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There are moments in history when the movement of God becomes unmistakable, when what once seemed unlikely begins to take shape right before our eyes. I believe we are witnessing one of those moments today.
Across the country and around the world, we are seeing signs of spiritual hunger among a generation many assumed would drift further from the Lord. Yet, in His kindness, God is drawing young men and women to Himself. What is most compelling is not just the visible expressions like gatherings, baptisms, and testimonies, but the deeper work taking place in lives being shaped through discipleship.
This has always been God’s way.
Throughout Scripture and church history, the Lord has worked through faithful believers investing in others, creating a multiplying effect that extends far beyond what we can see. What begins as a single act of obedience can ripple outward in ways only eternity will fully reveal.
Here at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, we are grateful to stand in the middle of that work. Our calling remains clear: to prepare servants for faithful, lifelong ministry. As students come to us from this rising generation, we are committed not only to equipping their minds, but also to shaping their lives. Through intentional discipleship, mentoring, and spiritual formation, we seek to help them build the kind of character that will endure long after moments of excitement fade.
I am continually encouraged by what I see in and through our students, faculty, and alumni — God is at work, and the impact of that work will extend far beyond what any of us can measure today.
Thank you for being a part of this shared mission. It is a privilege to labor together for the sake of the Gospel and for generations to come.
Dr. Jamie Dew President
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College
Hear how Leavell College Dean Greg Wilton is carrying on the ministry legacy of NOBTS professor Ken Taylor at Gentilly Baptist Church.
Austin and Megan Holcomb ended their three-year IMB missionary term at NOBTS this May. Throughout their term, they experienced everything they would need to prepare for their next missions opportunity.
Learn how NOBTS is helping train the next generation of ministry servants.
NOBTS ALUMNI LEAD OLYMPIC EVANGELISM
A group of NOBTS alumni serving as IMB missionaries helped organize evangelism efforts at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
NOBTS GRADUATE CONTINUES MINISTRY AS PROFESSIONAL ILLUSIONIST
Recent NOBTS graduate Bryan Drake continues his career as a traveling illusionist sharing the Gospel with a variety of audiences.
2026
Volume 82
DR. JAMIE DEW
President
DR. MATT JAMES
Senior Vice President for Business Administration
DR. MIKE WETZEL
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
JOSEPH DUKE
Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Communications
JONATHAN SKINNER
Director of Communications
TIMOTHY COCKES
Editor
MADELYNN DUKE
Art Director
COMMUNICATIONS STAFF
Content Support
VISION MAGAZINE
is published once a year by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College.
3939 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70126 (800) 662-8701 | (504) 282-4455 contact@nobts.edu www.nobts.edu | www.leavellcollege.com
All contents © 2026 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. All rights reserved.
Please send address changes and alumni updates to the office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@nobts.edu. NOTE: Alumni updates will be used for the publication of the VISION magazine and on the Alumni website.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is a Cooperative Program ministry, supported by the gifts of Southern Baptists.
Long before our inception in 1917, Southern Baptists recognized the need for a seminary in New Orleans. In 1946, our school received a new name and soon moved to a new campus. A transition from the Baptist Bible Institute in the Garden District to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary at 3939 Gentilly Boulevard may have ushered in a new era, but it did not change our mission. Today, we hold firm to the commission Southern Baptists gave us more than a hundred years ago, a commission that continues @3939.
The mission of NOBTS is to prepare students @3939 Gentilly Boulevard to minister in local churches all around the world.
The seminary has always strived to strengthen churches around the Southern Baptist Convention, and that includes in Gentilly itself.
Gentilly Baptist Church, founded in 1923, is located just over a mile from the seminary’s campus. But the church’s connection to the seminary extends beyond geography and points to a continuing ministry legacy.
Greg Wilton, assistant professor of missions and evangelism and dean of Leavell College, has been serving as lead pastor of Gentilly Baptist since Aug. 2025.
Wilton and his family joined as members of Gentilly Baptist in early 2023, and when the previous pastor headed toward retirement, Wilton decided to step into leadership at the church.
These transition conversations only seemed natural to Wilton, as Gentilly’s previous pastor was Ken Taylor, who served as professor of urban missions at NOBTS for more than 30 years.
Taylor has known Greg almost his entire life, as he worked closely with his father, NOBTS professor Don Wilton.
Wilton said Taylor was always someone he looked up to in ministry as they have the same passion for missions, so getting involved with Gentilly only made sense.
“I have had an admiration for him ever since I was a child,” Wilton said. “He ended up being the chair of my dissertation, and he was one of my biggest supporters when I went to serve as a missionary. I knew when I came to work at the seminary that Gentilly Baptist carried the ministry philosophy that I wanted to have, which is life on mission.”
Wilton said the incredible impact of Taylor’s ministry at Gentilly is still being felt today and is something he hopes to carry on.
“It’s a church that has been meaningful in the Gentilly area firstly because of its connection to the seminary and then also because of its determination to live on mission in the community,” Wilton said.
By Timothy Cockes
“Ken simply made a strategy of meeting people’s needs and spreading the Gospel. The church ministered greatly to members of the community. They were constantly out picking up kids for church or walking the streets and visiting people.
“When I go out to share the Gospel or invite people to church, there is rarely a conversation in the Gentilly area that they don’t say ‘isn’t that where brother Ken is?’ They reference him all the time.”
Taylor’s vision for Gentilly Baptist was always for it to be a community church. Serving the Gentilly neighborhood and sharing the Gospel were essential elements of the church’s strategy.
Ministries of the church include distributing food, hosting mission teams, throwing block parties, serving local teachers, offering their building for weddings and funerals, evangelizing in the local neighborhood, supporting local pregnancy centers and much more.
Taylor’s ministry at Gentilly is also marked by the way he led the church to recover after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This recovery involved a merger with another neighborhood church, Elysian Fields Baptist.
After the storm devastated Elysian Fields’ building, leadership at the two churches started conversations about what a potential merger would look like.
Taylor was serving as the pastor at Elysian Fields, and the remnants of both churches eventually voted to merge as the relaunched Gentilly Baptist Church with Taylor as pastor in 2007.
Gentilly Baptist became known in the community for its immense recovery efforts rebuilding the city and leading many people to Christ along the way.
Taylor said his experience of pastoring in New Orleans had a symbiotic relationship with his work as a professor at NOBTS.
“I always felt like pastoring in the community helped my teaching, especially teaching urban ministry, and I also felt like teaching at the seminary helped me in my ministry at the church,” Taylor said.
“We’ve exposed a lot of people to urban missions in New Orleans, and they have taken that experience and used it in their ministry where they are now.”
Years later, Gentilly Baptist has maintained its philosophy of community service, now with Wilton leading the way.
“We saw Greg and his family’s concern for the community as soon as they joined the church,” Taylor said.
“I knew his heart and knew they would carry on what we had started at the church. I’m excited that God was able to place somebody like Greg into this position. I feel very gratified by how God is using him and his family at Gentilly Baptist.”
The NOBTS connections run deep at Gentilly, as many students and staff from the seminary have been members there over the years.
This includes retired NOBTS professor Dennis Cole, who has been a member at Gentilly for more than 45 years.
Cole, who now serves as associate pastor at Gentilly,
experienced the church merger shortly after Katrina and saw Wilton take over the church just before the 20th anniversary of the storm.
He said the mission and vision of Gentilly Baptist to be a community-oriented church has stayed the same.
“We had been talking about this pastoral transition for years, and we wanted to bring some younger leadership to the church,” Cole said.
“The continuity of this transition has been amazing, and we’ve been re-energized by Greg and other younger folks in the church. I’m excited and encouraged by what I’m seeing the young people in our church do in terms of outreach in this new era.”
Wilton said he knew when coming to teach at the seminary that being involved at a local church was going to be essential for him, and NOBTS expects nothing less.
“Dr. Dew wants all of our faculty to remember that we are not only here to teach people about ministry, but also we’re supposed to be an example in ministry,” Wilton said. “I don’t know if I could do my job as dean or professor well if I didn’t anchor myself in the local church.
“It’s a non-negotiable for me to make sure the seminary is connected to the rhythms of local church ministry as much as possible.
“The combination of the seminary and the city of New Orleans is perfect for preparing Gospel ministers wherever they are sent. At the seminary you are surrounded and enveloped by the things of God, and the moment you step outside our seminary gates, you have an opportunity to minister practically to a culture that is vastly different than the seminary’s.”
Wilton hopes to one day pass along ministry leadership at Gentilly the same way Taylor did for him.
“At Gentilly Baptist, we are trying to demonstrate a spirit of discipleship from one pastor to the next,” Wilton said.
“Ken Taylor helped raise me up as pastor, and I hope and pray that I can do the same with another person.
“I know that so much of who I am today is the product of how other people poured into me. Watching a guy like Ken Taylor wrap up his ministry and pass the baton, it made me very aware I’ve been called to do the same thing.”
Unfolded highlights key events from the 2025–2026 school year at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College. It takes you through the moments that shaped the seminary this year.
AUGUST 2025 “BEYOND THE PULPIT” PODCAST LAUNCH
Read more on page 26.
JANUARY 4-9, 2026 DEFEND APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE
PICTURED: ALYCIA WOOD
Read more on page 66.
AUGUST 28, 2025 NOBTS RECEIVES REPLICA OF GUTENBERG BIBLE
Read more on page 12.
JANUARY 30-31, 2026 ABIDE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Read more on page 57.
FALL 2025 SEMESTER IN THE PSALMS
Visit NOBTS Youtube to watch.
MARCH 13, 2026
SANDLOT REVIVAL
PICTURED: COACH RAC
Read more on page 53.
SEPTEMBER 19-20, 2025
ABRE MIS OJOS CONFERENCIA HISPANA
Read more on page 24.
APRIL 14, 2026 CRAWFEST
PICTURED: DR. RICHARD GAMBILL AND HIS WIFE MARIBETH
OCTOBER 7, 2025 FALL FEST
APRIL 17-18, 2026 CASKEY CONFERENCE
PICTURED: RICK BURGESS
Read more on page 55.
By Timothy Cockes
Austin and Megan Holcomb have been serving an IMB missionary term at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for the last three years.
The couple has served at NOBTS as seminary and pipeline liaisons for the International Mission Board, representing a unique and strategic partnership between the entities.
The Holcombs served as International Mission Board representatives primarily tasked with assisting, guiding and mentoring NOBTS students who are in the application process to become IMB missionaries or have potential interest in missionary service.
After the couple’s missionary term at NOBTS ended in May, Austin and Megan will embark on a new journey of missions leadership this upcoming fall.
Austin will serve as director of the brand-new Tom Elliff Center for Missions at the University of Mobile, as well as assistant professor of theology. Beginning this fall, Austin will lead a team of staff at the Center as it launches as a new initiative of the university.
Similar to the Global Mission Center (GMC) at NOBTS, the Tom Elliff Center will seek to continue to build a missional culture at the University of Mobile by providing training and education to students, as well as helping mobilize them toward the mission field.
“This opportunity was not on our radar, but we could honestly see the Lord going before us in this process with almost every detail,” Austin said. “I’m excited to work on developing this new Center with the leadership at the University of Mobile.
“We want to be a center that impacts, affects and holds hands with students during a time where they are developing their professional skills. Our goal is to create a Great Commission vision in every student that comes to the school no matter what their major is.
“We desire to bolster their faith but also help mobilize some of them to the mission field, whether that be short-term or potentially longer.”
The Holcombs expressed thankfulness for the way their time at NOBTS prepared them for their new ministry assignment.
“I don’t think we would be in this position had it not been for our time of ministry here at NOBTS,” Austin said. “I just have a heart of gratitude for everyone here.”
Beyond helping them prepare for their next opportunity, the Holcombs said their term at NOBTS also provided a time of stability where they developed new ministry passions.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a host of other reasons, the Holcombs’ first IMB missionary term was filled with a lot of changes and unexpected turns. While serving at NOBTS, the couple helped guide young adults experiencing similar things.
“The Lord helped Megan and I discover how much we enjoy ministering to college students during this term at NOBTS,” Austin said.
“We have had to navigate a lot of transitions, unknowns and unpredictable changes in our lives, especially on the mission field. I think that is one reason that we find ourselves comfortable training and discipling young people during this time in their lives where they are trying to navigate what is next for them.”
Although they became accustomed to transition out of necessity, the constant change did eventually take a mental and emotional toll on the Holcomb family.
Austin recalls the family staying the night for at least five consecutive days in more than 30 different physical locations over the course of their four-year term.
“As a family, we really needed to be in a place where we could get some traction in ministry and be there for a few years in a row,” Austin said. “We were willing to serve anywhere if we could just meet that goal. The Lord fulfilled that and even more with this liaison role at NOBTS.
“We owe a huge thanks to Greg Mathias, Jake Hines and many others for everything they’ve done for us. It’s been wonderful to be a part of what the Lord is doing in so many people’s lives here in New Orleans.”
Their time at NOBTS provided personal stability, gave them a new ministry passion for young adults and trained them for their next ministry assignment without them even realizing it.
“You can’t ever tell how the Lord is going to answer prayers in a difficult season,” Megan said. “This term here at NOBTS has helped us to really look and see how God has taken so many things that seemed insignificant at the time and used them in our story.
“God answered prayers that we prayed very fervently for many years and has given us a new breath of life in our ministry through this NOBTS season.”
Greg Mathias, associate professor of global missions and director of the GMC, emphasized that the Holcombs’ role at the seminary highlights the GMC’s deep partnership with the IMB.
The IMB and NOBTS worked together to hire the position, and Mathias lobbied hard for Austin and Megan to be chosen, as he previously knew Austin from Southeastern Seminary.
“It was not just about getting someone here for 3 years, but about getting the right people for us at NOBTS for those 3 years,” Mathias said. “The IMB was great to work with on this, and we are so glad we received the Holcombs for this term. They were a great fit for who we are and what we are trying to build with the Global Mission Center.”
In addition to assisting the GMC with trainings and events, Austin and Megan personally invested in the lives of many NOBTS students pursuing missions throughout their term.
The couple hosted monthly pipeline meetings during the school year for students in the IMB application process or generally considering missionary service.
Said students would commit to a year of training with the Holcombs, who would dedicate each meeting to discussing a certain element of the missionary task. Austin and Megan would also lead male and female specific groups dedicated to Bible study and Scripture memory.
This group ranged between 25-30 participants each year, and several missionary units who participated successfully completed their IMB application process and are now serving as field missionaries.
“Austin and Megan did a phenomenal job of meeting students where they are with real empathy and wisdom,” Mathias said. “They have been a major part of what we do at the GMC and of campus life as a whole. They have uniquely invested in so many of our students and are a living example of our partnership with the IMB.
“Their friendship and shared passion for missions has been a blessing to us. We have certainly loved having them here, and we are excited to celebrate them taking this new role.”
Mathias said the Holcombs’ story represents a perfect picture of the seminary’s mission.
“Whatever position you’re in here at NOBTS, we are about training up men and women for ministry and sending them out,” Mathias said.
“It just so happens in this scenario that our seminary and Global Mission Center are sending out the Holcombs to lead a mission center at another school. It’s a beautiful picture of why we exist.”
The H. Milton Haggard Center for New Testament Textual Studies at NOBTS has announced their newly released digital edition of the Greek New Testament. The Center announced their multi-year project at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) in November.
The edition of the Greek New Testament is nearing full completion, and a majority of the edition is available online. It will soon be available on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows.
William Warren, professor of New Testament and Greek and director of the Textual Center, said this new edition of the Greek New Testament is groundbreaking because of its accessibility and purpose.
The Textual Center, made up of NOBTS students and staff, has been hard at work on the project for more than three years. Warren said a project of this magnitude would normally take 10 to 15 years.
He said the ultimate purpose of the project is for missionaries and Bible translators to have easy access to the Greek New Testament to aid in fulfilling the Great Commission.
“This edition of the Greek New Testament is academically responsible, openly accessible and it is for everyone who studies the New Testament, not just those within the textual criticism field,” Warren said. “When people pick up a Bible in the future, there will probably be some input or influence from this project on what that Bible is saying.”
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was recently gifted a facsimile replica of the Gutenberg Bible, one of the most significant artifacts in Christian history, to display in its Museum of the Bible and Archaeology.
The facsimile, or exact copy of the text, was presented during NOBTS chapel on Aug. 28 and set up for display in the Museum later that afternoon.
The facsimile is bound to specifically replicate the original design of the Gutenberg Bible, printed more than 500 years ago. It is one of the closest things to an original copy that someone can own.
The Bible was donated by Tim Yancey, a long-time vice president of Chick-fil-A who has worked for many years to produce replica bindings for facsimile copies of the Gutenberg Bible.
Yancey, along with his wife Connie, were welcomed to chapel by NOBTS President Jamie Dew.
“We just want to say thank you so much for the gift of this copy,” Dew said. “We will treasure it and steward it well.”
Dew went on to speak to the chapel audience about the importance of the Gutenberg press for Christianity.
“I hope the significance of being able to own a Bible is not lost on you,” Dew said. “We often take the surplus we have of Scripture for granted in our world today.”
TRAINING FOR SERVICE, THROUGH SERVICE AT NEW ORLEANS SEMINARY AND LEAVELL COLLEGE
MISSIONLAB IS A LIFE-CHANGING, ACTION-PACKED WEEK WHERE YOUR CHURCH GROUP WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY, DO HANDS-ON MINISTRY, AND LIVE ON MISSION ALONGSIDE LEADERS FROM NEW ORLEANS BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
READY TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY OF NEW ORLEANS? BOOK NOW | LEARN MORE
This year marks five years of the House System at Leavell College. Looking back, I am grateful for all the Lord has done. I see a line of faithful student leaders who have poured into the mission of the House System making it what it is today. In thinking about what the House System means to students, I asked a few for their thoughts. Here’s what they said:
“The House System has given me a beautiful, biblical community of people that challenges me to grow and spurs me closer to Jesus. Living life together in the challenging and
joyous times as we strive to strengthen our faith for ministry now and in the future, we have created life long ministry friends!”
“The House System builds bridges as new students are able to connect with older students.”
“Because of the House System I’ve connected to a community with many people who I call friends and family. I’ve never had so many peers striving to serve Christ completely and encourage one another faithfully.”
I am excited for what the Lord will continue to do in and through our students as they seek to love and serve Him with their whole lives!
“WHAT
I DO KNOW IS THIS, IN THE TIME THAT I HAVE LIVED IN NEW ORLEANS AND SERVED NOBTS, I HAVE WITNESSED TIME AND AGAIN THE PEOPLE OF NOBTS LIVE OUT THE REFLECTION OF OUR FIRST PRESIDENT BYRON HOOVER DEMENT WHEN HE SAID THIS PLACE IS A SCHOOL OF PROVIDENCE AND PRAYER.” - JAMIE DEW
By Timothy Cockes
August 29, 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that forever changed the city of New Orleans and the Baptist Seminary which bears its name.
With an estimated death toll of more than 1,400, Hurricane Katrina became known as one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history after it struck in 2005. The city of New Orleans became synonymous with Katrina and the lengthy recovery process that followed it.
Despite the devastating impact of the infamous storm, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College remain a strong symbol of hope for the city and continue to carry out the mission Southern Baptists gave them more than 100 years ago.
Though NOBTS now experiences great success (marked by record fundraising numbers, thriving academic programs and growing enrollment), the seminary first had to endure intense trauma and heartbreak, millions of dollars’ worth of property damage and great uncertainty.
“Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath had a profound impact on the city of New Orleans and the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary,” NOBTS President Jamie Dew said.
“I came to New Orleans after the storm when much had been done in terms of recovery in the city. And yet, an event like Katrina leaves long-lasting physical and emotional scars across the landscape of the city and her people.”
Dew said it was the grace of God that fueled the NOBTS family as they walked the long road of recovery.
“What I do know is this, in the time that I have lived in New Orleans and served NOBTS, I have witnessed time and again the people of NOBTS live out the reflection of our first President Byron Hoover DeMent when he said this place is a School of Providence and Prayer,” Dew said.
“God has been faithful and true to this institution by bringing her back healthier and more vibrant, by bringing her a people who desire nothing more than to take up the towel and the basin in service, and by giving us thousands of opportunities to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.”
Coined by DeMent, NOBTS has long been known as the School of Providence and Prayer. It was those two things which
carried the seminary through one of her defining moments to be where she is today.
20 years after Katrina, a lot has changed at the School of Providence and Prayer.
Homes and other campus buildings have been rebuilt. Campus locations have been renamed and remodeled. Many students currently living on campus were young children when the storm hit.
The storm has been weathered, and NOBTS and her people remain. Although many present campus residents were not at the seminary for Katrina, those who did experience the devastation carry a legacy of redemption into the future.
“The history of this school has been one of tough challenges,” Dew told students during chapel on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.
“God has again and again been faithful to his people at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Katrina nearly destroyed us, but it is now an Ebeneezer stone for us.
“We remember the storm and there’s still pain and sorrow associated with those memories, but yet, today we cannot think of those memories without seeing how God worked through it all.”
That Tuesday’s service, as always, was held in Leavell Chapel. Lush grass and large trees filled with leaves surround the tallest building on the seminary’s campus.
These campus markers illustrate that NOBTS stands strong years after tragedy and trauma.
They symbolize that life and ministry will continue at the School of Providence and Prayer.
“Katrina was a devastating storm by any standard, but as the psalmist reminds us, we are to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth her fruit in its season,” Dew said.
“May we be found ever faithful before God and vigilant in our work to proclaim the glory of our risen Savior whether in sorrow or in triumph.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:
THE PREPARE NETWORK IS A NETWORK OF MINISTRY PARTNERS DEDICATED TO PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF GOSPEL SERVANTS THROUGH MENTORSHIP AND FIELD-
Prepare Network Residency partnerships offer seminary credit to students for Church Ministry courses like Evangelism, Pastoral Ministry, and Proclaiming the Bible, through residential training in local churches and parachurch ministries. As such, the Prepare Network offers yet another avenue for distance students to incorporate face-to-face interactions in their theological training. While fulfilling Church Ministry coursework through their local residency, students will complete other coursework through distance or in-person classes.
As students prepare for ministry, they require three primary areas of formation: knowledge, practical skills, and character formation. What should they know? What should they do? And who should they become? We believe that through the combination of seminary and field-based training, students will learn, gain practical skills, and cultivate Christlike character such that they will be sufficiently prepared for every good work.
Prepare Partners are approved NOBTS mentors who are eager to mentor our students through our mentoring class format. Students taking mentoring classes meet with a qualified mentor weekly during the semester. The mentor helps contextualize the online class content, provided by our faculty, to the student’s local ministry setting. If a student does not have access to a Prepare Network Residency, mentoring classes are a great opportunity to receive face-to-face mentorship and practical training.
SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN PARTNER WITH THE PREPARE NETWORK
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL STUDIES
Ben Browning was elected assistant professor of biblical studies at the Spring 2026 meeting of the NOBTS and Leavell College Board of Trustees. He will continue in his position as director of distance learning and prison programs. Browning holds the M.Div. in Biblical Languages as well as the Th.M. and Ph.D. in New Testament from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY
Casey Evans was elected assistant professor of theology at the Spring 2026 meeting of the NOBTS and Leavell College Board of Trustees. He will continue in his position as associate vice president for institutional administration. Evans holds the M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies and the M.A. in Apologetics and Christian Philosophy from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds the Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is a Ph.D. candidate in Systematic Theology.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT AND GREEK
Nelson Hsieh was elected assistant professor of New Testament and Greek at the Fall 2025 meeting of the NOBTS and Leavell College Board of Trustees. He was also named assistant director of the H. Milton Haggard Center for New Testament Textual Studies. Hsieh holds the M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary and the Th.M. and Ph.D. in. New Testament and Systematic Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Andrew Slay was elected assistant professor of ethics and apologetics at the Spring 2026 meeting of the NOBTS and Leavell College Board of Trustees. Slay holds the M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Apologetics.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL MISSIONS (MINISTRY-BASED)
Tim Williams was elected as associate professor of global missions (ministrybased) at the Spring 2026 meeting of the NOBTS and Leavell College Board of Trustees. He is the senior pastor of Williams Boulevard Baptist Church in Kenner, La. Williams holds the M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Th.M. and Ph.D. in Missiology from the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Moral Apologetics: A Short Companion
By James K. Dew Jr. and Jordan Steffaniak
Series edited by C. Ben Mitchell and Jason Thacker
Creation: An Introduction By Tyler R. Wittman
Series edited by Graham A. Cole, Oren R. Martin
Children and Salvation: Biblical, Theological, and Practical Considerations
By Karen Kennemur, Kelly A. King, Shelly Melia, and Donna B. Peavey
Counseling Through the Storm: A Guide to Treating Crisis and Trauma By Brooke Osborn, Karen Roudkovski
Transforming Churches in Pastoral Transition By Reggie Ogea and Steve Echols
Youth Ministry Deconstructed: Rethinking Your Ministry to Build Lasting Faith in Students By David Odom
Co-editor: Luke Johnson
NOBTS and Leavell College President Jamie Dew expressed deep gratitude for the ministry and support of Southern Baptists during his report to messengers of the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting.
“Before I share my report about how our wonderful school in New Orleans is doing, I just want to say how personally grateful I am for Southern Baptists,” Dew said during his address Wednesday morning (June 11, 2025).
Dew said the great character of Southern Baptists is reflected in the students NOBTS is training to serve the convention.
“When I think about Southern Baptists, I often say that Southern Baptists are kind, hard-working and faithful,” Dew said. “Southern Baptists love Jesus and they just want to make Him known. When I think about you all that way, I also see that on our campus. That’s who the people of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College are.
“You would be proud of our students if you were to come to our campus and see who they are, what they’re training for and where they’re going. It is a deep and profound joy to serve all of them and by extension all of you. Thank you for this privilege and for your continued faithful support of the Cooperative Program.
Comentario Textual Al Nuevo Testamento Griego Translator and Editor: Fabio Castellanos
Regarding the Cooperative Program, Dew noted the significance of the anniversary of both the CP and the Baptist Faith and Message.
“It’s a big deal to celebrate 100 years of the CP and the Baptist Faith and Message,” he said.
Dew closed by saying this past academic year has been the best year of his ministry career, and NOBTS will continue to train students to be faithful ministry servants for the SBC.
“It has been a great year and we do this work not only for our Lord, but for you. Southern Baptists, you are worth this work. While we do our work, we think about all of you all year long.”
The “Abre Mis Ojos” conference (Spanish for “open my eyes”) gathered more than 700 guests from the Hispanic community at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Sept. 19-20, 2025.
The fourth annual conference, developed by NOBTS as an intentional way to engage Hispanics, hosted a total of 775 guests from six different states and more than 80 different churches.
Multiple nationalities were represented during the two-day event, which focused on the theme of sound doctrine
“By the grace of God, the conference was a total success,” said Fabio Castellanos, director of Spanish online education at NOBTS.
“This marks the largest attendance we have ever had, and six professions of faith took place throughout the weekend. New relationships with various ministry partners were established and our ties with SBC entities such as IMB and NAMB were further strengthened.”
In addition to Castellanos, plenary speakers at the event included:
• Gilberto Corredera, Spanish pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas
• Bill Warren, NOBTS professor of New Testament and Greek
• Bárbaro Marrero, president of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba and dean of the Baptist Theological Seminary of Havana
Castellanos said Abre is playing a key role in connecting NOBTS to the Hispanic community and its churches.
“The Seminary has become a point of convergence for Hispanic churches in our region,” Castellanos said.
“The presence of believers from 84 churches is a testimony to the growing credibility of the conference and the Seminary in the Hispanic community.
“NOBTS is a neutral ground where a multitude of local churches all come together simply as believers that are thirsty to hear the Word of God and are eager to put it into practice.
“This is undoubtedly one of the many ways in which the Seminary equips servants to walk with Christ, proclaim His truth, and fulfill His mission.”
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New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has launched a brand-new podcast with President Jamie Dew titled “Beyond the Pulpit: Real Conversations for Ministry Leaders.”
The podcast features Dew conversing with a variety of guests, including many from NOBTS, about various ministry topics.
“This whole podcast is about us trying to be faithful to the Lord,” Dew said.
“It’s not necessarily about what I think, and it’s certainly not about a platform. It’s just about trying to give our lives for the call of Christ and being faithful to that. It’s about celebrating the good things, talking about the hard things and pressing on together to honor the Lord.”
These conversations will often be with an NOBTS faculty or staff member but will sometimes feature special guests such as various SBC leaders.
Additionally, the podcast features some conversations about more light-hearted subjects that go beyond ministry such as parenting, marriage, various hobbies or interests and life in general.
DR. JAKE ROUDKOVSKI
Podcast episodes are released every two weeks and are available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora and Amazon Music.
Contend, returning for its fourth year, covered topics related to “Following Christ in a Tech Driven World” on Saturday, April 11. The one-day apologetics event for high school students, hosted by Leavell College at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, welcomed 148 attendees.
Plenary speakers included Eli Byrd (assistant professor of Christian ministry for NOBTS and Leavell College), Larry Lyon (president of Truett McConnell University) and Clint Davis (licensed professional counselor at Clint Davis Counseling & Integrative Wellness).
Byrd challenged students to find ways that technology can positively impact discipleship. Lyon encouraged students to approach social media and artificial intelligence with biblical wisdom. Davis concluded the conference by explaining the importance of reframing culture through a Christian lens, while presenting data on the dangers of technology and social media.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College celebrated more than 550 graduates during the 20252026 academic year.
During the fall commencement ceremonies (held Dec. 12, 2025), NOBTS conferred 159 degrees, while Leavell College graduates received 112 undergraduate degrees and certifications. 58 of those Leavell College degrees came via the seminary’s prison education program.
Spring commencement ceremonies (held May 15), saw NOBTS confer 188 degrees and Leavell College graduates receive 94 degrees, 36 of which came from the seminary’s prison education program. Additionally, five of the NOBTS degrees came via the prison education program.
Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College, began the fall ceremonies by reminding graduates of the unique and imperative calling their degree represents.
Crescent City Worship led worship for the plenary sessions, while Greg Wilton (dean of Leavell College) and Tommy Doughty (associate dean of Leavell College) led group games. Breakout sessions explored a variety of different topics and were led by the plenary speakers and other NOBTS faculty.
“Graduates, we are incredibly proud of you,” Dew said. “You’ve studied hard, worked diligently and given yourself to your assignments.
“You did all of this work ultimately because the Lord called you. He called you not just to get a degree. A degree is a means to an end, and that end is to serve Jesus Christ with every fiber of your being. Today we celebrate the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new chapter as you go into the world to serve Jesus Christ.”
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Serve Days offer students and faculty the opportunity to volunteer in the local community and share the hope of Christ.
The fall semester’s Serve Day (taking place Sept. 25) and the spring semester’s Serve Day (taking place Feb. 26) saw a combined 550 students, faculty, local church members and campus guests engaging in a variety of service projects and evangelism efforts across New Orleans.
Fall Serve Day, operating under the theme “Training For Service Through Service,” represented the largest number of participants in the event’s history. Several professions of faith were reported throughout the afternoon.
Thomas Strong, vice president for spiritual formation and student life, challenged students to reflect on what they learned through the experience and how they can apply it to their lives.
“If Serve Day is just something we do once a semester, then we really have no idea what service is. Service is not just something we do, it’s something that should be a part of our normal lives.”
At Spring Serve Day, NOBTS President Jamie Dew closed the time by expressing his gratitude for the Serve Day participants and echoed the sentiments of Strong.
“This is always one of the prouder moments of the year for me,” Dew said.
“Serving is not the easiest pathway and it is easy to find excuses, but you all press into this and you do it very well every time.”
Dew thanked the students for living out the mission of the seminary.
“Although it may never actually become completely comfortable for us to do these kinds of things, I am encouraged to hear the number of times that you all as students are doing the things you would be doing on a Serve Day unprompted, unscheduled and unstructured by the seminary,” Dew said. “Just seminary students going out to serve the community and share Jesus in their everyday lives. That makes me incredibly proud, and it is honoring to the Lord.”
AN IMMERSIVE YEAR OF SERVICE WHERE THE CITY IS YOUR CLASSROOM.
SERVENOLA IS MORE THAN A PROGRAM AT LEAVELL COLLEGE—IT’S THE FIRST STEP INTO A LIFE OF MINISTRY SERVICE BY PREPARING STUDENTS TO BECOME THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHURCH LEADERS, READY TO SERVE ANYWHERE AS THEY WALK WITH CHRIST, PROCLAIM HIS TRUTH, AND FULFILL HIS MISSION.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary partnered with five Baptist state conventions to facilitate the 2025 Prepare Here Pastor’s Summit (Oct. 9-10), an event designed to encourage and equip pastors from those different conventions.
Representatives from the participating conventions included:
• Shawn Parker, executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board,
• Stephen Rummage, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention,
• Craig Carlisle, director of missions for Etowah Baptist Association in Alabama,
• Randy Davis, executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board,
NOBTS President Jamie Dew encouraged the pastors in attendance to press on in ministry during Friday’s closing panel. “We love having you all here, and we’re grateful for you being on campus,” Dew said.
“This is important work that we do. I’ve often said that I think the work that pastors do is the most important work being done on Earth right now because there’s only one hope for the world and it is Jesus Christ. Keep preaching and teaching the Gospel. We want to just encourage you to stay strong and persist in this work. That’s the hope and the goal of this event.”
The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni and Friends Luncheon highlighted the ministry of Crescent City Worship during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas. Crescent City Worship (CCW) performed songs from their studio album “hymns project 1,” alongside frequent collaborator Meredith Andrews.
CCW leads worship during NOBTS chapel and travels around the country performing in churches and at various SBC events. The group is connected to the Center for Worship Studies at NOBTS and serves as the official music publishing arm of the seminary.
Larry Lyon explained the ultimate goal of CCW is to serve churches.
“We could see that this was a need for our school, but it was also an opportunity to serve churches like yours,” Lyon said. “It really is about us at NOBTS and Leavell College preparing servants who will lead worship throughout the churches of the SBC.
Jamie Dew, NOBTS and Leavell College President, expressed his gratitude for the success of CCW and for the seminary’s annual luncheon event.
“We’re grateful for what God has done through Crescent City Worship and all of what has been happening at NOBTS and Leavell College,” Dew said.
God is moving among college students and young adults.
This sentiment might seem like wishful thinking or subjective opinion, but it has recently become an observable trend among Generation Z.
Understood to be those born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z, known as Gen Z for short, is now entering adulthood as one of the most unique generations in American history.
Too young to distinctly remember life before 9/11 but old enough to experience the COVID-19 pandemic which radically altered their early adult years, Gen Z has lived through economic turmoil, political controversy and everything in between.
Gen Z processed all of this while also being the first generation of digital natives, never knowing a time before the internet and social media. Although naturally tech-savvy, Gen Z is also known for their high rates of depression and anxiety resulting from constant digital exposure.
Couple this with an overall American culture that is becoming increasingly apathetic and even hostile towards the Christian faith. Many studies show Gen Z is less likely to have grown up going to church than previous generations in America.
All of this seems like a recipe for a generation that would want nothing to do with God, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Gen Z. Small but frequent signs of young adults turning to God have flooded social media in the years since the pandemic.
College football players getting baptized in front of their teammates, campus worship nights gathering thousands of people, Bible sales rising with Gen Z leading the way and new believers publicly sharing their conversion testimonies have all covered social media algorithms.
But is anyone outside of Christian circles taking notice?
It appears they are.
CBS News, BBC, the Barna Group, Fox News, Pew Research Center, New York Times and many more media outlets have written stories addressing a supposed Gen Z “revival” in America these last few years.
Christian media outlets are beginning to examine what these observable trends might mean.
The Gospel Coalition (TGC) published an article in early 2026 highlighting this “revival” among Gen Z titled “Where Gen Z is finding Jesus.”
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, senior writer and faith-andwork editor for TGC, spent time studying this growing movement by talking with ministry leaders and Gen Z college students around the country.
“I’ll be honest: Gen Z isn’t the generation I expected to see in anything like a revival,” she said.
“I don’t know if what we’re seeing is intense enough to be officially labeled a revival yet, or at all. But I do feel confident saying that Gen Z has been given more wealth, education, technology, and freedom than any other in the history of the world—and they aren’t thriving. And I do know that some of them— more than before, more than expected—have been drawn to the Lord in the last six months.”
This movement of God is seemingly impacting the Southern Baptist Convention, including here at NOBTS and Leavell College.
As young people turn to God, many will answer a call to ministry and seek training.
The mission of NOBTS is to prepare servants for Gospel ministry, and as God continues to move among Generation Z, NOBTS will keep fulfilling this mission through the lives of these students.
NOBTS faculty are making an impact on this movement by carefully and intentionally pouring into these students both academically and personally. The goal for this generation of students as they graduate and enter ministry is for them to make an eternal spiritual impact that will ripple across generations to come.
It is not enough to simply pass along theological information. Our faculty understand that spiritual formation is a necessary component in developing students into the ministry servants they are called to be.
A big way that our faculty contribute to the spiritual formation of our students, including our growing population of Gen Z students, is through discipleship and mentoring.
Understood to be those born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z, known as Gen Z for short, is now entering adulthood as one of the most unique generations in American history.
Too young to distinctly remember life before 9/11 but old enough to experience the COVID-19 pandemic which radically altered their early adult years, Gen Z has lived through economic turmoil, political controversy and everything in between.
For Eli Byrd, assistant professor of Christian ministry, discipleship has always been an essential element of his walk with Christ.
Raised in Florida, Byrd grew up believing he had made a decision for Christ as a youth. Yet it wasn’t until he attended college to play football that he realized he was not truly walking with the Lord.
After coming to Christ, Byrd made a decision that shocked everyone. He quit playing college football to primarily focus on his Christian walk.
Although Byrd faced some criticism for his decision to walk away from playing quarterback at the collegiate level, there were some faithful Christians that walked alongside him instead.
“There have been a lot of people who have displayed for me in their actions and their thinking what it looks like to live as a disciple of Jesus,” Byrd said. “This has been monumental and really helped my journey.”
Years later, discipleship is still a huge part of Byrd’s personal and academic life. Byrd graduated with his Doctorate of Education from Southeastern Seminary this May, and his research focused on measuring discipleship more effectively.
In the midst of a culture that is becoming increasing secular and antagonistic towards Christianity, Byrd confirms a movement of God among Gen Z Christians based on his personal experience.
“We have historically seen the Lord use young people in revival,” Byrd said. “I think in some ways God in His wisdom has seen that age group as pivotal in making some changes and standing up for things.”
One of the classes Byrd teaches is “Intro to Discipleship,” where students learn and practice spiritual disciplines as a foundation for their ministry.
He uses the class as an opportunity to pass along the discipleship methods that were important to him as a young Christian.
Byrd has a front row seat to Gen Z students at Leavell College taking ownership of their personal discipleship journey and has noticed several different groups of students agreeing to consistently meet and hold each other accountable to the spiritual disciplines they are learning about in class.
Additionally, he has observed many students personally asking professors to help disciple them.
Although social media trends, huge worship nights and mass baptisms are important and usually get more attention, Byrd said this commitment to the spiritual disciplines among Gen Z is even more noteworthy.
He stressed it is not simply his discipleship class that creates this culture among the students.
“I think because of the leadership of our seminary at the top, we see this urgency for discipleship trickle down to our students,” Byrd said. “It starts with President Dew and then goes down the line from there.
“I explain to students that the disciplines do not save us or get us any more grace from God. The disciplines are a means to an end, and that end is Christ-likeness. For us to be effective, we have to be people who follow Jesus day in and day out. These disciplines are what will carry students into their ministry for years.”
Byrd reminds his students that seminary is a dedicated time for young people to form spiritual habits that they will use throughout their ministry career. But in reality, becoming a more dedicated follower of Christ is the ultimate goal itself, not simply earning a vocational ministry position.
“Our students are in a pivotal moment in their development,” Byrd said. “We’re trying to shape character in them in such a way that they begin to create these rhythms, practices and disciplines that
“Their training is not for the purpose of getting a position, but their training is for the purpose of having character that will sustain a position. We want to help students dig deep wells they can draw from years later.
“We as the seminary get to participate in this process of spiritually forming students and that fires me up. That’s a big part of discipleship and it’s a big part of what changed my life. This will change the lives of students and eventually change the lives of others
One measure of success for this discipleship culture at NOBTS is when students begin to mentor and disciple each other organically.
For DeeDee Williams, discipleship has been a huge part of her spiritual walk from a young age.
Williams, wife of NOBTS professor Andrew “Ted” Williams, graduated with a Ph.D in Biblical Theology in May 2025.
Since graduating, she has already put her education to use by doing a variety of public speaking events and writing articles for notable outlets like The Gospel Coalition.
But even more than that, she tries to use the knowledge she gained through seminary in her mentoring relationships.
Being spiritually discipled was something Williams experienced in her family early on, but her vision of what discipleship looks like has transformed over time.
“Early on in my faith, the discipleship I would do was very focused on the Christian disciplines, but it has evolved over the years as I have been a pastor’s wife and have lived on campus to also involve doing daily life together,” Williams said.
“Understanding the value of my home in discipleship has become a huge tool. It’s changed my discipleship into more of a whole-life orientation.”
One person who deeply influenced DeeDee’s view of discipleship was Rhonda Kelley, the late wife of President Emeritus Chuck Kelley.
Williams worked at NOBTS as Rhonda Kelley’s research assistant in the early 2000s.
“It started as a professional relationship, but it quickly
became like I was part of her family because that is how she treated people,” Williams said.
“I was going through a really hard time in my life, Rhonda didn’t run from it. She was there for every moment of it, and that’s how I knew she loved me.
“She never left my side, and we forged a deep relationship because she was there for me. She treated me like a daughter and gave me opportunities that I never deserved. This made me want to help other people and give them opportunities.”
In the spirit of wanting to help mentor others, Williams was instrumental in founding the NOBTS Society for Women in Scholarship in 2021.
“Our desire in creating the Society was to encourage women who are serious in their scholarship,” Williams said.
“It is a way to encourage, disciple and train women not only in theological education, but also for their life beyond the classroom. The Society has been doing great so far and there is no telling where it could go.”
One of the younger women in the Society that Williams has developed a relationship with is Audrey Belmore.
Belmore graduated with her Master of Arts in Biblical Studies this May and is starting a Ph.D in Biblical Theology this fall.
Williams was working on finishing her own Ph.D in Biblical Theology when she got to know Belmore.
Belmore formerly worked for Cory Barnes, NOBTS graduate dean, who also served as Williams’ Ph.D supervisor.
Williams would frequently stop by Barnes’ office to ask questions related to her Ph.D research, and Belmore would often overhear or participate in the conversations.
While Belmore never formally asked DeeDee to disciple her, many visits to the office and short life updates which became long conversations birthed a great friendship.
Belmore said having a friend pursuing similar academic studies has been incredibly helpful.
“I’m just trying to replicate DeeDee’s life,” she jokingly said.
“There are not a lot of women pursuing a Ph.D in Biblical Studies, so we’ve been super blessed to be friends.
“She is someone who understands life in ministry the same way that I do. Being able to talk through Ph.D studies, life in ministry after graduation, parenting and all kinds of things has been a blessing.”
Belmore came to NOBTS knowing that she wanted
to pursue ministry but not knowing what that would look like.
Experiencing the academic and personal discipleship the seminary offers deepened her understanding of ministry and clarified her true calling.
“Everything about my time at NOBTS has been outstanding and so many people have helped me understand ministry better and shown me things to replicate,” Belmore said. “NOBTS does a great job of discipling and mentoring the next generation so that they can participate in Gospel work.
“I learned there are several ways that you can participate in ministry. It does not have to be a church staff position. I realized the question was no longer what career do I want to have to serve my local church, but rather how can my life best serve the local church.”
The young people of this generation are rebelling against historic institutions in America, most notably against organized religion.
Young people have spearheaded this movement through the lens of personal freedom and individualism. Much of the immediate tangible effects come in the form of personalized sexuality and identity that would have been unthinkable to previous generations.
Amid political turmoil and war around the world, the younger generation is leading the way in turning the country away from God.
The time period being referenced above is the 1960s and 1970s in America.
Though there are clear differences from our current time period and these decades, there is a striking similarity between some of the cultural issues of both eras.
Personal freedom in the 60s and 70s looked like premarital sex and psychedelic drugs, but much of Gen Z has instead sought this personal freedom
through their own personal sexual identity or chosen gender. Some studies report that nearly 1 in 5 members of Gen Z personally identify as LGBTQ+.
Although these humanistic and secular philosophies might manifest in different ways today, there is a sense in which there is truly nothing new under the sun.
Preston Nix, who has served as NOBTS professor of evangelism and preaching for more than 20 years, experienced all of this and more as a young adult in the 60s and 70s.
Nix saw the sexual revolution and cultural turmoil lead many to stray from God, but he also experienced one of the most powerful moves of God in history with the Jesus Movement.
Known to be the last great revival in America, it was the Jesus Movement that gave Nix his passion for evangelism and discipling young Christians.
Nix said there are many things about today’s movement of God within Gen Z that resemble the Jesus Movement.
“One of the parallels is that my generation in the 1960s tried everything and they came up empty,” Nix said. “They thought sex, drugs, and rock and roll were going to free them or bring peace, happiness and fulfillment, but they didn’t. A lot of them ended up finding this long-haired revolutionary named Jesus and identified with him.
“It’s a totally different style and look today, but young people have once again tried everything and they’re coming up empty. They are trying out what the world has to offer, often in the form of technology, and they’re still empty. They are trying to find something that can fill their emptiness and a lot of Generation Z is finding Jesus again.”
During the Jesus Movement, thousands of young adults being publicly baptized, gathering for worship nights and hitting the streets for evangelism made national news.
An iconic Time Magazine cover story labeled the movement as a “Jesus Revolution” and declared the young people associated with this movement to be “Jesus Freaks.”
Although the movement is often known for its more charismatic elements, the movement extended all the way to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Official SBC statistics report the most baptisms in the SBC in one year was in 1972 with more than 445,000 and more than 130,000 were from people between the ages of 12 and 17.
Nix acknowledged seeing a spiritual hunger today within Gen Z and explained he is continually seeing small “pockets” of revival around the country similar to the movement of his youth.
GOD HAS USED YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND OFTENTIMES THEY END UP BEING CALLED TO MINISTRY THROUGH THESE LARGE MOVEMENTS OF GOD.
“I’m praying that these pockets will all come together in a movement like they did in the 60s and 70s that became the Jesus Movement,” Nix said.
“Most revivals have broken out among young people. Not every revival, but many. Part of the reason it often begins among young people is that their hearts are more flexible. They are more pliable and they’re more open to the spirit of God.
“God has used young people throughout history and oftentimes they end up being called to ministry through these large movements of God. You will always see a surge in seminaries and Bible schools when there is a revival.”
Nix said attending seminary and getting discipled by older believers is what helped him remain faithful from the Jesus Movement to this day. When the “thrill” of the worship nights and mass baptisms wears off, it is this spiritual foundation which will continue to help young Christians persevere.
Nix said NOBTS professors going beyond relaying theological information and personally investing in students is what can make a difference here.
“THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF A COUPLE FAITHFUL MINISTERS HAS ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO HEAR THE GOSPEL AND ACCEPT CHRIST.”
One of the recent students Nix has mentored is Leavell College student Jonathan Tyler.
Tyler desires to be a career evangelist after being called into ministry.
“I just want to tell people the Gospel,” Tyler said. “That’s my mission and that’s why I came to NOBTS. I wanted to come here to get opportunities that can help me with this. I knew this was the place for me, and I did not apply to any other college. It was either New Orleans or nowhere.”
Tyler was introduced to Nix after coming for a Preview Day visit.
When Tyler became a student, the Caskey Center placed him to serve at Parkview Baptist Church in Metairie where Nix was serving as interim pastor. Nix spent intentional time with Tyler while serving at the church during the fall 2024 semester.
After the semester ended and Nix finished his time as interim, Tyler was hired as the youth director at Parkview and asked Nix to continue discipling him.
“It is very encouraging to have him as a mentor,” Tyler said. “He has a busy schedule and commutes to our campus to teach, but he finds open time spots for me. He gives me the personal things he does in his prayer and Bible reading times and makes it really practical.
“His willingness to do this has really impacted me. It’s been very encouraging to find someone at the seminary in the same ministry model that I want to go into that I can look up to.
“I’m not alone when I have questions or doubts about being an evangelist because he has dealt with those same questions too.”
Tyler also frequently joins Nix when he goes out to share the Gospel weekly in the city. He said these opportunities have transformed his evangelism life and future ministry.
“I have always been extraverted and outgoing, but there is a sort of fear-factor with evangelism because you don’t know how it will go,” Tyler said.
“Going out in groups has kept me accountable to do evangelism, and sharing the Gospel has been so beneficial to my Christian walk. I will have some weeks that I don’t want to go out and do it, but I end up being so glad that I did.
“There is something about evangelizing that is special and just lights my fire. There really is no better feeling than seeing someone come to the Lord, but ultimately your evangelism is not successful based on the outcome, but on what you do.”
Another person Nix has discipled over the years is Blake Newsom, who serves as professor of expository preaching and has been serving as director of the seminary’s Caskey Center for more than four years.
Nix and Newsom met once a week for several years at the beginning of Newsom’s ministry career.
Years later, Newsom mentors and disciples many current students through his role as Caskey Center director. These students are the pastors of normative size SBC churches and are required to fulfill weekly evangelism requirements.
The Caskey Center recently surpassed a significant milestone of more than 100,000 student-led Gospel conversations since its launch in 2014. More than 11,000 of these conversations have resulted in a profession of faith.
Nix never knew his discipleship of Newsom would eventually connect to thousands of Gospel conversations, and the ultimate impact of his obedience might go far beyond his time.
Newsom reflected not just on the current celebration of the Caskey milestone, but on the future impact it will have.
“Looking forward into the future, it leads me to look beyond the number of Gospel conversations and instead look at the multiplying ripple effect of young Southern Baptist ministers sharing the Gospel,” Newsom said. “Anticipating the effect that will have is exciting.
“Then I think about my own life and call to ministry. I did not grow up in church and I was not discipled. But when I came to faith I had many people disciple me including my pastor and Dr. Nix. These folks would never have known at the time they were mentoring me the effect that it would have for the Kingdom.
“Every batch of students I have with the Caskey Center has, in a way, been affected by these folks because I wouldn’t be here without them. The ripple effect of a couple faithful ministers has ultimately allowed thousands of people to hear the Gospel and accept Christ.”
For New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the ripple effect of fulfilling our mission will spiritually impact people for generations to come, far beyond what we can see today.
Throughout history, God has used the process of discipleship to help Christians grow in their relationship with Him.
As God moves in the lives of young Christians, older Christians can give them the tools to persevere in the faith until they help the next generation.
NOBTS is continuing to participate in this process by fulfilling its mission to train ministry servants.
These recent examples show how the NOBTS family is living out this process.
Eli Byrd was deeply influenced by those who discipled him and now helps teach NOBTS students the disciplines necessary for their spiritual formation.
DeeDee Williams was impacted by the kindness of Rhonda Kelley and now attempts to multiply this spiritual impact through other women such as Audrey Belmore.
Nix was discipled by older Christians during the Jesus Movement before discipling many students throughout his teaching career, including Blake Newsom.
Newsom now disciples many students through the Caskey Center, which itself has helped lead thousands of people to saving faith.
The ripple effect of these actions is impossible to truly know.
Much like skipping a stone across a body of water, the first couple of splashes make a clear visual impact right up close. But as the stone continues its journey, it can get far enough away that the skips or ripples it makes on the water are not visible anymore.
Spiritually speaking, a believer or group of believers often will not get to fully see the complete impact of their influence on others until eternity. But the responsibility of the believer is simply to live in obedience and let God take care of the rest.
And as God continues to work in the current generation of young Christians, NOBTS will continue to train them for ministry service that will hopefully have a spiritual ripple effect long after they are gone.
“...THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF FULFILLING OUR MISSION WILL SPIRITUALLY IMPACT PEOPLE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME, FAR BEYOND WHAT WE CAN SEE TODAY...”
While our seminary’s mission begins @3939, it does not stay there. Our mission extends to local churches, parachurch organizations, church plants, international mission fields, unreached people groups and others. Our mission’s target: people. Our motivation: Christ and His kingdom. Our scope: Beyond the Gates.
By Timothy Cockes
As millions of people from all over the world gathered in Italy for the Winter Olympics, a small group of NOBTS alumni and friends were leading the International Mission Board’s evangelism efforts at the games.
The IMB’s evangelism efforts at the 2026 Olympics consisted of nearly 100 volunteers and five IMB missionary couples stationed in Italy who helped lead the volunteer teams.
Of those missionary couples, four of them are either NOBTS alumni or have taken classes at the seminary. The remaining couple will be enrolling at NOBTS this fall with plans to return to the mission field after graduation.
The evangelism efforts were led by Kip and Janet Dwyer*, multi-time graduates from NOBTS who have been serving with the IMB in Italy for more than seven years. The Dwyers live just a 40-minute train ride from
where a large portion of the Olympic events took place in Milan.
Kip Dwyer described the time of evangelism as incredibly rewarding.
“These evangelism efforts during the Olympics have been so incredibly helpful to our ministry here in Italy,” Dwyer said.
“We have been waiting on this opportunity of the Olympics in Milan for years. The Olympic games became the perfect catalyst for us to minister in that area again. The evangelical churches surrounding Milan were overjoyed when we were able to connect them with new believers. I’m still getting some messages from the churches in Milan thanking us for our help.”
Dwyer explained recruiting NOBTS alumni and friends to join their IMB team in Italy was based around both familiarity and trust.
“We noticed there was a lot of turnover in Italy, and we wanted to start preventing that by bringing over people that we already knew and had connections with,” Dwyer said. “NOBTS happened to be one of the central places that we knew people from and how we got to see them work in ministry.
“It’s almost a point of pride for me to have so many people from NOBTS serving with us. Bringing more folks from NOBTS over to Italy was important to us firstly because we love the school as our alma mater, but mainly because we believe NOBTS trains people for ministry overseas really well.
“Being able to minister in Milan with our missionary units was actually easy in a way because they have been prepared and equipped well for the challenges of international ministry.”
Part of the evangelism strategy for this year’s Olympics continued the IMB’s popular method of trading various hand-held pins to visitors at the games.
to see these NOBTS alumni and friends serving in the context that the Lord has called them to,” Shaffer said.
“These men and women who trained and prepared at NOBTS were able to lead this really significant and successful evangelism effort. It was incredible as an NOBTS administrator to see the work that we’re doing at the seminary coming to fruition in the leadership of the IMB’s outreach efforts at this major world event. It was a moment of confirmation that NOBTS is doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”
“FROM OUR FOUNDING AT NOBTS, WE HAVE ALWAYS EMPHASIZED MISSION WORK AND TAKING THE GOSPEL TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”
Volunteers and IMB personnel would hand over pins to people they encountered and give a short presentation of the Gospel.
The IMB has used this strategy for several Olympics now, and this year’s Olympics brought nearly 100 different volunteers from several different states to participate in evangelism. Thousands of Gospel conversations took place and dozens of different people groups were engaged over the course of three weeks.
One of the volunteers who came to participate in these evangelism efforts was Chris Shaffer, NOBTS chief of staff, who came with a group from his church, First Baptist Church New Orleans.
Shaffer has known Kip and Janet for many years, and said it was amazing to see so many NOBTS alumni lead this important ministry.
“Going on this evangelism trip was a really cool opportunity
Shaffer shared a story about leading someone to make a decision for Christ during his time in Milan. He was able to introduce the young man to some of the IMB missionaries who then connected him with an evangelical church in Milan due to an alreadyexisting relationship.
“Everything that Southern Baptists desire to see happen through our cooperative efforts happened in that moment,” Shaffer said. “It was the Cooperative Program at work in the best ways possible.”
Shaffer pointed out that three of the IMB couples in Italy have been appointed in the last few years under NOBTS President Jamie Dew and stated this story filled with connections is just one example of the seminary continuing to fulfill its mission.
“From our founding at NOBTS, we have always emphasized mission work and taking the Gospel to the ends of the Earth,” Shaffer said. “Dr. Dew has continued this emphasis and brought fresh life into this important part of our history as a seminary. We want to play a major part in the preparation of men and women to serve as Southern Baptist missionaries.
“As our slogan states, we want to help people prepare here to serve anywhere, even at the Olympics.”
*Names changed for security purposes
Unfolded highlights how NOBTS extends its mission beyond campus through ministry, outreach, and service in local and global communities. This timeline traces key moments where students and faculty put their faith into action, making an impact far beyond the classroom.
AUGUST 2025 SERVE NOLA PROGRAM LAUNCH
LEAVELL COLLEGE LAUNCHED ITS ONE-YEAR SERVENOLA PROGRAM THIS PAST FALL.
SPRING 2026
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH MISSION TRIP
A TEAM OF NOBTS STUDENTS SPENT THEIR SPRING BREAK IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH SERVING AND SHARING THE GOSPEL.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 SERVE DAY
PICTURED: STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FACULTY THAT PARTICIPATED IN SERVE DAY
FEBRUARY 2026 OLYMPIC MISSION TRIP
PICTURED: NOBTS STUDENTS WENT TO THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES IN ITALY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL
FALL 2025 PERU MISSION TRIP
MORE THAN 2O WOMEN FROM NOBTS VISITED LIMA, PERU ON A MISSION TRIP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE IMB.
FEBRUARY 2026 100K GOSPEL
CONVERSATIONS
THE NOBTS CASKEY CENTER SURPASSED THE MILESTONE OF 100K STUDENT-LED GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS THIS FEBRUARY.
FALL 2025
NEW YORK CITY MISSION TRIP
PICTURED: NOBTS AND LEAVELL COLLEGE STUDENTS JOIN GRAFFITI 2 MINISTRIES IN PRAYING FOR NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS.
FEBRUARY 26, 2026 SERVE DAY
PICTURED: STUDENTS CLEANING OUT STORM DRAINS IN THE CITY
FALL 2025 HORN OF AFRICA MISSION TRIP
PICTURED: LOCAL BELIEVERS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA PARTICIPATE IN BIBLICAL TRAINING SESSIONS LED BY NOBTS PHD STUDENTS.
MARCH 23-27, 2026 MISSIONS WEEK
PICTURED: PRAYER & PRAISE WALL IN THE 24 HOUR PRAYER ROOM OPEN TO NOBTS & LEAVELL COLLEGE
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary prepares people to serve anywhere in ministry.
While this ministry work commonly looks like pastoring, church planting, counseling or missions, there are sometimes unconventional ways that NOBTS alumni use their seminary education to build the Kingdom.
This is the case for Bryan Drake, a recent NOBTS graduate who has worked as a professional illusionist for more than 15 years.
Drake is a traveling evangelist who performs as an illusionist for a variety of Christian audiences. His show involves a variety of illusions, tricks and mentalism all with the ultimate purpose of sharing the Gospel.
Starting shortly after college, Drake and his wife Karla have traveled to perform their show in nearly every state and multiple different countries around the world.
Drake has performed at youth events, camps, state convention annual meetings, BCMs, conferences and much more over the years. He has amassed thousands of social media followers and performed his show in front of hundreds of audiences.
Drake even performed his show at NOBTS during the 2025 Contend apologetics conference.
By Timothy Cockes
Even more than his excellence as an illusionist and entertainer, Drake said evangelism has always been a top priority in his performances from the beginning of his career.
“We never want to water down the art or the quality of our performance, but even more importantly we never wanted to water down the Gospel either,” Drake said.
“We wanted to draw in people who may never want to go to church normally. Once they are there, we are going to give them the strongest illusion show that we can but also the clearest presentation of the Gospel we can.”
Drake’s show has taken many forms over the years. His latest show is called “Nexus,” and entails more than 40 minutes of illusions before what Drake describes as a plot twist you would see in a Christopher Nolan movie reveals how the entire show has actually been pointing to the Gospel.
Despite these years of career success, the COVID-19 pandemic indefinitely sidelined Drake’s ministry and forced him to examine ways he could do ministry better off the stage.
A graduate of the University of Mobile, Drake always wanted to return to school to get a master’s degree and already knew where he wanted to go.
“I always knew if I ever went back to get my master’s degree that it was always going to be at New Orleans because of proximity and because of all the great things I had heard about the seminary,” Drake said.
“I knew that was going to be the place and when I found out about the MDIV Counseling program, I knew it was time for me to go.”
Drake enrolled as a student in 2024 and graduated with a Master of Divinity in Marriage and Family counseling this May.
Although he was a distance student based in Mobile, Drake would visit campus at least once a semester for a class.
After getting to experience NOBTS first-hand, Drake realized there was something special going on at the seminary.
“I think NOBTS is great from the top down,” Drake said. “I was very excited when I heard that Dr. Dew was going to be taking over as President and he has done a great job. I love the vision of the school and the staff is incredible.
“I’ve never felt like another type of student even though I am a distance learner. I never felt like I was excluded from what it feels like to be a part of NOBTS. Everyone has made me feel very welcome.
“I have been able to attend chapel in person a few times and have watched many times online. Seeing the spiritual direction the seminary is going is amazing. Prepare Here, Serve Anywhere is not just a slogan. It permeates all of the students’ lives. I have been pushing the seminary to people and recommending it as much as I can because I really believe in the school.”
Drake said he has enjoyed both his counseling courses and his Bible classes. He plans to use his education both informally through his performances and formally through a counseling center at his local church.
For his ministry as an evangelistic illusionist, Drake said his degree will help him both on and off the stage.
“Being able to explain and express the Gospel in a better way from stage will greatly benefit what I do,” he said.
“There are also many times that students will come talk to us after a show and drop really heavy things on us that I was previously not prepared or equipped to handle.
“Being dually equipped with the biblical knowledge and the counseling training fits really well for our ministry.”
For formal counseling, Drake has already started seeing clients through the counseling center at his church, Dayspring Baptist Church in Mobile.
The church provided Drake an office and has greatly supported his journey in seminary. Drake also frequently teaches Sunday school for the youth group at Dayspring.
Drake said he has no plans to stop performing and only seeks to use his new education to further his ministry in these ways.
Matt James, senior vice president for business administration, has known Drake for several years.
He said Drake is a unique and noteworthy example of NOBTS graduates fulfilling the mission of the seminary.
“We are grateful to have had Bryan as a student at NOBTS,” James said. “His love for Christ and giftedness is evident from the first interaction that you have with him.
“His unique skillset as an illusionist gives him a platform to share the Gospel in a variety of settings where others would never have the opportunity. Bryan did an incredible job when we hosted him as a speaker for our Contend conference last year. He simultaneously blew the minds of several hundred teenagers, while clearly communicating the truths of God’s Word.
“I am thrilled to see how Bryan’s future ministry will be strengthened by his time spent pursuing theological education with NOBTS. At NOBTS we say, ‘Prepare here. Serve Anywhere.’ Bryan’s unique ministry is one example of what we mean when we say, ‘Anywhere.’”
Drake said he hopes his ministry can play a small part in reaching people for the Gospel and raising up a generation of ministry leaders.
“One of the most rewarding things for me is when people will come up to us years later and say they came to one of my shows and are now working in ministry,” Drake said.
“I love hearing that. I never think this is necessarily because of my show directly, but these kinds of things can further our evangelism efforts for years to come. It makes me glad to know we can play a small role in calling out the called.”
Whatever unique ministry someone may feel called to, Drake implored people not to shy away from serving the Lord.
“When we first told people we were pursuing this kind of ministry, a lot of people told us we were crazy and we should just teach Sunday school and do a secular job instead,” Drake said. “A lot of people didn’t think we could do full-time ministry this way.
“We could have easily listened to those voices and not ended up in the ministry that we are in now. We want to encourage other people who God may be calling into ministry to pursue that goal.”
PREPARING SERVANTS THROUGH ADVANCED ACADEMICS
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Education
Doctor of Educational Ministry
Doctor of Ministry
Doctor of Musical Arts
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary hosted a special time of worship and testimony as a part of the “Sandlot Revival” worship nights tour March 13.
Sandlot Revival is a traveling tour of worship nights started by RobertAnthony Cruz or “Coach RAC” of the Savannah Bananas, the world-famous sports team known for their entertaining exhibitionist style of baseball branded as “Banana Ball.”
Sandlot Revival is not officially affiliated with the Savannah Bananas or other Banana Ball teams, but is instead a grassroots effort that began as a small Bible study with Coach RAC and other players. The Bible study slowly grew until they began hosting worship nights which eventually developed into the current tour.
This spring marks the first time Sandlot Revival has taken their events out on the road, and the NOBTS worship night marked the first ever worship night held at a location outside of Savannah, Georgia.
NOBTS President Jamie Dew greeted the crowd filled with several hundred NOBTS campus family and campus guests.
“We are thrilled to have the Sandlot Revival here with us tonight, and we’re looking forward to having this wonderful time of worship and testimonies,” Dew said. “This is a cool moment, and we pray that it’s an encouragement to you.”
The event, held in Leavell Chapel, featured several Banana Ball players, including Coach RAC, sharing their Christian testimony. Music at the event was led by Crescent City Worship and guest worship leader Mehki Key.
During the event, Coach RAC shared his testimony of working so hard to become a professional baseball player only to be cut during his second year in the Washington Nationals’ system.
Cruz discovered that his relationship with Jesus and telling others about him was his ultimate life goal, not playing baseball.
“You would think that our job playing for the Savanna Bananas would be the coolest thing ever to do, but I am telling you that coming together as believers to worship our Savior is so much more fulfilling than anything we will ever accomplish on the baseball field.”
More than 300 women from 25 different states gathered at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for the Lifeway Women Symposium July 25-26, 2025.
Lifeway partnered with NOBTS to host the event, which featured a variety of speakers including several faculty wives and seminary graduates. The symposium focused on equipping and training women to better understand the Bible and teach it in an accessible way.
Plenary speakers included Tara Dew; Andrea Lennon, Lifeway director of women; Jen Wilkin, author and Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas; Elizabeth Woodson, author and founder of “The Woodson Institute” and Courtney Doctor, director of women’s initiatives for The Gospel Coalition.
Breakout speakers included several women from NOBTS including Dew, Emily Dean, DeeDee Williams and Amy Williams.
Topics for breakouts included how to teach through writing, how to teach through different media, understanding cultural context in teaching, developing style in teaching and more.
Dew spoke about the importance of hosting such an event at NOBTS.
“Partnering with Lifeway to host the symposium was such a treat,” she said.
“The attendees were encouraged by our keynote speakers and a host of other breakout speakers on how to prepare, lead and teach well. Each lady was spurred on in their walk with Christ and to fulfill the great commission.
“As women in ministry, we can, we should and we must obey God’s call to be diligent and competent in studying and proclaiming the truth of God’s word with confidence.”
FULL-TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS
The Caskey Center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary hosted their annual pastors’ conference April 1718 featuring guest speakers Roc Collins and Rick Burgess.
More than 240 pastors and pastors’ wives gathered at the conference for a time of encouragement, equipping and challenging.
Dew welcomed the group of pastors and reminded them of the importance of their task.
“Dear friends, there is nothing more important than the work that you do as ministers of the Gospel,” Dew said. “There is quite literally nothing else this world can offer broken, hurt and lost people.
“You stand in the gap faithfully every week preaching the Gospel, counseling people, encouraging people, and just being salt and light in your community. It matters deeply to your church, and it matters deeply to the Kingdom of God. Thank you for being here and for what you do.”
Burgess, known for his career as the radio host of the longrunning “The Rick and Bubba show,” began the first plenary session with a message out of Acts.
He explained one reason The Rick and Bubba show ended in 2024 was the two felt as though they were thinking more about past memories of the show than plans for the future of the show.
Burgess encouraged and challenged pastors not to fall into the same temptation.
“Retirement is not a concept in the Bible,” Burgess said.
“God may move you from one platform or vocation to another, but we don’t just phone it in. My challenge for you would be to ask God what the next thing He you would have to do might be.”
Roc Collins, special assistant to the executive director for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board and chairman of the NOBTS board of trustees, preached out of Jeremiah and exhorted the pastors to persevere in their calling.
“We will not always get pats on the back, and we will not experience popularity or accolades from our culture for fulfilling our calling,” Collins said. “But if you’re proclaiming the Word of God and you’re seeing people come to know Jesus and you are discipling them, just keep persevering and keep going.”
A sold-out crowd of more than 1,200 women gathered for the fifth annual Abide Women’s Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Jan. 30-31 to explore the theme “Women of Worship.”
The conference, started by Tara Dew and the NOBTS Prepare Her team in 2021, has sold out each of its five years. This year’s event, which sold out in less than one month, drew women of all ages from 18 states and more than 150 churches.
Tara Dew, wife of NOBTS President Jamie Dew, adjunct professor of ministry to women and director of New Orleans Seminary’s Thrive program, said the Abide conference is one of her favorite events of the year.
“What a blessing it is to host this conference each year, allowing women to gather, learn rich theological truths, worship and fellowship with one another,” Dew said.
“The Abide Conference is truly one of my favorite weekends on campus each year, as God’s Spirit and favor is always so present with us.”
Worship at the conference was led by Crescent City Worship and Jaleesa McCreary (senior director for content for The Worship Initiative), with a special appearance from Dove award-winning recording artist Al Denson. Additionally, a choir of more than 25 women joined the band on stage during the event.
The conference’s theme verse was Revelation 1:8, which reads “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’” says the Lord God, ‘the One who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
In addition to Dew, other speakers at the conference were Kandi Gallaty (author and wife of Long Hollow Church Senior Pastor Robby Gallaty) and Susie Hawkins (speaker and wife of GuideStone President Emeritus O.S. Hawkins).
In addition to the plenary sessions, women at the conference attended more than 10 different breakout sessions, many of which were led by NOBTS faculty or faculty wives.
In case you missed it, here are stories you will want to read. Or, read again!
MISSIONS WEEK OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH IMB MISSIONARIES
Missions Week at NOBTS, taking place March 23-27, emphasized the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission and offered students the opportunity to connect with IMB missionaries doing just that.
DEW CHALLENGES STUDENTS TOWARD GODLINESS DURING CONVOCATION SERVICE
Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, challenged new and returning students to strive for godliness during his convocation address Aug. 19.
NOBTS RECEIVES POSITIVE SACSCOC ACCREDITATION UPDATE
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College received a positive update in the on-going process for reaffirmation of their academic accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in early March.
EVANGELIST DANIEL RITCHIE ENCOURAGES NOBTS TO BE UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
Daniel Ritchie, longtime evangelist and current 1st Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention, encouraged NOBTS to be unashamed of the Gospel in chapel on Oct. 28.
2025 CELEBRATED AS YEAR OF ‘GREAT JOY’ FOR NOBTS
2025 represented another great year of academic and ministry success for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College.
NOBTS STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN FALL BREAK MISSION TRIP
During fall break 2025, three different groups of NOBTS students went on mission trips around the world through the seminary’s Global Mission Center (GMC).
NOBTS STUDENTS CONTINUE LEGACY OF EVANGELISM AT SBC CROSSOVER EVENT
While thousands of Southern Baptists were preparing to gather at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting, a group NOBTS students and professors were already hard at work sharing the Gospel in the Dallas community.
NOBTS SURPASSES RECORD-SETTING GIVING DAY GOAL OF $500,000
NOBTS raised a record-setting total of just over $500,000 during last year’s Giving Day (Dec. 2, 2025). It is the first time that NOBTS has raised more than $500,000 on Giving Day, and the total amount raised far exceeded the previous year’s record total of just over $460,000.
NOBTS TRUSTEES APPROVE VARIOUS UPDATES, LOOK TOWARD FUTURE
The board of trustees for New Orleans
Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College approved new faculty members and curriculum updates, heard a variety of positive reports and looked toward the future of the institution during their spring meeting April 14-15.
TARA DEW RELEASES NEW BOOK “OVERFLOWING PEACE”
Tara Dew released a new book “Overflowing Peace: What God Says About a Peace-Filled Life” this January. The book explores the biblical concept of peace by examining the familiar passage of Psalm 23 and is the highly anticipated follow-up to Tara’s bestselling first book “Overflowing Joy.”
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary hosted a Send Network One Day event on March 27, highlighting the institution’s consistent partnership with the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
The event gathered more than 100 church planters, students, pastors and church leaders for a full day of worship, teaching, break-out sessions, prayer and much more.
Send Network’s One Day events are local events designed to encourage, equip and challenge church leaders towards the end of planting churches throughout North America. The event was one of many Send Network events hosted throughout the year in the NAMB Center located in the seminary’s Luter Student Center.
Friday’s One Day event featured notable speakers including:
• Jon Kelly, lead pastor of Chicago West Bible Church in Illinois and member of the Lead Team of Church Planters for Send Network
• Tara Dew, wife of NOBTS President Jamie Dew, adjunct professor of ministry to women and director of New Orleans Seminary’s Thrive program
• Ryan Rice, lead pastor at Connect Church of Algiers and New Orleans Send City Missionary
George Ross, NOBTS assistant professor of church planting and evangelism and Send Network South Regional Director, spoke about the important partnership between Send Network and NOBTS.
“There is a reason to host an event like this at NOBTS, and that reason is simple: we are better together,” Ross said.
“The partnership between NOBTS and Send Network reflects a rich heritage of Gospel impact that Southern Baptists have built over generations — through students trained and sent, churches planted in cities, suburbs, and rural communities alike, and lives changed by the faithful witness of those who chose to cooperate rather than go it alone.
“Unity around the mission of reaching North America is a beautiful thing, and this event is a testimony of that unity.”
has launched a new lecture series focused on the topic of missiology.
The first ever “Freeman-Bigler Missions Lecture,” named after the first known NOBTS students to serve as foreign missionaries, was held Oct. 29 and featured the IMB’s Zane Pratt speaking about ecclesiology and its connection to the missionary task.
Pratt serves as the theologian-in-residence and senior ambassador for seminary partnerships for the International Mission Board.
The GMC is planning to host presentations from notable missions experts as part of this regular lecture series either annually or bi-annually moving forward.
Greg Mathias, director of the Global Mission Center and associate professor of global missions, is excited about offering the lecture series to local ministry leaders.
“We wanted to have a venue where not only our students can benefit from us, but we can be a resource to local churches and pastors as well as even our faculty,” Mathias said.
“The topic of missions is connected to rich theology. When it comes to missions, we need to exercise our minds in addition to our hearts and feet. I think this lecture series helps pull these things together.”
Mathias explained naming the lecture series after the first two known NOBTS (then the Baptist Bible Institute) students to serve as foreign missionaries named Paul Freeman and Pearl Amelia Bigler was meant to serve as a sign of respect but also as inspiration for future missionaries.
“We named the lecture series after these two people to celebrate our seminary’s rich missions history,” he said.
“They had a lifetime of going to be on the mission field. We want to continue the conversation about missions and hopefully inspire a new generation to go and serve as missionaries.”
By Timothy Cockes
Larry Lyon, former senior vice president for business administration for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, was recently named president of Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Ga.
Lyon was unanimously elected as president in a specialcalled meeting of the Truett McConnell Board of Trustees on Monday, Feb. 2.
He officially began his duties as president of TMU on April 1.
Lyon served at NOBTS since 2019, first as vice president of enrollment and later as senior vice president for business administration beginning in 2021.
Before coming to New Orleans, Lyon worked for Southeastern Seminary as director of enrollment, where he developed a close relationship with NOBTS President Jamie Dew.
Appointing Lyon as a vice president was Dew’s first official action as NOBTS president just weeks after his election by the Board of Trustees in June 2019.
“I chose Dr. Lyon for his role because he is a wonderful leader, a great innovator and he has the ability to handle organizational details,” Dew said. “Plus, it was helpful to me
to have somebody that I trusted on a deeply personal level.
“The vice president for business administration is one of the most significant and critical roles within our institution. This person oversees all financial matters, everything related to facilities, insurance and so much more. Without a strong leader in this role, your institution will surely flounder. Dr. Lyon has given us great strength and stability at NOBTS and we have benefited greatly from his leadership.”
In his role as senior vice president of business administration, Lyon was a member of the president’s executive cabinet and served as the institution’s chief financial and operating officer, providing executive leadership across business operations, enrollment, facilities, human resources and institutional administration.
Under his stewardship, student-generated revenue increased by more than $2.5 million, endowment investments grew by over $17 million and the seminary completed more than $30 million in campus renovations.
Lyon is the second NOBTS faculty member to be named president of a Southern Baptist college or university in the last 12 months after Mark Johnson was named president of Louisiana Baptist College in early 2025.
Dew said although he is sad to lose Lyon, he is also excited for the excellent leadership he will provide Truett McConnell.
“I’m thrilled that Dr. Lyon is going to be the new president of Truett McConnell University,” Dew said.
“He is a steady hand, a calm voice, a kind leader and a man of deep theological and moral conviction. In addition to that, I’ve watched him lead large groups of people in two separate institutions now. Everybody that works for Dr. Lyon absolutely loves him.
“We always hate to lose people, but we’re excited to see our folks take presidencies, especially in our partner Baptist universities. I think it is a great blessing and symbol of health that these schools have looked to our people for these leadership roles. The ethos and health of our institution at this moment serves our students very well, but now we have the opportunity to reach other institutions and provide strength for them.”
Lyon, a Georgia native, earned a Bachelor of Science in Christian Ministry from Shorter University in Rome, Ga., before earning both a Master of Divinity in Christian Apologetics and a Ph.D in Theological Studies with a specialization in Christian Ethics from Southeastern. His doctoral research focused on the public theology of Francis Schaeffer.
Lyon served as professor of ethics at NOBTS, teaching courses in Christian ethics, theology of sexuality and gender, and current ethical issues at both the graduate and doctoral levels.
He has been married to his wife Stephanie for 24 years and they have three daughters: Anna Kate (20), Abby (18) and Maggie (11).
Stephanie became close friends with Tara Dew, wife of Jamie, during their time serving in North Carolina. Stephanie assisted Tara with developing the seminary’s Prepare Her initiatives and continued serving women throughout the Lyons’ time at NOBTS.
Additionally, Stephanie served as director of missions and ministry to women at First Baptist Church New Orleans where the Lyons were members.
“Stephanie and I have been dear friends for over 13 years,” Tara Dew said. “We were fellow pastors’ wives in NC and so our dreams came true when our husbands both came to serve at NOBTS and we could equip the same women in the same place together.
“In 2020, Stephanie helped Dr. Emily Dean and I launch our Prepare Her initiatives for NOBTS women. Stephanie spearheaded our women’s life component, encouraging
women of all stages of life to engage in campus life activities. Stephanie did a phenomenal job serving the women of NOBTS through these monthly gatherings of prayer, Bible study and service.
“We will miss having Larry and Stephanie with us at NOBTS, but we are thrilled with all that God is doing in their lives and the direction He is leading them. Truett-McConnell is getting some of our best, and we are cheering for them every step of the way.”
Lyon said serving at NOBTS has been one of the highlights of his life.
“Being a part of what God is doing at NOBTS and Leavell College has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and career,” Lyon said.
“While serving under the leadership of Dr. Jamie Dew, NOBTS has seen significant strengthening in all aspects of institutional health. Being included among those serving here at the seminary has been a privilege, and I will deeply miss the relationships and the people of this great School of Providence and Prayer. NOBTS is genuinely a place where you can prepare to serve anywhere.”
Lyon added that Jamie Dew has been much more than a president to him.
“Jamie Dew is a mentor and an unbelievably good friend,” Lyon said.
“Serving with him has taught me many things about leadership and what it means to be a godly man while serving God’s Kingdom in theological education. Jamie’s passion for Gospel ministry is an ever-equipping tool for those who serve with him, and I have benefited from it greatly.”
Lyon is thrilled to step into this new role to help serve Georgia Baptists, who hold a special place in his heart.
“TMU has an incredibly bright future,” Lyon said.
“Building on their legacy of faith and the Word of God, TMU is poised to continue to make an impact for God’s kingdom in Georgia and to the ends of the earth. I am excited to join the TMU family and begin building relationships with the people that have made TMU an amazing place to study and serve.
“My wife and I are excited to come back home to Georgia where we were baptized by Georgia Baptists, discipled by Georgia Baptists and educated at a Georgia Baptist university. I am looking forward to serving Georgia Baptists and playing a part in raising up the next generation of leaders in our communities and in our churches. Go Bears!”
Commemorate your seminary experience or honor a loved one with a brick or paver placed in Leavell Chapel ’s Legacy Plaza.
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As we champion “Prepare Here, Serve Anywhere” from 3939 Gentilly Boulevard, what energizes me most is staying connected with those faithfully serving Christ in their unique ministry contexts by encouraging and equipping them wherever God has called them.
We’ve intentionally expanded our reach to bring NOBTS to our alumni, rather than simply asking them to come to us. Through lunch-and-learn workshops, staff-led conferences, and regional gatherings across Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and beyond, we’ve demonstrated our commitment to strengthening the ministries of those we serve. This intentionality is bearing fruit—we consistently see strong engagement at our state convention meals and events.
We’ve also deepened collaboration with campus partners to
better welcome and engage our alumni community. Whether pastors attending the Pastors’ Summit, women gathering at the Abide Conference, or ministers seeking meaningful networking opportunities, we create spaces for genuine encouragement and connection. For example, through partnership with the Distance Learning Office and Admissions, we hosted a Connection Lunch in Birmingham that drew over a hundred alumni, prospective, and current students. We want to be a catalyst to networking and connection wherever you are serving.
Looking ahead, our vision is to facilitate vibrant regional chapters that foster lasting connections among alumni around the world, wherever they’re serving.
To our NOBTS and Leavell College alumni—we’re committed to bringing the seminary to you, wherever you serve. We want to support your ministry in tangible, meaningful ways. Please let us know how we can best come alongside you in your calling.
From New Orleans to communities around the globe, NOBTS alumni are making a difference every day. Stay connected to the Seminary — and to each other — as we continue building something bigger than ourselves.
JOIN TODAY. STAY CONNECTED.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary joins our fellow Southern Baptists in mourning the loss of Pastor Steve Gaines.
Gaines, who passed away March 20 at the age of 68, served as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., for more than two decades. He also served in a variety of convention leadership roles, including as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, over the course of his more than 40 years of ministry.
Gaines served as a visiting professor at NOBTS, teaching various seminars over the years and preaching during NOBTS chapel. NOBTS leadership offered their thoughts of remembrance for Gaines below:
“Steve Gaines was a mighty man of God, mighty in prayer and mighty in the Word. He prayed more and memorized more Scripture than anyone I know. He was a mighty warrior for the cause of Christ. He was a mighty preacher of the Bible and a mighty soul winner. By his powerful preaching and his personal example, Steve Gaines led his people to seek after the things of God and to seek after the souls of men. One would find it difficult to calculate the tremendous impact for good and for the Gospel that Steve Gaines had upon the churches where he served as pastor and upon the Southern Baptist Convention where he served as President and in various other capacities through the years. Steve Gaines’ life and ministry both encouraged and challenged me to be a better man of God and better minister of the Gospel. I miss him, but I know that I will see him in heaven one day. He was my best friend.”
- Preston Nix | Professor of Evangelism and Evangelistic Preaching
“I am grateful for the commitment of Steve Gaines to proclaim the Good News. He was always ready, even doing door-to-door evangelism with NOBTS students as a part of our Serve Days. The faith of Steve Gaines is now sight. Praise God we are a people who grieve with hope.”
- Jamie Dew | President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College
“Each time I think of Steve, I am reminded of the day he preached in chapel for our Serve Day – and then went with our students into the city to do ministry. He led a group doing door-to-door evangelism. For me, he demonstrated that day what I had always known of him, that he is one who not only talks about walking with Christ but he really does walk with Christ!”
- Thomas Strong | Vice President of Spiritual Formation and Student Life
“Dr. Steve Gaines was always willing to come and invest in seminary students. He preached in chapel, taught doctoral seminars, and led in special events over the years. One of the more meaningful times to me was when he came and led a special event on prayer in the church. He attributed much of his success to a dependence on the Lord in prayer, and I think that resonated with our students and faculty.”
- Norris Grubbs | Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Administration
Friends and loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord leave to us a legacy of faith and an example of service. Please scan the QR code to see their names and class dates.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary hosted their 17th annual Defend Apologetics Conference Jan. 4-9.
Nearly 400 attendees from 18 different states gathered to hear lectures about a variety of apologetics topics including the resurrection of Christ, intelligent design, artificial intelligence, suffering and creation.
Tawa Anderson, NOBTS associate professor of philosophy and apologetics and director of Defend, welcomed attendees to “the best apologetics conference in the world.”
“You will be equipped, you’ll be inspired, you’ll learn and you’ll be stretched in ways you didn’t know you could be stretched. I’m excited for what God has in store for you this week,” Anderson said.
The entire conference, which included a wide variety of plenary speakers, centered around the theme of the goodness of God and Christianity.
NOBTS President Jamie Dew focused his plenary session on why Jesus Christ cultivates virtue in mankind better than anything else.
“Christianity offers a superior system of belief and practice for the formation of virtue,” Dew said. “If we want to grow in virtue, then ultimately it is Christ and Christ alone that can do this.”
Dew said Christianity offers a true opportunity to become a virtuous person and should not be viewed as simply a belief system to be defended with evidence.
“Christian apologists, I hope you learn to think well and pursue your education to the fullest extent possible,” Dew said. “But at the end of the day, do not reduce Christianity to merely some bucket of evidence. Yes, Christianity is intellectually robust and has stood the test of time, but remember that it is more than some intellectual system.
“Christ is not just data sitting on a shelf somewhere. We’re talking about a person, a being who moves into our lives, invades our souls and transforms us from the inside out. As apologists, I don’t think we should be ashamed to talk about those types of things.”
EXPLORING THE BEAUTY OF CHRISTIANITY THROUGH PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY, & APOLOGETICS
January 4-8, 2027
WORSHIP WITH: ANDREW BELMORE & CRESCENT CITY WORSHIP
REGISTRATION: AUGUST 1, 2026 | GENERAL ADMISSION: $170.00 | NOBTS STUDENT: $100.00
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