Year-End Campaign
December 2, 2025 2025-12-02 11:09Year-End Campaign
2025 has been a wild ride!
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again (because it’s still really accurate): there have been seasons in the Seminary’s life where we feel like we’re holding on for dear life as we try to keep up with God doing his work in our midst, and this is another one of those seasons! There have been lots of adjustments and changes, but also lots of progress to show for it, and we’re humbled and grateful for all God has been doing! So the mood (or “vibe” as my two teenagers would put it) is simply fantastic! We’re plugging away, and starting to really see some great indicators of progress and good changes for our future.
For example: I recently received an unsolicited email from an Academic Dean from another seminary, who reached out to tell me how impressive Pillar was to him after he’d perused our website. He told me that he’d done extensive work for accrediting bodies through the years, and he couldn’t see how we weren’t already accredited. He told me that our faculty is obviously world-class, and our model, curriculum, and degrees look really innovative and effective. And so he wanted to know why we weren’t accredited — what might be holding us back? In my reply I told him it’s certainly in our plans, but it boils down to a lack of funding at the moment. I’m telling you this story, though, to highlight the fact that our industry peers see what we’re doing here and they’re really impressed with it. We’ve got a great thing going here at Pillar Seminary, but there’s still certainly room to grow!
As this Dean recognized, we have an exceptional faculty at Pillar.
Let me tell you about one in particular that just joined our faculty this Fall, Reverend Doctor David Latimore. Dr. Latimore serves as the Director for the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, and he’s also teaching our fall semester Church History course.
It certainly says a whole lot that we have a Princeton University employee who wants to teach with us in his spare time! And Dr. Latimore is just the latest addition to our top-notch, world-class faculty, pouring into our students in so many wonderful ways.
And this level of excellence and desire to be a part of what we’re doing translates to our board, as well! I’m delighted to announce that there will be at least three new board members joining us in the new year, which is so very exciting. They’re super-impressive people, if I might toot their horns a little bit, and they’re joining a board that’s already stacked with incredible folks. I cannot say enough about how wonderful our board has been, and continues to be, for the flourishing of our Seminary. So all that to say, there’s a lot of great energy around the Seminary, and again, impressive people see what we’re doing and want to get in on the action!
It feels a little bit audacious, I’ll admit, but we really believe in what we’re doing, and we also believe you’ll want to play your own part in what’s happening here, too. But what will it cover? How will we use it? A strong year-end will put us in a fantastic position to keep the momentum going, but it will also allow us to pull off a few other things that might be right around the corner.
What else will your year-end gift do?
- For one, we really do need to apply for accreditation, and like I told my Dean colleague, it’s mostly funding that’s keeping us from that. Between a staff person to head that initiative up and associated application costs, we estimate we’ll need about $50K to get that ball rolling.
- We also have plans to build out a new Pillar Institute initiative for a wider audience of learners (Pillar Institute is our non-degree Seminary training arm). We are planning on launching a certification program next Fall that will equip leaders for Christlike civic engagement, and we’re so excited about that. Estimates to build this out well are in the range of $30-40K.
- We also need resources for our digital library and technology for optimized classroom experience. For one example, we’ve estimated that it will cost us an extra thousand per credit hour to update and improve our flipped classroom environment (which involves filming or re-filming lecture content, for example). And for perspective, we offer just over 30 credit hours each semester.
One last story…
I’ll end with one more story, about a student of ours, Ryan Franey. As I’ve said already, great people see what we’re doing and want to be a part of it, and our students are no exception. Ryan has been a satellite campus pastor in New Jersey for many years now, and he’s almost done with his MDiv with us here at Pillar. Ryan has directed two of his colleagues, Jeremy and Ian, toward studies at Pillar, as well, and here’s what he has to say:
“My life personally, and pastorally, has profoundly been changed for the better because of the training I’ve received at Pillar. Pillar changed and deepened how I understand God’s Word, how to integrate God’s word into my personal faith and in pastoral ministry, and continues to multiply real life impact in those around me. When Jeremy and Ian had expressed interest in attending seminary to be equipped for ministry, I pointed them toward Pillar hoping and expecting that they would have the same life-changing experience I had.”
So industry peers, faculty members, board members, and our students all recognize what a wonderful thing we’ve got going here at Pillar. It is exhilarating to be a part of it! We’re humbled by that, but we’re also really encouraged, and I want you to be encouraged too — this is what you’re a part of!
God is at work in some incredible ways, and he’s multiplying your faithful efforts to greater and greater impact. So as we approach the end of 2025, would you prayerfully consider making a gift towards our $150,000 goal?
Thanks for being such a vital part of what we’re doing at Pillar — we couldn’t do it without you! And now “may the One who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food provide and multiply your seed, which will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow.” (2 Corinthians 9:10, adapted)
Gratefully,
Dan Lowery
President and Associate Professor of New Testament
Additional Giving Information
For further information, please contact Pillar Seminary’s Director of Development, Lauren Lowery.
Send checks payable to Pillar Seminary to:
6311 Ames Ave., #1111
Omaha, NE 68104
Go to pillarseminary.org/give to learn about ways to give including with stocks or cryptocurrency.
