Mission and Vision

The Mission of NSBT is to prepare men and women for effective Christian ministry and leadership in a global context by deepening their understanding of the Bible, attending to intellectual and spiritual formation, and equipping them to be more effective in cultural engagement and public theology.

NSBT’s vision is to create a dynamic educational institution that fosters growth in the Spirit while preparing leaders to answer Christ’s call to ministry and mission in the world today.

What the mission means

The two phrases that close the mission give NSBT its distinctive identity. Cultural engagement, in the usage of the institution’s Founding President, means faithful presence, the practice of embodying the way of Jesus in every sphere of life, in work, art, politics, justice, technology, and community, an approach that rejects both withdrawal from culture and conformity to it. Public theology means the disciplined engagement of the Christian faith with the questions of common life, pursued for the common good, so that graduates can articulate the faith intelligibly and constructively in the public square. NSBT understands itself as a school of public theology, and this self-understanding distinguishes it within graduate theological education.

How the mission is carried

The mission’s emphasis on ministry and leadership guides NSBT in offering its two graduate degree programs, the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry (MACM) and the Master of Arts in Global Christian Leadership (MAGL).

In keeping with the mission’s global scope, NSBT offers all academic programs online.