Big night ahead for Evangel University and its seminary.
On Thursday, May 7, Evangel and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary will come together for one joint commencement. It starts at 6:30 p.m. inside Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State campus.
All told, 651 students are set to walk. That includes 551 from Evangel and another 100 from the seminary. It’s a mix of undergrads, master’s students, and doctoral grads. Some are coming from across the country. Others from around the world.
Evangel officials say students this year represent 42 states, Puerto Rico, and 11 different countries. Not a small footprint.
Popular majors on the Evangel side include business management, marketing, psychology, and Biblical studies. A pretty wide range. Pretty typical of what the school has seen in recent years.
There’s more than just the ceremony, too. Baccalaureate services are planned for both May 6 and earlier on May 7, leading up to the main event that evening.
The keynote speaker this year is Bob Ferguson, an Evangel graduate and now CEO of the Hawksbill Group out of Washington, D.C. He’s spent more than two decades working in communications and even served as chief of staff to former Missouri Governor John Ashcroft.
It’s a full-circle moment in a lot of ways. A graduate coming back to send off the next group.
And for those 651 students, it’s the finish line. Or maybe just the start of whatever comes next.
