Global Church Network and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary partner to address growing shortfall of pastors

Formal relationship makes accredited online courses available to thousands of emerging ministry leaders around the world

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Global Church Divinity School (GCDS), an online pastor training resource launched in 2001 by the Global Church Network (GCN), is excited to announce a formal partnership with Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, to provide GCDS students accredited graduate credit hours toward a Master’s degree from AGTS.

“The greatest need in the Global Church today is not more models, money or methods, but God-called, Christ-centered, Kingdom-minded, Spirit-empowered, Bible-based preachers, who can communicate to the Now Generation and lead the Church toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission,” said Dr. James O. Davis, founder of GCN and GCDS, and himself an AGTS graduate. “We are honored to synergize together with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary to address the shortfall of trained ministers and make accredited, world-class training more accessible to busy professionals and those living far from traditional seminaries.”

Part of the Global Church Network, the largest pastors’ network in the world, GCDS comprises more than 260 courses in 8 languages, with more than 1000 lecture hours and over 200 faculty. GCDS currently interfaces with GCN’s Global Hubs of Christianity, providing the finest training possible even in the hardest places in the world. Now, with this new partnership, GCDS students can earn AGTS Specialized Certificates in Preaching, Teaching, Pastoral Life, Bible, Christ Formation, Arts & Imagination, and Contextual Semiotics. 

AGTS Vice President Dr. Wade Mumm, who also serves as Lead Pastor of Greeneway Church in Orlando, was raised by missionary parents in Thailand and so uniquely understands the challenges of educating and equipping ministry leaders in remote locations. “I look forward to creatively, strategically and synergistically developing incredible educational onramps onto the highway of ministry with the Global Church Divinity School,” he said.

The Global Church Network launched GCDS 22 years ago, anticipating fewer leaders entering ministry careers in the future – something that has become a challenge here in the U.S. as well as around the world. According to Dr. Davis, himself an Assemblies of God ordained minister, “Whether the Church is growing at supersonic speed or experiencing slower growth, there are not enough pastors to fill the existing pulpits, much less the starting of new churches.”

Dr. David Sobrepena, Global Church Network Cochair for East Asia and Founder of Word of Hope Church in Manila, shared that he is “thrilled with the academic relationship between the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and the Global Church Divinity School. “We must forge new dynamic paths and faster means to equipping and educating future pastors and ministers,” he said.

As an early pioneer in online divinity studies and ministry preparation, GCDS has equipped tens of thousands of ministers from every nation across the globe over the last 22 years.

The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary was founded in 1973 under the leadership of the late Dr. Thomas F. Zimmerman, Assemblies of God General Superintendent. Over the years, thousands of students from around the world have graduated from AGTS, carrying with them its vision statement, “Truth on Fire.” 

“The Global Church Divinity School partnership with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary is the next step to raising up high quality leaders to finish the Great Commission,” added Rev. Brian Ashworth, Senior Pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church in Belfast. “We have witnessed firsthand as we have taught in the Global Church Network Hubs, both in Moldova and Egypt, hundreds of pastors and leaders have been equipped with the finest training possible to help them plant churches and preach the Gospel.”

Rev. Terry Bailey, Superintendent of the Tennessee Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, agrees. “We began making the online training of the Global Church Divinity School available to our pastors and ministers about ten years ago,” he said. “We could not be more pleased with the academic relationship formed between the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and GCDS.”

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About Global Church Network
Established in 2001, Global Church Network is a growing coalition of more than 2,750 Christian ministries and 700,000 churches synergizing their efforts together to build the premier community of pastors worldwide and has helped plant five million new churches for a billion-soul harvest. To learn more, visit https://gcnw.tv. The Global Church Divinity School currently interfaces with  GCN’s Global Hubs of Christianity, providing the finest training possible even in the hardest places in the world, and has helped train tens of thousands of Christian leaders since 2002. For more information, visit gcnw.tv.

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Melany Ethridge
A. Larry Ross Communications
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