Celebrating the Dedication of the Justo L. González Center

In 2010, Asbury Theological Seminary’s Florida Dunnam Campus opened its doors to The Association for Hispanic Theological Education’s (AETH) Justo L. González Center For Hispanic Ministries (JGC). The Florida Dunnam Campus was chosen by AETH from among several other seminaries and institutions to house the JGC that will serve as a “centralized repository and capacity builder for Latino church leadership development and for resources and dialogue in Latino/Hispanic theology." Among the reasons cited is Asbury Seminary’s proven commitment to Latino/a ministries. Asbury Seminary’s Latina/o Studies Program for church leaders; its commitment to a Master of Arts in Christian Ministries degree to be taught in Spanish; its intentional hiring of Latina/o professors (Asbury Seminary has more than what the majority of seminaries can boast); and an increasingly bilingual staff, are among the elements that make Asbury Seminary’s Florida Dunnam Campus an “ideal” place to house The Center.

The Justo L. González Resource Center, located on the first floor of the Florida Dunnam Campus, is named in honor of Dr. González and his many contributions to AETH and to Hispanic/Latino theology. It houses his many honorary degrees, certificates, books, notes, unpublished work, and other pieces of the Justo Gonzalez legacy. Students and alumni have access to this material through the office of the Center led by Dr. Fernando Cascante. In addition, the Latina/o Studies Program benefits from classes taught by Dr. Gonzalez. The first class took place October 16-19 on the book of Acts. 

The Opening Celebration of the JGRC took place on October 21, 2011. It began with an open house and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony followed by a Worship Celebration and a banquet with Dr. Michael Gilligan, President of the Henry Luce Foundation as keynote speaker. A forum, "Preparing Leaders for the Church of the 21st Century and Beyond," followed on October 22. President Timothy C. Tennent was among the panel members that also included the President of the Association of Theological Schools, Dr. Dan Aleshire. 

President Tennent is quoted on his blog, timothytennent.com, saying, “From across the nation many eyes turned to Asbury Seminary and they are seeing that we are stepping up to the plate saying, yes, we know that there are 50 million Hispanics in the United States. Yes, we know that they are the fastest growing demographic in N. America. Yes, we know that they are leading some of the most rapidly growing congregations and communities in America. Yes, we are here to serve, to partner and to explore together how we can best equip, train and learn from this dynamic sector of the Church.”

The Florida Dunnam Campus of Asbury Seminary is pleased to be a catalyst in helping the Justo L. González Resource Center “provide a place to address theological issues affecting Latino/Latina Ministries, as well as other issues facing the Latino/a community.”

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