The Southern Baptist Founders Conference was established in 1982, holding its first annual conference in 1983.[3] The organization which developed was renamed Founders Ministries in 1998.[4] As of 2007, there were 807 subscribing congregations in the United States.[5]
According to Nathan Finn, non-Calvinists within the Southern Baptist Convention "seem to be especially concerned with the influence of Founders Ministries."[6] 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.[7]
Founders Ministries has operated Founders Press since 1983,[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
