Garrett Seminary Announces $125 Million Abundant Spirit Campaign to Shape Its Next Century 

EVANSTON, Ill. — Today, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary announced the public phase of Abundant Spirit: Garrett’s Next Century, a $125 million comprehensive campaign designed to strengthen the seminary’s capacity to prepare Christian leaders for a rapidly changing world.

A remarkable community of donors have already committed $81 million to the campaign, which will advance three interconnected priorities: making theological education more accessible, deepening Garrett’s relationships with churches and communities, and securing the financial resources necessary to sustain and strengthen its mission.

For nearly 175 years, Garrett has prepared leaders to serve in congregations, classrooms, hospitals, counseling centers, nonprofit organizations, and neighborhoods. As the church and the broader world undergo profound changes, the seminary sees an urgent opportunity to ensure that theological education continues to equip leaders with the wisdom, courage, and faith necessary to meet the challenges of this moment.

“We live in an age when information is increasingly abundant, but wisdom, moral clarity, and the capacity to build meaningful community remain in desperately short supply,” said President Javier A. Viera. “Theological education has an indispensable role to play in addressing that gap. Through Abundant Spirit, we are making a bold investment in the formation of leaders who can think critically, act courageously, and help communities and congregations discover new possibilities for faithfulness, justice, and human flourishing.”

Abundant Spirit builds on Garrett’s recent momentum in enrollment growth, expanded educational pathways, innovative partnerships, and new forms of learning. It reflects the conviction that the need for theological education has not diminished, even as the ways people learn, lead, gather, and serve have changed.

The campaign’s three priorities will direct its $125 million goal:

ACCESSIBLE — $40 million

Abundant Spirit will remove financial and practical barriers that prevent talented and faithful people from pursuing their callings. Investments will expand financial assistance and create educational opportunities that accommodate different geographies, languages, life stages, and vocational contexts. The goal is to ensure that students everywhere encounter an excellent Garrett education that is intellectually rigorous, deeply formative, and connected to the communities they are called to serve.

ESSENTIAL — $55 million

The campaign will deepen Garrett’s relationships with congregations, organizations, and communities, strengthening the connections between theological scholarship and lived experience. Through partnerships, faculty research, and collaborative learning, Garrett will help leaders and communities navigate complex challenges with greater wisdom and courage.

ENDURING — $30 million

Abundant Spirit will strengthen Garrett’s long-term financial foundation through permanent and adaptive funds. Investments in endowment will sustain faculty, scholarship, and formation, while flexible resources will enable the seminary to pursue emerging opportunities, foster innovation, and respond faithfully to an uncertain future.

“The institutions that will matter most in the future are those willing to make courageous decisions today, said Andrea Wright, (MDIV ’16, DMIN ’22), chair of Garrett’s Board of Trustees. “Garrett has demonstrated that courage, and this campaign represents our determination to match bold vision with the resources necessary to realize it. We are not simply preparing Garrett to endure another century. We are investing in its capacity to help shape the century ahead.”

The campaign recognizes that the future of theological education is inseparable from the future of the communities it serves. Across the country, religious organizations feed the hungry, care for the sick, build community, accompany people through crisis, and offer hope. Their capacity to continue this work depends in no small part on leaders prepared to meet spiritual, social, and practical challenges.

Abundant Spirit seeks to ensure that Garrett can continue forming those leaders while sustaining the intellectual freedom, rigorous scholarship, Christian formation, and global engagement that distinguish its mission.

As Garrett looks toward its next century, the campaign invites alumni, friends, congregations, and partners to help build a seminary that is accessible to those called to lead, essential to the church and communities it serves, and strong enough to carry its mission into generations yet to come.

To learn more about Abundant Spirit: Garrett’s Next Century and how to support the campaign, visit AbundantSpirit.org.

Media Contact:

Rev. Benjamin Perry
Associate Vice President for Communications
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
benjamin.perry@garrett.edu
914.406.6285

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About Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is a graduate school of theology, ministry, and public service committed to forming courageous leaders in the way of Jesus who cultivate communities of justice, compassion, and hope. Offering a full range of masters and doctoral degrees, as well as certificates, licensing, and lifelong learning programs, Garrett prepares religious leaders and social impact innovators for service in the church and the world. The seminary is home to major research centers and institutes that advance scholarship, resource congregations and organizations, and convene global conversations on faith and social transformation. Located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, since 1853, and historically related to the United Methodist Church, Garrett stands as a vital hub of research, training, and equipping—serving churches, communities, and social impact organizations around the world with intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, and transformative vision.