President’s Message
Thank you for your interest in Northwest Baptist Seminary. The vision we believe God is giving us entails developing effective, healthy kingdom leaders through creative, innovative educational means.
Certainly significant challenges exist in developing and providing the best ministry leadership training. We do this as part of a group of churches called the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in British Columbia and the Yukon and the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Territories. Essentially we seek to be the primary leadership training agency for 130 churches and their ministries in Western Canada. This is our essential task. We welcome as well the opportunity to serve other individuals who find our ministry training process and theological orientation beneficial.
Our denominational vision is planting, growing and sustaining healthy churches who impact their communities for Christ. Our theological framework is evangelical, conservative and Baptist, but strongly missional.
In September 2009 we begin our 69th year of leadership training. Over 3,000 alumni serve around the world. Our Kingdom impact is multiplied because we have chosen to collaborate with four other seminaries and Trinity Western University (forming its Graduate School of Theological Studies known as The Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS)) in the development of Kingdom leaders. We are affiliated with Trinity, but continue to operate with our own provincial charter that enables us grant all theological degrees.
At this point in our history we function primarily as a graduate institution, offering eight masters and doctoral programs in conjunction with ACTS/Trinity Western University. These programs enable us to offer one of the largest arrays of leadership development options in Canada.
Master of Divinity – lead and associate pastors, chaplains, church planters.
Master of Arts in Christian Studies – youth ministry (NBS), children’s ministry (NBS), church planters, apologetics, leadership, chaplaincy, Worldview Studies (Korean language), pastoral formation and leadership (Korean language, NBS), etc.
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy – family and community counseling training at the professional level.
Master Arts in Cross-Cultural Ministry – ministry leadership across and among diverse cultural groups.
Master of Applied Linguistics and Exegesis – Bible translation, literacy – offered in collaboration with the Canadian Institute of Linguistics.
Master of Theological Studies – research degree with specialties in biblical studies, theological studies, missiology, apologetics, church history. We are working two new specialties in contemporary theology and Septuagint studies.
Master of Theology – post-MDV research degree in biblical or theological studies.
Doctor of Ministry with a focus in leadership and spirituality.
Our Youth Leadership Training Program is offered in collaboration with the council of Youth Pastors in our Churches. In this program emerging youth pastors are equipped through a mentored, in-church development process.
In collaboration with our Fellowship Ministry Centre we also offer the Best Practices for Church Boards workshops and Best Practices for Church Missions.
Please explore through our Northwest website those options that will help you develop and serve as an effective Kingdom agent. You will also find leadership resources on our website related to leadership, biblical studies, cross-cultural ministry, preaching and church board leadership.
We provide financial aid to our students who meet the qualifying standards. For those who are members of Fellowship Baptist Churches we specifically seek to support your leadership aspirations.
One of the significant ways we work with emerging leaders is through the Ministry Assessment Process (MAP) led by Dr. Lyle Schrag. This is a significant opportunity for you discern together with your pastoral leaders what God may be calling you to embrace as Kingdom ministry.
Some of our courses are offered online. Others can be taken as Graduate Distance Education courses.
We want to assist God’s people be the leaders He has called and gifted them to be. Our faculty integrate the best academic credentials with significant ministry leadership experience and teach in ways that focus on developing your ministry leadership capacities. Your spiritual formation will be taken seriously within this leadership training.
Our students simultaneously are Trinity Western University students and have access to all of the University systems and opportunities (i.e. library, information services, health centre, career centre, graduate student association, etc.).
If we can assist you, please connect with us. Preparing “thoroughly equipped” kingdom leaders is our mission.
Larry Perkins, Ph.D.
President
