A lot has happened since New Orleans Seminary concluded the 2024-2025 academic year in May.
During the summer break, many NOBTS and Leavell College students spent their time off working for a Christian camp or serving with a missions organization. Additionally, a lot of campus ministry and faculty additions took place during the semester break.
Read more below about the various ways NOBTS faculty, staff and students spent their summer break.
Crossover evangelism
Preston Nix, professor of evangelism and evangelistic preaching, led a group of more than 30 faculty and students into local neighborhoods to share the Gospel through door-to-door evangelism the week before this summer's SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas. This effort was part of the SBC’s annual Crossover event, a convention-wide emphasis on evangelism in the annual meeting host city.
Participating students received class credit for Nix’s evangelism course. In total, the group knocked on more than 2,000 doors, had more than 200 Gospel conversations and 12 people made a decision to follow Christ.
Nix has led groups of NOBTS students to participate in Crossover events for many years and said the experience has been "life-changing and ministry-changing" for participants.
“Some of the students have never shared their faith personally like this,” Nix explained.
“Many Christians have never seen someone come to faith in Christ through their personal witness and when they actually get to see it, they are so encouraged.
“Through this experience they gain confidence, overcome their fear of sharing the Gospel with strangers and learn what boldness is. If you can do evangelism in this type of setting, you can do it in any setting.”
Nix said these evangelism opportunities help train students and fulfill the mission of the school.
“Our focus as a seminary is to fulfill God’s mission of reaching people with the Gospel, and we’re called to help equip those called to our churches,” he said.
“Through these evangelism opportunities, we are helping students fulfill what God has called the Church to do and what we’re called to do as a seminary.
“We have the opportunity for our students to get a taste of what it is like to do this, so they can lead their churches to do it.”
Read more here.
Summer missions/camp ministry
More than 40 NOBTS and Leavell College students spent their summer break doing missions work or serving at a Christian camp. Students served faithfully with church planting and evangelism teams, summer camps and international missions organizations. Several students served with the International Mission Board's Nehemiah Teams.
Additionally, Crescent City Worship, made up of many Leavell College students, performed at a variety of camps and venues this summer.
After performing at the NOBTS Alumni and Friends Luncheon at the SBC Annual Meeting, the group also performed at Falls Creek Youth Camp in Oklahoma.
Falls Creek, which is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, hosts thousands of campers every summer. Crescent City led worship during the week, and hundreds of campers made a decision to follow Christ.
CCW member Andrew Belmore also led worship throughout MissionLab, the seminary’s summer missions experience for church groups.
“Investing an entire summer on mission is no small thing—it’s a bold, life-shaping commitment," said Greg Mathias, director of the NOBTS Global Mission Center.
“I’m deeply encouraged by the Great Commission culture that is taking root and deepening here at NOBTS and Leavell College. This summer, over 40 of our students served from coast to coast in the US and to the ends of the earth.
“Our students poured themselves into summer camps, joined church planting and evangelism teams, and carried the Gospel to unreached peoples and places around the globe. We also continued our close partnership with Nehemiah Teams as eight of our students served with them in South and Southeast Asia.
“Each student counted the cost and still said ‘yes,’ choosing to leverage their summer for Kingdom purposes with a Gospel impact that will echo into eternity.”
MissionLab
This summer, church groups from all over the country gathered at NOBTS for a jam-packed week of missional living and community service known as MissionLab. MissionLab partners with local churches and non-profit organizations to provide mission teams the opportunity to practice living on-mission in a big-city environment.
Participants are trained in evangelism while being immersed in the unique culture of New Orleans. Groups stay on the seminary campus and are provided corporate worship and a biblical message from an NOBTS faculty member. Hundreds of participants, including many teenagers, stayed on the seminary's campus for MissionLab this summer.
“Missionlab is an action-packed experience that transforms not just the city that is being served, but also transforms the people doing the work as well,” MissionLab Director Jonathan Victorian said.
“Missionlab is essentially being the hands and feet of Jesus. We prayed to God for laborers to come to the harvest, and God has blessed us with a vehicle like MissonLab to be able to bring those laborers to the harvest here in New Orleans.”
Read more here.
Adam Hughes appointed Director of Doctor of Ministry program
Adam Hughes, an experienced ministry leader and associate professor of expository preaching, has been named director of the Doctor of Ministry program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Hughes, who has served as a ministry-based associate professor at NOBTS since June 2022, holds a Ph.D in expository preaching from Southwestern Seminary and has extensive pastoral ministry experience. NOBTS Provost Norris Grubbs described Hughes as a "perfect fit" for the position.
NOBTS President Jamie Dew spoke to the importance of the seminary’s DMin program and Hughes’ new role in leading it.
“The Doctor of Ministry program at NOBTS is an important opportunity for church leaders, especially our pastors, to continue to study and prepare for their ministry work,” Dew said.
“I am grateful for Dr. Adam Hughes and his willingness to take up the leadership of this program and to continue to teach at every level of our institution. I am excited for his return to campus and the work he will be doing to continue to grow and invest in this vital program.”
Read more here.
