Gammon Theological Seminary is entering a defining new chapter in its 143-year history.
As President Rev. Candace Lewis celebrates her 30th year in ministry, the historically Black seminary is also celebrating its recent independent accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The achievement comes as Gammon prepares future faith leaders to minister in an increasingly complex world.
“We’re preparing students for the real world,” Lewis said. “We often use the phrase that, ‘We’re not training you to pastor your grandmother’s church…’ We are training leaders for this current time.”
Lewis is a Gammon alumna and returned to the school in 2021 as the first woman to become president and CEO. During a conversation on Let’s Start Healing Podcast, she reflected on what the new accreditation means for the institution’s future, her three decades in ministry and why preparing leaders to serve in today’s world is central to Gammon’s mission.
Founded in 1883, Gammon is the only historically Black theological institution among the 13 United Methodist seminaries. It was independently accredited until 1958, when then-President Harry V. Richardson helped establish the Interdenominational Theological Center, Lewis said. Located in the Atlanta University Center, Gammon then became accredited through the ITC which declared financial exigency in 2023.
In June, Gammon received independent accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and was approved as an associate member of The Association of Theological Schools. The seminary also announced a $975,000 grant from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
“Our mission as a theological institution in the United States, as well as within our denominational framework, it matters. And it’s important,” Lewis said.
Gammon relaunched as an independent institution in 2024 with seven students enrolled, Lewis said. This fall, enrollment is expected to total 75 students.
In 2024, Gammon also named biblical scholar Renita Weems as its chief academic officer. Weems was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in Old Testament Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Lewis said Gammon’s renewed independence is about more than accreditation. Students are becoming leaders in a turbulent social, political and cultural climate. The school trains people for Christian leadership and public leadership. Lewis said not every student plans to become a pastor. Some pursue theological education because they believe it will strengthen their leadership in other professions and public life.
“I do think it’s important for clergy and people who are leading any kind of spiritual context at this time to understand the times that we are living in, and the times in which you are called to serve,” Lewis said.
“The church has evolved,” she continued. “The world is evolving in real time. We’re seeing this rise of Christian nationalism where there is such a distortion of what it means to be a follower of Christ, a follower of God… So, to me, I think it’s very important for Christians to lead in this current context… And it starts with the heart, making sure our heart is aligned with God, aligned with ourselves and with those who we are in community with, and understanding what it means to serve faithfully in that context.”
Lewis’ own path into ministry was not one she initially expected.
A Florida native and graduate of the University of Florida, she planned to become an attorney. During a year off following college, Lewis applied to law schools but found herself at a crossroads when she was not accepted to the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill, the school she hoped to attend.
During that period of uncertainty, Lewis said she would hear the word “seminary” in her spirit.
“When I look back, I realize, ‘Oh, I was in a discernment process,'” Lewis said. “I was being called, but I just needed some help discerning and knowing how to live out that call.”
Today, discernment is a part of academics at Gammon.
“We offer classes in discernment, and we offer a lot of tools to help people discern that call,” Lewis said. “…Gammon is an excellent place to learn and train to be formed spiritually to help the world be more just and generative; to exist for the good of [everyone].”
