Story of PTSeminary

Throughout our history, we have worked to provide students with a mature voice for Pentecost. Our roots are planted firmly in the Church of God and Pentecostal traditions, and we are constantly seeking to explore the depths of Christianity through these roots.

Our story began in 1975 when General Overseer Wade H. Horton presided as our first president. In 1976, we sent our first class of graduates into the world, and the PTSeminary tradition of kingdom-enriching alumni began.

Over the past 40 years, the mission of PTSeminary has remained the same. We are dedicated to preparing men and women of diverse career callings for contemporary Christian ministry. We want to share with students the vibrant, dynamic aspects of Pentecostalism, while celebrating and honoring heritage and tradition.

We are a community of faith, worship, and study, fostering meaningful relationships, and raising vital awareness of the global and missional diversity of the Church.  Whether you are a student continuing your education, a pastor seeking to enrich your ministry, or simply one hoping to grow deeper in the knowledge and faith of the kingdom, we look forward to aiding you in the integration of the world and your calling.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary is to form, support, and resource women and men for Holy Spirit-filled, Holy Spirit-led Christian ministry in today’s world. The Seminary is dedicated to carry out this task as an act of obedience to God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Seminary is committed to the absolute authority of Scripture and to the Holiness-Pentecostal interpretation of the Christian faith as set forth in the Declaration of Faith of the Church of God. The Seminary seeks to be a community of faith, worship, and study, nurturing covenantal relationships and creating awareness of the world mission and global diversity of the Church. It is the intention of the Seminary to help students integrate life and learning in such a way that they may acquire the maturity and professional competency needed to carry out the mission of the Church in the world. As a denominationally sponsored institution, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary is fully committed to the spiritual, doctrinal, and ethical emphases of the Church of God and is firmly dedicated to serving and training its ministry.

OUR VISION

From its beginning, the Pentecostal Theological Seminary has followed a model for ministerial development drawn from the Scriptures and the heritage of Wesleyan-Pentecostalism: the community of faith. The underlying thesis of the model has been that equipping persons for ministry is the responsibility of the church and must be done in the context of being the church. The Seminary is the church of God gathered for theological education. This conviction requires the Seminary to continually seek to conform to the nature of the church, to see its mission as an expression of the mission of the church, and to maintain an interdependent relationship with the larger church. These realities constitute the governing vision of the nature of the Seminary.

WE BELIEVE

The Church of God believes the whole Bible to be completely and equally inspired and that it is the written Word of God. The Church of God has adopted the following Declaration of Faith as its standard and official expression of its doctrine.

• In the verbal inspiration of the Bible
• In one God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
• That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary. That Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. That He ascended to heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as the Intercessor.
• That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that repentance is commanded of God for all and necessary for forgiveness of sins.
• That justification, regeneration, and the new birth are wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
• In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.
• Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people.
• In the baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.
• In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost.
• In water baptism by immersion, and all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
• Divine healing is provided for all in the atonement.
• In the Lord’s Supper and washing of the saints’ feet.
• In the premillennial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years.
• In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.