DTS-Washington, DC Expands Faculty and Degree Offerings
DTS-DC continues to experience a tremendous influx of new students from around the DC metro area and as far away as New York City. Since its inception in 2010, it has grown from a handful of students to nearly 100 as of spring 2016. Joshua Bleeker (ThM, 2004; current DEdMin student), director of DTS-DC, said, “Around our nation’s capital you’ll find some of the most highly educated, motivated, and influential people in America. What I’ve found to be common with a number of them is that they value solid, rigorous education grounded in the Scriptures.” Bleeker recently hired Jana Thompson (MACE, 2015), DTS-DC’s new assistant director, to help support the growing student body.
Dr. Ben Simpson
This fall, the campus’s first on-site resident faculty members, assistant professor of New Testament Studies, Dr. Ben Simpson (ThM, 2003; PhD, 2011), and assistant professor of Biblical Counseling, Dr. Michelle Woody (MABC, 2010), plan to join DTS-DC making the extension site the first full-fledged DTS campus outside of Dallas and Houston.
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Dr. Simpson joined the faculty in 2006 as the registrar, a role that gave him the opportunity to help students navigate the sometimes complicated path to completion of their degree programs. After spending five years on the DTS-Houston campus, he is now moving to the DTS-DC campus where he plans to teach New Testament studies and will help provide seminary resources to students and other alumni.
“Teaching the word of God can have a profound effect on a student’s life and the life of their community. We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the impact that the seminary has in Washington, DC. I’m excited to join the DTS-DC team and be a part of what God is doing there.” Ben is married to Amber and they have two children, Madison and Eli.
Dr. Michelle Woody
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Dr. Woody is a graduate of the DTS Counseling program with several years of ministry and business experience. She has served in a number of roles including teaching leader in Bible Study Fellowship for nearly fifteen years. Her passion is to equip and empower at-risk students and their families through counseling interventions and creative educational strategies. She enjoys international travel and recently led a Christian Leadership Conference for over 200 pastors and church leaders in Eldoret, Kenya. In addition, Dr. Woody has completed all of the requirements to confirm her licensed professional counselor (LPC) status.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to prepare students for a counseling profession based on a biblical and theological focused education. I believe that our program is unique and will serve students in the DC area well. I am humbled to be apart of the DTS-DC team.” Dr. Woody enjoys the Dallas Cowboys, listening to music, health club workouts, and spending time with her son, Jason, and two daughters, Lindsey and Kelsey.
New Degree Offerings
Along with the five master’s degrees already offered, DTS-DC will add the flagship Master of Theology (ThM) degree beginning fall 2016. Also this fall, students can enroll in the first Biblical Counseling course ever offered on the DC campus. By spring 2017, DTS-DC plans to launch the full sequence of courses needed to complete the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MABC) degree,* which continues to see increased interest in Dallas and Houston.
