KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) — Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) has announced that full-tuition scholarships for first-year master’s students in For the Church (FTC) Cohorts will be extended to incoming students in the 2025-26 academic year.
Through FTC Cohorts, residential master’s students receive faculty mentorship, focused community and hands-on training in their chosen ministry area during their first year of seminary. For the 2025-26 year, 105 full-tuition scholarships are available for incoming students participating in FTC Cohorts.
“I am very grateful to announce another year of fully funded FTC Cohorts,” said President Jason Allen. “These cohorts have proved to be an immense blessing to our students as they provide deeper discipleship, mentorship and equipping. In our increasingly secular world, those called to ministry need more training, not less. Our cohorts remove financial difficulties so that students can focus on their studies and being further equipped to serve the church. I look forward to welcoming this new class of cohort students to campus in the fall of 2025.”
FTC Cohorts launched in Fall 2022, originally offering a 50% tuition scholarship for each semester of a participant’s first year. Thanks to generous donors, the scholarships were expanded for the 2024-25 academic year to 100% tuition for two full-time semesters.
Allen said, “Oftentimes at Midwestern Seminary, we see God working when an opportunity for the institution aligns with donor support, a burden on their heart and a desire on our part to undertake a new ministry initiative.”
The concept for FTC Cohorts developed from the Timothy Track program, Midwestern Seminary’s original cohort in which M.Div. students received hands-on ministry training through a year-long internship in a local church.
In 2022, four new cohort options were added alongside Timothy Track: Biblical Counseling, Fusion Masters, Women in Ministry and Scholarship, and Spurgeon Fellows. Two additional cohorts, Biblical Studies and Theological Studies, launched in Fall 2024, when the Timothy Track was also relaunched as Shepherds Fellowship.
Each FTC Cohort provides in-depth training in a student’s chosen area of study, complementing the foundational curriculum of every master’s degree. Led by a faculty member specializing in the cohort’s subject, each cohort is sized to accommodate discussion and relationship growth among participants.
Jared Bumpers, who serves as FTC Cohorts faculty coordinator and leads the Shepherds Fellowship cohort, highlighted the value of faculty investment in students through cohorts. “Most of the faculty members will meet with their students one on one throughout the semester and throughout the year,” he said. “Cohort students get additional time with a faculty member who cares deeply about the subject and who cares about students and their growth in that area.”
Christy Allen, co-leader of the Women in Ministry and Scholarship cohort, noted how relationships formed during seminary can provide continuing support for graduates in their future ministry. She said, “The cohorts are great contexts to build relationships, to go deep with people, and to feel seen and heard in a smaller context.”
In addition to a focused community, each cohort provides practical experience in the student’s ministry area. In Shepherds Fellowship, like Timothy Track, students receive pastoral training through a local church internship. In Spurgeon Fellows, led by Geoff Chang and Thomas Kidd, students gain research experience in the Spurgeon Library, studying church history to serve believers today.
In Biblical Studies, led by Tyler Sykora, students go deeper in biblical theology and hermeneutics, advancing their preparation to teach God’s Word. In Theological Studies, led by Jason Duesing, students explore systematic and historical theology to apply its wisdom for the local church. Women in Ministry and Scholarship, led by Christy Allen and Leslie Umstattd, enhances women’s theological training and discipleship in the seminary community.
To learn more about each FTC Cohort and faculty leader and to apply for a cohort for the 2025–26 academic year, click here.
