Western Theological Seminary

For the former institution in Pittsburgh, see Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. For the former institution in Illinois, see Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.

Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States.

Western Theological Seminary

Type	Private seminary
Established	1866
Religious affiliation	Reformed Church in America
President	Felix Theonugraha
Location	Holland, Michigan , Michigan , United States
Website	www.westernsem.edu
Michigan State Historic Site
Designated	March 9, 1966

The seminary offers professional 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 in Holland Michigan; believing that parents had a primary responsibility to educate their children and not the state. ^[1] In 1866, seven students graduating from Hope College 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.^[2] Initially, the theological department within Hope College was used for theological education; but in 1884 following the synods approval the department was separated from Hope College and Western Theological Seminary was established as its own institution.^[3] 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 (ATS). It offers the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M.), and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degrees; it also offers graduate certificates.

Notable faculty

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

Notable alumni

• Wendell Chino, president of the Mescalero Apache Nation
• Martin De Haan, founder of Our Daily Bread Ministries
• Norman Kansfield, senior scholar at Drew University
• Stephen Kaziimba, Archbishop of Uganda
• Henry Collin Minton, scholar, minister
• Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary
• Robert H. Schuller, author, pastor
• Eugene Sutton, Episcopal Bishop of Maryland
• Robert E. Van Voorst, 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. 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 in 2013.

Notes