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Organization

Vision
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission.

Partnerships/Affiliations
We have a partnership set up with the International Mission Board for students who are considering International Missions. We offer a 2 plus 2 program for students to study two years on campus and then complete the degree oversees. This opportunity also opens the door for students to go career.

Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is provided for students through our general scholarship, state baptist association, cooperative program and sometimes private scholarships.

Program Overview

Accredited Programs
Southeastern Seminary offers three degree programs in cross-cultural ministries and missions. The first is the Master of Divinity with International Church Planting (MDivIP). The MDivIP is a highly specialized four year program of study including two years of international field-based service in cooperation with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB). The IMB provides the laboratory in which MDivIP students learn to plant churches by actively participating in church planting work. The student spends two years on Southeastern’s campus in Wake Forest, NC, to prepare for the task of international church planting. Through campus-based study, the MDivIP degree program offers 63 hours of foundational biblical and theological education. Upon completion of their campus requirements, students are deployed annually to selected regions, mutually designated by the IMB and SEBTS. Students apply for a two-year (ISC) or three-year (Career Apprenticeship) term of service with the IMB. Upon acceptance, the IMB sends and supports each individual or student family. On the field, veteran church planters, believing nationals, and gifted language coordinators mentor students as they gain cross-cultural effectiveness, acquire language skills, and seek to plant churches. SEBTS shuttles faculty to the region where students are serving to hold modular seminars. The modulars and supervised field practicum courses comprise the final 21 hours of the 90-hour degree program. Students who successfully complete SEBTS’s MDivIP degree gain a foundational education and valuable church planting experience which prepares them for career missionary service. Thus, the IMB accepts the two or three years of field experience, along with favorable field recommendations, in satisfaction of the ministry requirement needed for career appointment. Students may seek admission to the MDivIP program after meeting the admission requirements for the standard MDiv degree. Selection for the MDivIP program is contingent upon the number of applicants that may be deployed to the designated field site in a given year. Preference is given to those who meet the specific criteria for service through the International Service Corps (ISC) and Career Apprenticeship of the International Mission Board. The second degree program offered is the Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies (MAIS). The MAIS is an interdisciplinary, campus-based degree program designed to prepare students for effective service in a cross-cultural setting. In addition to the MA core courses, students can choose from a wide range of intercultural studies including selectives in contextualization, world religions, and linguistics. The third degree program offered is the PhD in Missiology. Southeastern’s PhD program is a hybrid American-European model. Like the European model, it offers an intensive mentoring experience. Like the American model, if offers a selection of seminars in missiology and related fields. In addtiion to the missions degree offerings at Southeastern Seminary, the College at Southeastern offers a major in Missions. The major in Missions introduces students to knowledge, principles, and practices central to missions in national and international contexts. In addition to courses related to missions, church planting, and anthropology, students are taught to evaluate ideas critically and to interact with others winsomely through classes centered on the reading and discussion of great works of literature, history, philosophy, theology, and political theory. During an international semester with HandsOn, a project of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, students also complete practicum courses and gain experience in cross-cultural missions work in a foreign nation. Those majoring in Missions will be well equipped to communicate the gospel in various contexts and prepared for continued studies in seminary or graduate school.

Accreditation Process
SEBTS is accredited both by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Theological Schools. (The accrediting associations have ruled that they would treat the International Church Planting program as an international equivalent of “supervised ministry” and would, therefore, not need to travel to the field sites to oversee coursework there.)

Urban Preparation
Our MDiv in International Church Planting is focused primarily on church planting and ministry in urban settings, while our MDiv in North American Church Planting is focused primarily on church planting and ministry in urban settings in the United States. We are also beginning a new Ph.D. track in Applied Theology in North American Missiology. The degree is available to those persons with some experience in church planting, church renewal, or some other facet of North American missiology.

International Preparation
The goal of Southeastern’s Center for Great Commission Studies is to foster church planting movements across the globe. Our hope and prayer is that there will soon be a church within walking distance of every house on the globe. It is clear that this will not happen unless we intentionally partner with international teams, both in North America and abroad, to accomplish the task at hand. Our classes and practicums are designed with this end in mind.

Ministry to Unreached People Groups
The MDivIP allows the student to gain practical experience by learning in the actual ministry context, in much the same way as traditional supervised ministry programs. By linking the course of study to the strength of a denominational sending structure, students have the support base and mentoring structures they need to effectively engage unreached and unengaged people groups with the Gospel.

Youth Ministry
Answer is listed in above questions. In addition, a new initiative with our short-term trips is to provide mult-layered experiences for our students. Our hope is to provide cross-cultural experiences among the nations here in the US. This will allow us to work among children, youth, and students from various walks of life and from different cultures here in our own backyard.

Equiping for Social Justice
Our MDivIP sends students to World A, where they almost always encounter opportunities to work toward social justice. Southeastern equips our students to do so with wisdom and discernment.

Vocational Ministry
The CGCS sponsors short-term mission trips annually to various countries around the world. Students can take these courses for seminary credit. We’ve coordinated trips to the following countries over the past few years: Thailand, India, Morocco, Nigeria, Israel, Vietnam, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, China, Turkey, Amsterdam, France, and Mexico.

Demographics & Policies

This school invites:

• Non-English speaking candidates
• Non-North American Candidates

Statements

Yes	Our school has a sexual harassment policy.
No	Women may hold any position in our organization.