About Us > LPTS Facts > Louisville Seminary Mission Statement

• History
• Accreditation
• Changes in Policy

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary is called by God through the church to
educate men and women to participate in the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ in the world.

Commitments

The Seminary is a community that affirms and trusts the ever-faithful presence and activity of the triune God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we confess the Scriptures to be the unique and authoritative witness to God's redemptive love for the world. As an institution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Seminary has a particular responsibility to preserve and develop the values and insights of the Reformed tradition.

Relationships

Consistent with the Reformed tradition, we are committed to an ecumenical vision of the ultimate unity of the Body of Christ. This vision recognizes the wholeness of the church's mission, respects the global and cross-cultural character of Christian ministry in the world and motivates continuing efforts at interfaith dialogue and practice. The faculty, staff, student body, administration and Board of Trustees of the Seminary represent a broad range of Christian confession. The United Methodist, the African Methodist Episcopal, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion and the Christian Methodist Episcopal communions officially recognize the Seminary as an appropriate school for their candidates to receive their theological education.

Educational Vision

The Seminary strives to provide an educational context in which students and teachers may explore and nurture their vocational commitments while becoming biblically, theologically and historically informed and competent in the diverse skills necessary for ministry. In the Seminary's integrated curriculum, the historical and contemporary resources of the church's thought and practice are in continual interaction with the contributions of our wider culture and with first-hand experiences of the practices of ministry. Through our commitment to scholarly research and teaching, the Seminary provides theological resources for the church by striving to interpret the gospel in an ever-changing world, by extending the horizons of theological inquiry and by shaping the church's intellectual foundation for its faith and ministry.

In all these activities, our aim is to nurture the convictions, character, vision, wisdom and forms of life vital to leadership in the Christian community and the wider culture.

Strategies

The majority of students are preparing for ministries of the Word and Sacrament through the Master of Divinity degree. A significant number are preparing for other types of ministry and scholarship related to the Doctor of Ministry, Master of Marriage and Family Therapy, and Master of Arts (Religion) degree programs.

The Seminary serves the wider church community by generating scholarship, educational opportunities, programming and research through the Louisville Institute, continuing and lay education, field education, and the Louisville Seminary Counseling Ministry.

In our life of worship, spiritual development, learning and mutual Christian care, the Seminary community is led by the Holy Spirit to respond to God in Jesus Christ. In our planning and stewardship, and through engagement with significant social struggles and ethical issues, the Seminary community seeks to model faithful Christian discipleship.