Regent University’s School of Divinity Launches Center for the Great Commission

June 16, 2026

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (June 16, 2026) — Regent University’s School of Divinity is pleased to announce the establishment of the Center for the Great Commission, a strategic initiative designed to form and mobilize Holy-Spirit-empowered disciples across every vocation and sphere of society.

Grounded in a biblical conviction that every believer is called to participate in Christ’s Matthew 28 mandate to make disciples of all nations, the new center is an institutional expression of Regent University’s founding mission to equip Christian leaders to change the world. Its work addresses five distinct areas of need across the university and the broader church: research, faculty development, staff formation, student discipleship, and church resourcing.

The Center for the Great Commission was formally dedicated to the Lord on June 13, 2026 — a date chosen deliberately by Regent’s Chancellor, Gordon Robertson, to honor the legacy of William Carey, whose departure for India on June 13, 1793, marked the birth of the contemporary Protestant missions movement. Gathering at 77 Coffee House on Regent’s Virginia Beach campus, faculty, staff, and partners opened the morning in prayer, followed by a video greeting from Robertson and a presentation of the center’s vision and mission by its Executive Director, Joseph Umidi, D.Min.

“Regent University stands at the convergence of rising streams of global influence by students and faculty who will make a Great Commission impact,” said Umidi. “Hundreds will complete practicums, short-term mission trips, internships, andacademic credit as they take their place in this end-time harvest. Our earnest request for the success of this endeavor begins with a call for prayer from Regent alumni, friends, donors, parents, students, staff, churches, and workers who have labored for years with a burden for the lost. We know from past moves of God for missions that, as stated in Psalm 127:1, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.’”

The gathering processed to CBN Headquarters to a replica of the cross first planted at Cape Henry by Robert Hunt in 1607. Corné J. Bekker, D.Litt. et Phil., Dean of the Regent University School of Divinity, led the group in prayers of dedication alongside Umidi and James Flynn, D.Min., Associate Dean of Instruction & Operations, with worship by Matisha Dentu, Ph.D., and Jonathan Ottaway, Th.D. In closing, Bekker declared the Center dedicated to the Lord, capturing the spirit of the morning’s proceedings.

“The Great Commission does not rest on our authority; it flows from the One to whom all dominion belongs,” said Bekker. “Because the risen Christ holds sovereign rule over every nation, the ends of the earth are not beyond reach but are already His inheritance, waiting to be gathered through the proclamation of His gospel. The School of Divinity exists to form faithful ministers who carry this word to the world, grounded in sacred Scripture, shaped by the Holy Spirit, and sent in the name of Jesus Christ. The Center for the Great Commission stands at the heart of this biblical truth and the mission of the School of Divinity.”

The Center for the Great Commission officially launches on July 1, 2026, as part of a phased implementation that includes a one-year on-campus proof-of-concept and a three-year rollout across all vocational tracks. Programming opportunities begin in Fall 2026, initially focusing on students enrolled in the School of Divinity’s Master of Arts in Evangelism & Mission and Master of Arts in Church Planting degrees, before expanding to all university degree programs.

Learn more about the Center for the Great Commission and pray for the unreached peoples it will serve.

About Regent University

Founded in 1977, Regent University is America’s premier Christian university, with nearly 14,000 students studying on its 100-acre campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and online worldwide. The university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in more than 150 areas of study, including business, communication and the arts, counseling, cybersecurity, divinity, education, government, law, leadership, nursing, healthcare, and psychology. Regent University has been ranked the No. 1 Best Online Bachelor’s Program in Virginia for 14 years in a row (U.S. News & World Report, 2026) and the No. 2 Top Military Friendly® School in the nation (Military Friendly® Schools, 2024-2025).

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