“Please receive this letter as Bethany Theological Seminary’s endorsement of the Academy of Preachers and an expression of my intention to encourage students and faculty to participate in the Academy.” So wrote Dr. Ruthann Knechel Johansen, President of Bethany Theological Seminary to Dr. Dwight A. Moody, Executive Director of the Academy of Preachers.

“My visit to Bethany,” recalls Dr. Moody, “was one of the most enjoyable, hospitable campus visits of my six months promoting the Academy. I look forward to returning, and to receiving the Festival Registrations from Bethany students and alums.”

Bethany is a seminary of the Church of the Brethren and is located on the campus of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. It is one of 15 seminaries in the four-state target area of this first Festival. The area includes Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Lexington, Bowling Green, Nashville, Owensboro, Evansville, Bloomington, with Louisville at the center.

Other portions of Dr. Johansen’s letter are worth quoting at length:

“First, I am grateful that the Academy seeks to encourage young adults who feel called to gospel preaching …. Second, your emphasis on the mentoring relationship …  confirms the interest in having mentors that young adults have frequently expressed. Third, … your decision to highlight the value of young people refining their skills and deepening their faith convictions in community, rather than competitively … is one that we here at Bethany can endorse enthusiastically. Finally, the ecumenical character of the Academy will potentially deepen the faith and enrich the proclamations of all the participants and [also of] those who will hear their preaching in the present and in the years to come.”

Bethany becomes the 13th institution or organization to endorse the Academy of Preachers. The goal for this first year is 50. Look elsewhere (BE A PARTNER) for a list of these partners and for directions for how you congregation, organization, business, or institution that join with the Academy in “inspiring young people in their call to gospel preaching.”