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Background
Evangelicals are people who take the Bible as their authority for behavior and belief, and who believe in Jesus’ deity and bodily resurrection – regardless of their political, social, or ethnic background. Since 1969, when Biblical Seminary of New York fired its faculty and sold its library and building, opportunities for evangelical seminary training have been severely limited.
There are more than four million evangelicals in the New York metropolitan area – out of the total of 20 million people. Less than 10% of the 13 million Euro-Americans are evangelical; however, well over 40% of the 7 million “non-whites” are evangelical. Especially noteworthy is the strong and increasing spiritual vibrancy and Biblical commitment among Hispanic-Americans, African-Americans, and Korean-Americans.
There is an increasing need for seminary training for pastors of ethnic congregations, as more and more of the present church members are doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers, nurses, and articulate people of other professions. Without excellent training for pastors, the Gospel is often poorly represented. The leaders of the present and the future are then missing in Church.
Only 20% of evangelical ministers in New York area have any accredited seminary training, and only 6% have seminary degrees. Most evangelical ministers have been trained at the more than 100 unaccredited Bible institutes in the City, but these institutes are not meeting the present need.
A multi-ethnic Board incorporated as the New York Evangelical Seminary Fund (NYES) with the mission: “As you go, disciple all ethnic peoples…teaching them all that I have commanded. And look! I am with you every day until the completion of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
NYES’ programs, including the New York Divinity School (NYDS) have generally reflected the makeup of the urban evangelical community of New York City. About 83% of NYES’ present students come from “minority” or non-white communities. The average age of students is 41, and 24% of the students are women.
Vision and Prayer
- NYDS will grow in its service to God by training all ethnic peoples in excellent Biblical knowledge, evangelism, ministry skills, and theology.
- NYDS will work on its own accreditation. To achieve this, it will be helpful to have at least three full-time faculty based in New York, a larger library, and a $1 million endowment.
- NYDS will continue to work closely with Churches and ministries to serve them in their true needs.
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