Our Namesake: Dr. Francis J. Grimké
Dr. Francis J. Grimké, the son of a slave and a slaveholder, was born in Charleston, South Carolina on November 4th, 1850. Following the Civil War, his abolitionist aunts discovered their relation to Francis and his brother Archibald. They welcomed the two young men into their home and supported their ongoing education. To that end, Francis pursued medical studies at Lincoln University and law at Howard University.
At Howard, Grimké began to sense the call to ministry. In 1874 he headed north to study at Princeton Theological Seminary under the great Reformed theologian, Charles Hodge. Following Princeton, Grimké was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1878. The same year, he accepted an invitation to pastor 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington. Through the years, Grimké turned down teaching positions and, most notably, the Presidency at Howard University. Instead, he devoted his life to preaching the gospel, faithfully serving 15th Street for over five decades. He remained an active writer and speaker until he died in 1937.
“What the world needs is the gospel of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and that gospel preached by men who believe it and who know from personal experience that it has power to save.”
Francis Grimké was also an outspoken advocate for the equal treatment of African Americans and fought to keep the gospel central to African American pulpits. He published numerous articles, wrote several books, and co-founded the American Negro Academy (ANA) in 1897 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
Dr. Grimké’s Legacy
Why name our seminary after Francis Grimké? We believe Dr. Grimké embodied two crucial qualities for any faithful pastor. First, Grimké gave his life to gospel preaching and the local church. Second, Grimké sought to wisely apply the Word of God to the time and circumstances in which God had placed him for the good of the world.
Building on his life and legacy, Grimké Seminary is devoted to training pastors and church planters to advance the gospel for the good of the world and the glory of Christ. Like Dr. Grimké, we hold that the gospel is primary (1 Cor. 15:3), the church’s mission is central (Matt. 28:18–20), and the pastoral role in theological education is indispensable (2 Tim. 4:2).
“The founding of a theological seminary may seem to some a small matter…but when we remember what it is correlated to—to the great thought of God, and that its purpose is to train men to understand and to expound the Word of God, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the means of saving a lost world—it is seen to be anything but a small matter.”
Grimké Seminary: Our Founding and Future
Grimké Seminary was founded in 2019 by Dr. Doug Logan, Grimké president, and Bryan Laughlin, Grimké Chief Executive Officer—both pastors and church planters. They both had a heart for training men for pastoral ministry. Both men saw the challenges of impersonal, online degrees and residential programs that pulled men from their local churches. Logan and Laughlin desired to build a Great Commission seminary—one that preached the gospel for all nations and, therefore, all neighborhoods.
Grimké’s inaugural semester began in January of 2020 with a class of thirty-four men. While no one knew a full-scale societal crisis was moments away, God knew. Through it, we continued to teach and preach Christ, and the need for building healthy churches led by strong men. As of 2024, Grimké Seminary has graduated over 100 graduates from thirty-six states and territories, including Alaska and Puerto Rico. Since our founding, we have started Sola Ecclesia—our official theological journal, Grimké College—an online Bible college to help men and women grow in the faith, and Grimké Europe—a European campus continuing the work of pastoral training abroad.
Grimké Men Are Gospel Men
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, Paul writes, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). At Grimké, we labor to see men proclaim the good news of Jesus to God’s people and their own souls. Like Paul, we do not separate a pastor’s call to lead and feed God’s people from his personal life and development as a man, husband, or father. Grimké men learn to hold fast to Jesus in all things. As President Logan is fond of saying at each intensive, “A Grimké man is a gospel man.” We can think of no better way to summarize the legacy of Francis Grimké or the school that bears his name.
Intensives in Richmond
Join men from all over the country for in-person training in Richmond, VA—no need to leave your church.