ImpactReport 2025
Shaping Leaders in the Way of Jesus
By President Javier A. Viera
Where I come from, we say we cannot flourish as an individual until that which is personal is shared and we help each other to grow deeply rooted.” My heart leapt as Rev. Dr. Peter Mageto (G-ETS 2001 & 2004) offered these words at this year’s convocation. He was on campus with an Africa University delegation—exploring how our institutions can collaborate, magnifying our collective power through our respective gifts—but his address succinctly named our deeper, shared purpose: In all that we do, we are here to praise the God who speaks through our neighbor’s voice. We often say at Garrett that we labor for the thriving of the church and the healing of the world, but Dr. Mageto’s testimony is a reminder that these desires are two faces to the same mission. The world’s myriad problems are serious, but when we approach them faithfully, they become an opportunity to draw closer together.
The ministries of Garrett’s alums embody that conviction. Whether they serve as pastors, chaplains, counselors, or non-profit leaders, our graduates knit social fabric into tighter weaves. They marshal community resources to meet pressing issues but also understand that methods which unite and empower God’s people are just as important as the ends they serve. Bigotry and fear yield a tattered world; our faith must labor at the fraying edges—Spirit moving in margins that become God’s new center.
It’s a delight to watch students find purpose in that vision. After welcoming the largest class in
more than a decade for the 20242025 academic year, we’re thrilled to announce that this year’s class, was just as large, despite a fraught climate in higher education. This sustained growth comes despite a decrease in international students
In all that we do, we are here to praise the God who speaks through our neighbor’s voice.
due to changes in U.S. immigration policy. Students recognize that something special is happening here in Evanston and want to participate in this transformation.
Garrett has become a nimbler institution as we follow that call. While our home remains in Chicagoland, our community stretches further. It lives in students who attend Garrett remotely so they
can continue to pastor their local church while pursuing their degree. It’s vibrantly manifest in our many partners who call us into deeper relationship with the global church, and beyond parishes’ walls. This flexible approach is paired to fervent conviction that the institutional church will play a vital role in who we might become.
The donations we receive from alums and friends tell us: You’re investing in this movement. Thank you for your generosity. This support enables us to offer unprecedented access and affordability to students who seek theological higher education. Geography no longer impedes students’ ability to follow their call. With your help, we move towards a day when financial hurdles will likewise never present a stumbling block. The more we follow this path, the more it enriches Garrett’s learning culture—and ensures that tomorrow’s leaders are shaped by a chorus of voices, harmonizing from our many particularities. When a student from rural India can learn
beside a student from Seoul—and when those students talk and pray with someone who grew up right here in Illinois—they bring their cultures and wisdom but also their needs and priorities into the room. The result is a holy mezcla that is more creative and resilient than whatever we might build alone.
From these seeds sprout a multitude of life. Last spring, our new Escuela de Ministerios brought more than 60 Latiné leaders from the North Central Jurisdiction to Garrett, dreaming about how churches might grow by faithfully
With your help, we move towards a day when financial hurdles will likewise never present a stumbling block
responding to our communities’ needs. This fall, more than two dozen lay leaders have signed up for a new discernment cohort, to attend a lowcost seminary class and think about the work to which they feel called. We’re planning public health projects in Zimbabwe and Kansas, eco-theological partnerships in India and Indiana, ministry and technology partnerships in Korea and Little Rock, theological training programs in Chile and Chicago. The Garrett Collective will launch soon, further expanding our seminary’s reach. We continue to draw brilliant, faithful students from across the United States and around the globe. Our future will be shaped by our collaboration, and that future is bright.
Giving a scholarship to an international student is giving them the world. It makes life manageable; you only need to find money for accommodation and food. If I had to fund the whole program without a scholarship, I wouldn’t be here today.”
— Juliet Chirowa, M.Div. ‘27
I see students caught in emergency situations not of their own doing and I thought, ‘Aha, God is telling me that I can do something about that. It may not be everything, but God takes what we can offer and increases it by grace. That’s what makes life exciting.”
— Peggy Ferrell, Garrett donor
Philanthropy
With generous philanthropic support, we have been able to expand our student scholarships, programs, and global partnerships. Future fundraising campaigns will seek to increase unrestricted funds and Garrett’s endowment, strengthening our foundation and ability to innovate.
Widening Paths to Ministry
By Benjamin Perry
When I first felt the call, it was like every door was closed. Then, I decided, ‘Yes, I’m going to do this,’ and suddenly those closed doors started opening.” Benjiman Durfee is a first-year M.Div. student, who already serves Trinity Church in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts as a licensed local pastor. Like many who seek ordination his path was not simple, and yet he remained ardently committed to following God’s claim upon his life; his hunger to serve his community. Fortunately, Garrett Seminary’s commitment to improve access and affordability in theological education helped eliminate structural barriers, bolstering Durfee’s faith that this dream lay within his grasp.
Durfee didn’t originally plan to serve in ministry. “I had gone through a really difficult time in college,” he remembers. “I started working as music director at a church, but didn’t feel like I had a personal relationship with God. But, when I showed up each Sunday, it began to feel like all the sermons spoke directly to my life.” Week after week, he heard the minister address the pain he experienced as a gay man growing up in the church, offering care and the potent reminder of how deeply he was loved by God. “It seemed like she was on a mission to heal me, even though she didn’t know what was going on,” he confesses. “It was God’s grace calling me back.”
Over years, Durfee’s commitment to the church deepened. People would regularly ask if he had considered a ministerial vocation, but the call always felt just beyond his reach. “I was working too many jobs at once, trying to engage in
ministry part-time. When I would look at the time demands, the money, it just wasn’t going to work,” he says. “A year later, I found myself appointed as a local pastor to this congregation, working threequarters time. I wanted to continue
“I heard that at Garrett you can study for an M.Div. entirely online. For the first time, it felt possible that I could pursue my dream to make ministry a full-time vocation.”
my education so I could better guide the people I serve, but I couldn’t see how that was possible.” He did not want to leave his church community, nor could he afford to uproot his life
for a residential seminary program.
“Then, I heard that at Garrett you can study for an M.Div. entirely online,” he recalls. “For the first time, it felt possible that I could pursue my dream to make ministry a full-time vocation.”
Garrett didn’t only eliminate logistical hurdles, a significant scholarship eased the financial burden, too. “If I hadn’t received a scholarship, I would not be doing this right now,” he says bluntly. “But the timing is right, and I’m so glad that Garrett and its generous donors are making this possible.” Indeed, philanthropic giving enables Garrett to offer students, on average, a 70% tuition scholarship, blazing a path that students like Durfee can travel.
“I’m so excited to have colleagues with whom to reflect theologically,” he says with joy. “It feels like everything in the world is falling apart around us, and this is a place where I can build my own prophetic voice to offer hope.”
That pastoral presence Durfee feels called to offer is firmly grounded in the care he received.
“Coming to understand how deeply God loved me transformed my life,” he says. “It helped me deconstruct what the world had told me about myself and find meaning. I want to be that vessel of God’s grace for others.” As he begins classes, Garrett’s constructive ethos and focus on servant leadership have already reassured Durfee that he’s where he’s supposed to be. “We are called to be co-creators with God,” he observes. “All the suffering in our world can feel overwhelming, but if we focus on the difference we can make within ourselves and in our local communities, that can be the spark to bring renewal.”
Answering the Call
Over the past four years, our community has grown in size, diversity, and the ways in which we learn and gather. One notable shift is the number of students who are pursuing theological education later in life, as a second career. Our new laity discernment cohort has also created a new pathway for learners to discern their vocation, increasing the number of non-degree students. What hasn’t changed is the deep passion people bring to our halls as they prepare to become servant leaders.
Entering Students by degree
Entering Students by Age
Entering Students by Race
Entering Students by Denomination
Fall 2025 Entering Students by Gender
Save November 5 and 6 on your calendar for an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, build new relationships and create memories you’ll cherish. Come to Homecoming 2025 and see the great work God is doing in Evanston—and through the ministry of our alums!
