Ezra 7:9-10

...for the good hand of the Lord was upon him, for Ezra set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach its statues and ordinances in Israel.

The major distinctive of our seminary is that we literally study the whole Bible and expect our students to know the essentials of the whole Bible,  much of it by heart.

      The seminary emphasizes the three aspects of life from Ezra 7:9,10.

      (1)  The Heart of the Student

      We strive to influence men to set their heart on and be skilled in the personal study of God's word in the original languages with helps.

      (2) The Character of the Student in the Context of the Church

      We teach our students in the seminary that we are subject to the local presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Russia.  Each student is accountable to his local church elders and to the presbytery for his moral behavior. The student gets regular counsel from the ministers of the presbytery who serve in the seminary. These ministers are: Blake Purcell, Oleg Volkov, and Alexander Schmidt. (Alexander is the parliamentarian of the Presbytery).

      (3) The Ministry Skills of the Student

      1 Timothy 3 mentions that elders and deacons should be tested before being ordained.  Therefore, the Biblical Seminary tests its ministerial students by requiring that they have ongoing ministry in their local churches, and by constant oral presentations, exegetical papers and essays, and preaching and interaction in class.

      New Seminary Strategy Aims At Whole Former USSR!

      In order to facilitate the education and training of pastors and elders throughout the Russian-speaking world, to begin an extension program in May, 2006. This extension program provides transportation to the seminary,  room and board, and a living stipend for families back home, for qualified pastors, elders, and laymen from any of the 15 former Soviet Republics.   We have had as many as 20 students attend this new program from the Ukraine, Kazastan, Belarus, the Russian Far East, Siberia, and St. Petersburg/Pushkin.  Please pray with us for this program to continue to prosper!

      The cost of each student will vary widely, as some will fly in from Vladivostok,  some 7 times zones away, and others will be local.  The average cost will be $750 per student per intensive course, which will be offered 2-3 times a year.  There will be intensive study, writing and reading assignments required as "home work" between these intensive courses in St. Petersburg. 

In 2009, we hope to take these programs to other venues such as Rovno, Ukraine, and Vladisvostok, where we have significant church presence and can attract an even larger audience of local attendees.  In addition, we are evaluating the use of internet based "distance learning" to better provide continuing education to those pastors and elders who have attended our intensive courses.   More on this subject is to come as we firm up our plans for this exciting new adjunct to our seminary program!

If you would like to support our work in Eurasia, here's how you can do so:

A gift of $50 per month provides the means for a pastor, who might be from a very isolated outpost in Eurasia, to attend the extension course, covering his room and board at seminary.

A gift of $200 per month provides for all of SRS's expenses for two new pastors to be enrolled in the  extension course.   This includes travel, a living stipend while attending seminary, books, room and board.

A gift of $600 per month provides for 2 student enrollments and includes paying their pro rata cost of the seminary's overhead.   this would include facility rental, utiliities, and salaries of our Russian and American staff members.

Please go the website's "Donate" page to find out how to give.   We urgently need to raise $50,000 before January 1, 2009, if we are to be able to conduct our theological conference in March, 2009, and our two extension courses planned for next year.