[1] It was founded in 1901 as the Kansas City Baptist Theological Seminary.

According to the Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, it was founded "to meet the needs of Baptists of the Middle West for an institution devoted exclusively to ministerial education, none such then existing west of Chicago and Louisville.

"[2] The name was changed to Central Baptist Theological Seminary in 1941.

[3] Central has been in partnership with Myanmar Institute of Theology since 2009 and with Calvin University in South Korea since 2020.

[3] Molly Marshall was appointed president in 2005 and served until 2020.