Motto |
Every Word Inspired Every Word Preached We Train Men Because Lives Depend on It |
---|---|
Type | Theological Seminary |
Established | 1986 |
President | John F. MacArthur |
Dean | Irvin A. Busenitz |
Academic staff
|
17 |
Students | 385 |
Location | Sun Valley, CA, USA |
Campus | Urban (Los Angeles) |
Affiliations | Grace Community Church |
Website | www.tms.edu |
For The Master's University, see: The Master's University
Every Word Inspired Every Word Preached
The Master's Seminary (TMS), the graduate seminary division of The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS), is located on the campus of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
The Master's Seminary opened its doors in fall 1986 under the leadership of John F. MacArthur, known worldwide as a master Bible expositor, church leader, and author. The seminary launched its inaugural year with 95 students and four full-time faculty members. Since then, the faculty and administration has expanded to 17 full-time members. At the same time, the student population has increased from 95 to almost 2,000.
During this period of steady growth, the seminary has maintained a singular commitment to its core purpose of training men and trainers of men for a ministry in biblical exposition and pastoral work. Over 1300 graduates now minister on six continents, with approximately 85% ministering in a full-time capacity and one-eighth of those serving overseas. Since the beginning of the seminary in 1986, the library has grown from a church library of just 7,000 volumes, to a major biblical and theological studies collection of over 350,000 volumes. Additionally, access to a wide breadth of online databases allows for researching almost two million other full-text resources. In March 1998, the seminary completed construction of its own facility on the church campus. The 32,000 square foot building houses the seminary administrative and faculty offices, library, studio facilities, and smaller class and seminar rooms.
The Master's Seminary first received WASC accreditation in 1988 and in 2009 received an eight-year reaccreditation. The seminary is organized around four degree programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Theology (added in 1992), Doctor of Theology (added in 2000), and Doctor of Ministry in Expository Preaching (added in 2004). The last three programs were added after a process of substantive change and subsequent WASC approval.
The Master’s College (TMC) began as Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary in 1927. In 1959, the campus relocated to Newhall, CA. In the 1950s, an undergraduate program was developed. During the process of acquiring accreditation from WASC in the early 1970s, it was decided that the original seminary would separate and relocate (becoming Northwest Baptist Seminary in Tacoma, WA). The college remained and became Los Angeles Baptist College. After Dr. John MacArthur became president of the college in 1985, the name of the school was changed to The Master’s College. The central college campus remains in Newhall (now incorporated as the city of Santa Clarita), while TMS has been located on the church campus from its beginning.'"