ABOUT

A Message From The JBTS

If you are reviewing this catalog, you are likely seriously exploring a desire God has placed in your heart for a greater understanding of His word and how you might be better equipped for ministry. The Bible teaches that all His children are called to serve. True, it may or may not be your called full-time vocation, but it is our “life’s work.”

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary is a community of servants. Some have been called to be pastors, missionaries, teachers or church workers. All have been called as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Here at JBTS, we seek to equip our brothers and sisters in Christ through intense biblical study within an environment which nourishes a faithful, life-changing walk with our Savior.

The decision to attend JBTS is a decision to study with men and women of God who are devoted to the lordship of Christ and the ministry of the local church as God’s chosen vessels doing His work in the world.

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary extends an invitation to you to come and visit us. You will find a warm and friendly atmosphere with the Spirit of God at work in the lives of the students in a most remarkable way. Only the Holy Spirit can tutor your heart in knowing exactly where you should study, but I believe that you will grow spiritually at JBTS. We invite you to come as our special guest when we are having classes so that you can see firsthand the amazing things that God is doing in our midst.

It is our prayer  that God will bless you as you seek His best for your life.

 

About Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary

 

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary is a nonprofit, private institution of higher learning chartered by the State of Florida and governed by a Board of Trustees. We operate under the guidelines of Florida State Board of lndependent Colleges and Universities and are exempt from licensure by the State of Florida under section 246.085 (3)(a), Florida statutes.

Located in Jacksonville, FL at 5711 Wesconnett Blvd., our on campus program offers the opportunity for students to participate in classroom discussion and fellowship. In addition, Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary has external study centers and offers an online program for students unable to attend classes on campus.

 

Mission Statement

 

The mission of Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary is to equip and challenge its students to live out the principles of the inerrant, infallible, and sacred Word of God. It is the desire of JBTS to be a vital part of the preparation of each student for the ministry to which they have been called.

The seminary strives to assist and guide students who are committed to living, preaching, and teaching the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ serve with fervor, longsuffering, and integrity.

 

Non-Discrimination Policy

 

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary is transdenominational and admits male and female students of any race, color, age, nationality, or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded to students by our administrative and educational policies. Students enroll in degree programs from a broad range of churches and racial backgrounds. Respect for all is a necessary quality of Christian testimony.

 

Our History

 

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary was founded to meet a need in the Jacksonville area as an institution of higher learning for pastors and others who desired seminary training. On March 8, 1992, the seminary was chartered in the State of Florida. Dr. Vernon F. Johns served as the first President. Dr. Gerald K. Powers and Dr. Stanford Kruse were Vice Presidents and co-founders. Classes started immediately on the property of St. Johns Park Baptist Church. The first graduation service was held on May 14, 1993. Annual commencement services have been held every year since.

After only two years, the seminary purchased its own building located in the Murray Hill area; however, this facility was quickly outgrown and in 1996 another building located on Edgewood Avenue was purchased.

In 2003, the seminary joined with the ministry Hands on Africa and has assisted with its seminary efforts in Malawi, Kenya and Sierra Leone. In 2004, the seminary began a ministry to incarcerated persons by providing them with courses. These ministries continue today.

In 2005, Dr. Powers became President of JBTS following the death of Dr. Johns. In August 2015, Dr. James Crosby was elected President after the death of Dr. Powers. The seminary has been blessed with many great men of God who have served as professors, some having been with the school since its inception. Our more than 1,000 graduates are serving as pastors, staff and lay leaders in churches throughout the United States, on mission fields around the world and as chaplains in hospitals, prisons and in the military.

In October 2015, the facilities of Wesconnett Baptist Church became available to JBTS. In January 2016, renovations to the property on Wesconnett Boulevard began and the building on Edgewood Avenue was sold. On May 27, 2016, the 24th annual commencement was held at the new location and classes in the seminary’s new home began the following week.

The leadership of the seminary constantly seeks God’s will as He leads in improving and expanding the borders of Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary.

 

Campus Locations

 

Our main campus is located at 5711 Wesconnett Blvd, Jacksonville, Florida 32244 This resident program offers the opportunity for the students to participate in classroom discussion and fellowship.

The external program makes it possible for students to continue their educational goals while living at home. Also, it enables the students to continue their ministry, pastorate, or staff position without attending classes in Jacksonville.

JBTS has external studies centers in North Miami Beach, FL, Ft. Myers, FL, and  Pompano Beach, FL under the direction of Dr. Ray VanderWal.

Doctrinal Statement

 

The Bible is the divinely inspired, infallible, inerrant, eternal word of God as given by the Holy Spirit.  Both the Old and the New Testament scriptures are verbally inspired by God and preserved through His providence.

There is one true and living God existing in three Persons…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…each a distinct Person worthy of obedience and worship.

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of the living God, The Savior of men, born of the Virgin Mary, equal with the Father in divine perfection, and the Lord of every Christian.  The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, rose again bodily the third day, ascended to the right hand of God the Father, where He now sits in heaven as our mediator.  The return of the Lord will be literal, personal, imminent, bodily and visible for His church.  He has taught us to live in readiness.

The Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity convicts of sin, regenerates, enlightens, endues for service, and comforts and guides believers.

All have sinned, and therefore, are in need of salvation.  Salvation is by grace alone and is free to all who, through repentance and faith, surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ.  All who have been born again become the children of God.  Salvation is a gift of God not of human works.  At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and the believer is kept by God’s power through faith and is eternally secure and will persevere to the end.

Salvation precedes baptism and church membership.  Christ personally instituted the church, which He commissioned to make disciples of all nations, to baptize believers, and to teach them to do all things that He had commanded.  There are only two scriptural ordinances:  believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Believers should be baptized by immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The Lord’s Supper is observed in remembrance of Him to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again.

We believe in the priesthood of the believer.  Every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest.  There is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ.

Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary has rich tradition teaching eschatology from a pre-millennial, dispensational position.  The truths of eschatology should arouse in us watchfulness and alertness in expectation of the future.  But preparation for what is going to happen will also entail diligence in the activities that our Lord has assigned to us.  We should study the scripture intensively and watch developments in our world carefully, so that we may discern God’s working and not be misled.  Agreement is essential on such basic matters as the second coming of Christ and the life hereafter.  On the other hand, our teaching a specific position on such matters as the time of the millennium or the tribulation, should not be made a test of orthodoxy or a condition of Christian fellowship and unity.

The Bible is the primary or supreme source of our understanding, we are not completely excluded from seeing God’s revelation of Himself in general ways such as nature and history as the Bible itself teaches, but these are secondary to the Bible.