Our Capital Campaign

Foundation for the Future

Mid-America Reformed Seminary's Campus Expansion Plan

A Capital Campaign Update | November 21, 2024

Join Mike Deckinga from Mid-America Reformed Seminary as he takes you on a quick tour of the construction progress on campus! From the framing of the auditorium to the installation of HVAC ductwork, the project is shaping up beautifully. With winter weather approaching, the race is on to complete critical exterior tasks like concrete flatwork and asphalt.

While the construction is on track for a February finish, there's still a funding gap of $1.4 to $1.5 million. Your support can help us close that gap and bring this project to completion. Please prayerfully consider contributing before the year's end.

Welcome to Foundation for the Future, Mid-America Reformed Seminary’s campus expansion project. We’re thankful for your interest.

Mid-America Reformed Seminary is one of the last confessionally Reformed and Presbyterian seminaries offering in-person classes only. If you want to study here, you have to be here. We think that’s important. Academic and spiritual formation of the next generation of pastors happens best when students, their families, and our faculty dwell together.

For over 40 years, by God’s grace, we have equipped our students for a lifetime of fruitful, Godglorifying ministry. In the Lord’s providence, an increasing number of prospective students are discovering the unmatched benefit of our Master of Divinity program – one that uniquely pairs academic rigor and practical experience. We not only give our students the tools but also show them how to use them. The Seminary is enjoying a renewed interest in our program; thus, we are poised for continued growth. This is a tremendous blessing, indeed, but this also brings about challenges to our campus that we now must accommodate.

Study areas in our library became insufficient. Our classrooms are overcrowded and nearing maximum capacity. Certain events held on campus are causing our chapel and cafeteria spaces to burst at the seams. We have key staff members working in public areas rather than in dedicated office spaces. We’re not complaining – we’re rejoicing!

We need your help to make some augmentations to our current building to help us channel this growth and energy in the right direction – laying down a firm foundation for the future – ensuring that our students, for generations to come, continue to learn how to proclaim the Word of God boldly, effectively, and pastorally. You can play an essential role in safeguarding the biblical truths that summon God’s people unto repentance and reliance on Him – truths that daily come under attack in an increasingly post-Christian world – truths that, when rightly handled here at Mid-America, passed on to our students, go forward as a bright light in the darkness.

I hope that you’ll enjoy seeing what this project looks like, and my prayer is that you’ll be moved to steward the resources the Lord has entrusted to you back into His kingdom through this vital work. As you read through these materials, please prayerfully consider how the Lord might use you as part of our Foundation for the Future. If you have questions or would like to discuss giving options, my contact information is listed on the back of this brochure – I’d love to hear from you! To give a gift today, visit www.midamerica.edu/donors.

Michael Deckinga,
Vice-President of Advancement

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Above: 3D rendering of the new chapel.
Below: The completed library renovation.

Why Expand Our Facilities?

"As we embark upon this project, we are keenly aware of our constant dependence upon the Lord’s provision and blessing. We recognize that the project’s cost is significant and that we must always be wise stewards of the gifts that the Lord entrusts to us through His people. But we also believe that we must venture in faith, confident that the Lord will continue to provide for our work even as He has throughout the Seminary’s history." - Dr. Cornelis Venema

Chapel

Situated on the west side of campus, our chapel will seat 150 individuals, providing sufficient space for our chapel services (3 times weekly). It will also be suitable for public use for our special lectures, evening classes, receptions, and other events as needs arise. Features and designs will create an inviting and elegant space for prayer and praise, and state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment will be implemented to complement a wide variety of uses for both our students and the public to utilize and enjoy.

Cafeteria

With the demolition of the cafeteria’s northern exterior wall and a rebuild further to the north (including a northern entrance), the cafeteria will nearly double in size, providing extra fellowship space for our growing student body.

Admin. Office

On the east side of campus, two additional staff offices, a board/conference room, a small meeting space, and a kitchenette will allow current staff to relocate from public to private working space. They will also provide satisfactory permanent accommodations within which our Board of Trustees and its committees can perform their work.

Campus Remodel

The school’s interior is original to its 1995 construction, and though it has worn well, it needs a refresh. We intend to replace all flooring, wallcovering, and fixtures, and we also plan to replace the seminary’s HVAC system, which has been underperforming for quite some time. The interior design of our current space will be consistent with our new space's interior design, providing seamless continuity between existing and expanded areas. Our library space optimization is complete (2021) with the installation of mobile shelving and additional study carrels. What remains is an interior refresh of the existing space consistent with a remodel of our existing campus.

"This new building project brings a much-needed

expansion of the Seminary facilities for the day-to-day labors of our students, professors, and staff. But it’s more than that. Central to our mission is serving the Church by training men to be faithful pastors, scholars, missionaries, and evangelists. The Church’s future flourishing—as it has been in the past—is bound up with the faithful ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is how our Good Shepherd rules, keeps, restores, strengthens, and gathers His people. The Church and Seminary must be good stewards of the gospel. So, at Mid-America, we view this building project as a compelling need to better facilitate the present and future work of training and preparing men for gospel ministry in the churches. We covet the ongoing partnership of our supporting churches and donors for this project through their prayers and gifts.”

Rev. James Sawtelle
Class of 1993
Former President, Board of Trustees

The Cost

As with any building project, a substantial financial commitment is required. The entire project – from new construction to remodeling our current facility – will cost $4,500,000. With gifts already given and pledged, we have raised $3,000,000 for the project. That’s a great start, but we have a long way to go. We intend to break ground this summer, with construction lasting 8-10 months. We go forward in faith, knowing our heavenly Father has provided for our needs in the past and has led us to where we are today – poised for future growth for His glory in service to His church.

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"What value do you assign faithfulness in a faithless age?

Or trustworthy guides of tried-and-true paths when the blind are leading the blind? What the Lord has accomplished, is accomplishing, and (we pray) will accomplish through Mid-America Reformed Seminary is of inestimable value in such a time as ours. The training I received at Mid-America Reformed Seminary equipped me for a confessionally Reformed ministry in the heart of New York City alongside hundreds of other students who are now serving the church throughout the country and the world. With humble roots in an Iowa cornfield, the now-global reach of Mid-America Reformed Seminary is a testament to the inestimable value of its faithfulness to the Word of God and its trustworthy teachers who know well the tried-and-true paths of the Reformed tradition.”

Rev. Dan Ragusa
Class of 2016

"Mid-America's unwavering commitment to Scripture,

the Reformed Confessions, and academic excellence makes her uniquely qualified to train men for the gospel ministry. Of particular value is how students who choose to attend Mid-America get the very best that the Continental Reformed and Presbyterian traditions have to offer. Moreover, Mid-America’s strong emphasis on preaching throughout the curriculum and supplementation by the Ministerial Apprenticeship Program makes for men who have learned much by way of practical, pastoral experience and who have had a great deal of pulpit experience even before entering full-time gospel ministry. Since her inception, the impact of Mid-America’s service on the Church of Christ has been immeasurable. By God’s grace, this will continue to be the case for many years to come. To that end, as Mid-America’s student body continues to increase in size, please consider prayerfully and financially supporting the expansion of the Seminary. Doing so will provide future generations of students with an exceptional learning environment as they look forward to a lifetime of service unto the glory of God and the edification of the Church of Christ.”

Rev. Bryce De Zwarte
Class of 2019

Mid-America's Tomorrow Starts Today

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