DTS Scales a Global Learning Program To Over One Million Learners with Thinkific Plus

When Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) set out to make world-class theological education accessible to anyone, anywhere, they knew the challenge wouldn’t just be content. It would be scale.

Founded over 100 years ago, DTS is a globally respected institution known for rigorous graduate-level education. While the seminary enrolls thousands of accredited students each year, its Global Institute was created with a different goal: deliver the same depth and quality of instruction to learners worldwide, entirely free, and at a scale few institutions attempt.

What began as a single online course quickly evolved into one of the largest free theological education programs in the world. Today, DTS has surpassed one million learners globally, with hundreds of thousands of new students enrolling each year. Supporting that level of growth required a platform built for reliability, flexibility, and long-term scale.

From early experiments to sustainable growth

In the early days, DTS launched its free courses using a basic WordPress plugin. It was a practical starting point and allowed the team to test demand quickly.

Demand arrived faster than expected.

Within the first year, enrollment exceeded 100,000 learners. Servers struggled to keep up, manual workarounds became common, and scaling the program required increasing amounts of custom effort just to maintain stability.

As enrollment continued to climb, it became clear the program needed a more durable foundation.

“We were constantly patching things together. It worked for a time, but it wasn’t sustainable if we wanted this program to grow.”

— Jacob Beck, Director of the DTS Global Institute

Why Thinkific was the right fit

For DTS, the priority was always the learner experience.

Because the Global Institute offers courses at no cost, the team knew that even small points of friction could become barriers to access. Learners needed to be able to sign up easily, find their content quickly, and stay focused on learning without unnecessary complexity.

During early testing, Thinkific consistently stood out for its ease of use : both for learners and for the internal team managing the program. Students found it simpler to access courses and navigate the learning experience, while the DTS team found it easier to build, maintain, and scale their growing catalog.

Just as important was flexibility. Thinkific provided the ability to adapt the platform to support a non-traditional model, including free courses, custom enrollment flows, and tailored landing pages designed for global audiences. This allowed DTS to design an experience that aligned with its mission while supporting continued growth.

Together, these elements made Thinkific a natural fit as DTS moved from experimentation to a more sustainable, scalable learning platform.

Scaling without compromise

Since migrating to Thinkific Plus, DTS has nearly doubled annual enrollment, growing from roughly 100,000 to 120,000 new learners per year to nearly 200,000 annually.

Today, the platform supports:

• Over one million total learners worldwide
• Hundreds of thousands of new enrollments each year
• Content delivered in four languages, with plans to expand to additional regions
• Dozens of courses, with a long-term roadmap to significantly expand the catalog
• Seamless onboarding for learners across geographies, devices, and bandwidth conditions

Just as importantly, Thinkific enables DTS to operate at this scale without sacrificing the quality of the learning experience.

Enabling new, more advanced programs

One of the most meaningful outcomes of the migration was the launch of the DTS Tracks Program: a more structured and selective learning experience designed for pastors actively serving in ministry.

The program includes an application process, guided learning pathways, written and teaching assignments, and one-on-one coaching over a six-month period. It’s offered entirely free to participants and is designed to reach learners who otherwise wouldn’t have access to formal theological training.

This program wouldn’t have been possible on DTS’s previous infrastructure.

Using Thinkific Plus as the core platform, DTS was able to support more complex learning journeys while maintaining operational efficiency. The program launched with hundreds of learners and is designed to scale to thousands per cohort over time, including expansion into additional languages.

Built for long-term partnership

As the program has grown, ongoing support and platform reliability have remained critical.

From early conversations through migration and continued growth, the DTS team found Thinkific Plus to be a responsive and collaborative partner. Support requests are handled quickly, and the platform continues to evolve in ways that align with DTS’s long-term vision.

“What matters to us is knowing we’re building on something that will keep improving. This isn’t a short-term solution. It’s something we can grow with.”

— Jacob Beck, Director of the DTS Global Institute

Looking ahead, DTS has ambitious goals: expanding into additional languages, increasing course offerings, and reaching ten million learners worldwide over the next decade.

With Thinkific Plus, DTS has the foundation to continue scaling its impact while staying focused on what matters most: delivering accessible, high-quality education to learners around the world.

Discover how to expand your education online today.

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About Thinkific  

Thinkific (TSX: THNC) is an award-winning learning commerce platform where courses and community come together to power business growth. More than 35,000 customers: including companies like GoDaddy, Nasdaq, ActiveCampaign, and Datadog, have generated billions in revenue using Thinkific, impacting more than 200 million people worldwide. Visit thinkific.com to learn more.