FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — A Baptist seminary serving students in the
region of the nation’s capital has moved in with an organization that
serves as Baptists’ international umbrella group.
The John Leland Center for Theological Studies has moved its main
campus from Arlington, Va. to nearby Falls Church, Va., where it is
leasing two floors in the Baptist World Alliance headquarters building.
The building is just across the street from Columbia Baptist Church,
one of Virginia Baptists’ largest congregations.
The Baptist World Alliance building in Falls Church now also houses the John Leland Center for Theological Studies. (BWA Photo)
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For the past six years, Leland has leased administrative offices and classrooms in the Church at Clarendon, a Baptist congregation in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington. But this fall the Church at Clarendon will break ground on a massive undertaking that replaces its existing facility with an eight-story building. The church’s worship and educational space will be on the ground floor, while the upper floors will contain affordable housing for the community — one of many in the Washington region that have seen skyrocketing property values and gentrification in recent years.
“Clarendon’s project is a great ministry but of course we had to move,” said Mark Olson, president of Leland. Some exploratory conversations with BWA officials led to a leasing arrangement with them. The move was completed July 27.
“We’re very happy with the new space at the BWA,” added Olson. “Because we have an international focus with our faculty and students, it’s a good fit for us.
“My desire is that while this is certainly helpful for Leland, I hope our move will raise the visibility of the BWA even more among Virginia Baptists.”
Leland’s administrative offices and part of its library are on the second floor of the BWA building. The remainder of the library is on the third floor. Classes will be held in a building across the street owned by Columbia Baptist Church.
Leland was founded in 1997 and its main campus was housed initially at Columbia Baptist. In 2002 it moved to the Church at Clarendon.
The seminary, which was accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in 2006, offers master of theological studies, master of divinity and master of arts in Christian leadership degrees at its main campus. It also offers a diploma in theology for students who do not have a bachelor’s degree and provides diploma classes at satellite locations in five other cities around the state.
It is governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees, all of whom are Baptist. The Baptist General Association of Virginia allocates about $120,000 to the school each year. Many of its students serve foreign-language and ethnic congregations in the Washington area. The region is one of the nation’s biggest magnets for recent immigrants as well as foreign nationals working in the United States.
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Robert Dilday is managing editor of the Virginia Baptist Religious Herald.