Peter T. Vogt is New Dean of Bethel Seminary

A proven leader, Vogt—a Bethel Seminary graduate and former Old Testament faculty member—returns to lead Bethel Seminary into a new era of seminary education.

By Michelle Westlund '83, senior content specialist

December 06, 2018 | 2 p.m.

Peter Vogt

Peter T. Vogt S’97, a Bethel Seminary faculty member from 2001-2014, is returning to Bethel Seminary to serve as dean.

Peter T. Vogt has been selected as the new dean of Bethel Seminary, and will begin his duties on January 7, 2019. He emerged from a strong pool of candidates and was recommended unanimously by the search advisory committee after a rigorous vetting process. One board member summarized the consensus on Vogt’s hiring this way: “Peter demonstrates deep knowledge and understanding of the internal and external dynamics facing seminary education today, and specifically at Bethel. He is ready to embrace the opportunity with full understanding of the challenges.” 

Vogt has close ties to Bethel Seminary, graduating in 1997 with an M.Div. and returning in 2001 to serve as a full-time faculty member in Old Testament. In between, he earned a Ph.D. in Old Testament at the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham, England. During his Bethel tenure, he moved from being assistant professor to tenured full professor between 2001 and 2014, publishing two books and numerous papers in that time. He also chaired influential seminary committees, including one overseeing curriculum, and served as the seminary’s interim vice president and dean.

In 2014, Vogt was called to a senior pastorate at Trinity Baptist Church, a Converge church more than 140 years old in Maplewood, Minnesota. As pastor of this established church in a changing neighborhood, Vogt led a process of surveying local community needs and responding in a strategic way, including a name change to LifePoint Church. 

Vogt has demonstrated leadership in a variety of other settings, including service as a naval officer aboard the destroyer USS John Rogers, where he managed a number of divisions. He is a consultant advisor to the London School of Theology, and has chaired and served on numerous committees for the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society for Biblical Literature.

In a time of significant changes in seminary education both nationally and at Bethel, Vogt brings experience and energy to his new role. “Everyone who weighed in on our decision recommended him for this position,” says Randy Bergen, associate provost for the College of Adult & Professional Studies, Bethel Seminary, and Graduate School. “We are convinced that Dr. Vogt is the leader we need for the seminary during this time of change.”

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