About Grace Theological Seminary
Our History
Grace Theological Seminary began as the result of an informal meeting of Christian leaders in June 1937.
Deeply concerned about the inroads of modern unbelief in higher education, a number of Brethren pastors and laymen in Ashland, Ohio, laid plans for founding an institution of higher theological education, where positive biblical standards of Christian faith and life could be established and maintained.
The founding board called Dr. Alva J. McClain to be president of this new institution, Grace Theological Seminary. He brought to this position his high attainment in scholarship and wide experience as a successful pastor and teacher. The seminary opened for its first semester in Akron, Ohio, in the fall of 1937, with a student body of 39.
Grace Theological Seminary’s clear Christian testimony and educational ideals aroused widespread interest among Christian leaders and schools throughout this country. The seminary moved to Winona Lake, Indiana, two years later at the invitation of the Winona Lake Bible Conference. After this change in location, the seminary experienced steady growth, even during the years of World War II. New degree programs were offered, regional accreditation was achieved, and graduates went out to serve the Lord as pastors, missionaries, teachers, chaplains and ministry leaders around the world. It was during this time, under the sponsorship of Grace Theological Seminary, that Grace College came into existence in 1948.
Into the 1950s and beyond, Grace Theological Seminary quickly earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in preparing men and women for ministry. Over the years, the seminary faculty members have authored scores of books, contributed many articles to scholarly and religious journals, and assisted in the production of Bible translations such as the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the New King James Version and the New Living Translation.
In 1991, a special consortium was held with Christian ministry leaders from across the United States. As a result, the mission and values of the school were redrafted based on the goal of translating the unchanging doctrinal foundation into the contemporary world in which graduates minister. Shortly thereafter, a major revision in the Master of Divinity curriculum was implemented, and the Doctor of Ministry program was added to provide professional education for pastors and other ministry leaders.
The seminary has the advantage of sharing a campus and administrative facilities with Grace College, an accredited four-year liberal arts college based on the authority of Scripture, having a strong Christian emphasis.
Covenant of Faith
Grace Theological Seminary embraces the following covenant of faith. It is recognized that every covenant is but a fallible human attempt to summarize and systematize the riches of God’s infallible divine revelation. Nevertheless, the Board of Trustees, administrators and faculty members at Grace Theological Seminary believe that it is essential to have a covenant of faith that sets forth the position of the institution with regard to the major biblical doctrines and also carefully specifies its theological distinctive. It is understood that students with various denominational backgrounds may not be in agreement with every statement, in particular with those students who relate to denominational practices. All applicants are expected to be in essential agreement with the basic doctrines it affirms.
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We believe in THE HOLY SCRIPTURES: accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of
God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in
themselves as our only infallible rule of faith and practice (Matt. 5:18; John 10:35, 12:42, 17:17, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 2:21). -
We believe in THE ONE TRIUNE GOD: who is personal, spirit, and sovereign (Mark 12:29; John 4:24, 14:9; Ps. 135:6);
perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power (Ps. 18:30, 147:5; Deut. 33:27); absolutely
separate and above the world as its Creator; yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things (Gen. 1:1;
Ps. 104); self-existent and self-revealing in three distinct Persons–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 5:26;
Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), each of whom is to be honored and worshiped equally as true God (John 5:23; Acts 5:3-4). -
We believe in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: who is the second Person of the triune God, the eternal Word and only begotten Son,
our great God and Savior (John 1:1, 3:16; Titus 2:13; Rom. 9:5); that, without any essential change in His divine Person (Heb. 13:8),
He became man by the miracle of virgin birth (John 1:14; Matt. 1:23), thus to continue forever as both true God and true Man, one
Person with two natures (Col. 2:9, Rev. 22:16); that as man, He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15;
John 8:46): that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the cross bearing the sin of the world, and suffering its
full penalty of divine wrath in our stead (Isa. 53:5-6; Matt. 20:28; Gal. 3:13; John 1:29); there He arose again from the dead and was
glorified in the same body in which He suffered and died (Luke24:36-43; John 20:25-28); that as our great High Priest He ascended
into heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor (Heb. 4:14, 9:24; 1 John 2:1). -
We believe in THE HOLY SPIRIT: who is the third Person of the triune God (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4), the divine Agent in
nature, revelation, and redemption (Gen. 1:2; Ps 104:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Cor. 3:18); that He convicts the world of sin (John
16:8-11), regenerates those who believe (John 3:5), and indwells, baptizes, seals, empowers, guides, teaches, and sanctifies
all who become children of God through Christ (1 Cor. 6:19, 12:13; Eph. 4:30, 3:16; Rom 8:14; John 14:26; 1 Cor. 6:11). -
We believe in THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN: that he was the direct creation of God, spirit and soul and body, not
in any sense the product of an animal ancestry, but made in the divine image (Gen. 1:26-29, 2:7 and 18-24; Matt. 19:4,
1 Thess. 5:23); that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature and the progenitor
of a fallen race (Gen. 3:1-24, 5:3), who are universally sinful in both nature and practice (Eph. 2:3; Rom. 3:23, 5:12),
alienated from the life and family of God (Eph. 4:18; John 8:42-44), under the righteous judgment and wrath of God
(Rom. 3:19, 1:18), and have within themselves no possible means of recovery or salvation (Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 19:26; Rom 7:18). -
We believe in SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH: that salvation is the free gift of God (Rom. 3:24, 6:23), neither
merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man (Titus 3:5; Rom. 4:4-5, 11:16), but received only by
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 6:28-29; Acts 16:30-31; Eph. 2:8-9), in Whom all true believers have as a
present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security
from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall
never perish (1 John 5:13; Rom. 3:22; Gal. 3:26; John 5:24; Eph. 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3; John 10:27-30); that this salvation includes
the whole man, spirit and soul and body (1 Thess. 5:23-25); and apart from Christ there is no possible salvation (John 14:6;
Acts 4:12). -
We believe in RIGHTEOUS LIVING AND GOOD WORKS: not as the procuring cause of salvation in any sense, but as its
proper evidence and fruit (1 John 3:9-11, 4:19, 5:4; Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 2:14; Matt. 7:16-18; 1 Cor. 15:10); and therefore
as Christians we should keep the Word of our Lord (John 14:23), seek the things which are above (Col. 3:1), walk as He
walked (1 John 2:6), be careful to maintain good works (Titus 3:8), and especially accept as our solemn responsibility the
duty and privilege of bearing the Gospel to a lost world in order that we may bear much fruit (Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19; John
15:16); remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who learned they are not under
law but under grace (Rom. 6:14), and who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved mercies of God have presented
themselves wholly to Him for His service (Rom. 12:1-2). -
We believe in THE EXISTENCE OF SATAN: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and
unlawful ambition rebelled against God (Ezek. 28:13-17; Isa. 14:13-14; 1 Tim. 3:7); thus becoming utterly depraved in
character (John 8:44), the great adversary of God and His people (Matt. 4:1-11; Rev. 12:10), leader of all other evil angels
and spirits (Matt. 12:24-26, 25:41), the deceiver and god of this present world (Rev. 12:9; 2 Cor. 4:4); that his powers are
supernaturally great, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God, who overrules all his wicked devices for good (Job
1:1-22; Luke 22:31-32); that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain (John 12:31-
32, 16:11; Rev. 20:10); that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God and by the blood of the Lamb
(Eph. 6:12-18; Rev. 12:11). -
We believe in THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: that His return from heaven will be personal, visible, and glorious—a
blessed hope for which we should constantly watch and pray, the time being unrevealed but always imminent (Acts 1:11;
Rev. 1:7; Mark 13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; Rev. 22:20); that when He comes He will first by resurrection and translation remove
from the earth His waiting church (1 Thess. 4:16-18), then pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world
(Rev. 6:1-18:24), afterward descend with His church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the nations for a
thousand years (Rev. 19:1-20:6; Matt. 13:41-43), at the close of which He will raise and judge the unsaved dead (Rev. 20:11-15),
and finally as the Son of David deliver up His messianic kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28), in order that as the
eternal Son He may reign forever with the Father in the new heaven and the new earth (Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 21:1-22:6). -
We believe in FUTURE LIFE, BODILY RESURRECTION, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT: that the spirits of the saved at death
go immediately to be with Christ in heaven (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8), where they abide in joyful fellowship with Him
until His second coming, when their bodies shall be raised from the grave and changed into the likeness of His own
glorious body (Phil. 3:20-21, 1 Cor. 15:35-38, 1 John 3:2), at which time their works shall be brought before the
judgment seat of Christ for the determination of rewards, a judgment which may issue in the loss of rewards, but not
in the loss of the soul (1 Cor. 3:8-15); that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hades where
they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Peter 2:9 ARV), at which time their
bodies shall be raised from the grave, they shall be judged according to their works, and cast into the place of final
and everlasting punishment (Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8; Mark 9:43-48; Jude 13). -
We believe in THE ONE TRUE CHURCH: the mystical body and bride of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 4:4; 5:25-32), which He
began to build on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47), and will complete at His second coming (1 Thess. 4:16-17);
and into which all true believers of the present age are baptized immediately by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13 with 1:2);
that all the various members of this one spiritual body should assemble themselves together in local churches for worship,
prayer, fellowship, teaching, united testimony; and the observance of the ordinances of our Lord (Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:41-
47), among which are the following: the baptism of believers by triune immersion (Matt. 28:20), the laying on of hands (1
Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), the washing of the saints’ feet (John 13:1-17), the Lord’s Supper or love feast (1 Cor. 11:17-22;
Jude 12 ARV), the communion of the bread and cup (1 Cor. 11:23-24), and prayer and anointing for the sick (James 5:13-18). -
We believe in SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD: that since our Christian citizenship is in heaven, as the children of God we
should walk in separation from this present world, having no fellowship with its evil ways (Phil. 3:20 ARV; 2 Cor. 6:14-18;
Rom. 12:2; Eph. 5:11), abstaining from all worldly amusements and unclean habits which defile mind and body (Luke 8:14;
1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 Peter 2:11; Eph. 5:3-8, 18; Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 6:19-20), from the sin of divorce and remarriage
as forbidden by our Lord (Matt. 19:9), from the swearing of any oath (James 5:12), from the use of unbelieving courts for
the settlements of disputes between Christians (1 Cor. 6:1-9), and from taking personal vengeance in carnal strife
(Rom. 12:18-21; 2 Cor. 10:3-4).
Academic Catalog
Location
Grace Theological Seminary is located in the town of Winona Lake, Indiana.
The campus is near the shores of Winona Lake, one of the largest of the more than 100 lakes in Kosciusko County.
The region offers numerous recreational attractions. With Chicago 120 miles to the northwest and Fort Wayne 40 miles to the east, easy access to these metropolitan centers is available by way of U.S. 30. Once the home of evangelist Billy Sunday, William Jennings Bryan, James Whitcomb Riley and Homer Rodeheaver, this serene community offers a wealth of history and tradition.
It was the site of the historic Winona Lake Bible Conference, which for several years operated under the auspices of Grace College and Seminary. Winona Lake is a part of the Greater Warsaw Area, an expanding community, and is an outstanding area for quality family living. Grace College, the four-year coeducational liberal arts college that shares a campus with Grace Theological Seminary, offers many opportunities for combined activities and facilities. Seminarians may participate in such activities as Symphony of the Lakes, plays, intramural athletics, outreach efforts and athletic events.
In addition to the seminary and graduate counseling building, seminary students are also welcomed to share college facilities that include a student union, dining commons, and a sports and recreation center. Winona Lake, Warsaw and nearby communities provide opportunities for affordable housing, part-time and full-time employment, and the kind of high community standards typical of the tradition of the Midwest. In addition, the region offers ministry opportunities through local churches, hospital chaplain assistantships, prison ministries and other organizations.
Housing
The Student Affairs Office produces a monthly Rent Guide. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, you can email studentaffairs@grace.edu and request it be emailed to you OR visit the Student Affairs Office (Indiana Hall, first floor). The Rent Guide will give you an idea of the cost of housing in the area and contact information for those who want to specifically rent apartments or houses to Grace College & Theological Seminary students.