Next month, RBS will celebrate its 19th anniversary of ministry. Since our inception, over 150 students have successfully completed one of our training programs. We currently have 125 active students enrolled and hope to see six graduate this semester. Once again, we are grateful for your prayers and financial support.

ACCREDITATION

RBS is currently an affiliate of the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries (ARTS), which is an accreditation agency. After much prayer, the Board of RBS has decided to apply for full accreditation. Lord willing, we will submit our application by August and will begin our self-study. If approved for candidacy, we will schedule a site visit with ARTS. If that goes well and if we’re able to make any necessary changes, we hope to be approved sometime in 2025 or 2026. We believe the process of pursuing accreditation will help us identify areas where we can improve our training programs and, in the long run, open more doors of opportunity for our graduates. Please pray for God’s blessing on this process.

RESIDENTIAL CLASSES

The Classical Studies Divinity Program continues in full-swing. Over the summer, Vadim Chepurny taught Research and Writing. This one-credit course introduces students to the basics of writing and formatting book reviews and research papers. The fall offerings included Discovering the Great Conversation (Kennicott), Historical Theology II (Smith), and Elementary Hebrew I (Gonzales). This spring, Gonzales is teaching Elementary Hebrew II, Smith Salvation Applied, and Kennicott Literary Analysis. The fall semester of the next academic term (2024–25) will feature Doctrine of Man (Gonzales), Historical Theology III (Smith), and Philosophical Inquiries (Kennicott). Seven students are currently enrolled in the residential M.Div. program, and several others are auditing the classes. The live, in-class format has provided plenty of opportunity for interaction between the teachers and students and is proving to be a valuable component to our seminary training.

MODULAR CLASSES

In September, Michael Emadi taught New Testament Introduction in Florida. He touched on such topics as the NT canon, textual criticism, and the synoptic problem. The following month, Jim Newheiser lectured on Marriage Counseling in South Carolina. After providing a biblical framework for viewing marriage as a divine institution, Dr. Newheiser addressed various issues that come up in marriage counseling such as communication, forgiveness, sexual sin, child-rearing, and adoption. We have two modules planned for next month (May). Jeff Johnson will teach Call & Cultivation in Michigan. Then Ryan Bush and Nick Kennicott will lecture for a course in Florida entitled Introduction to Missions. For the fall, we have Dr. Charles Hodges scheduled to teach Counseling & Physiology in September (Michigan). Baptist Symbolics, featuring Jeff Smith, Nick Kennicott, and Bob Gonzales will follow in November (Florida). All the lectures for these courses are recorded and uploaded to our online campus. Auditors as well as students are welcome to attend. For more information, look at the Upcoming Events on our homepage.

COUNSELING PROGRAM

As noted above, RBS is creating new biblical counseling courses so that we can reactivate our Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling program. This program includes a 42-credit core of RBS coursework (biblical and counseling), 15-credits of counseling courses through the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), and 6-credits for obtaining certification through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Currently, 74 individuals are on a waiting list to be notified when the program has restarted. Please pray for us as we line up instructors and schedule modules so that we can reopen enrollment.

RBS INTERNATIONAL

In February of this year, Bob Gonzales traveled to Zambia where he taught a course on Christ in the Old Testament for the Lusaka Ministerial College and gave a lecture on “Nine Marks of a Healthy Seminary” for some of the staff and faculty of LMC and the Copperbelt Ministerial College. He also preached in several of the churches in the area.

RBS continues to partner with HeartCry Missionary Society to provide theological instruction in Nepal. Pastor Nick Alford lectured on the Pastoral Epistles in February. Vadim Chepurny will teach New Testament Survey in June and Sam Barber will teach an introductory course on Biblical Counseling in September. After that, Rob Ventura and Jim Domm will offer the final course on Romans which will complete the 12-unit Certificate of Theological Studies program.

SUPPORT RBS?

Promoting the new residential Master of Divinity, restarting the biblical counseling program, and obtaining accreditation will likely result in an increase in enrollment. More students will necessitate hiring more staff and faculty. While student fees cover two-thirds of our operating expenses, we rely on the generous donations of churches and individuals who view RBS as fulfilling a vital component of the Great Commission to cover the other third. If you’re already supporting RBS, would you consider slightly increasing your support next year? If you’re not yet a supporter, would you pray about becoming one? RBS is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and if you’re interested in knowing more about our financial needs, please click here or contact us.