Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

located in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black River). ...

. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...

, a mainline Reformed

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denomination in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The seminary offers

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

and graduate degree programs for candidates for ministry, and to those pursuing careers in academia or non-theological fields. It was established to fill a need for theological education on the (then) western frontier of the Reformed Church in America. In its theological identity, Western Theological Seminary is evangelical, ecumenical and Reformed. Western Theological Seminary prepares students for ministry often involving ordination as well as for further graduate study, chaplaincy, missions, youth ministry, social service ministry, etc.

History

Albertus van Raalte founded

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...

in Holland Michigan; believing that parents had a primary responsibility to educate their children and not the state. In 1866, seven students graduating from

felt called to full-time Christian ministry following graduation. They wanted to pursue their theological training in West Michigan, so they made a petition to the General Synod of the Reformed Church to allow for theological training through the Hope College Religion Department. Permission was granted and Western Theological Seminary was established. Initially, the theological department within

was used for theological education; but in 1884 following the synods approval the department was separated from

and Western Theological Seminary was established as its own institution. In 2022, the seminary became independent, though retains a relation to the Reformed Church in America, the denomination that gave it life and sustenance for over 150 years.

Academics

The seminary is accredited by 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 assoc ...

(ATS). It offers the

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 ...

(M.Div.),

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

(Th.M.), and

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 advance ...

(D.Min.)degrees; it also offers graduate certificates.

Notable faculty

* J. Todd Billings, Gordon H. Girod Research Professor of Reformed Theology

Notable alumni

Martin De Haan Martin Ralph DeHaan (March 23, 1891 – December 13, 1965) was an American Bible teacher, the founder of Radio Bible Class, and the co-editor of the monthly devotional guide ''Our Daily Bread (devotional), Our Daily Bread''. Early life M. R. De ...

, founder of

Our Daily Bread Ministries Our Daily Bread Ministries (formerly RBC Ministries) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including '' Ou ...

Norman Kansfield Norman J. Kansfield is an American minister who is a senior scholar in residence at Drew University. He was suspended from being a minister in the Reformed Church in America and president of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 2005 after off ...

, senior scholar at

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...

* Stephen Kaziimba,

Archbishop of Uganda The Anglican ecclesiastical province of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was formed in 1961 following the division of the diocese of Uganda the previous year. Prior to 1980, the province included Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga, in what was then the co ...

Henry Collin Minton Henry Collin Minton (1855–1924) was the chairman of Systematic Theology in the San Francisco Theological Seminary from December 2, 1891 to October 1, 1902. He then became the minister for the First Presbyterian Church in Trenton, New Jersey. ...

, scholar, minister *

Richard Mouw Richard John Mouw (born 1940) is an American theologian and philosopher. He held the position of President at Fuller Theological Seminary for 20 years (1993–2013), and continues to hold the post of Professor of Faith and Public Life. Educatio ...

, president of

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compri ...

Robert H. Schuller Robert Harold Schuller (September 16, 1926 – April 2, 2015) was an American Christianity, Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author. In his five decades of television, Schuller was principally known for the weekly ...

, author, pastor * Eugene Sutton, Episcopal Bishop of Maryland *

Robert E. Van Voorst Robert E. Van Voorst (born June 5, 1952) is an American theologian and educator. He retired in 2018 as a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan, and has published scholarly works in early Christi ...

, faculty at Western Theological Seminary

Notable affiliations

Among its student awards, Western Theological Seminary awards annual prizes for Excellence in Writing and Excellence in Preaching, named after the 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 ...

. Additionally, former seminary President and Henry Bast Professor of Preaching, Timothy Brown, has also delivered guest lectures on the topic of Buechner, including at the Buechner Institute at

King University King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). H ...

in 2013.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Holland, Michigan Reformed Church in America Reformed church seminaries and theological colleges Hope College Seminaries and theological colleges in Michigan 1866 establishments in Michigan Educational institutions established in 1866 Education in Ottawa County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Ottawa County, Michigan