Portland Seminary at

George Fox University George Fox University is a private Christian university in Newberg, Oregon. Founded as a school for Quakers in 1891, it is now the largest private university in Oregon with more than 4,000 students combined between its main campus in Newberg, ...

is a multi-denominational, university-based school that offers a variety of master's degree and postgraduate degree programs in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

, located in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The associ ...

granted the seminary full accreditation in 1974. It remains a fully accredited member to present. The

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

also certifies the seminary's programs.

Mission statement

Portland Seminary is Christ-centered, broadly-evangelical, and committed to equipping women and men holistically for local and global service.

Purpose statement

Portland Seminary exists to develop leaders and scholars to have a transformative and prophetic influence for Jesus Christ in the church and the world. We pursue this purpose by integrating spiritual formation, history, theology, and biblical and pastoral studies, in a multicultural and ecologically sensitive environment.

History

Founded in 1947 as the Western School of Evangelical Religion, the original campus was on the grounds of the Evangelical Church conference in Jennings Lodge, Oregon. In 1951 the school became Western Evangelical Seminary and in 1993 moved to a new campus near

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

and highways 99W and

217 Year 217 (Roman numerals, CCXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Praesens and Extricatus (or, less frequently, yea ...

. In 1996, Western Evangelical Seminary merged with George Fox College to form

and changed its name to George Fox Evangelical Seminary in 2000. On January 9, 2017, the seminary changed its name to Portland Seminary. The first students came from these founding denominations: the

Evangelical Church of North America The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven ...

, Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, the Free Methodists, the Nazarenes, and the

Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) is a holiness Christian denomination with roots in Wesleyan-Arminianism and also in the restorationist traditions. The organization grew out of the evangelistic efforts of several Holiness evangelists in Indi ...

. Today, more than 35 denominations are represented in the student body.

Academics

Portland Seminary offers programs both in-person in Portland, Oregon and online: In addition to the Master of Divinity, the foundational degree for pastoral ministry, Portland Seminary also offers an MA in Ministry (with a specialization), an MA in Theological Studies, and an MA in Spiritual Formation. The MA in Theological Studies, with emphases in Bible, Christian History and Theology, or Christian Earthkeeping, continues to serve those called to teaching or eventual doctoral study. The Doctor of Ministry degree, for experienced pastors who hold the M.Div. or its equivalent, is a cohort-style online program with three tracks: Semiotics, Church, and Culture; Leadership and Spiritual Formation; and Leadership and Global Perspectives.

Accreditation

The M.Div., MA in Ministry, MA in Spiritual Formation, MA in Theological Studies, D.Min. and D.Ld degrees are approved by the Commission on Accrediting of the

. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities also certifies the seminary's programs. This dual accreditation is maintained now through George Fox University and assures students of the highest academic and professional standards. Degrees *

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advanced ...

Programs: **Leadership and Spiritual Formation with MaryKate Morse **Semiotics, Church and Culture with

Leonard Sweet Leonard I. Sweet is an American theologian, semiotician, church historian, pastor, and author. Sweet currently serves as the E. Stanley Jones Professor Emeritus at Drew Theological School at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey; Charles Wes ...

* Doctor of Leadership Programs: **Leadership and Global Perspectives with Jason Swan Clark *

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

Master of Arts in Theological Studies The Master of Arts in Theological Studies'' (MATS or MAT) satisfies a variety of broad academic and vocational purposes. It can be suited to the pastor, layman or beginning academic as an entry-level master's degree in theology or the professional ...

*Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies *Master of Arts in Ministry *Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction Certificates *Spiritual Direction Certificate *Spiritual Direction Supervisor Certificate *Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Certificate

Awards and grants

Portland Seminary offers several financial assistance programs for its degree-seeking students. These include: the Brose Scholarship; the Julius Clifton Bruner Scholarship Fund for graduate theological education, established by Iris J. Bruner in memory of her late husband; the Clapp Scholarship for M.Div. students; the Delamarter Scholarship, awarded to a

Free Methodist The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 ...

student interested in Evangelism; the Farmer Family Scholarship; and the Ministry to Underserved Populations Scholarship, awarded to students who work in Oregon or South West Washington, serving unique underserved people groups. Among its other scholarships, the Seminary also offers the Hawks Ministerial Scholarship, the Ketterling-Schlenker Scholarship, the Clara and Harlan Macy Memorial Scholarship, the Chuan Cheng Morrisey Missions Memorial Scholarship Fund for students preparing for cross-cultural ministry, and the Richard Parker Scholarship, established by Jeannette Parker in memory of her husband. Among its student prizes, Portland Seminary awards annual prizes for Excellence in Writing and Excellence in Preaching in honor of the American theologian and writer

Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Minister (Christianity), minister, preacher, and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, his work encompassed d ...

References

External links

George Fox University
official site

official site. {{authority control Seminaries and theological colleges in Oregon Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges Education in Portland, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1947 George Fox University 1947 establishments in Oregon