fbpx
News Articles

MBTS website to encourage & equip the church


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) — Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has launched the website FTC.co providing Gospel-centered resources to engage, encourage, and equip those ministering within the local church.

The FTC.co site, to be overseen by managing editor Jared Wilson, will host blogs, articles, practical application tools and other resources to assist current pastors, ministry leaders, and lay men and women in their ministry roles.

“Our primary goal in establishing FTC.co is to provide church leaders from all walks of ministry life with Gospel-centered resources that are pastoral, practical and devotional,” said Jason Allen, Midwestern’s president. “In doing so, we intend for the site to be relevant to the needs of the church and its leaders as well. Because the Bible is always relevant, our content will be well-sourced and grounded in God’s inerrant, authoritative Word.”

Writers and speakers at the seminary and beyond will contribute to the FTC.co site’s resources.

“We have a variety of individuals participating as regular contributors,” said Charles Smith, Midwestern’s vice president of institutional relations.  “We will definitely glean from the experience and research base of many of our seminary’s professors and administrators. There will also be significant contributions from people with experience in pastoral ministry positions or in other organizational ministry roles. A few will be thoughtful Christian lay leaders who write extremely well. You will find most of the contributions come from those in pastoral ministry, though.”

The primary content type will be written pieces — articles published in blog format. However, the site also will feature video resources — both short form and long form — interviews, sermons and conference talks. The content will be featured in ways that generally represent three major categories: pastoral, practical and devotional. There are also plans to experiment with long-form articles.

Wilson, who will be responsible for the overall editorial vision of the site and possesses experience in ministry leadership and authorship/writing, said the pastoral category will feature pieces generally written by current ministry leaders focused toward their peers to provide Gospel-centered encouragement “to those eager to see the church grow in spirit and mission, and to glorify Jesus Christ.”

About the site’s content that focuses on the practical aspects of ministry, Wilson said the idea is to address problems or issues in the Christian life or ministry. “Our writers are seeking to diagnose the heart of the issue and root their application in the finished work of Christ,” he said.

For devotional aspects of ministers’ lives, Wilson said, “The content here is developed to help our readers treasure Christ more greatly, know Him more deeply, and orient them around His Gospel more stubbornly. These biblical reflections, theological meditations, and spiritual illustrations are designed to help our readers enjoy grace and delight in God.”

The “primary goal moving forward is to help establish that FTC.co is a widely-read and greatly trusted resource for those seeking encouragement in the Gospel,” Wilson said. “There is a lot of noise out there, especially for Christians seeking biblical nourishment. I’d love to carve out a niche for ourselves as a place where Christian leaders can always count on being fed and encouraged. I don’t think one can have enough good news.”

Smith added that great effort will be made toward keeping fresh material on the site, which was launched April 22. “The website will feature new content daily,” he said, “so there will always be something new on the site for visitors and subscribers. We encourage our reader base to check back in often for fresh resources to assist them in ministry.”

In addition to FTC.co going live online, Midwestern Seminary plans to host upcoming events to bring its emphasis on existing for the church to bear both locally and around the Southern Baptist Convention.

During the SBC’s annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, the seminary will host an FTC regional conference luncheon, titled “FTC at SBC.” The event will take place on Tuesday, June 16, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The 90-minute event will feature Allen, Ronnie Floyd, Matt Carter, Mark Dever, Paige Patterson, Jared Wilson and others. To register for “FTC at SBC,” visit ftcsbc.

Additionally, on Aug. 31-Sept. 1, Midwestern Seminary will hold its second annual For the Church Conference on its Kansas City campus. The event, to be themed “For the Church & Truth” based on 1 Timothy 3:15, is designed to equip and encourage pastors and leaders for the church. Joining Allen will be H.B. Charles, Russell Moore, Darrin Patrick, David Platt and Jared Wilson. Worship will be led by August Gate. To register for this event, visit ftc15.

    About the Author

  • T. Patrick Hudson