| Type | Private theological seminary |
|---|---|
| Established | 1979 |
| President | Joel Kim [1] |
Academic staff | 13 |
| Students | 155 |
| Location | , , United States |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Website | www |
Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed and Presbyterian Christian seminary in Escondido, California. It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia until 1982 when it became fully independent. It has thirteen full-time faculty members and enrolls approximately 155 full-time students. [2]
Westminster Seminary California was founded in 1979 and welcomed its first students in the fall of 1980. It is a multi-denominational seminary in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition, with close relationships with several denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in America, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, United Reformed Churches in North America and Korean-American Presbyterian Church.
The Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church worships in the WSC Chapel. [3] [4] The congregation was founded in 2002 and has about 100 members. [4] [5] A number of members of the faculty are members of the congregation. [3] The Pastor is Zach Keele, a Westminster graduate. [6]
Westminster Seminary California is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges [7] and was first accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada in 1997. [2] The seminary offers a Master of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree.[ citation needed ]
Westminster Seminary California is associated with the Reformed Two kingdoms doctrine. Andrew Sandlin has called this the "Escondido Theology". [8]
Past and present notable faculty members include:
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.
Michael Scott Horton is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. He is a scholar and theologian, having written and edited more than forty books and contributed to various encyclopedias, including the Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology and Brill’s Encyclopedia of Christianity.
Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to take a liberal direction during the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), who objected to the rise of Liberal and Modernist theology in the 1930s. The OPC is considered to have had an influence on evangelicalism far beyond its size.
The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of Reformed churches founded in 1996. Many churches joined the URCNA after splitting from the Christian Reformed Church in North America denomination.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a predecessor to the contemporary Presbyterian Church (USA).
Herman Bavinck was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and churchman. He was a significant scholar in the Calvinist tradition, alongside Abraham Kuyper, B. B. Warfield, and Geerhardus Vos.
Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhere, especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all students to be members of the PCA, but it is bound to promote the teachings of its denomination. Faculty must subscribe to the system of biblical doctrine outlined in the Westminster Standards.
Mid-America Reformed Seminary is a graduate-level theological institution located in Dyer, Indiana, providing a biblical and theological education in the classic Reformed (Calvinistic) tradition. The seminary offers a three-year Master of Divinity degree program for students seeking ordination. A two-year Master of Theological Studies degree is offered for students who desire a theological education without seeking the ordained ministry.
The Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) is a Reformed denomination in the United States and Canada influenced by the tradition of English Puritanism and the Dutch Nadere Reformatie.
Robert Scott Clark is an American Reformed pastor and seminary professor. He is the author of several books, including his most recent work, Recovering the Reformed Confession.
Geerhardus Johannes Vos was a Dutch-American Calvinist theologian and one of the most distinguished representatives of the Princeton Theology. He is sometimes called the father of Reformed Biblical theology.
Jennings Ligon Duncan III is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor. He is Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
Northwest Theological Seminary was a theological seminary in the Reformed Christian tradition located in Lynnwood, Washington. It closed in 2018.
Geneva Reformed Seminary is a small theological school in Greenville, South Carolina, accredited by the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries and supported by the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. The seminary offers B.D. and M.Div. degrees. Initially called Whitefield College of the Bible after a companion school in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, the seminary was renamed in 2002 to avoid confusion in the United States where Bible schools and seminaries prepare students at different academic levels.
Joel Robert Beeke is an American Reformed theologian who is a pastor in the Heritage Reformed Congregations and the chancellor of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Under the oversight of the Heritage Reformed Congregations, Beeke helped found Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in 1995, where he served as president until he assumed the chancellorship in 2023. He teaches there as the professor of homiletics, systematic theology, and practical theology. Beeke has also taught as adjunct faculty at Reformed Theological Seminary and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary ; he was an adjunct professor of theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1993 to 1998; he lectured in homiletics at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido, California from 1995 to 2001; and he has lectured at dozens of seminaries around the world.
The Reformed Church in Japan is a confessional Calvinist denomination in Japan. It was formerly a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, but it chose to suspend its membership.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was officially established in 1971 when the First Presbytery was formed as a result of the union of various conservative Presbyterian and Continental Reformed congregations planted by various missionary groups. Its origin could be traced back to the 1950s when the very first missionaries of those Presbyterian and Continental Reformed missionaries arrived in Taiwan.
Norman Shepherd is an American theologian who served as associate professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary from 1963 to 1981.
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