A COMMITMENT TO SERVE CHRIST

Reformed Theological Seminary was founded in the mid-1960s by a group of laymen and ministers of the gospel committed to the authority of Scripture and the Westminster Standards. The seminary began inauspiciously, with 14 students in an old frame house on the western edge of Jackson, Mississippi, for the purpose of preparing pastors unequivocally committed to preaching and teaching the Word of God. RTS exists to provide a biblical and theological education from a Reformed understanding of Scripture, which provides the proper biblical view of the world and of life and significantly shapes the life of the believer.

RTS grew to the point that, in 1989, it opened its second full residential campus in Orlando. In 1992, a third residential campus was opened in Charlotte. Major extension-campus programs offering theological degrees were opened in response to church invitations in Washington/Baltimore in 1996; Atlanta in 1998; and Boca Raton, Florida, in 2004. Also, three international extension programs have been established in conjunction with Chongshin Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea; the Andrew Jumper Theological Graduate Center at MacKenzie University in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Highland Theological College of the University of the Highlands and the Islands Millennium Institute in Dingwall, Scotland.

Additionally, an innovative distance-education program began in 1996,  receiving final approval from the Association of Theological Schools as the first fully approved theological degree program that can be completed almost in its entirety from any location in the world. Through the Virtual Campus, a student now can complete a degree from his or her home community with less than two weeks of classes on a residential campus.

RTS is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools—the major regional accrediting association, and by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada—the major theological accrediting body in North America.

Growth by Serving Christ’s Church

Having served the church for almost 40 years, RTS continues to grow steadily. Now a multi-campus organization with over 7000 alumni worldwide, RTS is nationally and internationally recognized for effective training programs, and for innovation in making ministry preparation flexible and accessible to traditional and non-traditional students. This year, RTS will serve over 2,500 students through its three main campuses, several extensions and the Virtual Campus, making it one of the largest seminaries in the world. Students from over 60 denominations and from every continent (except Antarctica!) are currently enrolled.

A hallmark of RTS is its pattern of growth by taking theological education to the students. Those wishing to benefit from the training offered by RTS do not have to uproot their families from their communities, their churches and their employment to move to a single seminary campus to receive ministry preparation. Churches, too, increasingly seek RTS’ assistance in providing ministry preparation in their own communities for emerging leaders.

RTS looks to respond to this growing need by offering training programs in new locations, and innovative, technology-based delivery systems for biblical theological education, providing ministry preparation without geographical limits.

Serving Christ and His Church in the Third Millennium

We have already seen the significant and lasting impact of our campuses in the Mississippi/Alabama region, in Florida, and in the Carolinas. A good seminary will send some graduates all over the country and all over the world, but its major impact will be found in the region around the campus itself, with many new churches planted, older churches revived, and a variety of denominations and ministries influenced.

That is what we want to accomplish in the capitol of our country and in the capitol of the South (in Washington and in Atlanta). If we can establish these two campuses well, then we should be able to partner with others to help us duplicate these same models in many other locations.

Atlanta and Washington DC Fund

We seek to hire a total of six professors in Washington and Atlanta, four of which have been hired already, in order to expand degree programs to include an accredited Master Of Divinity Program.

We believe that the future of effective theological education worldwide will be dependent on regional locations and the greater use of technology. Therefore, we will place less emphasis on bricks and mortar, planning to use church facilities and rental office space rather than building our own physical campuses in new locations.

In addition, we must continue to enhance our distance education program through the Virtual Campus, which enables us to reach and serve the Church around the world. The RTS Virtual Campus was the first to offer a fully accredited graduate theological program, providing a solid theological education in which up to 90% of the course work can be done at a distance.

RTS endeavors to achieve a balance in all its programs, offering both sound theological education and practical, realistic ministry preparation. We intend for future ministers and other church leaders receiving their preparation from RTS to be characterized by faithful preaching and teaching of the Word of God from a Reformed worldview. We pray that each of our graduates will be used by the Lord to win people to Christ and build them up in the faith, resulting in healthy, growing churches where there is a perceptive application of the Bible to every dimension of life.

Through every RTS program, we wish to influence each student with the grace of the gospel, the power and authority of the Word of God, and the richness of our Reformed heritage, providing the guidance and encouragement necessary for spiritual maturity. We desire for our students to be better equipped to be used by the Lord in such a way that the gospel of Christ will pierce the hearts of the lost, transforming their lives.

We believe an investment in RTS will leverage your investment in the spreading of the gospel of Christ in the third millennium. It will help shape the future ministries of church leaders who in turn will train and help shape the ministries of others. Opportunities abound to establish new campuses, extensions, and new partnerships with ministries around the world.

We would consider it a privilege to count you as a part of the RTS Family of Supporters as, by faith, we seek $75,000,000 in resources over five years. Now in the third year, we have been blessed to have received $60 million and need only $15 million to complete the campaign. The RTS family believes this to be an opportune time for God’s people to give as unto Him, so that through our generous giving, He may receive all the honor and glory. Please prayerfully consider how the Lord might have you step out in faith with us in helping RTS better serve the church of Jesus Christ in the years ahead.