{{Infobox organization | name = Founders Ministries | image = File:Founders-Ministries-logo.png | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | abbreviation = | predecessor = | merged_into = | successor = | formation = {{start date|1982|11|13}} | leader_title = Executive Director | leader_name = Thomas Ascol | founder = | extinction = <!-- e.g. use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | merger = | type = | tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for non-profit org) --> | registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org --> | status = | purpose = | headquarters = Cape Coral, Florida | location = | coordinates = | region_served = | services = | products = | methods = | fields = | membership = | website = {{url|founders.org}} | former_name = Southern Baptist Founders Conference }} {{Southern Baptists}}{{Short description|Reformed Baptist group within the Southern Baptist Convention}} '''Founders Ministries''', previously known as the '''Southern Baptist Founders Conference''', is a Reformed Baptist group within the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States. Its goal is to return Southern Baptists to what it considers their Calvinist roots,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sbts.edu/about/abstract/|title=Abstract of Principles – The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary|work=SBTS|access-date=2018-06-26|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBtFlW8vxuwC&pg=PA297|title=The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology|last1=Olson|first1=Roger E.|date=2004|page=297|chapter=Calvinism/Arminianism|author-link=Roger E. Olson|access-date=2 August 2015}}</ref> and it has contributed to the Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence. The executive director is Thomas Ascol.
The Southern Baptist Founders Conference was established in 1982, holding its first annual conference in 1983.<ref name=Robinson>{{cite news|last1=Robinson|first1=Jeff|title=Founders Ministries marks 20th anniversary|url=http://www.bpnews.net/13921/founders-ministries-marks-20th-anniversary|access-date=2 August 2015|work=Baptist Press|date=29 July 2002}}</ref> The organization which developed was renamed Founders Ministries in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ|url=http://founders.org/faq/|publisher=Founders Ministries|access-date=2 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723052810/http://founders.org/faq/|archive-date=23 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of 2007, there were 807 subscribing congregations in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brackney|first1=William H.|author-link=William H. Brackney|title=Historical Dictionary of the Baptists|date=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=224|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jA7isW1AI8C&pg=PA224|access-date=2 August 2015}}</ref>
According to Nathan Finn, non-Calvinists within the Southern Baptist Convention "seem to be especially concerned with the influence of Founders Ministries."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4rj_louFH8C&pg=PA73|title=The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God's Mandate in Our Time|last1=Finn|first1=Nathan A.|date=2010|publisher=B&H Publishing Group|page=73|chapter=Southern Baptist History: A Great Commission Reading|access-date=2 August 2015}}</ref> Critics argue that Southern Baptists have never been Calvinistic. Tom Ascol, Executive Director of Founders Ministries, stated a majority of the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845 held to the doctrines of grace.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/13921/founders-ministries-marks-20th-anniversary|title=Founders Ministries marks 20th anniversary|last=Robinson|first=Jeff|website=www.bpnews.net|language=en|access-date=2018-06-26}}</ref>
Founders Ministries has operated Founders Press since 1983,<ref>{{cite web|title=Announcing Founders Press|url=http://founders.org/fj26/announcing-founders-press/|publisher=Founders Ministries|access-date=6 August 2015}}</ref> and publishes ''Founders Journal'', a quarterly journal established in 1990.
In December 2020, Founders Ministries established the '''Institute of Public Theology''', which has undergraduate and certificate programs.<ref>{{cite web |title=ntroducing the Institute of Public Theology |url=https://founders.org/articles/introducing-the-institute-of-public-theology/ |website=Founders Ministries |publisher=Founders Ministries |access-date=16 June 2025}}</ref> In January 2025, Founders Ministries established '''Founders Seminary''', a residential seminary in Cape Coral, Florida. Ascol, Voddie Baucham, and Tom Nettles were the founding faculty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Founders Seminary |url=https://www.foundersseminary.org/ |publisher=Founders Seminary |access-date=24 January 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|http://founders.org/}}
Category:Christian organizations established in 1982 Category:Calvinist organizations established in the 20th century Category:Baptist organizations established in the 20th century Category:1982 establishments in the United States