The Baptist Seminary
Portugal
History
The Baptist Theological Seminary of Portugal (Seminårio Teolögico Baptista Portuguesa or STBP) opened its doors for the first time on October 6, 1969 to 8 students in Queluz under the direction of Lester Carl Bell, a missionary of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Previous attempts to develop a seminary in Viseu, Porto, and later in Leiria did not take root. The founding of the STBP was the culmination of several efforts that, between 1922 and 1968, were developed to address the lack of a stable and organized institution for Baptist theological education. The school in Queluz, is, therefore, the fourth Baptist theological training school in Portugal over the _last almost 100 years. During this half-century of its operation, the STB contributed to the theological formation of a significant number of pastors and leaders of the churches of our country, but also of workers and missionaries from Angola and Mozambique, as well as others spread across the continents of Europe and Africa. In 1976, STBP relocated to its current location with classrooms, a library (with around 10,000 volumes), a dining room, classrooms, and student accommodations.
The mission of Baptist Theological Seminary is the formation of mature servant leaders who minister effectively in the Mission of God.
The school’s vision is “Life and Ministry grounded in the Word.”
Accreditation: The Advanced Course in Bible and Theology, lasting 6 semesters (180 ECTS), is accredited as a Vocational Bachelor by the European Council for Theological Education (ECTE, ex-EEAA). The diplomas awarded by the Baptist Theological Seminary are not accredited by the Agency for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) nor do they confer an academic degree recognized by Portuguese authorities.
Strategic Needs
The Seminary is committed to serve as a partner with churches and missions in the task of church development and in planting new churches. There is a tremendous need for student scholarship support (particularly church-planting scholarships).
Assistance in extension center development. STBP offers classes at its main campus (l year and 3 year programs, >40 students) and at seven regional extension centers (only the I year program, >80 students). We want to help the students of these centers that are ready to continue their studies beyond the first year to be able to continue their studies either by coming to the main campus or by us offering advanced classes at the CETs in various regions of the country.
Faculty development. STBP has a number ofnational professors who are eager to advance not only in their acquisition of their next degree but in their practical involvement in things such as church planting, youth movements, cross-cultural outreach, Muslim studies, advanced biblical language studies, camp ministries, social outreach and many other critical areas in Portugal. Some of these needs will be met through our ESTA Program, while in other cases we desire to assist them in finding other opportunities for development.
Guest Professors.
Youth Leadership. There is a need for providing churches, in the context ofthe Baptist Convention, with effective youth leadership training. This could include the following: curriculum such as www.ebfhorizons.com; support materials; local and international resources; and regular visionary support. This training will assist the Baptist Convention in developing a youth department that can train leaders in local churches and enhance a national youth movement.
Virtual Classroom project. Offer technical advice and expertise on the setup as it now stands; help implement best practices; offer training.
Library. STBP would like to see its library grow significantly in its ability to serve as a center for study and research. This could include assessment of the library’s collection and detennining priorities for new acquisitions; providing resources for new acquisitions; helping to move the school forward in using technology; providing the means by which our student body and faculty would have access to online journal databases, etc.; and providing resources for mini-libraries strategically set up in extension centers.
Development of an online portal for all programs and administration.
Email: geral@seminariobaptista.com.pt
Phone Number: 214-373-036 / 968-017-651