Mission & Commitments

Purpose Statement

The purpose of BSK Theological Seminary is to prepare men and women sensing God’s leadership for life and ministry in faithful witness to Jesus Christ in the church and the world.

Learn about our name

We became BSK Theological Seminary in May 2024, just 21 years after our founding. Our name connects to our heritage, yet recognizes our national presence and ecumenical posture.

Why BSK?

BSK Commitments

BSK serves the Church by helping in the formation of Christians for serving and building up the body of Christ. To this end…

  • we provide advanced theological studies for those called of God to ministry—full-time or part-time, ordained or laity; and
  • we resource churches for discerning and equipping in mission and ministry.

BSK is committed to theological education affirming the God-given gifts of each student and grounded in spiritual, moral, and intellectual formation in the Christian life. This includes…

  • the nurture of personal faith within community by reading and receiving the word together, eating together, and praying together;
  • the cultivation of virtuous lives rooted in Christian habits and practices;
  • honest intellectual engagement in the face of difficult questions of faith, reflecting scholarly discipline, humility, and a tolerance for ambiguity and diversity in thought; and
  • encouragement in the discernment of spiritual gifts and the nurture of pastoral imagination.

At BSK, we are committed to God’s calling…

  • to bear witness to Jesus Christ in relationship with persons from diverse cultures both in our communities and throughout the world;
  • to seek the unity of the church for which Christ prayed and to embrace the work and witness of the larger Christian community in a spirit of cooperation, respect, and acceptance; and
  • to pursue and practice together peace, justice, reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, and hope, the virtues of Jesus’ beloved community.

At BSK, we draw upon the breadth and depth of the whole Christian tradition to undergird our common life and Christian formation. As Baptists, we especially value…

  • the authority of Scripture, through which God’s truth found in Jesus Christ is revealed to us and transforms us;
  • the priesthood of all believers, who practice the Christian faith within the community of God’s people as priests to one another;
  • the freedom and responsibility of each congregation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern the mind of Christ and to order its common life accordingly;
  • the freedom and responsibility of each individual to follow his or her conscience under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in covenant with fellow believers to discern the mind of Christ;
  • dissent both as freedom from coercion in all religious matters through the separation of church and state and as a gift given and received within the covenant community; and
  • partnership in mission and ministry with fellow believers, in our case especially with the churches of the National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Kentucky, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida & the Caribbean Islands.. BSK also is a proud partner with Simmons College of Kentucky (HBCU).

BSK Distinctives

What makes BSK different from many other seminaries, divinity schools, and/or Bible colleges?

  • We value Christian tradition highly, but we are skeptical of dogmatic and authoritarian claims to represent that tradition and God’s truth.
  • We seek answers sufficient for living out our faith, but where Christian perspectives differ on what it means to be faithful in interpreting Scripture and in living out the good news of God in Christ, we seek discernment through deliberation and respectful dialogue with diverse communities.
  • We recognize that our understanding is ultimately partial and incomplete and that complete knowledge remains shrouded in mystery; therefore, we strive to practice humility and charity as we listen together for the leading of the Spirit.
  • We advocate for and support women in all roles of ministry, a central BSK commitment from the founding of the Seminary.
  • We affirm the presence and work of the Spirit in all persons called of God. BSK Theological Seminary is committed to the theological formation of those called of God, regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or age.
  • As faculty and students, our primary commitment is to exercise together scholarly gifts and vocation as stewards of the mysteries in service to God’s church.
  • We seek out and attend to the presence and work of the Spirit in all persons called of God by the inclusion of diverse voices in the classroom, Seminary gatherings and events, and in academic, student life, administrative, and governance deliberations.