Interview : Dr. Thomas O. Jones, VP of Golden Gate Seminary
A city as rich in culture and diversity as San Francisco may be one great "laboratory" where seminary students can carry out their learned skills, according to Dr. Thomas O. Jones, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the Mill Valley-based Golden Gate Baptist Seminary.
Dr. Jones took some time to speak to the Christian Post about the seminary and its dedication to missions and raising Christian leaders of tomorrow.
How long have you been serving at Golden Gate Seminary as the vice present?
I've been here for five years since 2000.
What kind of changes and developments has the seminary undergone during that period?
Dr. Bill Crews, our former president, really emphasized the change and focus of the regional campus that we have. We have five campuses in Mill Valley, LA area, Phoenix, Denver, and Portland. In these five campuses, we really contextualize our theological education regionally, so the last five years has been focused on developing and strengthening those campuses.
The campus is located north of San Francisco in Mill Valley. What are the greatest challenges in terms of ministering near such a liberal city?
I would say the greatest challenge is the economical impact. Housing is so expensive for people who come and live here. But, whether you're socially liberal or conservative, you still need the Lord. So this is one of the things we're trying to teach our students.
We feel that our students gain their ministry experience through their seminary studies, but also when they serve in the local churches. There are nearly 1000 Southern Baptist churches and missions and a large number of colleges, both Christian and public schools alike, in the area with ministry opportunities.
Here in San Francisco there is cultural diversity. There are just so many different cultures. Economically, ethnically, or socially, there are just so many ways [students] can minister. It's a great laboratory for them to carry out their theology and their ministry skills they learn at the seminary.
One of the things we try to do is not to say that our campus is in Mill Valley because we do have five campuses and we do try to provide theological education across the west in the western U.S. campuses. All of the cities [where our campuses are located] are world-class, and all of them have a whole lot of diverse and cultural opportunities for the students to really test the ministry skills they learned in the seminary.
One of our philosophies at our seminary is that the ministries ought to be contextual. What we try to teach our students at the seminary is the skills they need to go in there and be effective in sharing the gospel to the lost people. Regardless of whether they're liberal or conservative, rich or poor, Anglo or Asian, we want to contextually share the gospel so they can know what it is.
Certainly there would be aspects that would make it more difficult than if you were in Little Rock, Arkansas. But, Little Rock, Arkansas also has its own difficulties, so I wouldn't say it' either harder or easier. It' just a ministry. Certainly, at different aspects it may be harder, but everything is always relative.
What do you feel is the biggest difference in terms of ministering in Arkansas and ministering in California?
The college where I served in Arkansas was in a rural area with most of the students from the rural Arkansas. So they come with a different worldview and mindset. Cultural diversity here would be larger than it would be in Arkansas. Culture in Arkansas typically would be described as a rural, Anglo Southern culture.
One is an institution of undergrad students whereas Golden Gate Seminary is comprised of typically adult students who have been in the ministry for a while. Golden Gate is a worldwide seminary that draws people from all over the world.
What are some special outreach programs at Golden Gate Seminary?
Most of the programs we have are out of David and Faith Kim of Intercultural Studies. We have programs called Beyond Teens where several teams of students go all across the world, doing ministry and ethnographic studies during summer and we get their report when then return in the fall.
Prior to coming to Golden Gate Seminary, Dr. Jones was Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. He also served as Vice President for Public Affairs at California Baptist College and various church staff positions in Sacramento, San Diego, and Fort Worth.
Jones received his B.A. from California State University at Sacramento, M.A. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Ed. D. from Pepperdine University.
A native of Woodlands, Sacramento, Jones, is a frequent faculty member for the annual meeting of the Christian Stewardship Association, and has also written for Seminary Development News.
Dr. Jones and his wife, Gail, have been married for 25 years and have two children, Sara a college student in Apple Valley, and Matthew, an incoming freshman at the California Baptist University.
Golden Gate Seminary, which has educated thousands of men and women dedicated to missions all over the world, stands today as a vital growing force in Southern Baptist missionary and ministry efforts.
