KANSAS CITY – The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla., has issued a $1 million challenge grant to Midwestern Seminary toward the construction of the Mathena Student Center. The total cost of the project is estimated at $12 million.
The Mabee Foundation board issued the challenge grant opportunity to Midwestern Seminary following its October 11 board meeting.
“We are grateful to the Mabee Foundation for providing this challenge grant opportunity. It is truly a providential gift from God,” said President Jason Allen. “The need for a campus student center has existed since Midwestern Seminary’s inception in 1957, and the Mabee Foundation’s generosity in this regard will enable us to realize what, up to this point, has only been a dream.”
The student center project will consist of a 39,000 square foot building located in the heart of the school’s Kansas City, Mo., campus. The facility will include a fully-equipped gymnasium; exercise and aerobic areas; education and recreational spaces; a campus bookstore and resource center; a new cafeteria and café; seminar-style classrooms; offices for student services; campus events and select administrative staff; and commons areas to foster mentorship, discipleship, and campus community.
“The student center will complete the heart of campus and will sit beside Midwestern Seminary’s chapel complex, to which the Mabee Foundation generously contributed,” Allen said. “This new student center is the most urgent need before Midwestern Seminary, and it will position us to take the next step as one of North America’s truly elite theological institutions.
“The beneficiaries of the student center will be, first and foremost, the men and women on campus preparing for Christian ministry. Yet, the scope of impact is much greater than our students. It will serve their spouses, their families, and the entire seminary community,” he added.
To meet the provisions of the challenge grant, Midwestern Seminary must raise the remaining $3 million to complete the project by Oct. 11, 2017. The school has already raised more than $8.5 million toward the $12 million goal, which includes a $7 million dollar lead gift from the Mathena family of Oklahoma City and gifts from several other seminary supporters.
“There is much work to be done to meet the provisions of the Mabee Foundation’s challenge grant, and we are seeking friends to come alongside us to support this project. However, we are confident that with God’s favor, the trust placed in us by this highly-respected organization will catapult us forward toward obtaining the funding goals for this vital construction project.”
According to its website, The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, Inc., is a private charitable foundation that was formed in 1948 by Mr. John E. Mabee and his wife, Lottie E. Mabee. As stated in its charter, “the purposes of the Foundation are to aid Christian religious organizations, charitable organizations, institutions of higher learning, hospitals and other organizations of a general charitable nature.”
For more information or to become a supporter of Midwestern Seminary, contact the Institutional Relations office at ir@mbts.edu or call (816) 414-3720.