Western offers rigorous academic study in a nurturing community to prepare men and women for the challenges and opportunities of ministry in today’s world. We are generously Reformed, rooted in scripture, open to the world, joyful, hopeful and confident in God’s purposes.
An Enduring Foundation.
Preparing students for real-life ministry, Western’s online and on-campus communities offer one of the top seminary educations, focused on individual growth.
We live and breathe and have our being in God. Our mission is to provide students with a strong foundation for lifelong ministry through spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth.
To prepare students for real-world ministry, Western offers a vibrant and nurturing community that matches academic rigor with relational development, with a focus on individual growth.
Preparing Students
With a student-to-professor ratio of 15.5 to 1, we provide students with the individual attention they need to become thriving leaders in the church.
Western offers formative learning experiences including supervised ministry settings, mentors, site teams, and intercultural immersion.
We are fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.
WTS is committed to walk alongside students throughout their seminary journey and beyond. We provide many opportunities for further learning after school, including the annual Bast Preaching Festival and other events which can be found here.
Western faculty members are widely published and academically distinguished, with doctoral degrees from the likes of Duke, Harvard, and Princeton. Our professors are also deeply involved in congregational ministry – and several offer the unique perspective of having served as pastors.
Why Give?
Your financial support will equip the next generation of Christian leaders with the knowledge, skills, and spiritual depth to make a difference in the world.
Reformed, Evangelical and Ecumenical
Western is rooted in the Reformed tradition within an evangelical and ecumenical environment. Communal life encompasses deep immersion in Scripture, joyful weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and a theological perspective that sees God as active and present in our world.
History & Heritage
Western was founded in 1866, after seven Hope College graduates who sensed a call to ministry petitioned the General Synod of the Reformed Church for theological training in West Michigan. The seminary’s early years were a struggle, but over the last century, strong, visionary leaders led Western through program, building, finance and faculty expansions all in the name of preparing leaders for the church of Jesus Christ.
Today the future is bright. In covenant with the Reformed Church in America, Western Theological Seminary is forming culturally-engaged leaders who will empower, renew, and plant congregations and ministries that participate in God’s ongoing redemptive work in the world.
