Discovering Our Priceless Heritage

In 2023, Heritage College & Seminary celebrated thirty years of equipping and training men and women for life and ministry. To mark the anniversary, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin, Professor of Church History at Heritage Theological Seminary, and Jonathan Cleland co-authored “A priceless heritage”: A History of Heritage College and Seminary in three essays— a new book looking back at the early beginnings of the school and the two historic schools that merged to form what is Heritage today.

In 1993, Heritage College & Seminary was formed from an amalgamation between two historic Ontario-based Baptist schools—London Baptist Bible College and Seminary, which was founded in 1976, and Central Baptist Seminary, founded in 1949. By formatting the book to tell the story in three essays focusing on the history of each school, Dr. Haykin explains that it was essential to telling the whole story.

“It was vital to know the history behind the formation of Heritage and that meant retelling the story of Central Baptist Seminary and London Baptist Bible College and Seminary,” says Haykin. “These two schools had their own unique histories that need to be remembered, but they also contributed to the makeup of Heritage hence the need for three essays.”

Now, as Heritage continues to serve and continue its mission to serve the evangelical church in Ontario and Canada, Haykin believes that the school will benefit a great deal from the opportunity to look into its past, learn from it, and gain greater clarity on the identity of the college and seminary.

“Projects like this promote humility as we reflect on what we have inherited and also the necessity of faithfulness to pass on that legacy,” says Haykin. “It teaches us that we are not the first to do this: we can learn from those who have gone before, their strength and their weaknesses.”

To order “A priceless heritage”: A History of Heritage College and Seminary in three essays, please visit H&E Publishing at this link.