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About Founders Seminary

Founders Seminary exists to serve the Triune God of the Holy Scriptures by equipping godly men with the education, aptitude, character, and conviction requisite for effective leadership in the local church.
Our MIssion

Founders Seminary exists to serve the Triune God of the Holy Scriptures by equipping godly men with the education, aptitude, character, and conviction requisite for effective leadership in the local church.

Founders Seminary trains men in conservative convictions, confessional commitments, and courage without compromise to stand unflinchingly firm in our evil age. These attributes are not altogether intuitive but are developed over time through sound instruction. Founders Seminary is determined to provide such instruction on the basis of the whole counsel of God.

Our Distinctives

What are some of the qualities that make training at The Founders Seminary unique?

Many seminaries or institutions of pastoral training focus on one of two things, the head or the heart. Some believe the intellect is exclusively the chief concern of seminary training, equipping men for ministry by aiding them in lofty intellectual pursuits. This is noble, necessary, and good. However, they do it outside the local church and therefore ill equip the heart for necessary compassion to serve the church. Other institutions aim for the heart, and are so focused on compassion and practical ministry that they neglect the head. Founders Seminary, located on the campus of, and in partnership with, Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, FL offers a training ground where both important aspects of pastoral training are uniquely wed. However, one important distinctive of Founders Seminary is that our training not only informs the intellect and softens the heart, but it also instills deep-seated solid convictions in the spine. Founders Seminary uniquely offers a program that is intentional in equipping men for ministry with unflinching convictions that are well-informed and humbly held.
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Objectives

What are the goals of a Founders Seminary education?

  • Provide a rigorous academic curriculum rooted in the whole counsel of God, designed to cultivate a deep, conservative understanding of biblical doctrine and theology.
  • Encourage students to think critically and engage with Scripture thoughtfully, preparing them to articulate and defend the faith with intellectual clarity.
  • Cultivate Christlike character and spiritual maturity in students, ensuring that their personal conduct aligns with biblical elder qualifications.
  • Develop in students an unwavering commitment to biblical truth, standing firm on confessional commitments with courage and integrity in the face of cultural opposition.
  • Blend intellectual rigor with heart-centered ministry, training students to serve the local church with both theological competence and compassionate pastoral care.
  • Engage students in practical ministry experiences within the context of Grace Baptist Church to develop empathy, humility, and a servant's heart.
  • Equip students with a firm and uncompromising grasp of conservative biblical convictions, while also nurturing gentleness and sensitivity essential for pastoral leadership.
  • Prepare graduates to lead their congregations with both strength and compassion, effectively balancing conviction with humility.
  • Offer hands-on ministry opportunities and mentorship within a local church environment, enabling students to apply their learning directly in a real-world context.
  • Train students to lead in various aspects of church life, including preaching, counseling, discipleship, and community engagement, to prepare them comprehensively for pastoral ministry.
  • Encourage a mindset of lifelong learning and discipleship, emphasizing that growth in knowledge, character, and skill continues beyond seminary.
  • Foster an ongoing pursuit of theological and pastoral excellence, equipping students to mentor and disciple others in the future.
  • Instill a firm resolve in the essentials of the Christian Faith so the student is equipped to stand uncompromisingly firm in the negative world.
Doctrinal Convictions and Commitments
Founders Seminary is dedicated to training men for pastoral ministry and public theology from an orthodox, confessional, and baptistic perspective.

The seminary provides rigorous instruction in biblical theology, exegesis, systematic theology, practical ministry, cultural engagement, and worldview formation, all grounded in an unwavering commitment to the inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scripture.

The residential faculty of Founders Seminary each holds to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith and has affirmed the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. While we are happy to collaborate with individuals who may differ on secondary matters of doctrine, we assure our students and supporters that no one will teach at Founders Seminary who is unclear about the dangers of critical social justice and the ideologies that support it.

The residential faculty of Founders Seminary affirm the following Doctrinal convictions:

  • The Apostle's Creed
  • The Nicene Creed
  • The Chalcedonian Creed
  • The Athanasian Creed
  • Second London Baptist Confession
  • Dallas Statement on Social Justice
FACULTY

The faculty of Founders Seminary are men of godly character and conviction.​

Founding Faculty
Dr. Voddie Baucham
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Dr. Tom Ascol
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Dr. Tom Nettles
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Residential Faculty
Dr. Conrad Mbewe

Founding Chancellor, African Christian University

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Travis Allen

Teaching Pastor, Grace Church

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Dr. Peter Sammons

Associate Director of Academic Development

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Dr. Scott Callaham

Dean, Institute of Public Theology

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About Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham wears many hats. He is a husband, father, former pastor, author, professor, conference speaker, church planter, and a board member for Founders Ministries. He most recently served as Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.

Dr. Baucham’s area of emphasis is Cultural Apologetics. Whether teaching on classical apologetic issues like the validity and historicity of the Bible, or the resurrection of Christ; or teaching on biblical manhood/womanhood, marriage and family, he helps ordinary people understand the significance of thinking and living biblically in every area of life.

It is impossible to understand his approach to the Bible without first understanding the path he has walked. Raised in a non-Christian, single-parent home, he did not hear the gospel until he was in college. His journey to faith was a very unusual and intellectual one. Consequently, he understands what it means to be a skeptic, and knows what it’s like to try to figure out the Christian life without relying on the traditions of men. As a result, he speaks to “outsiders” in ways few Bible teachers can.

Dr. Baucham holds degrees from Houston Baptist University (BA in Christianity/BA in Sociology), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.), an honorary degree from Southern California Seminary (D.D.), and additional post-graduate study at the University of Oxford, England (Regent’s Park College).

Dr. Baucham and his wife, Bridget, have been married since 1989, have nine children and are committed home educators.

About Tom Ascol

Tom Ascol has served as a Pastor of Grace Baptist Church since 1986. Prior to moving to Florida he served as pastor and associate pastor of churches in Texas. He has a BS degree in sociology from Texas A&M University (1979) and has also earned the MDiv and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. He has served as an adjunct professor of theology for various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary, the Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary, African Christian University, Copperbelt Ministerial College, and Reformed Baptist Seminary. He has also served as Visiting Professor at the Nicole Institute for Baptist Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.

Tom serves as the President of Founders Ministries. He has edited the Founders Journal, a quarterly theological publication of Founders Ministries, and has written hundreds of articles for various journals and magazines. He has been a regular contributor to TableTalk, the monthly magazine of Ligonier Ministries. He has also edited and contributed to several books, including Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry and Recovering the Gospel and Reformation of Churches. He is also the author of From the Protestant Reformation to the Southern Baptist Convention, Traditional Theology and the SBC and Strong and Courageous.

Tom regularly preaches and lectures at various conferences throughout the United States and other countries. In addition he regularly contributes articles to the Founders website. He and Donna have six children along with four sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law. They have twenty-one grandchildren. 

About Tom Nettles

Tom Nettles was born in Brandon, Mississippi to a loving, Christian family. He was raised in a godly church throughout his entire life. Although he had an earlier profession of faith, Tom came to Christ during his first year of seminary while leading singing during a revival meeting in Perrin, Texas.

Dr. Nettles is a graduate of Mississippi College (BA) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv and PhD). He is widely regarded as one of the foremost Baptist historical theologians in America.

Dr. Nettles has served on staff at four churches starting in 1965 and has taught seminary since January 1976. Tom has most recently served as the Professor of Historical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he was Professor of Church History and Chair of the Department of Church History. Prior to that, he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

Along with numerous journal articles and scholarly papers, Dr. Nettles is the author or editor of fifteen books. Among his books are By His Grace and For His Glory; Baptists and the Bible; James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman; and Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles H. Spurgeon.

Dr. Nettles and his wife, Margaret, have three children and five grandchildren.

About Conrad Mbewe

Conrad Mbewe has served as pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church since 1987. He is a graduate of the University of Zambia, the Cape Town Baptist Seminary, and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Missions. He is the founding Chancellor of the African Christian University. He is a blogger and an author. His latest book is God’s Design for the Church (Crossway, 2020). He is also the editor of the Reformation Zambia magazine.

He is married to Felistas and they have 6 adult children, and 4 grandchildren.

About Travis Allen

Raised in Golden, Colo., Travis joined the military in 1988, where God regenerated him to new life and faith in Christ. Travis was educated for pastoral ministry (The College at Southeastern, B.A.; The Master’s Seminary, M.Div.), and further prepared by working at Grace to You and ministering at Grace Community Church.

Travis is now the teaching pastor at Grace Church, where he equips the saints for the work of ministry. His aim is to proclaim Jesus Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so he may do his part in presenting everyone mature in Christ.

He met and married Melinda in 1993, and God has given them five wonderful children.

About Peter Sammons

Peter Sammons is a theologian with a focus on Reformed doctrine, particularly in the areas of Theology Proper, Christology, and Soteriology. Since completing his PhD in 2017, he has taught in a number of graduate seminary programs, engaging students in a rigorous study of historical and systematic theology.

Dr. Sammons has authored several books, including Reprobation: From Augustine to the Synod of Dort with Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty: Redeeming a Biblical Doctrine with Kregel Academic; and The Forgotten Attributes of God: God’s Nature and Why It Matters with CLC. His scholarly contributions include journal articles, writings for Credo Magazine and Ligonier Ministries, where he explores foundational Christian doctrines with clarity and depth.

Dr. Sammons currently serves with Founders Ministries, contributing to their mission of advancing confessional Reformed Baptist theology, and he teaches systematics at Founders Seminary.

About Dr. Scott Callaham

Scott N. Callaham is Dean of the Institute of Public Theology. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy (Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy in Old Testament). He is the lead editor of World Mission: Theology, Strategy, and Current Issues, as well as the author of Biblical Aramaic for Biblical Interpreters in both English and Chinese. Dr. Callaham has served as a pastor, chaplain, cross-cultural international missionary, conference speaker, Bible translator, and seminary professor. He has written book chapters and journal articles spanning Hebrew grammar and syntax, biblical theology, preaching, pastoral ministry, missions, worship, and songwriting. He is the host of the Daily Dose of Aramaic podcast and a composer of Chinese worship music for congregational singing.