BTSR donors have pride in knowing that 100% of their gift dollars are used to advance the Kingdom by educating and preparing women and men for Christian ministries in Virginia and throughout the world. Donors’ gifts help provide for an excellent BTSR faculty, a stimulating and relevant curriculum, a full lineup of guest speakers and visiting instructors, on-campus student housing, a range of extracurricular activities, and much more.

The following are a few examples of the hundreds of ways that donors’ dollars are put to good use:

The Faculty

With doctorates from such institutions as Duke, Oxford and Zurich; authorship of countless books and scholarly articles; and a far-reaching schedule of personal presentations in religious and secular venues; BTSR’s faculty is one of the best in the nation.

Library

Through a cost-sharing agreement with Union-PSCE, BTSR provides for its students use of the nationally acclaimed William Smith Morton Library located just across the street. It is one of the best-equipped resources centers in American theological education.

School of Christian Ministry

BTSR provides a vast range of continuing education opportunities for church professionals and lay persons. These online courses and on-site events meet needs for theological education, practical ministry training, reflection, and renewal.

Mission Immersion Experience (MIE)

Each year BTSR enables its students to have an “immersion” experience – usually for a period of two weeks – in a culture totally different from their own. A requirement for graduation, during the MIE the students live, eat, and worship with their culturally different hosts. BTSR’s students have completed MIEs throughout the world – from Africa to Appalachia.

 

Buildings and Grounds

When the first students arrived in 1991 BTSR owned no buildings. But thanks to philanthropy from wonderful donors BTSR now owns and operates academic, administrative, and student housing buildings on a generous campus with huge oaks and maples. Support from current donors is used for continual maintenance and improvement projects.

Presidential Student Appointees (PSAs)

Contributions from donors help fund BTSR’s employment of six PSAs – highly skilled and motivated students who each work 20 hours per week in professional positions throughout the seminary: the dean’s office, advancement office, business office, etc. These are not “work-study” jobs, but rather professional positions that include a high level of responsibility. These carefully selected students learn the interworkings of the seminary while having key roles in the school’s operations.

Classroom Education

The Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees are the core programs at BTSR and donors’ gifts help support everything from curriculum development to graduation ceremonies. Whether studying Jeremiah with Professor Mark Biddle, Worship and Pastoral Care with Professor Dan Bagby, Changing Paradigms with Professor Phyllis Pleasants, or experiencing a Celtic Spiritual Retreat with Professor Stephen Brachlow, BTSR students are educated within an extensive and intensive learning environment that prepares them for God’s callings.

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Gifts from donors are used for many additional important needs – from scholarships to electric bills. It is expensive to operate a seminary and to properly educate women and men for God’s calling. Gifts from donors are the lifeblood of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.