list of sponsoring church
courts and information about
this accountability arrangement,
see our web site:
www.gpts.edu/support/
accountability.php.
GPTS is also accredited by the
Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS). More
info at artseminaries.org.
Foundations Newsletter
2nd Edition • 2012
2
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
GPTS Convocation 2012-13
G
reenville Seminary
welcomed 15 new
students, including several new
international students, for the
Fall Semester which began on
August 20 with orientation and
registration. The seminary's
26th annual Convocation was
held on Tuesday, August 21st.
A reception followed in the
seminary's Student Commons.
A welcome dinner for new
students was held on Monday
evening in the Commons.
This year's Convocation
speaker was Marty Martin,
pastor of Fellowship
Presbyterian Church (PCA) in
Greer, S.C. Pastor Martin, a
graduate of Clemson University
and Covenant Theological
Seminary, recently returned
from a three-week mission trip
to Brazil, where several GPTS
graduates are now ministering.
Rehearsing a long list of
spiritual maladies which
characterize today’s church, as
they have always done, Pastor
Martin exhorted students
entering into future ministry to
faithfully love and guide the
flocks under their care, even at
sometimes great cost to
themselves.
New on-campus students for
the 2012-2013 academic year
include Santosh Bardhan, M.A.,
India; Richard Crandall, M.Div.,
Florida, Adam Harris, M.Div.,
Canada; Jennifer Loef, M.A.,
New Zealand; Jerry Shore,
M.M.R.E., South Carolina; and
Clarence Veld, M.A., Canada. In
addition, two students formally
studying through the GPTS
distance/mentor program have
come to campus as resident
students: Tim Marinelli of
Virginia and Tom Van Maanan
of Canada. That brings the new
on-campus student contingent
to eight.
New students in the distance/
mentor program are Roel
Ophoff, M.M.R.E., California;
Nathan Hoefer, M.Div.,
Minnesota; Kevin Easterday,
B.D., Florida; Scott Creel, M.Div.,
Florida; Joel Montes, M.Div.
Texas; Sam Ketcham, M.Div.,
Georgia; Matt Siple, M.Div.,
Georgia; Kelvin Driver, M.Div.
Tennessee; and David
Seithamo, M.Div., South Africa.
Supporting Our
Ministry to
International
Students
By Kathleen Curto
GPTS Registrar
With joy that I report that this
past year we have been able to
assist three foreign students
who would otherwise not have
been able to attend Greenville
Seminary. The first, Isaac Koko
from Nigeria, applied twice to
procure a student visa to come
and study here in Greenville,
but his application was
rejected for no apparent
reason. However, that did not
stop Isaac from studying. He
completed one course in the
Spring of 2012 and is eagerly
awaiting the start of the Fall
semester in order to take
another course. He does also
plan to apply once again for
his visa, so please pray that
God will open the doors and
allow the necessary approval
for him to move to Greenville. In
order to be prepared for when
God may open this door, we
are raising approximately
$5,000.00 to cover his tuition
and fees, and an additional
$5,000.00 for his living
expenses per year.
Our second foreign student, Mr.
Xing Liu, is living in Greenville
and studying diligently. A native
of China. Mr. Liu moved with
his wife and two children to
Greenville last August, and he
and his family have been a
wonderful addition to our
student body. He has done
very well in his classes and has
exceeded our expectations in
terms of his class work and
involvement in seminary life.
His home church in Minnesota
continues to assist him with his
living expenses, and so we
have once again agreed to
waive his tuition this year in the
amount of $4,500.00.
Support has also been given to
Santosh Barnhan of India in
the form of tuition waivers.
Our last need in the area of
foreign student support is to
help pay expenses for faculty
members to minister in
churches overseas that are
unable to afford to send their
students here. Last summer Dr.
Pipa had the opportunity to
minister in Belgium and Italy
with current Greenville students
and alumni. He ministered in
Korea in August. He hopes to
travel to South Africa and Italy
in 2013.
The value of these faculty trips
is critical, and we seek $5,500
for this purpose.
Why do we feel
constrained to
help young men
from other nations
to receive the
training they
desire? What is
our confidence as
we continue to
train men for the
gospel ministry?
Psalm 46
concludes with an
answer to those
questions: “Be still,
and know that I
am God. I will be
exalted among the
nations. I will be
exalted in the
earth! The Lord of
hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob
is our refuge.”
We praise God
that Greenville
Seminary can
have a small part
in that work. Thank
you for your
faithful support,
and may God
bless you as you
consider these
needs once again
as part of your
giving to our
scholarship
funding for
international
students.
Contact us for
information about
giving to our
International
Students
Scholarship Fund
#4075
administered by
the PCA
Founcation.
Foundations Newsletter
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
2nd Edition • 2012
3