A Rich History
The Birmingham Theological Seminary (BTS) was founded in 1972. Two
men, Dr. Frank Barker, Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, and
Rev. Bill Hay, Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, saw the need
for men and women to be trained for full-time Christian service to
enrich their personal lives, to increase their knowledge of the things
of the Lord and to be better equipped to teach, preach, and witness
for the Lord Jesus Christ. These men also saw the need to enable
those who felt God’s call to study full-time. Students could
have the option to work full-time and also to attend classes in the
evening.
BTS was initially known as the “Birmingham Extension Seminary
for Theological Education,” often referred to as “BES”.
BES began offering classes in the fall of 1972 at the Edgewood Presbyterian
Church located in Homewood. The seminary began with two degrees,
Master of Divinity and Master of Religious Education. Six classes
were offered, with 52 students enrolled: 17 Master of Divinity. 14
Master of Religious Education, and 21 audit students. Green and white
became the official school colors in a 1978 action. It was the expectation
that eventually BES would become the extension of a major seminary.
In 1980, BES very nearly became an extension of Covenant Theological
Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. For a variety of reasons that merger
never occurred. Also in 1980, the name of the seminary was changed
to “Birmingham Theological Seminary.” During this 30+
year history, more than 3000 students have taken one or more courses
and over 300 students have been awarded master’s level degrees.
BTS offers courses in various locations around the state of Alabama
and in foreign countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Ukraine, New
Zealand, and Australia. In addition, we have been developing a presence
in Hawaii.
We are privileged to enjoy a wonderfully diverse group of students
and professors.
A Reformed Focus
BTS adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger
and Shorter Catechisms. We subscribe wholeheartedly to these historic
confessional standards, as we believe that they set forth the biblical
faith of the church as taught in Scripture. However, we do welcome
students from different evangelical persuasions.
More About BTS
The Birmingham Theological Seminary (BTS) offers an unusual opportunity
for study. While the student remains at home, the Bible and theology
can be studied in a laboratory environment
The BTS programs are primarily designed to accommodate those who
wish to pursue their studies on a part-time basis. The student may
elect to take all their course work at BTS and be granted a degree
from BTS. Other students may choose to attend BTS for only a few
semesters before transferring to a full time residence program at
another seminary. An increasingly popular option is for the student
to combine regular campus classes with the BTS Distance Education
Component to facilitate a more rapid completion of their program
while remaining in the work force and active in their home church.
Affiliate Status
As of January, 2006, Birmingham Theological Seminary has become
an “affiliate institution” of the Association of Biblical
Higher Education. ABHE, formerly known as The Accrediting Association
of Bible Colleges (AABC) of Orlando, Florida, is recognized by the
U. S. Department of Education as an accrediting governing body. The “affiliate
status” will now allow BTS to take advantage of the many programs
and services that the Association provides. This presents BTS with
the opportunity of inclusion on the Association website and a listing
in the ABHE Directory, along with the opportunity to network with
like institutions, to gain additional assistance working toward the
accreditation process and access to the consultative services of
ABHE.
Accreditation
BTS is accredited with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries
(ARTS). ARTS is a growing accrediting association comprised of graduate
institutions holding to the doctrines of the Reformed faith.
The Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries was created to
help meet a growing need in theological education for an accrediting
agency that understands and is dedicated to the mission of reformed
theological education. Over the years, institutions for pastoral
and theological training which have had their roots in the Christian
community, even in the reformed tradition, have struggled to maintain
the vision, mission, and distinctives with which their founders endowed
them. While this is in part due to the general secular and liberal
drift in America over the past two-and-a-half centuries, it is at
least conceivable that the existence of an organization involving
a group of like-minded institutions and committed to the reformed
faith as expressed in historic creeds, might have been able to arrest
that drift, or, at least, impede that drift, thus allowing the reformed
faith to flourish more than is currently the case.
The Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries, taking its stand
on the historic reformed creeds of the Church, is committed to the
preservation and promotion of the reformed faith and the progress
of the Kingdom of God throughout the world. We welcome institutions
throughout the world who share this vision and invite them to unite
with us in this important calling.
Credit Transfers
Credits from BTS have been accepted at several evangelical institutions
subject to the policies and degree requirements of each school. The
student who expects to receive a degree from an institution other
than BTS should write for specific information concerning applicability
of work taken through BTS. Several major seminaries have been willing
to either accept transfer credit from BTS or recognize a BTS degree
as the prerequisite for pursuing advanced degrees.
Endorsements
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) has granted
BTS full academic credit for Bible coursework. This extends to continuing
education units as well. The appropriate credit for continuing education
units will be granted by ACSI based upon transcripts provided by
the applicant seeking certification.
BTS has a special relationship with the Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA). The PCA adopted an internship program which must be completed
prior to ordination in addition to the Master of Divinity degree.
BTS is structured to accommodate this additional requirement.
The curriculum has been designed to fulfill the requirements of
the uniform curriculum of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
and has been approved by the Theological Education Committee of the
PCA General Assembly. Thus, graduates of BTS are eligible for ordination
in any presbytery of the PCA. For more information contact your respective
presbytery.
Birmingham Theological Seminary is a 501 c 3 as outlined in the
Internal Revenue Code and sanctioned by the State of Alabama Department
of Education Post Secondary Education Code of Alabama Title 16-46-3-1
through 9 and Section 3a 16-46-3-1.
Degrees Offered
In addition to the Master of Divinity degree, BTS offers the following
Master’s degree programs: Apologetics, Biblical Conflict Resolution,
Biblical Studies, Ministry, Inter-Cultural Studies, and Biblical
Counseling.
The Master
of Arts
in Ministry degree program has several areas of focus to choose from:
Christian
Education,
Pastoral
Leadership, Biblical Counseling, Missions, and Urban Missions. BTS
has a certificate track that includes Apologetics, Biblical Counseling,
Ministry and Missions. BTS has a Doctor of Ministry Program in Pastoral
Counseling and Biblical Counseling. BTS also has a Certificate of
Missions degree for the student entering a mission field which requires
advanced training but not as arduous as the Master of Missions. The
Certificate of Biblical Counseling has been added for those desiring
the counseling training without the full complement of courses. The
Certificate of Ministry offers students a basic theological and practical
ministry foundation that will be helpful as they seek to serve in
the Kingdom community. Details of these programs are supplied in
this catalog. Any course is open to qualified persons who want to
study the Bible and biblical theology offered with or without credit.
Although based in Birmingham at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, BTS
conducts courses at several other locations. These other locations
include Eutaw and Demopolis, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville,
and San Juan, Puerto Rico (Fall 2007). There are also courses offered
at other locations within the Birmingham area.
Distance Education
A number of courses offered at BTS are available on video or audio
tape, CD-Rom, or DVD for the student who is not able to attend a
course in a live setting. A student may enroll in a Distance Education
(DE) course at any time.
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