The Baptist University of the Américas (BUA) is a private

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

university in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It was founded in 1947. It was previously known as the Mexican Baptist Training School, the Mexican Baptist Bible Institute, the Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary and the Hispanic Baptist Theological School. The school is associated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

History

In 1947, the school was founded by missionary Paul Siebenmann and named the Mexican Baptist Training School, which was changed to the Mexican Baptist Bible Institute. Initially, churches in the community hosted the school's classes. The school moved into a building at West Martin and North Leona in 1950. A new campus was established on the Pam Am Expressway in 1964. Initially affiliated with the San Antonio Baptist Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the school entered into a merger with the

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and is one of the largest seminaries in the world. It ...

in 1982. The merger prompted a name change to the Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1989, the relationship between the school and Southwestern seminary was dissolved. The institution fell under the authority of the Baptist General Convention of Texas again. The name was changed again to the Hispanic Baptist Theological School in 1999 to avoid suggesting that the institution was an accredited seminary. The school took its present name in 2003.

Academics

The university is associated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and accredited by

the Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International Co ...

. The school maintains an articulation agreement with

Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...

. BUA is not regionally accredited. The university offers Bachelor of Arts degree programs and an Associate of Arts degree program in Cross-Cultural Studies. Rene Maciel was named president of the school in 2007 after working as an assistant dean at

George W. Truett Theological Seminary George W. Truett Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological seminary in Waco, Texas. The seminary, named after Southern Baptist preacher George Washington Truett, was founded in 1993 as part of Baylor University and is affiliated with the Ba ...

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

. BUA operates three institutes for specialized study. The Baptist Bible Institute is a non-degree program that provides "training to leaders, future pastors and church planters in their own geographical location, in their language and at a reasonable cost." The Christian Institute of Islamic Studies prepares Christians to serve Muslims by bringing them the gospel of Jesus. This program offers non-degree training as well as concentrations within the university's biblical studies degree. The Latina Leadership Institute offers trainings and conferences to develop Hispanic Christian female leaders.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptist University of the Americas Baptist universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in San Antonio Universities and colleges affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention