Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL Reformed Theological Semiinary

What Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL Reformed Theological Semiinary does

Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL is a small, non-profit Reformed theological institute founded in September 1978 in Montreal, Quebec, and named after Guillaume Farel (1489-1565), the French-speaking Reformer. It serves French-speaking Reformed and evangelical Christians — primarily prospective pastors, church leaders, and lay learners — by delivering theological education, conferences, and Reformed Christian publishing. The institute operates with 7 employees from a Laval office and shares a library of approximately 20,000 volumes at the Côte-des-Neiges campus, including the Roger Nicole personal collection acquired in 2015.

FAREL's product surface comprises three layers. The core layer is accredited theological education delivered through a 2018 academic partnership with Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ) and Acadia University, conferring BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees. The second layer is the Mini-Cours Farel e-learning platform (cours.farel.net), launched in 2022, offering self-paced 2–10 hour French-language modules. The third layer is content distribution: Audio Farel podcasts (2022), a YouTube channel (2021), and the BRF (Bannière Réformée Francophone) publishing imprint. Conference programming complements the academic calendar.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through donations — exemplified by the $20,000 gift in 2019 and the $40,000 "Objectif 20/20" campaign in 2020 — supplemented by a $50/year library subscription and ancillary conference and publishing income. Tuition revenue is not booked on FAREL's own ledger but flows through the FTÉ/Acadia partnership. The organization has no public listing and operates as a registered non-profit, with strategic leadership provided by long-tenured faculty including director Bernard Westerveld (since 2023).

Name

Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL Reformed Theological Semiinary

Legal name

FAREL – Institut de théologie réformée

Website

https://farel.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL is a non-profit French-language Reformed theological institute in Montreal, serving prospective pastors and lay learners through accredited programs (via FTÉ/Acadia), online mini-courses, podcasts, and Reformed publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Theological Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Content Bundling & Subscription Passes (All-Access Libraries) (MPACALAL)

Keywords

• Reformed theological education
• French pastoral formation
• Online theological courses
• Reformed publishing ministry
• Accredited Bible training

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: FAREL relies primarily on donations from supporters. Multiple designated funds are available including General Fund, Director Bernard Westerveld fund, Professor Jacques Boulet fund, Fleur-de-Lys Bursaries for students, and Banière Réformée Francophone (BRF). Donations are processed through Zeffy platform. Tax receipts issued for amounts of $20 or more via Simplyk.
2. Student Tuition (via partner FTÉ): FAREL does not directly charge tuition. Students pay tuition to the Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ) for accredited courses. FAREL charges a $50 annual library fee for non-student subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FAREL is a non-profit Reformed theological institute that provides pastoral, spiritual, and missional formation in French for current and future Protestant Reformed church leaders. It offers self-paced online mini-courses through its cours.farel.net platform and partners with the Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ) to channel students into accredited BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM degree programs, while also publishing Reformed works through its Bannière Réformée Francophone (BRF) imprint.

Product overview

FAREL (Institut de théologie réformée) is a Reformed theological institute offering a multi-product educational portfolio: (1) Mini-Cours Farel — an online self-paced e-learning platform (cours.farel.net) with French-language mini-courses of 2–10 hours; (2) Theological courses delivered in partnership with the Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ/Acadia University) providing accredited BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM programs; (3) BRF (Bannière Réformée Francophone) — a publishing ministry publishing Reformed works through Éditions La Rochelle; and (4) free video/audio content (mini-courses on Job, Jonah, and theological conferences) distributed via YouTube and podcast platforms. FAREL provides pastoral, spiritual, and missional accompaniment to students pursuing theological education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bannière Réformée Francophone (BRF): A publishing ministry under the direction of Farel, dedicated to making works of Reformed confession and practice accessible to French speakers, equipping pastors, elders, deacons, and theology students.

Products and services

• Mini-Cours Farel Self-paced online mini-course platform offering accessible French-language theological courses ranging from 2 to 10 hours, designed to deepen walk with the Lord and participation in Church work.
• Pastoral Formation Program (in partnership with FTÉ) Pastoral and theological training delivered in partnership with the Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (Acadia University), offering BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees, with FAREL providing the pastoral, spiritual, and missional accompaniment to students.
• Bannière Réformée Francophone (BRF) Publishing Ministry Publishing ministry under FAREL direction that makes Reformed confessional works accessible to French speakers, equips pastors, elders, deacons, and theology students, and promotes French-speaking Reformed authors through the Éditions La Rochelle imprint.
• Library Access Subscription Annual subscription access to the shared library at 4824 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal (shared with ETEQ), housing approximately 20,000 books including significant 18th-19th century Protestant collections from Switzerland and France.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained several pastors and church members during the 1980s who continue to serve in Quebec.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 October 2018FAREL signed a collaboration agreement with FTÉ in Montreal on October 11, 2018. FAREL recommends candidates for the pastorate and Reformed church members to pursue advanced theological studies as students of FTÉ. FTÉ programs are recognized by the Quebec government through Acadia University (Order 1059-2018 of August 7, 2018), offering BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees. FAREL provides pastoral, spiritual and missional accompaniment while FTÉ delivers accredited courses.
• Éditions La Rochelle / Publications chrétiennescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBannière Réformée Francophone (BRF), a publishing ministry under FAREL's direction, publishes recommended Reformed works under the Éditions La Rochelle imprint through Publications chrétiennes. BRF aims to make Reformed confession and practice accessible to French speakers, equip pastors, elders, deacons and theology students, and promote French-speaking Reformed authors.
• École de théologie évangélique du Québec (ETEQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAREL shares its library with ETEQ at 4824 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal. The shared library contains approximately 20,000 books including significant collections on Protestant faith in Switzerland and France from the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Acadia UniversityminorOthersAcadia University is recognized by the Government of Quebec (Order 1059-2018) as a university-level educational institution for the purpose of offering programs and degrees (BTh, MA, MDiv, ThM) in Montreal through the FTÉ partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institut de formation théologique de Montréal (IFTM): Montreal-based theological training institute that had an active service agreement with FAREL from 2008 to 2018. Directly comparable French-language evangelical theological education peer operating in the same Quebec geography and serving similar Reformed/evangelical candidates.
• Faculté de Théologie Évangélique (FTÉ): FAREL's primary accredited-degree channel partner in Montreal; together they deliver BTh, MA, MDiv, and ThM programs recognized by Quebec Order 1059-2018. Operates the same French-language Reformed theological education market with complementary roles (FTÉ provides credentials, FAREL provides formation).
• Faculté Jean Calvin: French Reformed theological faculty in France that produced Bernard Aubert (FAREL teacher since 2010). Comparable French-language Reformed theological education provider serving francophone Reformed communities across Europe, similar confessional scope.
• École de théologie évangélique du Québec (ETEQ): Shares a library with FAREL at 4824 Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal. Another French-language evangelical theological training institution operating in Quebec, addressing the same student persona of francophone pastoral candidates and church leaders.

Broad incumbents

• Regent College: Vancouver-based graduate theological school where former FAREL director Jacques Boulet earned his MATS. Comparable evangelical/Reformed theological institution in Canada offering theological education programs, overlapping in faculty and student demographics.
• Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne): Lutheran (LCMS) seminary with strong confessional Reformed-adjacent tradition. Comparable as a small confessional theological institution offering accredited MDiv/MA programs, with similar publishing ministry and library assets.
• Westminster Theological Seminary: Major North American Reformed (PCA) seminary where FAREL teacher Bernard Aubert serves as research fellow. Provides accredited MTh/PhD programs in the same Reformed tradition FAREL teaches, serving overlapping doctrinal territory at much greater scale.
• Tyndale University (Toronto): Canadian evangelical theological school offering accredited theological degrees (MA, MDiv) in a broadly Reformed/evangelical tradition. Comparable in target student (anglophone Canadian evangelicals) and program structure, but at larger institutional scale than FAREL.

Emerging players

• Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary: Canadian Reformed seminary affiliated with the Federation of Canadian Reformed Churches (Winston Bosch's denomination). Comparable as a small confessional Reformed seminary in Canada with overlapping faculty and Reformed tradition, though serving a Dutch-Reformed constituency.
• Mid-America Reformed Seminary: Small Dutch-Reformed seminary in the US with similar confessional scope and small-staff profile to FAREL. Directly comparable in size, confessional focus, and degree offerings, but serving English-speaking CRC audiences rather than francophone ones.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCS1DkOgW1cqDkRMZSL5tIlw
• Facebookfacebook.com/institut.farel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/facult-de-th-ologie-r-form-e-farel-reformed-theological-semiinary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Faculté de théologie réformée FAREL Reformed Theological Semiinary