Founded in March 1989, the seminary officially opened for classes in September 1991, with 32 students. This year, BTSR will enroll more than 300 men and women called to train for ministry.  In May 2005, degrees were conferred upon the seminary's thirteenth graduating class.  The class included graduates in the Master of Divinity, the joint Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work, and the Doctor of Ministry degree programs.  With its most recent graduates, BTSR now counts over 400 alumni serving in ministry situations around the world. Born out of providence, courageous leadership, and a deep commitment to historic Baptist principles, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond exists today as a beacon of authentic and innovative preparation for ministry.

Throughout their history, many Virginia Baptists have desired a theological seminary related to the Baptist General Association of Virginia to provide ministers for their churches. In the late 1980’s, as the situation began to change in Southern Baptist life, others in the region joined them in seeing the need for alternative options for theological education among Baptists.

Among those were members of the Southern Baptist Alliance, now known as the Alliance of Baptists. In order to bring this vision to fruition, they established a theological education committee that conducted studies of needs, held numerous dialogue sessions with interested Baptists, and talked with universities about the possibility of divinity schools and houses of Baptist studies. But they also felt there was a need for a theological seminary for Baptists that was different from anything else available.

In March of 1989, in Greenville, South Carolina, the Alliance voted to establish a theological seminary in Richmond, Virginia. They authorized the establishment of a provisional board of directors with the understanding that the school would be operated under the control of a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The Alliance gave the school birth; it would support the school, but would not control it. The school would be a self-governing Baptist seminary, providing an educated ministry for all Baptists of the region.

The board developed a mission statement, named the school Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, asked to participate in the Richmond Theological Consortium, and elected as acting president Morris Ashcraft, who then spent more than a year raising funds and laying the groundwork for the new school. When personal matters made it necessary for Ashcraft to retire, he remained to head the school's Development Council, and the board began to search for a full-time president.

After a long and thorough search, the board named Thomas H. Graves the seminary's first president. In March of 1991, upon Graves' recommendation, the board elected Linda McKinnish Bridges and G. Thomas Halbrooks as the first two permanent faculty members, authorized hiring of adjunctive faculty, and approved the opening of the school for classes in the fall of 1991. Graves completed the staff with the additions of Beth McMahon, Director of Communications and Student Services, and Nell Summerlin, Director of Administrative Services.

On September 10, five hundred people attended a stirring convocation at Nortminster Baptist Church, marking the offical opening date of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The next day, 32 students began their studies at BTSR in space leased from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education.

During the next three years, the school tripled the size of its faculty, and the student body grew to more than 130 students. The Board of Trustees established a long range planning committee to consider future space needs.

After affirming BTSR and placing it in its budget soon after it began, in 1992 the Baptist General Association of Virginia approved the school as a Shared Ministry and in 1993 began the process of nominating two trustees to the Board. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship also placed the school in its budget, and both the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention began providing scholarships. In addition to these larger Baptist bodies, the seminary also proudly received the support of numerous Baptist churches.

After graduating its first class in May 1993, and its first class of students to complete the entire three-year program in 1994, the vision of many Baptists throughout the region had finally become a reality.

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