Photos by Ralph Freso
Over a 20-year span at Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Dr. Greg Tonkinson served as a spiritual life director for more than 1,000 K-12 students, taught Bible classes, supervised departments, built curriculums, spoke at retreats, managed budgets and started a short-term missions program.
That wide spectrum of duties served Tonkinson well as he now embarks as Grand Canyon University’s new senior director of the Flourishing Pastor Network.
The hiring of Tonkinson, who also served 12 years as a Christian worldview adjunct professor at GCU, is one of the latest steps taken by Grand Canyon Theological Seminary in its efforts to significantly increase the number of churches and partner organizations that host high-impact pastoral residencies to cultivate emerging pastors.
Those efforts were substantially aided by a $9.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, and College of Theology Dean Jason Hiles has designed a blueprint to execute this transformative initiative.
“We took a short-term missions program from 18 students to 500 students, from a $30,000 budget up to a $860,000 budget (at Valley Christian),” said Tonkinson, who started his new duties in May. “Those things just scaled, and I think that's what helped prepare me for what Jason envisions the flourishing pastor program doing.
“… So just in my tenure here at GCU, I've already been introduced to churches all around the country. I just got off a phone call with a church in Kentucky. Two days before, I was in the Carolinas. Two days before that I was in Alabama. It’s just being aware that God is so much bigger than right here in the Valley, and working at Valley Christian with all of those responsibilities really did lay the groundwork to step in.
“While the high learning curve was on the institutional side, it wasn't a learning curve to be wearing many hats. And as I currently do that, that's a comfortable position to be in. Lots of plates spinning at once, but I attribute that to my time at Valley for sure.”
Hiles said: “Many academic leaders would be stretched if required to take on one or two of these areas of responsibility, but Greg is managing all aspects of his position with excellence, humility and the kind of quiet strength that one can only gain through a lifetime of patient labor, preparing the next generation of ministry leaders.
“Suffice to say, I was enthusiastic about the possibility of inviting Greg to join the college before he got started. Now that we’ve worked closely together over the past four months, I can confidently say that the Lord himself has prepared Greg for precisely this role. It will be our joy to watch all that God does through his work on our campus and within the Christian community over the next several years.”
Hiles and Tonkinson have explored creating a pastoral residency that offers course credit for students pursuing a Master of Divinity and master’s in theology. Tonkinson recalled earning 96 credit hours for his MDiv in biblical communications without taking a single residency class.
In contrast, Tonkinson’s daughter receives hands-on clinical credits as a GCU nursing student.
“When I looked across the seminaries at large, very few were offering this opportunity to go work at a church, go serve at a church, and we believe in it enough to give you credit for it,” Tonkinson said.
“I thought, if I could be a part of that from the ground floor, that might be the next five to 10 years of my life that would be time well spent. When the job was offered, it didn't take long for my wife and I to say, 'Yeah, I think we're going to do this.'"
A few weeks after starting his new role, Tonkinson traveled with Hiles and COT Assistant Dean Paul Smith to Kansas City, Missouri, for the inaugural gathering of the Flourishing Pastor Network. The event included partners from Northwest Nazarene Divinity School, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, Trinity Anglican Seminary and the national nonprofit Made to Flourish.
Next month Hiles, Smith and Tonkinson, along with Kevin Harlan, vice president of programs for Made to Flourish, will represent GCU at the annual Pathways for Tomorrow Coordination Program in Indianapolis to coordinate with the Lilly Endowment.
“These are exciting times because we're looking to scale this into something to where 10 to 20 years from now, hundreds and hundreds of residents will participate, and (we can look back to say), ‘Hey, in in those golden years of our careers, I had an opportunity to do this. Why not? Why wouldn't I?'" Tonkinson said.
The transition from a high school setting to a national network at the largest Christian university in the nation has presented challenges, but “the team has been phenomenal,” Tonkinson said. “They've been welcoming, helping me, asking me if I need help every step, but it's been quite the adventure so far.”
With GCU as the lead seminary in the network, Tonkinson sees an opportunity to cultivate a servant-leadership mindset while developing the infrastructure, curriculum and partnerships needed to serve together.
“I've met some of the most godly men and women that just want to be about God's business in the area of helping future pastors gain the experiential knowledge they need while they're getting their academic degrees,” Tonkinson said. “It's been exciting.”
Ironically, Tonkinson moved west for college after growing up in New York and envisioning a future as an athlete and broadcaster before realizing his playing days were destined to be over.
“Within the first three months of being out here, somebody shared the gospel with me,” said Tonkinson, who announced football and basketball games at Valley Christian and does speaking events at least 40 times a year. “I came to know the Lord, and that just threw my trajectory from broadcasting into serving Him somehow.”
While earning his Master of Divinity at Phoenix Seminary, Tonkinson participated in First Baptist Church of Tempe’s Pastors-in-Training residency. He credits the life-changing program with shaping his views on ministry and pastoral preparation. The incentives in the Flourishing Pastor Network – meaningful ministry, dedicated mentoring and leadership opportunities – are similar to what Tonkinson experienced at Pastors-in-Training.
“I just wasn’t learning theology. I was learning ministry,” Tonkinson said in a videotape produced by the COT and designed for students. “… If God is calling you into pastoral ministry, I want to encourage you to don’t just prepare academically for ministry. Step into it. Because some of the most important things God will teach you about ministry won’t simply be learned in a classroom. They’ll be formed in the life of a church.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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