The annual Dunn Institute event took place on OKWU’s campus on March 5-6.
This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Tom Harrison. OKWU faculty members Dr. Stacey Duke and Professor Sandy Lynn also led sessions during the conference.
“Our relationship with the Church is a top priority,” Jim Dunn, OKWU President, said. “This obviously means that we should do everything we can to serve the Church’s leaders. A unique way we believe we can do this is to help local pastors understand how to become better at doing the ‘business’ of the church: building budgets, navigating crisis, and leading.”
Pastor Tom Harrison has led Asbury Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the senior pastor for 29 years and is now a full-time mentor and consultant in the craft of pastoring a church. He is using his knowledge and experience to help raise up the next generation of church leaders through post-seminary education and development. He also spoke to the entire OKWU community during Wednesday’s chapel service.
Dr. David Dahlberg attended the Dunn Institute with his wife, Kim, for the first time this year.
“The entire experience at OKWU was excellent,” he said. “The material presented by the professors as well as the keynote speaker were very practical and applicable to those serving as pastors in the church.”
The Dunn Institute was founded at OKWU to maximize the effectiveness of church ministry by equipping Wesleyan pastors to face the administrative, management, and leadership challenges of the local church. Church leaders benefit from instruction on pertinent topics to make an immediate difference in their ministries during a yearly conference. The conference is invite-only.
