Through a memorandum of agreement with Dr. Harry Reeder, Briarwood Presbyterian Church and Embers to a Flame (ETF), RTS/Charlotte will sponsor a Doctor of Ministry with an Emphasis in Church Revitalization. The first group of pastors will begin studies in January 2010 at the Embers to a Flame Conference in Birmingham, AL. New groups for church revitalization will begin every other year. Students who begin D.Min. work in an intermediate year (between groups) may start with core D.Min. courses in Charlotte and then move into a group at the Embers to a Flame Conference in January.
Dr. Harry Reeder, Adjunct Professor of RTS Charlotte, Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL, and the faculty overseer for the D.Min. with an emphasis in Church Revitalization said, “I am so grateful for the marvelous blessing of this unique D.Min. emphasis and how it came together. I am praying that our Lord will use this new partnership for His glory.”
Dr. Harry Reeder, Adjunct Professor of RTS Charlotte, Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL, and the faculty overseer for the D.Min. with an emphasis in Church Revitalization said, “I am so grateful for the marvelous blessing of this unique D.Min. emphasis and how it came together. I am praying that our Lord will use this new partnership for His glory.”
Dr. Michael A. Milton, president of RTS/Charlotte, and also a professor in this D.Min. emphasis, remarked, “The vision of Embers to a Flame and the vision of RTS Charlotte is the same: to see revival in our land. We know that only God can send revival. In a nation where churches are struggling to stay alive in communities where they are greatly needed, or in churches losing their vision for faithful Gospel witness, or with pastors discouraged over their vocations, we want to stand in the gap and ask that the Lord will use our efforts to bless His Bride. We want to be encouragers of pastors and their churches as we work with Embers to a Flame to bring about revitalized pastors for a revitalizing ministry in our land.”
In partnership with the Embers to a Flame ministry at Briarwood, this D.Min. emphasis is designed to promote vocational renewal for pastors who will become God’s agents for renewal in their local churches. It is a rigorous course of practical study and church-based application that involves both core curriculum courses at RTS/Charlotte as well as Embers to a Flame classes in Birmingham, AL.
RTS is one of the largest seminaries in the nation, with campuses in Charlotte, Jackson, Orlando, Atlanta, and Washington DC. The seminary, which began in 1966, ministers to almost 3,000 students from over 60 denominations. The Virtual Campus of RTS offers a fully accredited Masters of Arts (Religion) by which 90% of the degree can be earned through distance education.
RTS/Charlotte, founded as a new seminary impact center in 1993, follows the Genevan model of pastor-scholars training pastor-scholars. Guided by the founding vision of RTS, the seminary seeks to train and raise up preachers of the Word of God. By preparing pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders to have a mind for truth and a heart for God the seminary seeks to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.