The International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) in Prague will move to Amsterdam as an International Baptist Study and Research Centre, probably by September 2014. This is the unanimous recommendation of the Board of Trustees of the Seminary to the Council of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) that will meet in Elstal, Germany, from 26-29 September 2012 to take the final decision. The proposal is to move into a new phase of partnership with the VU (Free) University of Amsterdam, the Baptist Union of the Netherlands and the Baptist Seminary of the Netherlands. In this way the Board of Trustees is confident that IBTS will continue to be at the forefront of European and worldwide Baptist research and study.

The global financial situation that has adversely affected the Seminary’s income and the increasing financial burden of the upkeep of a very large suite of buildings in Prague, led to a severe financial crisis for IBTS from 2008 onwards. The Board of Trustees has been seeking to address this in a positive and visionary way, considering several options to secure the best possible future for IBTS. The conclusion was reached that the only way to meet the clear desire of European Baptists to continue the work of the Seminary was to refocus it as anon-residential International Baptist Study and Research Centre. This means selling the property in Prague and moving to a new location that better meets the current needs of IBTS, and in co-operation with a local Baptist Union and Seminary and a new academic context.

One of the joys of being Baptist is living with the provisional nature of all institutions, and the capacity to reshape how we do things to meet changing situations, comments Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr Ruth Gouldbourne: It is exciting to see God once again leading us into new places, and to rest in the faith of this community, that wherever God leads God also opens the way and equips the people.

In Amsterdam, IBTS will be located in a “Baptist House’, a Baptist church building in South Amsterdam where most of the space is no longer required by the local church which worships there. The Baptist house will be shared by IBTS (including its specialist Library of Baptist and Anabaptist books and journals), the Baptist Union of the Netherlands which will move its offices to Amsterdam, the Baptist Seminary of the Netherlands, and the office of the European Baptist Federation. Work to renovate and extend the church building will be carried out by the Baptist Union of the Netherlands. The “Baptist House’ will provide a setting to continue the strong community ethos of IBTS which is seen as one of its unique strengths by both staff and students. Students will be housed in local hotels and other facilities when they visit the Baptist house for intensive weeks of study and learning.

The new Study and Research Centre has been invited to become an ‘embedded institution’ in the Department of Theology of the VU University Amsterdam, which is situated close to the proposed Baptist House. This University, founded by Dutch Calvinists, is now a large Public University which seeks to preserve a Christian ‘ethos’. The Faculty of Theology is one of the largest in Europe and already has several seminaries, including the Dutch Mennonites and Baptists, as embedded institutions. This will give the opportunity for sharing of academic and practical resources and higher degrees awarded by the VU University. The new Baptist Centre will focus on doctoral level studies in Baptist and Anabaptist Studies, and Mission and Practical Theology. Study at Masters level may still be possible in some cases using the combined resources of the Centre and the VU University. Both the IBTS Board of Trustees and the VU University Faculty of Theology see exciting future academic developments made possible by their close co-operation.

The current Rector of IBTS Dr Keith G Jones, who will conclude his term of office in the summer of 2013, is confident that the Amsterdam option and working in a much larger academic theological setting opens up whole new possibilities for our doctoral and research programmes. We have all loved the premises in Prague, but in the new economic climate with old buildings, declining donor income and much higher costs in the Czech Republic than previously, this represents an imaginative way forward to preserve for Baptists throughout the EBF and beyond a centre of excellence in research and learning as we continue to offer high class degrees from a top flight European Union University at M and Doctoral level.

The other key partner is the Baptist Union of the Netherlands, which will move its own offices to Amsterdam and will own and manage the Baptist House. There will be a close working together and sharing of practical and administrative resources. The General Secretary of the Baptist Union of the Netherlands, Albrecht Boerrigter comments:

Although the ‘creation’ of the Baptist House with different partners will have its own dynamics and challenges, the Baptist Union is looking forward to this unique cooperation. The Baptist Union is in a transition period. One of the things we saw clearer during the 400 anniversary of the Baptist movement, were the advantages of being more integrated in the worldwide Baptist family. We are looking forward to this joint future and believe that it will be a fruitful cooperation.

The rector of the Dutch Baptist Seminary, Teun van der Leer, adds his welcome:

Staff and students of our Seminary welcome IBTS and look forward to meet and interact with its staff and students. We trust that the expertise of IBTS will enrich the education and research of the Seminary as well as VU-University. We also trust that cooperation and exchange of knowledge between these three partners will be valuable not only for education and research, but also for the churches in the Netherlands.

The proposal is also welcomed by the General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation which owns and operates IBTS, Tony Peck: I have seen at first hand the benefits to our EBF Unions of what we offer at IBTS in an international context which encourages not only academic learning, but also a broader and deeper understanding off all that God is doing through our churches and Unions right across the region. We are all sorry that it is not possible to continue this with IBTS based in Prague. But I see some exciting future possibilities developing through the proposed partnerships in Amsterdam, where Baptist began over 400 years ago, and where the major mission challenges and opportunities of contemporary Europe are right on the doorstep.

IBTS has been in Prague since 1997 after nearly 50 years in Rüschlikon, Switzerland where it was begun in 1948 by the (then) Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to provide a high-level education for pastors in war-ravaged Europe. The Seminary was handed over to the EBF in 1989 and is now wholly owned by them.

In Prague IBTS was re-focused in 1998 to concentrate on higher degrees for Seminary teachers and Union leaders, validated by the University of Wales and the Czech Ministry of Education. During these years its international academic reputation has grown steadily and in 2000 it began a PhD programme which has to date produced eighteen graduates at doctoral level. IBTS currently has around 120 students pursuing higher degrees in Baptist and Anabaptist Studies and Applied Theology.