March 27, 2025

Why seminary? Why is seminary education important for the church in our times? Here are some thoughts from over fifty years of deep involvement in this calling both as a student and a professor.

First, the church stands at the heart of God’s redemptive program today. Paul tells us that the church is “the community of the living God” and “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). Seminaries are intentionally designed to prepare pastors and leaders for the church, so we need seminaries simply for this reason. In my view, this is sufficient to answer the question.

However, we can go further. Second, seminary is a place where the rigorous disciplines of languages, Bible, theology, exegesis, oral and written communication, history, apologetics, preaching, theology of ministry, and more, are studied and learned. Our congregations are well educated and expect their pastoral leaders and preachers to be informed and competent in the disciplines of their calling.

This is not to go counter to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (“Not many . . .”). Paul himself was well-educated, and there is no sign of incompetence in any of the writings or ministries of the apostles and prophets in Scripture.

And so, a seminary has gathered uniquely highly trained people in these disciplines in a central locale so as to serve a constituency of churches and denominations who look for the kind of people needed to serve their churches. The Association of Theological Schools, the primary accrediting agency for seminaries such as ours, asks three questions of seminary graduates: (1) Do they truly love God?, (2) Do they relate with care and integrity with human beings?, and (3) Do they have the knowledge and skills that the job requires?

Heritage Seminary works hard at answering all three of those questions with “yes.”

Third, the mixing and mingling with teachers and fellow students allows us all to be exposed to thinking and practices both inside and outside our traditional experiences. We rub shoulders with people from different church and theological backgrounds, and it provides an opportunity to broaden our thinking. But, as well, it allows profs and students to solidify thinking and approaches to the Christian faith that we may already have in place as we interact with questions and challenges that diverse traditions bring to the classroom and hallway conversations.

Fourth, seminaries are all about integrating learning, being, and doing. We work hard at not creating a dichotomy between the academic and devotional. One of my favourite lines to use is, “Every time you crack the Book, you’re face to face with God.” Seminary is not just a graduate school of theological studies. It is preparation for a powerful and dangerous spiritual task, mission, and ministry like nothing else in the world. It is about the gospel—the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the kingdom of God. Eugene Peterson talks about the highest good a human being can experience is the convergence of the knowledge of God and prayer. The seminary is place where piety, faith, and a disciplined mindcome together in such a convergence.

Finally, seminary is the place of the interplay of pressures placed on the church from contemporary culture with rigorous biblical and theological direction. On the one hand, the church speaks into the seminary from its place on the front lines of the mission of Christ’s kingdom. This is a voice the seminary needs to hear.

On the other hand, the seminary speaks into the life of the church from both practical experience—all our professors have served in the church as pastors, elders, and leaders—and theological attention. As Stan Fowler regularly said, “We are theologians in service of the church” (cf. A Theologian in Service of the Church: The Collected Writings of Stanley K. Fowler, available in the Heritage bookstore). This is a voice churches need to hear.

Hence, I would argue that a rigorous seminary education is as much needed now than it ever has been needed, as it speaks into, and hears from, a church that is facing a more and more complicated culture of both church and world. More than ever, we need thoughtful and well-prepared servant-shepherds and leaders to lead and guide our churches, denominations, mission agencies, and para-church organizations in our times. The mission of Heritage Seminary is to do exactly this.

Now, I will say this: seminaries are called to engage the twenty-first century church and world. This demands a commitment to the core of what seminaries have always been about, along with embracing the new realities of the nature of the seminary student, multiple delivery modes of both classroom content and praxis training, the use of technology, and the “right now” intense ministry issues that face us as God’s people. This necessitates wisdom in knowing how to engage the present culture of education and learning along with ensuring that we retain the above stated commitments without chasing the latest fads and forms with their limited shelf-lives.

And so, yes, in my journey with Heritage Theological Seminary for all these years, I take great joy in seeing that our seminary captures all these ideas, and more. Further, as I think about our seminary, the following five things come to mind:

1. We have a high commitment to the authority of the sacred Scriptures, along with a solid doctrinal statement which anchors our position as a conservative evangelical seminary.
2. We have clear statements of mission and philosophy of education, along with a hermeneutical position statement, that serve as the guiding documents that shape how we do our work here.
3. We have a resident and adjunct faculty that are drawn from our primary constituencies, and that stand in complete solidarity with the churches we serve.
4. We work very hard at providing the highest quality education that we can. We are accredited by both the Association of Biblical Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools. Annually we review our programs and modalities to seek to do the best we can with the resources we possess, including a state-of-the-art building.
5. We are committed to serving the church. Our MDiv and MTS degrees, along with the various diplomas and graduate certificates, and in concert with a robust internship program, are designed to do as much as we can with the students that enter our doors (we can only work with the students that churches send to us; we don’t “manufacture” students) to prepare them to do the work of their callings and affirmations by their churches.

So, from someone who has been around the seminary world for over half a century, and hopefully with some wisdom gained over those years, these are some of my thoughts in answering the question, “Why seminary?”

David G. Barker (Th.D.)
Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies
Heritage College and Seminary

Editor's Note: Heritage Theological Seminary is currently accepting applications for Fall 2025. If you are discerning a call to ministry or are currently in ministry and feeling led to furthering your studies, contact our Admissions department for more information at admissions@heritagecs.edu 

Over 75 years, Heritage has built a rich legacy of outstanding Christian higher education, equipping men and women for gospel-centered service while remaining firmly rooted in God’s Word. As we look to the future, we are entering a season of expanded impact with opportunities to deepen our mission and grow in meeting the evolving needs of the church in Canada and beyond. We want to hear your insights as we prayerfully consider this together.

January 16, 2025

Join us on Thursday, March 20th for Ministry Leadership Day 2025. Ministry Leadership Day is an event that seeks to equip ministry leaders with the tools needed to sharpen their skills to serve their churches and congregations.

This year, Heritage Theological Seminary is pleased to welcome Pastor Mark Vroegop to be our speaker for the day.

Mark Vroegop has been Lead Pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis since 2008. He previously served as Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan, from 1996-2008. He’s a graduate of Cedarville University (B.A.) and Cornerstone Theological Seminary (M.Div). He’s an award-winning author of multiple books, including Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament,the 2020 ECPA Christian Book of the Year. Mark has recently been appointed the new President of The Gospel Coalition.

Register for MLD 2025 Today

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, March 20th, 2025

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location: Heritage Theological Seminary

REGISTRATION:

General Admission – $60.00

Heritage Partner Churches – $30.00

Live Stream Only – $30.00

Please Note: The Heritage Partner Church discounted rate is not available for the Live stream option.  

SCHEDULE:

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Registration

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. – Welcome & Worship

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. – Session #1: “Learning about Lament?"

10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Break

10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Session #2: "Learning from Lament"

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Q&A Time

11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Heritage Update

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. – Session #3: Learning to Lament - pastorally

2:20 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. – Q&A Time

2:35 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Break

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Session #4: Learning to Lament - personally

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. – Q&A Time

3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Benediction & Dismissal

Register for MLD 2025 Today

Interested in connecting with Heritage? Join us for upcoming events! We're excited to welcome you. Click on the image below for more details.

Through the Lord’s grace, we have seen much growth and development at Heritage, and we recognize that we are on the brink of a new chapter for our community. The new seminary building, which is nearing completion, is one very visible reminder on campus of the Lord’s kindness to us as an institution. It also speaks of the great work He has yet for us to do. With hearts full of thanks, we look to the future with hope and in a spirit of dependency, recognizing that none of this would be possible without the Lord’s provision and the steadfast support of our partners.

I am honoured to be welcomed as Chancellor here at Heritage at this key moment of opportunity in the life and history of the school. The Lord has given me a passionate concern to see that a robust and faithful theological education is available across our great country. It is clear that the Lord has been guiding and preparing Heritage to increase its reach and service to the church in Canada and beyond.

This year has given us encouraging indications of the growh and renewal we sense is before us.  In September we welcomed on campus the second largest first year college class since 2011.  Additionally, our full-time enrolment in the seminary increased by 18%. While we rejoice in the blessings of the present day, we long and pray for the opportunity to serve an greater number of men and women as they prepare to go out and reach our nation with the good news of Jesus Christ.

With this goal in mind, we are so thankful to celebrate God’s incredible provision as we anticipate the January 2025 opening of our new Heritage Theological Seminary building. This new space is impressive in architectural and aesthetic terms, but the building is more than just bricks and mortar; it is a home for the school where we will teach the next generation, gather in community, and equip men and women for life and ministry. This building is a tangible symbol of God’s faithfulness to us—a reminder that He provides for His people, even beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.

           - Dr. Jonathan Griffiths

Watch the video below for a video update from Dr. Jonathan Griffiths.

We are excited to announce the publication of two new books through the Heritage Seminary Press.

The oversight of souls
Essays on pastoral ministry
By Ray Van Neste

"How do you understand pastoral ministry? What is the centre of your calling as a pastor? Is it difficult for your people to speak directly with you? Do you know your sheep? Do they know you? Are you really shepherding God’s flock as you have been called to by the Great Shepherd, Jesus himself? In this book, Ray Van Neste looks to God’s Word and church history to show that the oversight of souls is to be the very heart of pastoral ministry."

Click here to read more. 

A Phoenix of Women: Puritan spirituality in the letters of Brilliana Harley
Edited and introduced by Michael A.G. Haykin

"Brilliana’s letters reveal the heart of her spirituality. As the troubles around her increased, she took increasing solace in the truths of election, the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross and the sovereignty of God in salvation. The soil of her heart was truly warmed by “the sweet waters of God’s Word.”

Click here to read more. 

Heritage College & Seminary is excited to once again be hosting our annual Ministry Job Fair on campus, this year through our Career & Calling Centre.

We are excited to welcome camps, parachurch organizations, missions organizations, and churches to our campus to share about their ministries and current job openings. These ministries are hiring for full-time and part-time permanent jobs, summer jobs, and internships.

This event is open to:

• College and seminary students
• High school students interested in summer jobs or short-term missions trips
• Anyone interested in a career or job in ministry

We are looking forward to opening up our campus to you for this event. Please join us at Heritage, located at 175 Holiday Inn Drive, on January 9^th, 2025. You are welcome to drop in anytime from 2-6pm.

If you have questions, please contact us at careercentre@heritagecs.edu.

Ministries Attending

Athletes in Action

Child Evangelism Fellowship Ontario

Coldwater Canada

COMPASS Refugee Centre

International Justice Mission

Safe Familes KW & Cambridge

SEEDS (Supporting Every Eve’s Daughter Safely)

Christar

Ethnos Canada

Friends in Action International - Canada

Operation Mobilization

SEND International of Canada

Scripture Union

Camp Cherith Ontario

Camp Kwasind

Countryside Camp & Camp Shalom

EPIC and Onside

Fair Havens Camp & Conference Centre

Forest Cliff Camps

Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp

InterVarsity Circle Square Ranch Grand River

Muskoka Bible Centre

Pleasant Bay Adventure Camp

Bethel Baptist Church Strathroy

LIFE Church Stratford

Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform

Hope Story

Avant Ministries

Crossworld

Josiah Venture

Harbour Ridge Camp

Medeba

Forward Baptist Church

Parkdale Baptist Church

Deeks Insurance