Covenant Theological Seminary

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Main otherScript error: No such module "check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters". Script error: No such module "Portal". Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).[1][2] Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri,[3] it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhere, especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all students to be members of the PCA, but it is bound to promote the teachings of its denomination. Faculty must subscribe to the system of biblical doctrine outlined in the Westminster Standards.[4]

History

File:Covenant Founders Hall.jpg
Covenant Theological Seminary

The seminary was established in 1956 as a sister institution to Covenant College, founded the previous year in Pasadena, California. Both were agencies of the Bible Presbyterian Church (Columbus Synod). The institution's founders believed that their denomination needed a strong theological school to resist liberalizing influences in American Evangelicalism. The college and seminary shared the president and campus in St. Louis until the college outgrew its space and moved to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, in 1964. They formally became two separate institutions in 1966.[5]

Denominational mergers over the ensuing decades made the schools part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), then the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), and finally, in 1982—through what is known as the "joining and receiving" with the RPCES—the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), which elects and oversees the work of the seminary's board of trustees.[6][7]

Over its 65 years, the seminary has continued to grow in size and reputation, and is now home to a student body (both on campus and online) drawn from nearly every U.S. state and many other nations. More than 4,500 Covenant Seminary graduates now serve as pastors, church planters, missionaries, campus ministers, counselors, Bible translators, and educators, and in many other ministry and non-vocational ministry capacities in multiple denominations and in all 50 states and 100 countries.[8]

Academics

The seminary is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission[9] and Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.[10] It offers several academic degrees, including the Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Theology (ThM), and Doctor of Ministry (DMin).[10]

The seminary is doctrinally committed to the Reformed faith and Covenant theology, and it believes the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant word of God.[4]

The seminary is also home to the Francis Schaeffer Institute,[11] which encourages Christians to engage contemporary culture in a compassionate way with the truth-claims of the gospel.[12]

Covenant publishes Covenant magazine annually and Presbyterion, an academic theological journal, semiannually.[13]

President

In July 2021, Thomas C. Gibbs became the sixth president of Covenant Seminary,[14] After graduating from Auburn University, Gibbs served as a youth director at Faith Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. After earning a Master of Divinity degree from Covenant Seminary in 1997, he started a new Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) chapter at Baylor University, then served as senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, Texas, for 19 years.

Previous Covenant presidents include: Robert G. Rayburn (1956–1977), William S. Barker (1977–1985), Paul Kooistra (1985–1994), Bryan Chapell (1994–2010; chancellor, 2011–2012), and Mark Dalbey (interim president, 2012–2013, permanent, 2013-2021).[15]

Notable alumni

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ American Council on Education, American Universities and Colleges, 15th ed., Walter de Gruyter, 1997, Template:ISBN, p. 885.
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ David B. Calhoun, By His Grace, For His Glory: Celebrating 50 Years of God's Faithfulness, (St. Louis, Missouri: Covenant Theological Seminary, 2006
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Covenant Theological Seminary
  9. ↑ Covenant Theological Seminary
  10. ↑ a b Covenant Theological Seminary, Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Francis A. Schaeffer Institute Template:Webarchive
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Robert A. Peterson and Sean Michael Lucas, eds., All for Jesus: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Covenant Theological Seminary (Fearn, Ross-shire, United Kingdom: Christian Focus, 2006).
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Anthony Bradley
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Bryan Chapell
  20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Ligon Duncan
  21. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Matt Morginsky
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Nancy Pearcey
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Phillip Sandifer
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