The primary purpose of the Study Center is to provide resources for men in the field who are serving in the gospel ministry or pursuing the gospel ministry

Founders Study Center is the online ministerial training academy of Founders Ministries. The primary goal of the Study Center is to provide resources for men in the field who are serving in the gospel ministry or pursuing the gospel ministry. The teaching offered by the Study Center reflects a commitment to the Doctrines of Grace and their experiential application to the local church, particularly in the areas of worship and witness. The Study Center takes as its theological framework the first recognized confession of faith that Southern Baptists produced, The Abstract of Principles. We desire to encourage the return to and promulgation of the biblical gospel that our Southern Baptist forefathers held dear.

Our Purpose
The primary purpose of the Study Center is to provide resources for men in the field who are serving in the gospel ministry or pursuing the gospel ministry. We recognize that there are many who are not able to leave their places of ministry in order to pursue or continue ministerial training. Through the Study Center we hope to bring biblically sound, in-depth courses of study to those serving God faithfully in the local church and on the mission field.
Our desire is to serve the local church by providing:
Training and mentoring for men who aspire to the pastoral office
Further training and mentoring for men who are currently serving as pastors and elders
Resources for pastors who wish to train and mentor other men who aspire to the ministry
Resources for missionaries, teachers and other ministry leaders who wish to be better trained and equipped for service in the local church

The teaching offered by the Study Center reflects a commitment to the Doctrines of Grace and their experimental application to the local church, particularly in the areas of worship and witness. The Study Center takes as its theological framework the first recognized confession of faith that Southern Baptists produced, The Abstract of Principles. We desire to encourage the return to and promulgation of the biblical gospel that our Southern Baptist forefathers held dear.

Who Should Enroll?
The Study Center is designed for pastors, missionaries, students, and other church or ministry leaders who desire an opportunity to participate in a guided, in-depth study of truth, while remaining in their places of ministry and service to the local church.

Though our primary purpose is to train men for the pastoral ministry and encourage men who are in the pastoral ministry to continue their study and learning, our courses are open to all who are actively involved in the ministry of a local church, at home or on the mission field. We affirm the Danvers Statement concerning the role of men and women in ministry. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

Taking a Course
Taking a course through the Founders Study Center is a two-step process:
First you must enroll in the Study Center as a student. Fill out the enrollment form and send in the admissions fee (See “What Will It Cost?”). Once you have enrolled as a student you will have access to the Student Area. You will also be placed on our enrollment list so you can receive student announcements from the Study Center. You need to enroll in the Study Center in order to be eligible to take courses. For more information, please see the Founders Study Center Policies on Enrollment.

Once you have enrolled as student in the Study Center, you can then register for a course. For the Fall 2010 semester we are offering two 10-week courses, “Baptist Covenant Theology” and “Intro to the Puritans,” and one 16-week course, “Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure.” See Important Dates so you do not miss early registration. If you register after the first day of class (September 7 for the 16-week course and October 18 for 10-week courses) you must pay an addition $15 late registration fee. NOTE: Early Registration for our Fall 2010 courses is now open.

You may choose to take a course as directed studies (under the guidance of one of our mentors) or audit a course (work through material on your own).

If you are taking a course as directed studies, you will need to find a mentor to work with you through the course material (see below).

Finding a Mentor
It is our conviction that the proper place of training for the ministry is not online, but in the church. While the Internet is a great means of making resources available, it is no substitute for personal training. Therefore this Study Center serves in conjunction with a mentoring program that allows students to work with respected, experienced pastors.

Each course offered through the Study Center will include a list of available mentors. You can find the list of available mentors under Current Course Mentors .
It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements for a mentor for each course.

A list of available openings for new students as well as contact information for each mentor is posted in the Student Area. Once you enroll as a student in the Study Center, you will be given access to the Student Area where the contact information is posted.

Students should contact one of the available mentors on the list and ask if he still has an opening for another student. Once an arrangement is made between student and mentor, the student should contact and inform the Study Center Director. Students who need assistance or have difficulty finding a mentor can also contact the Study Center Director for help.

For more information, please see the Founders Study Center Policies on Course Mentors.

What Will It Cost?
Students will pay a fee for each course they take through the Study Center. New Students must also pay the admissions fee of $25 to enroll in the Study Center.
Courses and fees for Fall 2010 are as follows:

Intro to the Puritans
10 sessions with audio lectures by Dr. Mark Dever, Dr. J.I. Packer and others
Cost: $50 (A $25 discount is provided for subscribers of the Founders Journal)
Please Note: We are offering this course free to those who wish to audit this fall. Only students desiring to take the course as directed studies need pay the course fee.

Students will have access to course material online from October 18, 2010 until January 31, 2011 (14 weeks to complete the course)

Baptist Covenant Theology
10 sessions with audio lectures by Dr. Fred Malone and Dr. Jim Renihan
Cost: $50 (A $25 discount is provided for subscribers of the Founders Journal)
This is our new course for the fall.

Students will have access to course material online from October 18, 2010 until January 31, 2011 (14 weeks to complete the course)

Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure
16 sessions with audio lectures by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Cost: $75 (A $25 discount is provided for subscribers of the Founders Journal)
Students will have access to course material online from September 7, 2010 until January 31, 2011 (20 weeks to complete the course)

Course fees are the same for directed studies and audit (except for our special free course audit this fall). A limited number of scholarships are available for students taking courses as directed studies. For more information, please see Founders Study Center Policies on Scholarships.

Register here to audit the Intro to the Puritans course for free this Fall!
This fall the Founders Study Center will be offering the course, Intro to the Puritans, for free for those who sign up to audit the course. Don’t miss this opportunity to glean insights from the lives and writings of the Puritans at no cost!

“The online Founders Study Center is a welcome and exciting venture in solid theological education. In the Reformation, Huldrych Zwingli said that the Word of God was like the Rhine River – you could try to dam it up, but you could never stop it. May God’s Word go forth in the surging power of the Holy Spirit through this new medium.”
Dr. Timothy George
Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
Executive editor, Christianity Today

[Editor’s note: One or more original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid; those links have been removed. Also, the source for this document was originally published on http://study.founders.org/– however, the original URL is no longer available.]