June 12, 2025
Commencement season at three Georgia Baptist-affiliated institutions — Truett McConnell University, Shorter University, and Brewton-Parker College — provided a vivid reminder that academic achievement and gospel-centered calling can go hand in hand. As students walked across the stage to receive their degrees, they also stepped into roles of service and leadership.
“These institutions are vital to the future of our churches,” said W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “They’re not just producing graduates — they’re raising up faithful men and women who will lead, teach, reach, and plant, in the name of Jesus for decades to come.”
“At the heart of our mission is the belief that God is still calling people to ministry,” he added. “These schools are helping the next generation of leader respond and prepare well for the call.”
At Truett McConnell University, once a junior college, the 2025 commencement ceremonies marked a milestone in the school’s expanding academic footprint. The university began granting four-year degrees in 2002, and in December 2013 SACSOC approved the school to offer its first master’s program. Now approved for doctoral degrees, the university continues to broaden its reach. A total of 248 graduates were honored, including 28 who prepared for Christian ministry. An additional 24 individuals graduated through the prison ministry program, and 10 students earned their master’s in theology through the francophone program in Lome, Togo, West Africa.
Dr. Mael Disseau, Vice President for Academic Services and chairholder of the Charles F. Stanley Endowed Chair of Theology, stated, "The Hubmaier School of Theology is already making an impact that is being felt around the world. We have graduates throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East." He emphasized that many from this year’s class intend to continue their education.
In his brief but powerful address to graduates, President Emir Caner proclaimed, "We are here today to celebrate our students who have successfully completed a rigorous course of study. Salvation is by grace, but graduation is by works. I commend our graduates for your good work in completing your course of study in our university." He challenged the graduates to live lives marked not by careers, but by a calling.
Georgia Makayla Sauls, graduating with a Christian Studies major, said, "The Christian Studies program has equipped me with tools to comprehend scripture for myself and to disciple others to do the same." James Schnelbach added, "The Christian Studies program has taught me to purposefully think through what the biblical text is telling us rather than what we might want it to say."
Dr. Disseau further explained that Truett McConnell offers flexible and missionally-minded programs, including the MA in Christian Ministry, MA in Global Studies, MA in Theology, and an 82-hour MDiv. "These degrees are designed to prepare graduates, through a biblically centered education, to be critical thinkers and equipped to understand and effectively communicate Scripture to all people and to fulfill their vocation as Christian ministers and servants of our Sovereign Lord."
Before each commencement, TMU holds a tradition called The Gate Ceremony, where freshmen who entered the university through a symbolic gate exit the same way upon graduation — a poignant reminder of the journey from calling to commission.
In Rome, Shorter University honored approximately 350 graduates during two ceremonies on May 8 at the Winthrop-King Centre. One ceremony recognized graduates of the Ben and Ollie Brady School of Nursing and the College of Business; the second honored those from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ware College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, School of Education, and School of Fine and Performing Arts.
Dr. Don Dowless, President of Shorter University, declared, "This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it," quoting Psalm 118:24. Addressing graduates, he said, "Now begins the rest of the story — the time in which you will begin to exercise the gift that the Lord Jesus Christ has given you and which has been encouraged and enhanced by your faculty."
Commencement speaker Dr. Kirk Shook, Executive Director of the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission, used biblical figures like Moses, Gideon, and David to emphasize that God often calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things. "Many of you may have a ministry that brings countless people to Christ. That would be extraordinary."
Shorter’s commitment to spiritual development is reflected in its motto: "Enter to learn. Exit to serve Christ." Hayden Lanier, president of the Baptist Campus Ministry, testified, "I was able to grow in Christ and form lifelong connections that I know I would not have made elsewhere. Fly Hawks!"
Graduate Mackenzie Livingston, with a double major in Christian and Communication Studies, stated, "To be consistently encouraged and challenged by professors in my spiritual life as well as academically is a blessing I will forever treasure... I am excited to begin pursuing non-profit work and eventually working towards a master’s in either counseling or social work to continue making a difference in the communities around me."
Further south in Mount Vernon, Brewton-Parker College graduated 221 students on May 10, including 17 from Temple Baptist Theological Seminary. The college reached a significant milestone this year by surpassing its five-year strategic enrollment goal of 1,500 students two years early. Even more noteworthy is the school’s record of consistent spiritual fruit, averaging more than 50 student conversions each year over the past decade.
The seminary, launched in March 2023, now includes over 150 students enrolled in master’s-level courses, including 45 in its Spanish-language program. Dr. Steve Echols noted, "Temple has three levels of study, including the certificate, bachelor and master’s programs. We have tried to create a lot of visibility for the seminary since we are new, and the response has been very positive."
Daniel Beasley, pastor of Ohooppe Baptist Church in Tennille, Ga., testified, "It was wonderful to discover how the Bible flowed seamlessly with the Gospel message from the first pages of Genesis to the last pages of Revelation." After earning a master's in accounting, Beasley enrolled in BPC's seminary to pursue theological training.
Todd McGinnis, a trustee and 1995 graduate of Brewton-Parker, who also teaches Sunday School at Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon, said, "It doesn’t make any difference whether you are studying business statistics or chemistry, the Gospel is being taught in every class. Brewton Parker is more than a college; it is a place where one’s faith can be deepened and where one’s life can be enriched."
Hammond commented, “What excites me most is that each of these graduates represents a future investment in gospel ministry. Whether they’re pastoring, serving on mission fields, or working in their local communities, they are equipped to advance the Kingdom.”
From the North Georgia mountains to the rolling farmland of Mount Vernon, Southern Baptist higher education in Georgia is producing graduates whose lives are marked by academic excellence, theological grounding, and a passion for service. Whether through local church leadership, missions, nonprofit work, or vocational ministry, these graduates represent a generation ready to take up the call to serve Christ wherever He leads.
“Our vision has always been to see every community reached with the gospel,” Hammond said. “That requires leaders who are well-trained and Spirit-led. Georgia Baptists are blessed to have schools like Truett McConnell, Shorter, and Brewton-Parker that partner with our churches to prepare the next generation of leaders.”
