Northwest Theological Seminary was a theological seminary in the Reformed Christian tradition located in

Lynnwood, Washington Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the f ...

. It closed in 2018.

Founding

Northwest Theological Seminary was founded in 2000 in

. There had long been a desire to bring a Reformed theological seminary to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

that would ably train men for gospel ministry. Northwest Theological Seminary was charged with emphasizing biblical theology in the tradition of Geerhardus Vos,

presuppositional apologetics Presuppositionalism is an epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the results of those presuppositions. It claims that apart from ...

in the tradition of

Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 3, 1895 – April 17, 1987) was a Dutch-American reformed philosopher and theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics. A graduate of Calvin College, Van Til later receive ...

, and orthodox confessionalism in the classic Calvinistic tradition. After a year of prayer and preparation by the board of directors, faculty, staff, students and numerous supporters, Northwest opened its doors at Lynnwood Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Lynnwood, Washington on September 4, 2001.

Distinctives

The education of Northwest Theological Seminary was built on the following principles: the inerrancy of the Bible, the centrality of Christ, the biblical-theological method of teaching the Word of God, the presuppositional apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, the orthodox confessionalism of the classical Calvinistic tradition, and Reformed presbyterianism. The seminary's doctrine was firmly founded in the Bible and classic (orthodox) Presbyterian canons (the Westminster Standards and the Three Forms of Unity).

Academics

Northwest Theological Seminary offered two programs of study: the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and the

Master of Theological Studies A Master of Theological Studies (MTS) is a graduate degree, offered in theological seminary or graduate faculty of theology, which gives students lay training in theological studies. Under Association of Theological Schools in the United States ...

(M.T.S.). The seminary published its own journal '' Kerux: The Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary'' that printed biblical-theological material in the Reformed/Calvinistic tradition.

Master of Divinity

The M.Div. was a 3-year program that equipped qualified men pursuing ordination with the necessary preaching and teaching skills and knowledge to begin their ministry. M.Div. students were required to learn methodology of Scriptural analysis and exegesis in the original languages, church history and biblical and systematic theology.

Master of Theological Studies

The M.T.S. was a 2–year program that presented a curriculum covering many aspects of scriptural analysis and exegetical work in the original languages as well as church history, and biblical and systematic theology.

Unique Model of Seminary Structure

Buildings

NWTS was somewhat unusual in comparison to most seminaries. The institution did not own any buildings, and had no plans to build. NWTS did not have a standard "business model." It did not seek any kind of accreditation but measured itself only on the basis of what it saw as its biblical mission.

Enrollment

Northwest Theological Seminary's enrollment was intentionally limited so it could provide ministerial candidates with "one on one" mentoring.

References

External links

Northwest Theological Seminary
Official website
''Kerux: The Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary''
Official website and web-archive {{Coord, 47.838026, -122.287447, region:US_type:edu, display=title Seminaries and theological colleges in Washington (state) Presbyterian universities and colleges in the United States Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges Educational institutions established in 2000 Universities and colleges in Snohomish County, Washington 2000 establishments in Washington (state) Educational institutions disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in Washington (state)