On July 30, 1856, James P. Boyce, one of the founders and first president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in an address on theological education stated: “A Baptist theological school ought not merely to receive college graduates but men with less general education…offering to every man such opportunities of theological study as he is prepared for and desires.”
Boyce’s vision led to the formation of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1877, Southern Seminary moved to its current location in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1974, Boyce Bible School was created and offered an associate of arts degree. Under the guiding hand of President Mohler, Boyce Bible School became Boyce College in the fall of 1998 and began offering six bachelor’s degrees. While offering seven different ministry-related degree programs, Boyce College’s enrollment has grown over 700% in the ensuing years. Today Boyce College is recognized as a premier Christian college in Kentucky and around the world.
Boyce’s unique history continues to shape our mission of serving Christ and His church by preparing ministers.
Any historical record of the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Boyce College is incomplete without an honest telling of their complicity in American slavery and racism. For more on that story, read: Report on Slavery and Racism in the History of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.