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 Leadership
A Note from the President
As the apostle Paul approached the end of his life and ministry, he urged his protege, Timothy, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). This admonition is as relevant today as it was in the First Century. The Church still needs to hold fast to apostolic teaching and identify and train faithful men who will do the same in the coming generations. At Founders Seminary, we are committed to doing just that!
As a founding faculty member of the Institute of Public Theology, I have had the unique privilege of watching the Lord take this dream and make it a reality. I am both grateful and humbled to have been asked to serve as the seminary’s founding President. May the Lord grant me wisdom, strength, vision, and courage commensurate to the task, and length of days so that I may see at least a portion of the fruit we all trust the Lord will cause this endeavor to bear.
Serving Christ’s Church is a high calling. If you are looking prepare for that service in a place with uncompromising academic standards, a commitment to personal discipleship and church-based mentoring, and a desire to raise up men who will be ready stand for the truth in the midst of our unique and challenging age, I am proud to recommend Founders Seminary.

Dr. Voddie Baucham
President | Professor of Cultural Apologetics

Dr. Voddie Baucham
President | Professor of Cultural Apologetics
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.

Dr. Tom Ascol
Chancellor | Professor of Pastoral Theology

Dr. Tom Ascol
Chancellor | Professor of Pastoral Theology
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.
Our Distinctives
What are some of the qualities that make training at The Founders Seminary unique?
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
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.

Dr. Voddie Baucham
President | Professor of Cultural Apologetics

Dr. Voddie Baucham
President | Professor of Cultural Apologetics
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.

Dr. Tom Ascol
Chancellor | Professor of Pastoral Theology

Dr. Tom Ascol
Chancellor | Professor of Pastoral Theology
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.

Dr. Tom Nettles
Professor of Historical Theology

Dr. Tom Nettles
Professor of Historical Theology
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.

Dr. Peter Sammons
Professor of Systematic Theology

Dr. Peter Sammons
Professor of Systematic Theology
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.

Dr. Scott Callaham
Professor of Hebrew and Aramaic

Dr. Scott Callaham
Professor of Hebrew and Aramaic
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.

Dr. Christopher Cleveland
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Theology and Languages

Dr. Christopher Cleveland
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Theology and Languages

Josh Tinkham
Adjunct Professor in Systematic Theology

Josh Tinkham
Adjunct Professor in Systematic Theology

Alan Quinones
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Theology

Alan Quinones
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Theology
Alan Quinones is a graduate of The Master’s Seminary. He was appointed Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Bradenton, Florida, in 2021. Previously, he had served as a Deacon at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, CA. He has been married to Shasta since December 2015, and together they have one son, Judah Knox. His writings on divine simplicity and the mediation of Jesus Christ have been published in The Master's Seminary Journal and the Journal of Classical Theology.

Jacob Trotter
Adjunct Professor of Church History

Jacob Trotter
Adjunct Professor of Church History
Jacob Trotter is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, The Master's Seminary (MDiv), and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (ThM). He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Aberdeen focusing on the Italian Reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli. His academic interests include early modern Reformed theology and philosophy, particularly related to the doctrine of God.

Dr. Conrad Mbewe
Founding Chancellor, African Christian University

Dr. Conrad Mbewe
Founding Chancellor, African Christian University
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.

Travis Allen
Teaching Pastor, Grace Church Greeley (CO)

Travis Allen
Teaching Pastor, Grace Church Greeley (CO)
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.

Dr. E. D. Burns
Director of MA in Cultural Apologetics and Missions

Dr. E. D. Burns
Director of MA in Cultural Apologetics and Missions
E.D. Burns, PhD, is the director of Founders Seminary MA in Cultural Apologetics and Missions program. He has been a long-term missionary in the Middle East, East Asia, Alaska, and SE Asia.
He lives in SE Asia and serves on faculty at Asia Biblical Theological Seminary, and as the Executive Director of Training and Development at ABWE.
As a linguist and ordained minister, Burns develops theological resources and trains indigenous pastors and missionaries to the least-reached. (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; MDiv, Western Seminary; MA, Biola University; MA, Wheaton College; BA, Moody Bible Institute).

Dr. Richard Barcellos
Pastor, Grace Reformed Baptist Church

Dr. Richard Barcellos
Pastor, Grace Reformed Baptist Church
Dr. Richard Barcellos received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology & Director of Publications at International Reformed Baptist Seminary, Mansfield, TX. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.

Dr. James Renihan
President, IRBS Theological Seminary

Dr. James Renihan
President, IRBS Theological Seminary
After a ministry of church planting in central Massachusetts, Dr. James Renihan and his family moved to Escondido, CA in 1998 to begin serving as Dean of the newly formed Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies. He led that work for 20 years, and when it became IRBS Theological Seminary in 2018 was appointed the first president. He has served as a pastor of churches in Massachusetts, New York and California. He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (PhD), Seminary of the East (MDiv), Trinity Ministerial Academy, and Liberty Baptist College (BS). His academic work has focused on the Second London Baptist Confession and the broader Puritan theological context from which it arose.

Dr. David Schrock
Pastor, Occoquan Bible Church

Dr. David Schrock
Pastor, Occoquan Bible Church
David Schrock is the pastor for preaching and theology at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. David is a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a founding faculty member and professor of theology at Indianapolis Theology Seminary. David is the author of Royal Priesthood and Glory of God along with many journal articles and online essays, specializing in both systematic and biblical theology. He blogs at Via Emmaus, and is editor-in-chief at Christ Over All. David and his wife, Wendy, have three sons and one daughter.

Dr. Carl Trueman
Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Grove City College

Dr. Carl Trueman
Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Grove City College
Carl Trueman is a professor of humanities at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Born in Dudley, UK, he has previously been a faculty member at the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen (UK) and Westminster Theological Seminary (PA). He was also formerly Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Ambler, Pa. He enjoys running, listening to rock/classical music, and doing what his wife tells him.

Dr. Ben Dunson
Founding Editor, American Reformer

Dr. Ben Dunson
Founding Editor, American Reformer
Ben C. Dunson is the Founding Editor of American Reformer, an online journal of Christian social commentary. He is also a Professor of New Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Greenville, SC, and a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He lives in the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas, with his wife and four boys.