Celebrating 20 Years of God’s Faithfulness
We have much to praise God for as we mark our 20th year of classes. This kind of celebrating, though ostensibly for God’s goodness and faithfulness, can be a subtle way of congratulating ourselves for our successes. I won’t take credit for the things God has done and used other men to do. As I listed the matters below for which we have reason to praise God, I remembered the names of those who were strategically involved in the unfolding of God’s good plan for CBTS. You know who you are in each instance that I mention below. I thank God for you.
Distance Education: In our first years of existence, I remember board members recommending that we consider expanding our reach by offering distance education. We slowly began to invest in the people and technology needed to do it well. This decision is at the heart of the growth we have seen as an institution.
Surviving Transition: In 2013, we chose for confessional and biblical reasons to leave our former host church and much of our funding behind and move to a very small church with no ability to provide financing or even facilities for the seminary. In this vulnerable moment, some very wise board members recommended supporting our administrator full-time to preserve and prosper the work. Though we had very few resources, God honored and blessed this decision in the years that followed.
Church Affiliation: Around that time, the seminary administrator suggested that we begin a church partnership program in which benefits would accrue to churches who supported us regularly. What a stabilizing and expanding source of blessing this has been! The number of churches now regularly supporting CBTS stands at about 150. This is a major portion of our funding as a seminary. We are grateful to all of you who support us in this way!
Transforming Designation: Another significant step was the renaming of the seminary to Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary in 2015. This was a vast improvement over our previous name (MCTS), which identified neither what we were (a seminary) nor what we believed (Confessional, Covenant Baptist theology).
Excelling Administration: In 2015, we said goodbye to our previous seminary administrator and hello to a new one. Just as the former brother had served the seminary well through some challenging years, our new administrator worked with extraordinary diligence as the Lord began to expand the work in the years that followed.
Achieving Accreditation: In 2017, following the counsel of some wise friends of the seminary, we began to pursue accreditation through the Association of Reformed Theological Schools (ARTS). We came to believe that accreditation would make us a better institution and increase our usefulness to potential students and churches. In 2018, we realized that the requirements for attaining accreditation were going to require more helping hands. Right at this time, God brought a pastor as a short-term employee who was familiar with the accreditation process through his work with other institutions. It was a remarkable providence for us and him when he was between churches. It was in the fall of 2019 that we were fully accredited by ARTS.
Rising Matriculation: This accreditation was associated with explosive growth in applications and matriculations to the seminary. From 2013 to 2025, the seminary has grown from around 30 students to a total of 470 students. We stand amazed at this increase, and we pray that God would continue to bless us in this way.
Enlarging Graduations: The graduating class of 2017 was comprised of two students. The class of 2025 consisted of 34 men. It is seeing men complete their degree programs that affirms the usefulness of CBTS. Perhaps this more than anything else speaks to me of God’s blessing.
International Extension: Through the years 2015 to 2025, we have also seen God bless us with one international affiliate after another. We now have nine affiliates in Latin and South America. Once more, God has used a wonderful and visionary pastor to instigate most of this growth. Between 300 and 400 additional students study in these affiliates.
Staffing Expansion: When I sit around the table with our six full-time employees, I constantly give thanks for these men and their collaboration in leading CBTS. Of course, I must not fail to mention the number of part-time and contract employees that are also crucial to the excellence of the seminary. We pray that God would help us generously support these faithful men through the kindness of God’s people.
Program Additions: Another sign of God’s blessing has been the addition of new program offerings. To our M.Div. and MAPS programs have been added the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling, Biblical Studies, and Systematic and Historical Theology. Last year, I witnessed the successful addition of the Th.M. program and the expansion of our M.Div. program into Spanish – what we call CBTS en Español.
Theological Foundation: Last of all, let me mention what I praise God for most of all. A faithful God has given all this growth without any movement from our commitment to Scripture and subscription to the 1689 Baptist Confession. Instead, perhaps I should say that it has been given because of our commitment to these things.
We don’t know what the next 20 years will bring. But we labor and strive that the Lord of the harvest will have used CBTS to send hundreds, if not thousands, of qualified laborers into his harvest fields. As 2025 comes to an end, would you consider supporting us in this work through prayer and financial support?
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.”
Psalm 115:1
Dr. Sam Waldron,
President, CBTS
Graduate Profile: Andrew Graham
My name is Andrew Graham, and I am graduating with a Master of Divinity from CBTS. In His mercy, the Lord has given me a precious family. My wife, Hannah, and I were both raised and came to the Lord at Morningview Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL, and we were married in 2020. Since then, God has blessed us with three children, Haddon (3), Charlotte (2), and one more on the way. After graduating from Auburn University in 2019, I moved to Clinton in order to be mentored by Drs. Fred Malone and Tom Hicks. I serve the church as a pastoral assistant by regularly teaching, preaching, and helping with administrative tasks. I’m grateful for the privilege of studying at CBTS. My education here has already proven to be incredibly helpful to me personally and to my ministry.
CBTS has given me a sound theological education from a unified confessional standpoint. I can say honestly that in all of my classes, I do not recall one theological statement that contradicted the Second London Confession, or another professor, for that matter. This unity in the truth has greatly helped to establish me.
CBTS has enabled me to learn and serve in my local church while under the oversight of my pastors. While I’m convinced more than ever that a seminary education is valuable for a man pursuing gospel ministry, I’m equally persuaded that a seminary education alone cannot produce a qualified man. The means that Christ has provided for raising up pastors is pastors.
I would recommend CBTS to anyone pursuing the gospel ministry, specifically because it is an institution that offers a quality theological education, for an extremely affordable price, available anywhere with internet access. My exhortation, then, to the man aspiring to become a pastor, is this: if you do not already have a pastor who is able and willing to mentor you, make it your priority to find one.
Will you help us train men like Andrew? Visit CBTSeminary.org/give
International Partnership Update
We are very grateful to the Lord for the ministry of our affiliate seminaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world. We currently have 10 affiliates located in Colombia (Bogotá and Cartagena), Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, and Spain.
The seminary’s work is advancing across Latin America. In Colombia, the third study cycle began recently, while in Ecuador, the cycle that started in 2021 is nearing completion, with graduation expected in August 2026. The Ecuador affiliate serves over 100 students from multiple countries. In Cuba, the first cycle began in 2019 and is finishing, with graduation planned for early 2026.
In Brazil, the cycle has concluded, and they are launching an M.Div. in Portuguese in mid-2026. In Mexico, Chile, and Costa Rica, cycles continue steadily. The Lord has blessed us with persevering students.
At our last CBTS Board meeting, the launch of two more affiliate seminaries was approved. The first is in Lima, Peru, where classes will begin in March 2026. The second is based in Valencia, Spain, and will begin in January 2026 (photo below). This seminary is the result of the joint efforts of four Hispanic Reformed Baptist churches from different European countries: Stockholm (Sweden), Vienna (Austria), Paris (France), and Valencia (Spain).
Regarding CBTS en Español, we are happy to begin our third semester. We have approximately 50 MDiv students from various countries. For this fall semester, CBTS is offering 11 classes entirely in Spanish. The plan for the next year is to have 22 classes offered to our students by the fall of 2026.
We so appreciate your prayers and support for this critical work of helping the church prepare men for the ministry.
Jorge Rodriguez
Spanish Program Director
