06/16/2026
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.
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.
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 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.
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