In recent months, I’ve shared about NTS’ mission to “form faithful and effective ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and the financial support required to accomplish the mission. Not only am I grateful to God for our current students and alumni who are serving in vital ministries around the world, but I am also deeply grateful for many people, both clergy and laity, who make sacrifices to support NTS. We cannot fulfill our mission without you!
In a book titled, The Church in Mission, Dr. Hugh C. Benner, the first president of NTS and the sixteenth general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, writes lovingly of his father, Elias Benner, who symbolized the sacrificial spirit of early Nazarenes. That spirit made itself evident when a financial shortfall threatened the life of a Nazarene educational institution in its early years. Elias, along with other school supporters, mortgaged their properties to ensure the continuance of theological education.
I am grateful for that spirit, which is alive today in our trustees and alumni, and in the many laypersons who sacrifice so that theological education is advanced through the Church of the Nazarene. Your efforts made the difference this year. I want to thank Nazarenes in advance for remembering NTS on Seminary Sunday, January 26 (or a time of their choosing in 2025), with your prayers and with your offerings.