The Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College is a Reformed

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. The seminary trains pastors for the

Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada (SGF) is a fellowship for Reformed Baptist churches in Canada holding to either the Baptist Confession of 1644 or 1689. History The Fellowship was founded in 1983 by William Payne, pastor of Trinity Baptist ...

, the

Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada is an Evangelical Baptist association in Canada. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The national headquarters are located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. In 2011 Rev. S ...

, and other Baptist churches in Canada and elsewhere.

History

The school was founded in 1927 and is located adjacent to

Jarvis Street Baptist Church The Jarvis Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church located at the intersection of Gerrard Street and Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. One of the oldest churches in the city, its congregation was founded in 1818, and the present church construc ...

. The school was proposed in 1925 by Dr. Thomas Todhunter Shields, editor of ''The Gospel Witness'' and pastor of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, who was dismayed that

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

had taken hold in contemporary theological institutions; namely

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

(then located in Toronto), which provided training for Ontario and Quebec's Baptist ministers.History
, Toronto Baptist Seminary website, retrieved June 13, 2008 On December 23, 1926, ''The Gospel Witness'' announced that "Toronto Baptist Seminary, the new Baptist College rendered necessary by the inroads of Modernism, will open its classes on January 4, 1927, in the Seminary Building, 337 Jarvis Street, Toronto." From that opening date, continuous classes of students have been trained in the Seminary except for a break of three years during World War II. In 1948, the seminary split when over 50 students opposed to Shields' control left to form the Central Baptist Seminary under the leadership of W. Gordon Brown. Later the name was changed to Central Baptist Seminary which in 1993 merged with London Baptist Seminary to form Heritage Theological Seminary (see Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary). Today, Toronto Baptist Seminary affirms solidarity and cooperation with similar evangelical institutions. In the post-war era, Toronto Baptist Seminary has hosted multiple generations of administrators, professors, and students passing through its facilities, notable among them, Michael A. G. Haykin, who was the principal from 2003–2007.

Status

The seminary has conferred theological degrees since its inception. However, in 1982, the Ontario legislature officially recognized the seminary as a degree-granting institution through the passage of Bill PR 44. In 1985, the institution changed its name from Toronto Baptist Seminary to the Toronto Baptist Seminary and

Bible College A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological ed ...

.General Information
, Toronto Baptist Seminary website, retrieved June 13, 2008

Governance

The seminary is governed by a board of trustees, roughly half of which is made up of members and officials of the

, and a Senate composed of the faculty, school administrators and several trustees.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Baptist Seminary And Bible College Baptist seminaries and theological colleges in Canada Education in Toronto