Dear Prayer Partners and Supporters,
In God’s good providence, being a distance learning student at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary has helped me grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ in ways that I would have never imagined otherwise. If I could summarize into one concrete thought what the seminary has done for my soul it would be this –it has made my soul abound with love for the bride of Christ, the church. She is ruddy but beautiful and she is being adorned by her Lord with splendor, majesty, and glory. He is making her the fragrance of Christ to the world (Song 4:7, 16; 2 Cor. 2:15). Hallelujah!
My soul has come to see these truths more vividly through the seminary’s Basic Training Program. This program has helped me step into seminary life at a pace that isn’t intimidating, but rather encouraging. The program is designed to give aspiring pastors a taste for what seminary studies are like and to aid in discerning the will of the Lord regarding education. I have found the material refreshing, challenging, edifying and encouraging. Every book recommended for course material is a keeper. Every professor is worth his weight in gold. Best of all, the orthodoxy of the courses is supplemented by the orthopraxy required of the program in the local church. This has tended to keep me balanced with regard to learning at the seminary level, and it gives me an outlet for the things I am learning to be used in the building up of the body.
Distance learning from a technical standpoint for some can be intimidating, but CBTS has streamlined this processing using a step-by-step path for prerecorded material, and simple video streaming for live courses. If you can navigate the popular video sharing websites out there you can easily work your way through the courses.
Recently my local fellowship partnered with CBTS in their Church Partnership Program which has, by God’s good grace, relieved me of many seminary costs. Imagine that! Top notch Reformed Baptist studies paid for once your church partners with the seminary. The cost for partnership is extremely reasonable, by the way. Praise God for His infinite, matchless grace! If there are men in your congregation that are aspiring to the ministry then the Church Partnership Program is an excellent way to receive godly instruction at a great price. It also opens the door up for your church to receive material to use in instructing the church (great options for deeper studies).
At CBTS it is truly informed scholarship with a pastoral heart. Someone once said that burning hearts are not nourished by empty heads. If your heart is burning to learn Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, then there is no better place to set your mind on things that are above.
Grace and Peace to You All,
Scott Autry
Rockdale Community Church
Conyers, GA
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
