Family Flourishes
The M.Div. is a demanding three years. The FBS model — a church internship in place of outside employment, low tuition, and faculty who make room for marriage and children — is built so your family can flourish through it, not merely survive it.
Seminary Shouldn't Cost Your Family
Traditional seminary models often ask students to carry full-time coursework and an unrelated job at the same time — and then hand them debt at graduation. The result is a season of life marked by stress, absence, and strain on the very relationships that matter most.
For married students with children, this can mean years where Dad is absent — studying, working, and commuting — while Mom manages the household alone. Seminary training that weakens the family it's meant to serve is a broken model. FBS was designed differently.
The Strain of Traditional Seminary
- Full-time coursework plus an unrelated job to pay the bills
- Debt that follows the family for years after graduation
- Fathers absent for long seasons of study and work
- Marriages strained by financial and time pressure
- A church that knows the student only as a face on Sunday
A Demanding Three Years — and How Families Make It Work
We won't pretend the M.Div. is easy on a family. We'd rather be honest about what it asks — and clear about how the model is built to carry you through it.
What the M.Div. asks of your family
- Membership in a Lafayette-area church — or willingness to relocate
- 50–60 hours per week, year-round, for three years
- No outside employment, except by special exception
- Rigorous academics: substantial reading, writing, research, and ministry
Your Spouse Sets the Pace
There are no formal requirements for a student's spouse. Volunteering in the church is encouraged, but how involved your family becomes is up to you.
Schooling Options for Children
Families choose what fits them: Lafayette-area public schools, Faith Christian School, or homeschooling.
Licensed Childcare Nearby
Licensed childcare facilities are available in the Lafayette area for families who need them during class and ministry days.
Faculty Flexibility
The program is rigorous, and the faculty know it. They provide flexibility for the realities of marriage, children, and the adjustments family life brings.
An Internship, Not a Second Job
Instead of working an unrelated job, M.Div. students serve in a partially-paid church internship at Faith Church or a partnering church — so the whole family stays close to a church community that knows them.
Less Debt, Less Pressure
Tuition is $2,000 per year for full-time ministry and internship students. Graduating with little or no debt means fewer financial pressures on your family after seminary.
He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.1 Timothy 3:4
Explore Our Other Distinctives
Radically Affordable
Lower cost is FBS's first core value: $2,000 a year for M.Div. students in full-time ministry or a church internship. Graduate with little or no debt and ready to serve.
Learn morePractical from Day One
Students don't just study ministry — they do ministry. Every M.Div. student serves in a church internship three to four days a week; the internship is half of the education.
Learn moreEquip Yourself for a Lifetime of Faithful Ministry
Take the first step toward a biblical education that will shape your ministry for decades to come.