Sagemont Church senior adults visit Southwestern, classroom their church sponsored

A group of 29 adults from the 55-plus ministry at Sagemont Church in Houston, Texas, toured the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on Oct. 23. Part of the group’s tour included a visit to the John D. Morgan classroom in Mathena Hall, which the church donated and named in honor of its founding pastor.

“It is so good to see you and we are happy to have you on campus here at Southwestern Seminary,” said President David S. Dockery. “We are grateful for the friendship with Sagemont Church through the years and for your faithful giving to Southwestern through the Cooperative Program.”

The group met in the Riley Center and were led on a tour by John Mann, assistant to the president for constituent relations and associate professor of business and theology at Texas Baptist College. On the tour, they were able to view Mathena Hall and see the room their church helped establish in honor of John D. Morgan, a 1966 Bachelor of Divinity graduate of Southwestern Seminary. Morgan started Sagemont Church that same year and served as the senior pastor until his retirement in 2019.

“It just blows you away,” said John Mark Benson, director of the 55-plus ministry at Sagemont Church. “We were all part of what went into making that room happen and were part of the giving, but to actually see it – it is a very emotional moment.”

Members of Sagemont Church in Houston, Texas, visit the John D. Morgan classroom located in Mathena Hall on the campus of Southwestern Seminary. The classroom was given by the church in honor of their founding pastor and 1966 Bachelor of Divinity graduate, John D. Morgan.

Benson said that the group takes many trips throughout the year to keep people involved in having fun, but they like to do things that are educational and theologically based as well.

“When we first thought about coming to campus here, it was because we were thinking about going to the creation museum in Dallas,” Benson recounted. “I told them, ‘If we are coming to Dallas, we have to go see Southwestern,’ and it worked out that we could do it. I am very glad that we did this.”

Benson added that being on the campus of Southwestern feels like a “beautiful and special place” and that knowing the history of the institution caused many of those on the tour to become emotional.

While touring the campus, the group was also able to visit the Lotte Moon exhibit in the main lobby of Mathena Hall.

“I think that the lobby and exhibit of Lottie Moon was very interesting,” said Steve Brown, a member of Sagemont Church. “I also liked the room with all of the pictures of significant pastors and evangelists. It is cool to see all of these great preachers and significant people who played major roles in our great awakenings.”

During their tour of Southwestern Seminary, members of Sagemont Church in Houston, Texas, visited Draper Auditorium in Mathena Hall to view the portraits of pastors and evangelists who shared the Gospel among the nations.

The room Brown was referring to was the Draper Auditorium in Mathena Hall. The group visited the auditorium and asked Mann questions about the seminary. They were able to walk all around the room and see the wall lined with pastors and evangelists who have helped share the Gospel among the nations.

Through the years of its existence, Sagemont has been active in giving through the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention, but has also given directly to Southwestern as a way to help grow the seminary and to honor their founding pastor.

Though the church raised money and donated for the creation of the John D. Morgan classroom, many of the members of the church had never been to see Southwestern’s campus before. For some, it was a humbling experience that showed the fruit of their labor.

“It just goes to show you that what we do here is going to count for eternity – whether it is good or bad – and it is just really neat,” said Bette Robertson, a church member. “Just to be able to see what we’ve done is nice, but it is not about our church, it is about Jesus Christ. This is really cool to see.”

Bette’s husband, Norm Robertson, added that seeing the level of education that students receive when attending Southwestern and TBC is “mind-boggling” because they get to learn so much, not just to know it, but to serve God with that knowledge.

“To see those young people in the classrooms here, following in the footsteps of Jesus and being able to attend a place like this because of how we give as a church is just really exciting,” said Bette.

Following the tour on Monday, the group was invited to the seminary’s regular Tuesday chapel service to hear a message from Jonathan Okinaga, assistant professor of biblical counseling. Mann encouraged them to “enjoy the Word of the Lord” as well as to look around MacGorman Chapel to see more of the beauty found on Southwestern’s campus.