Learn the Bible without limits
Build real understanding of Scripture with structured, self-paced courses, no prior training required to begin.
Build real understanding of Scripture with structured, self-paced courses, no prior training required to begin.
Build biblical literacy one course at a time, starting with Luke, our first complete course.
This is programmed instruction: a method that breaks Scripture into short, sequential "frames," each one building on the last, with a question or fill-in-the-blank check before you advance. The same method organizations like SEAN International and TAFTEE have used for decades to train pastors and leaders who don't have access to a residential seminary.
The Open Seminary equips God's people for the work of Christian service, starting from the grassroots, at a fraction of the cost of residential seminary, without requiring anyone to leave their job, family, or church to study seriously.
Theological education has long been like a ladder missing its bottom rungs, built for those who already have years of schooling to stand on before the first real lesson even begins. We exist to build those missing rungs, so that a person's income, education, or location is never the reason they can't study Scripture seriously, and serve well wherever God has placed them.
God has always worked through ordinary people, so we build for the farmer and the pastor alike, not just the formally trained.
Scripture is our foundation, so every course stays grounded in the biblical text, not just ideas about it.
Christ went to the margins, so we remove the barriers of geography, cost, and prior schooling wherever we can.
Faith grows in community, so every course is built to be studied alone and discussed together.
Understanding builds slowly, one frame at a time, so we design for depth over speed.
We've received freely, so every gift and every fee goes back into building and translating more courses.
Start with the Life of Christ course, a guided walk through Luke's gospel built for complete beginners.
Start with Luke →
Work through lessons at your own pace, with built-in checks that confirm understanding before you advance.
See how it works →
Use the curriculum as a shared study guide for a church class, small group, or ministry training cohort.
Explore group study →Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.
Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?
I finally understood why Levi and Simon the Zealot could sit at the same table. It changed how I think about people I disagree with.
No. Every course is self-paced. There is no time limit once you're enrolled.
No. Courses are written for complete beginners and build understanding step by step. No seminary background, degree, or prior Bible knowledge is required.
Yes. The curriculum is designed to be studied individually and then discussed in a group setting, and can be used in any church, class, or ministry context.
All courses are built on the NIV text.
Life of Christ — Luke is available now. Acts, Old Testament Survey, John, Pauline Epistles, and Pastoral Theology are in active development.
If you've written Bible teaching material and want it turned into a structured, self-paced course, we'd like to hear from you. We handle adapting content into programmed-instruction format, you keep authorship credit.
This works for individual teachers, seminaries, and ministries alike.
Our goal is to make every course available in as many languages as possible, reviewed by native speakers for accuracy and cultural clarity.
If you're fluent in a language and willing to review a translation for accuracy, or if your language isn't listed above, let us know.
We'll reach out when a translation in your language is ready for review.
Building and translating courses, and offering scholarships to those who can't afford a certificate, takes real support. If The Open Seminary has been valuable to you, consider joining those who help sustain this work.
Every gift goes directly toward building and translating courses, and funding scholarships.