2013 Fall Board of Trustees Meeting

Golden Gate Seminary’s Board of Trustees Provides Unified, Focused Leadership

Trustees of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary received reports about seminary operations, accomplished routine business, and toured the Pacific Northwest campus during the two-day Board meeting October 14 and 15, 2013, held in Portland, Oregon.

“Golden Gate Seminary continues to lead the way in training leaders for ministry in the American West and around the world,” President Jeff Iorg said in his opening remarks to the Trustees. “At the end of the spring 2013 semester, we recognized 223 graduates who will provide significant global leadership. From a church planter in Montana, to a pastor in California, and a missionary in India – our recent graduates are touching the world with the gospel.” He noted how the seminary’s faculty and staff remain riveted to the mission of shaping leaders who expand God’s kingdom around the world.

During the meeting, the Board heard reports on numerous items including ATS approval to offer a fully accredited Master of Divinity degree in a 100% online format; the arrival of Dr. Ben Skaug, new Vice President for Institutional Advancement; and “Ministry in the New Marriage Culture,” the conference held in early October on the Northern California campus.

The Trustees took several routine and unanimous actions related to items including audits, financial issues, academic programs, and sabbaticals.

The president reviewed his 2015 Diamond Plan goals with the trustees, and reported that “the Seminary continues to be well-managed, functioning within its revenue and operating without debt.” Iorg explained, “We have absorbed two major new expenses in the past three years – land development costs and faculty salary increases. We have done this through prioritized spending and increased revenue (tuition, fees, and rent). We have also chosen to defer some expenditures that will soon require attention.”

Trustees heard presentations by two professors from the Pacific Northwest campus. Both Dr. Michael Kuykendall, Professor of New Testament Studies, and Dr. Kon Yang, Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies and Associate Director of the Doctor of Ministry’s Korean Track shared from their areas of expertise.
“Our Board is unified, focused, and determined to give the kind of leadership our seminary requires,” President Iorg told the Seminary as he recalled the recent meeting. “The Board took several votes this fall. All were unanimous, and all will continue to sustain our mission.”