Black Ministries Leaders Meeting Hosted by Pentecostal Theological Seminary
The Pentecostal Theological Seminary recently hosted the Black Ministries Board and Black Ministries Forum Leadership Meeting. The BMFL meeting convenes Church of God Black leaders from around the United States and Canada. The Black Ministries Board held its regular meeting but, also, assumed additional duties as the Pentecostal Theological Seminary Black Ministries Advisory Board.
Most of one day was spent familiarizing the advisory board with the ministries of the seminary. The advisory board had the opportunity to dialogue with faculty, students and seminary leadership about the work of the seminary and about the seminary’s relationships with those of African descent. Ken Hill, coordinator of Black Ministries, commented about the meeting, “It was refreshing to be part of an honest dialogue with the Seminary about race relationships. Even though we believe the Seminary has always been a friend to the black community, I like the attitude they exhibited when they said, “We can do better. We want to continue to partner with that kind of attitude.” Coordinator Hill pointed out that the relationship between the Seminary and Black Ministries has strengthened over the past year, and he looks forward to their future relationship.
The advisory board passed resolutions and submitted them to PTS President Steve Land and the Seminary board for consideration. Dr. Land expressed thanks to the advisory board for their partnership with the seminary and shared his pleasure at the results of the advisory board meeting dialogue, stating “The time that we shared with these leaders in our Church of God community was dynamic. I believe the Seminary, Black Ministries, the Church of God, and the Kingdom of God will be richer for these days we spent together. I will share the resolutions with our board of directors and will urge them to consider and adopt these resolutions. I look forward to future dialogue with this crucial advisory board.” Dr. Land expressed how the Seminary has long been on the forefront of developing relationships with the black community: “Many of the leaders in the Church of God black community have attended our Seminary; in a recent study by the Association of Theological Schools, it was reported we have twice as many black students as our seminary peers. We want to be intentional about our relationship with Black Ministries and all of our minority communities; our relationships are important to us.”
The BMFL meeting agenda included two days of strategic planning and break-out sessions that dealt with the need of a full-time coordinator, 2012 General Assembly resolutions and agenda items, 2013 Black Ministries Conference, employment opportunities for those of African descent, Black Ministries Recognition Day (2nd Sunday of February) within the International Church of God, and international boards and appointments.
“The Black Ministries Forum was an exciting time to dialogue with four administrative bishops of African descent, pastors, ministers, and state and Regional Fellowship Leadership (Northeast, Southeast, and Northwest Pentecostal Fellowships). The forum concluded with members feeling uplifted and encouraged as they looked to the future of Black Ministries within the International Church of God”, explained Ken Hill.
As part of the leadership event at the Seminary, evangelist Janice A. Hill, wife of Coordinator Hill, sang and effectively preached in the Seminary chapel service. She spoke of the need for “TRUST”, letting us know that to trust Him is to know Him and to know Him is to trust Him; she used the acrostic Totally – Resting – Under – Stressful – Times. Her scripture texts were Psalms 73: 26 & 28; Philippians 4: 6 & 7 and 1 Peter 5:7.
Dr. Wallace J. Sibley
A highlight of the leadership event was a dinner to honor Dr. Wallace and Dorothy Sibley who have been nominated for induction into the Seminary Hall of Prophets. Induction into the Hall of Prophets is a high honor reserved for credentialed ministers whose service to Jesus Christ and the Church of God has been meritorious. A candidate must be either deceased or reached the age of 65 years and have contributed a major portion of his/her life to full time and a significant ministry in the Church of God. A very important feature of the Hall of Prophets nomination is that a minimum of $25,000 is raised in honor of the nominee(s) to provide scholarships monies. Interest earned from the Wallace and Dorothy Sibley Endowment will fund scholarships for seminary students of African descent. The Seminary Black Ministries Advisory Board will approve recipients of the scholarship monies.
The kick-off dinner to initiate the Wallace and Dorothy Sibley Scholarship Fund saw many tributes to the Sibley’s long and effective ministry. To donate to this endowment, contact Joy Terpstra at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary at 423-478-7707 or jterpstra@ptseminary.edu.
