Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Equipping preachers, pastors, & churchmen for Christ's Kingdom

June 2018 Financial Update

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Next week, we will be gathering together with dear saints in the PCA, OPC, and URCNA for the annual meetings of those denominations. We had the privilege of witnessing an historic moment at the ARP’s General Synod this week. These meetings remind us of the great task we have to equip ministers for Christ’s church.

During the month of May, we brought in $127,669. For the month of June, we are hoping to raise another $222,331 to meet our $350,000 goal for this year’s Spring campaign. Every gift makes a difference, and we are thankful for the blessing of an expanding donor base this year.

If you can make a financial gift to the Seminary, you may do so either online at gpts.edu/donate or by mailing a check containing your gift to GPTS, PO Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687. Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a registered 501( C )(3) charitable organization, and all gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you for your generous support! Ω

Veteran Board Member Mr. John Van Voorhis Granted Emeritus Status, Endowed Scholarship Established

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Mr. John Van Voorhis

After 24 years of service as an active Board member, Ruling Elder Mr. John Van Voorhis has graciously joined Dr. George W. Knight III and Pastor Randy Riddle as an Emeritus Trustee. Mr. Van Voorhis has been one of the Seminary’s strongest proponents for many years, serving on the Board since 1994 in several capacities. He has served as both Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board for over two decades. He has also consistently and sacrificially served on the Administrative Committee of the Board, which is responsible for recommending strategy and personnel-related decisions to the Board as a whole.

Mr. Van Voorhis is the first graduate of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Master of Ministry for Ruling Elders (MMRE) program, and he currently serves on the Session of Covenant Community Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Taylors, SC. However, his history of Presbyterian churchmanship and involvement in Christian education goes back 57 years, to 1961.

In 1961, Mr. John Van Voorhis took vows and was ordained as a Ruling Elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church at Knox OPC, and immediately went to his first General Assembly. That year, Professor John Murray served as Moderator of the Assembly. Within ten years, Mr. and Mrs. Van Voorhis were involved as one of four founding families in the formation of Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Burtonsville, MD. He served as an elder in the Burtonsville congregation from 1968 to 1970, before moving first to Charlotte, NC, and then to Philadelphia, PA. In both Charlotte and Philadelphia, Mr. Van Voorhis served as a Ruling Elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPC-ES). From 1970-1973, he served on the Session of Faith Church in Charlotte, and from 1973-1980, he served on the Session at Christ Church in Oreland (outside of Philadelphia).

John & Mildred “Millie” Van Voorhis

During the Van Voorhis’s time in Philadelphia, Mr. Van Voorhis served as Vice Moderator of the Philadelphia Presbytery for two years, Moderator for two years, Chairman of the Permanent Judicial Commission, active member of the Board of National Presbyterian Missions, and member of several synodical committees. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Philadelphia-Montgomery (Phil-Mont) Christian Academy in suburban Philadelphia, and as a member of the Board for The Presbyterian Guardian.

From 1983 to 2005, Mr. Van Voorhis served as a Ruling Elder at the Second Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Greenville, SC. In that time, he served twice as Moderator of Calvary Presbytery and from 1996 to 2000 as an active member of the Standing Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church in America’s General Assembly.

In 2006, Mr. and Mrs. Van Voorhis were involved as one of the founding families of Covenant Community Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Taylors, SC, where he currently serves as a Ruling Elder. Reflecting on his vast and varied experienced as a Presbyterian churchman, Mr. Van Voorhis testifies, “I have found, to no one’s surprise, that no denomination is perfect, but it has been a great joy to serve in Christ’s Kingdom for 57 years as an elder, and for 25 years on the Board of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.”

Mr. Van Voorhis with other GPTS Trustees (May 2018)

When asked for a statement of reflection on his time of service to the Seminary, Mr. Van Voorhis warmly recalled,

“It has been a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me to sit under the instruction of Dr. Morton Smith and other good men, and then to become a part of a Board which has been fully committed to the Reformed faith since Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary had its onset. As I leave my active participation on the Board, I am greatly encouraged by the godliness and quality of my fellow Board members, in whose hands I feel confident of God’s continued blessing in future years.”

In honor of Mr. Van Voorhis’s many years of service to the Seminary, the Board of Trustees voted to establish the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Endowed Scholarship to fund full-tuition need-based scholarships for full-time resident Divinity students. Details about the endowment and scholarship are forthcoming, and additional announcements will be made in coming weeks. Ω

Editor’s Note: Click here for more information about the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Endowed Scholarship, and to contribute to the fund.

Announcing a Strategic Cut in Tuition Rate Alongside Creation of New Scholarship Opportunities

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Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary students
graduate with a burden for the Lost, a burden for preaching the Gospel, and a
burden for serving Christ and His church – NOT a burden of student loan debt. At
this Spring’s meeting of the Seminary’s Board of Trustees, the Board voted to
reverse the planned tuition rate increase, and to implement a cut. Not only is
this cut representative of the Seminary’s commitment to affordability, but it
is an expression of confidence in the Lord as the student body continues to
grow.

The tuition relief accompanies the creation of a number of
new scholarship opportunities, including the Student Ministry Fellows Awards and the John & Mildred Van Voorhis Full Tuition Scholarship. These
opportunities for men called to preach God’s Word and pastor Christ’s church
are intended to accomplish two pressing goals. First, such scholarship
opportunities strengthen local churches by providing them with candidates for
the ministry who are free from any Seminary-related tuition debt. Second, they
energize men with confidence that the Lord will provide for their needs as they
seek His glory.

If you would like more information about these scholarship
opportunities, and how to help to sustain them, please contact the Seminary
Advancement Office at advancement@gpts.edu, or by calling 864.322.2717 and
asking for Advancement. Ω

May 2018 Financial Update

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With our 29th Commencement exercises behind us,
we are preparing for the Fall. Part of our preparation this year involves raising
$350,000 in the months of May and June. Last year, we received over 20% of our
annual income in these two months, and those revenues sustained us through the
Summer and early Fall.

Looking at the financial report for this fiscal year through
April, we are thankful for the great generosity of our support network. We
praise God for keeping our net income positive thus far this year. Due to the
designation of certain significant gifts received in March and April, we need
to reach our goal for May and June in order to stay on top of recurring monthly
expenses between now and the Fall.

We are at a crucial juncture right now as we prepare to
welcome to the Seminary another larger-than-average class of students from
around the United States. We also have several international students joining
us this Fall.

Our total income for the four weeks of April, including donations and other sources, was $125,188. Unrestricted donation income was under budget by $12,377, but total income was over budget by $9,671 due in part to higher-than-anticipated tuition revenue and a large restricted donation to be applied toward our outstanding mortgage on the “Old Taylors High School” building. It is important that we meet our goal for May and June in order to stay on top of operational and personnel expenses.

If you can make a financial gift to the Seminary, you may do so either online at gpts.edu/donate or by mailing a check containing your gift to GPTS, PO Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687. Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a registered 501( C )(3) charitable organization, and all gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you for your generous support! Ω

April 2018 Financial Update

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We saw a much stronger March this year than last year, which is largely due to generous gifts toward reducing our mortgage. Though such gifts do not help us to keep up with current operating and personnel expenses, they are a great encouragement to us as we seek to pay off the remaining balance (now about $392k) that we owe on the “Old Taylors High School” building. Thank you for your generosity!

Our total income for the four weeks of March, including donations and other sources, was $111,299. Individual giving was down, but other income sources carried us into “net positive territory” this month. Looking ahead, we need to raise significant revenues as part of our Spring Campaign before the close of our fiscal year (ends June 30).

If you would like to make a financial gift to the Seminary, you may do so either online at gpts.edu/donate or by mailing a check containing your gift to GPTS, PO Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687. Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a registered 501( C )(3) charitable organization, and all gifts are tax-deductible. Thank you for your generous support! Ω

In Memoriam | Dr. Paul Settle (1935 – 2018)

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When two young men approached a handful of elders at the Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville in 1986 with the idea for a Presbyterian Seminary in the South Carolina Upstate, Pastor Paul Settle was there to offer his wisdom and support to the project. He was no stranger to ambitious endeavors in service to the Lord, having been one of the founding Teaching Elders of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and first coordinator of the PCA’s Christian Education Ministry.

The original steering committee for a seminary based in the South Carolina Upstate formed in 1986, and consisted of Teaching Elders Paul G. Settle, John C. Neville, Jr., and Morton H. Smith, and Ruling Elders J. Ligon Duncan, Jr. and C. Stuart Patterson. In March 1986, Rev. Settle, acting on behalf of the Steering Committee, sent a letter to selected Ruling and Teaching Elders of the PCA announcing the establishment of the Seminary. In the Fall of 1987, the first class of students began studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Pictured here are some of the men involved in the founding of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, including Dr. Settle (third from the right, in the back), Dr. Morton Smith (third from the left), and Mr. J. Ligon Duncan, Jr. (center, right).

Dr. Settle served on the Board of Trustees for a brief time, and remained close to the seminary and its leadership over its first 31 years of existence. He is today remembered fondly by the faculty, trustees (past and present), students, and alumni who knew him.

“Paul Settle became a close friend in the days leading up to the formation of the PCA,” remembers Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. “He was traveling around to churches, presenting the case for the Continuing Church. His presentation led my congregation in Tchula, Mississippi to vote to join the new denomination. He was always the exemplar of a Christian gentleman, and did much to lay the foundation for the denomination’s commitment to Christian education.”

After having served eight Presbyterian congregations, several seminaries and denominational bodies, and written numerous books and articles, positively influencing the spiritual lives of thousands of people, Dr. Paul Settle has entered into his eternal rest. He was 82 years old, and is survived by his wife, Mary B. Aiken Russell Settle; son, Paul David Settle; daughter, Jo Lynne Sprouse, and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, step sons, and their families. He was predeceased by his first wife, Georgia Brown Settle.

A service of thanksgiving to God for the life and service of Dr. Settle was held at the Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville on March 24, 2018. The family indicated that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Second Presbyterian Church or Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. We thank God for the life and ministry of Dr. Paul Settle, his significant contribution to American Presbyterianism, and his example of grace and godliness.

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