Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College
Coordinates: 43°39′38″N 79°22′31″W / 43.66056°N 79.37528°W
| Motto | Theological education that transforms Kata Xriston (According to Christ) |
|---|---|
| Type | Theological college |
| Established | 1927 |
| Affiliation | Baptist |
| President | Dr. G.G. Thompson |
| Principal | Rev. Kirk Wellum |
Academic staff | 13 |
| Location | Toronto, Guelph Extension Centres - Port Perry, Sarnia, ON, ON, Canada |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | blue and White |
| Website | www.tbs.edu |
Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College is a Reformed Baptist theological college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The seminary trains pastors for the Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada, the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, and other Baptist churches in Canada and elsewhere.[1]
History
The school was founded in 1927 and is currently located adjacent to Jarvis Street Baptist Church with which the school has had a longstanding relationship.[2] The school was proposed in 1925 by Dr. Thomas Todhunter Shields, editor of The Gospel Witness and pastor of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church who was dismayed by the modernism that had taken hold in contemporary theological institutions. McMaster University's McMaster Divinity College, which provided training for Ontario and Quebec's Baptist ministers,[3] drew Shields' evangelical/fundamentalist ire when it appointed a liberal professor Laurance Henry Marshall (from England) to the faculty of theology. Shields, who was on the university's board of governors, railed against the appointment with such ferocity he was expelled from both the university and the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec.[4] Therefore, Shields formed his own Baptist convention, the Baptist Bible Union, and founded Toronto Baptist Seminary.
On December 23, 1926, The Gospel Witness announced that "Toronto Baptist Seminary, the new Baptist College rendered necessary by the inroads of Modernism, will open its classes on January 4, 1927, in the Seminary Building, 337 Jarvis Street, Toronto."[3]
In 1948, the seminary suffered a split when over 50 students opposed to Shields' control left to form the Canadian Baptist Seminary under the leadership of W. Gordon Brown. Later the name was changed to Central Baptist Seminary which in 1993 merged with London Baptist Seminary to form Heritage Theological Seminary (see Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary). The Bible Baptist Union supported the students and Shields and the Jarvis Street Baptist Church left the union and formed the Association of Regular Baptist Churches.[4] As of 2011, Jarvis Street Baptist Church has joined the Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada.[5]
Status
The seminary has conferred theological degrees since its inception. However, in 1982, the Ontario legislature officially recognized the seminary as a degree-granting institution through the passage of Bill PR 44. In 1985, the institution changed its name from Toronto Baptist Seminary to the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College.[6]
Governance
The seminary is governed by a board of trustees, roughly half of which is made up of members and officials of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, and a Senate composed of the faculty, school administrators and several trustees.[6]
Academic Programs
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The institution offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.
Undergraduate Programs include: One-Year Bible Diploma (1 year) Two-Year Bible Diploma (2 years) Bachelor of Theological Studies (3 years) Bachelor of Theology (4 years)
Graduate Programs include: Certificate of Theological Studies (1 year) Master of Theological Studies (2 years) Master of Divinity (3 years) Master of Theology (1 year)
References
- ↑ "Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College: Mission". Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ↑ Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College. General Information
- 1 2 History, Toronto Baptist Seminary website, retrieved June 13, 2008
- 1 2 Adams, Doug, "Dr. T.T. Shields", Park Lawn Baptist Church
- ↑ "Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada Website: Member Churches". Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- 1 2 General Information, Toronto Baptist Seminary website, retrieved June 13, 2008