As we approach our 20th year of ministry, we praise God for his provision of grace, wisdom, and encouragement. We’re also grateful to the individuals and churches who have partnered with us through the years. Your prayers and financial support have made it possible for us to offer sound theological education in a flexible and affordable format. On behalf of the students, faculty, and board, thank you!

New Seminary President

The board of directors voted unanimously at the August 2024 annual board meeting to appoint Nick Kennicott as the president of Reformed Baptist Seminary. Mr. Kennicott has been a pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Coconut Creek, Florida, since 2022 and previously served as a pastor at Redeemer Baptist Church in Rincon, Georgia (2007-2022). He is a resident professor of classical studies for RBS and also serves as adjunct faculty for several online courses. He holds a bachelor of science in biblical studies from the Baptist College of Florida and a Master of Arts in Classical Christian Studies from Knox Theological Seminary. He is a great books PhD candidate at Faulkner University (ABD). To learn more about Nick, click here.

Students and Graduates

We began the 2023–2024 academic term with 125 students: ten enrolled in the Certificate Program; 57 in the Marrow Program; 21 in the Scholar’s Program; and 37 in the Divinity Program. A total of 22 students graduated: five with the Certificate of Reformed Baptist Studies (CRBC); one with the Diploma of Theological Studies (DTS); four with the Bachelor of Divinity (BDiv); eight with the Master of Theological Studies (MTS); three with the Master of Arts (MA); and one with the Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. We currently have 115 students enrolled for the 2024 fall semester and several applications for the upcoming 2025 spring semester.

Residential Classes

The 2023 fall offerings for our Classical Studies Divinity Program included Discovering the Great Conversation (Kennicott), Historical Theology II (Smith), and Elementary Hebrew I (Gonzales). This spring, Gonzales taught Elementary Hebrew II, Smith Salvation Applied, and Kennicott Literary Analysis. The 2024 fall semester features Historical Theology III (Smith) and Philosophical Inquiries (Kennicott). Six students are currently enrolled in the residential M.Div. program, and several others are auditing the classes.

Modular Instruction

Jeff Johnson taught Call & Cultivation in Michigan at the beginning of May. Later that month Ryan Bush and Nick Kennicott lectured on Missions in Florida. In September, Dr. Charles Hodges, Sam Barber, and Dave Merck to teach Counseling & Physiology in Michigan. Next, we offered a module on Baptist Symbolics in November featuring Jeff Smith, Nick Kennicott, and Bob Gonzales.

Future modules include the Doctrine of Christ with Brian Borgman in Florida (January 20–22, 2025), Theology and Secular Counseling with Keith Evans in South Carolina (June 2–6, 2025), and Expository Preaching with Brian Borgman, Jeff Smith, and Robert Elliott in Florida (TBD). For more information, look at the Upcoming Events on our homepage.

Biblical Counseling Reopened

Due to popular demand, RBS has reopened its Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling program and is developing several new courses for the program. Additionally, a friend of the seminary is pledging a yearly gift in memory of Missionary John Kortie to provide an RBS scholarship for needly students pursing a counseling degree. Please pray for us as we line up instructors and schedule future modules.

Training in Nepal

RBS continues to partner with HeartCry Missionary Society to provide theological instruction in Nepal. After a pause due to the 2020–2021 COVID pandemic, we resumed the 24-credit program we began in 2018. Jamie Howell taught Doctrine of God in November 2022; John Sweat and Dylan Harrison lectured on OT Survey in the summer of 2023; Nick Alford lectured on the Pastoral Epistles in February of 2024; and Vadim Chepurny taught New Testament Survey in June. Lord willing, Rob Ventura and Jim Domm will offer a course on Romans early next year. Then, Sam Barber will teach an introductory course on Biblical Counseling later in 2025. That will complete the 12-unit Certificate of Theological Studies program.

Zambia Ministry

In February of this year, Bob Gonzales traveled to Zambia where he taught a course on Christ in the Old Testament for the Lusaka Ministerial College and gave a lecture on “Nine Marks of a Healthy Seminary” for some of the staff and faculty of LMC and the Copperbelt Ministerial College. He also preached in several of the churches in the area.

Affiliate Schools

Over the past year, three seminaries in Africa and one small church seminary in the USA have requested to establish an affiliate relationship with RBS. After deliberation and prayer, we developed expectations and guidelines for these schools and have entered into an official affiliate relationship with Lusaka Ministerial College and Copperbelt Christ Ministerial College of Zambia; Kisumu Reformed School of Theology of Kenya; and the Expositor’s Institute of the First Baptist Church of Puxico, Missouri.

CEMEM Program

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) received a Lilly grant for a “Church Embedded Ministry Education Model” (CEMEM) program and asked RBS to participate. The program provides the student with competency based assessments in the areas of spiritual formation and practical ministry gift that will complement the academic assessment he already receives for his coursework. There are currently six students participating and five mentors. It appears that this program has the potential to enhance the pastoral mentoring of seminary students particularly in the area of accountability for both the students and the mentors.

Accreditation

After much prayer, the Board of RBS applied for full accreditation with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS). In September, ARTS notified RBS that its application with ARTS had been accepted. We are now engaged in a self-study. Lord willing, we hope to enter the candidacy stage next year. If that goes well, we hope to be approved sometime in the latter part of 2025 or in 2026. We believe the process of pursuing accreditation will help us identify areas where we can improve our training programs and, in the long run, open more doors of opportunity for our graduates. Please pray for God’s blessing on this process.

Financial Report

We ended the last fiscal year at $25,122.05 in the black. If you are a supporting church, we are grateful for your generosity, and we hope you’ll continue supporting us or maybe consider increasing your support. If you’re not yet supporting RBS but would like to know more about our needs, please feel free to contact us.

RBS remains dedicated to serving local churches and equipping students to effectively proclaim the gospel. Together, let us continue to advance the Kingdom and fulfill the mission that Christ has entrusted to his church. Thank you for being part of this ministry.