Association Free Lutheran Bible School and the Association of Free Lutheran Theological Seminary are located in Plymouth, Minnesota

Plymouth, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 65,894 people, 24,820 households, and 17,647 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,002.0 persons per square mile . There were 25,258 housing units at an average density of 767.4 per square mile...

 at the national offices of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations

Association of Free Lutheran Congregations

Association of Free Lutheran Congregations is the fifth largest Lutheran church body in the United States. The AFLC includes congregations in 27 different states, as well as four Canadian provinces. The AFLC is not an incorporated synod, but a free association. Each local congregation is a separate...

.

Bible School

AFLBS is a two year post high school structure. It was established in 1966 by the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. AFLC church founders sought to establish education for young Christians in the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 before college, in efforts to help believers to "win, build and equip". Currently the enrollment is approximately 120 students. AFLBS students have attended from outside of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 including Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. The Bible school is a members of the Association of Christian College Athletics

Association of Christian College Athletics

The Association of Christian College Athletics is an organization of collegiate athletics. It was incorporated to provide an opportunity for smaller Christian College members to compete on an equal level of competition with schools of like size....

 (ACCA).

The Bible School has five purposes:

1. To bring students into and establish them in the assurance of personal salvation in Christ Jesus through the study of God’s Word.
2. To prepare students to face a secular society in school and community by grounding them in the Word of God.
3. To help students embrace the truth as found in the Bible, and to reject the theological errors so prevalent today.
4. To challenge students to seek God’s will in all personal and vocational choices and to pursue the Great Commission of Jesus Christ as given in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”
5. To equip students to serve in free and living Lutheran congregations.

Deans of the AFLBS

Name	Term
John Strand	1966-1967
Richard Snipstead	1968-1974
Ken Moland	1975-1984
Donald Greven	1985-1996
James L. Johnson	1996-2006
Joel Rolf	2006-

Seminary

The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations established a theological seminary committed to historic Lutheran theology. The seminary opened in September 1964. The Free Lutheran Seminary only admits men into the school. Student attended seminary classes for 3 years. The fourth year is an internship at one of the AFLC churches.

As an institution of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, the Seminary believes and teaches that:

The Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 is the divinely inspired, revealed, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 and as such is trustworthy in all its parts and is the supreme and only rule of faith and practice. The Apostles' Creed

Apostles' Creed

The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...

, Nicene Creed

Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...

, Athanasian Creed

Athanasian Creed

The Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicumque vult, is taken from the opening words, "Whosoever wishes." The Athanasian Creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century...

, the Unaltered Augsburg Confession

Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...

, and Luther's Small Catechism

Luther's Small Catechism

Luther's Small Catechism was written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews The Ten Commandments, The Apostles' Creed, The Lord's Prayer, The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, The Office of the Keys & Confession, and The Sacrament of the...

are faithful expositions of the truths of Scripture. The local congregation is the right form of the Kingdom of God on earth. It teaches there is no authority above itself except the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

Deans of the AFLTS

Name	Term
Dr. Iver B. Olson	1965-1971
Rev. Amos O. Dyrud	1971-1981
Dr. Francis W. Monseth	1981-

External links

• AFLBS Official Website
• AFLTS Official Website