John 14:6
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
Christ is not one subject in the curriculum. He is its centre and its end.
Our shared foundation
Statement of Faith
The worship, scholarship, formation, and service of Life Seminary are rooted in Holy Scripture and the central affirmations of historic Christian faith.
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10
Preamble
This statement is the seminary’s public account of what it teaches.
It is not a new creed. Every article below is an attempt to say, plainly and in contemporary English, what the church has confessed since the apostles. Where the historic creeds have spoken, the seminary receives their words rather than improving on them.
It is also not a boundary drawn to exclude. The articles are set at the level the ecumenical creeds are set, so that students from many traditions can study together in good conscience. What the statement does settle, it settles clearly; what it leaves open, it leaves genuinely open.
Why “Life”?
The name is a confession.
A seminary is named for what it believes its work is finally about. Ours is named for the life Christ gives, and for the end John names when he explains why he wrote his Gospel at all.
John 20:31
“That believing you may have life in his name.”
Scripture is studied for faith and life, not for information alone.
John 17:3
“This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God.”
Theology is the knowledge of God, and so it is never merely academic.
John 10:10
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Ministry exists so that others may receive what Christ came to give.
Scripture-centered
The Bible is the primary text and governing authority of our theological work.
Historically rooted
We receive the wisdom of the historic creeds and the global Christian tradition.
Christ-centered
Jesus Christ stands at the center of our doctrine, formation, mission, and hope.
The statement
Ten Articles of Doctrine
Each article is followed by the passages it rests on, so that the statement can be tested against Scripture rather than taken on the seminary’s word.
I
Holy Scripture
We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and are the trustworthy, authoritative Word of God for faith, doctrine, and life.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:105
II
The Triune God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - equal in divine being and glory, yet personally distinct.
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1-3
III
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human: conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, sinless in life, crucified for our sins, bodily raised, ascended, and coming again in glory.
John 1:14; Colossians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts 1:11
IV
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, convicts the world, gives new life, indwells and sanctifies believers, illumines Scripture, and empowers the church for witness and service.
John 14:16-17; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9-11
V
Creation and Humanity
We believe God created all things and made every human being in the divine image, with inherent dignity and a calling to love God, love neighbor, and steward creation faithfully.
Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:4-6; James 3:9
VI
Sin and Salvation
We believe humanity is alienated from God by sin and that salvation is God’s gift of grace, received through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by human merit.
Romans 3:23-24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7
VII
The Church
We believe the church is the body of Christ, called to worship God, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper, pursue unity, and embody Christ’s love in the world.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-6
VIII
Christian Discipleship
We believe those united to Christ are called to lifelong formation in holiness, prayer, wisdom, justice, mercy, reconciliation, and Spirit-empowered service.
Micah 6:8; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:22-25
IX
The Great Commission
We believe Christ sends the church to bear witness among all peoples, teaching disciples to obey all he commanded and serving communities with truth, compassion, and hope.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:14-15
X
The Consummation of All Things
We believe Jesus Christ will return personally and gloriously; the dead will be raised, God will judge with perfect justice, and the redeemed will share eternal life in the renewed creation.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Titus 2:13; Revelation 21:1-5
The church’s common confession
Rooted in the ecumenical creeds
Before the seminary says anything of its own, it says what the whole church has said. These three statements are taught in every degree plan and are received here without revision.
The Apostles’ Creed
Early church, received form by the 8th century
The baptismal confession of the Western church. It names the Father as maker of heaven and earth, the Son in his birth, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and return, and the Spirit in the church, forgiveness, resurrection, and life everlasting.
Received as a faithful summary of the apostolic gospel.
The Nicene Creed
Nicaea 325, expanded at Constantinople 381
The church’s confession of the full deity of the Son, "of one being with the Father," and of the Holy Spirit as "the Lord, the giver of life." It remains the most widely shared confession of the Christian church, East and West.
Received as the definitive statement of Trinitarian faith.
The Chalcedonian Definition
Chalcedon 451
The confession that Jesus Christ is one person in two natures, truly God and truly human, "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation." It guards both the reality of the incarnation and the integrity of Christ’s humanity.
Received as the boundary of faithful Christology.
Confessional breadth
One statement, many traditions.
Students come to Life Seminary from churches that differ on baptism, church government, the gifts of the Spirit, and the shape of Christ’s return. The articles are drawn so that those differences are studied here rather than settled at the door.
On every question the statement leaves open, coursework presents the major positions and the texts they rest on. You are assessed on how well you understand them, never on which one you hold.
Anglican and Episcopal
Baptist and Free Church
Lutheran
Methodist and Wesleyan-Holiness
Pentecostal and Charismatic
Presbyterian and Reformed
Anabaptist and Mennonite
Independent and non-denominational
Faith and scholarship
What the statement changes about the coursework.
A statement of faith that made no difference to the curriculum would be decoration. Here is where this one is load-bearing.
Scripture governs the curriculum
Every degree plan begins in the biblical text. Doctrine, history, and ministry practice are taught as disciplines that answer to Scripture rather than stand beside it.
The tradition is a teacher, not a museum
Students read the creeds, councils, and confessions as living witnesses, learning to think with the church across centuries rather than only within their own decade.
Doctrine is for the congregation
Theological work is assessed for its usefulness in preaching, pastoral care, teaching, and mission, not only for its accuracy on a page.
Common questions
How the statement works in practice
Must I agree with every article to study here?
Applicants are not asked to sign the statement. You are asked to study within it: to engage the seminary’s doctrinal position honestly and to represent other traditions fairly. Faculty and academic reviewers affirm the statement; students are welcomed from any tradition that can work inside it with integrity.
Is the seminary tied to one denomination?
Life Seminary is not the seminary of a single denomination. The articles above are deliberately drawn at the level the historic creeds are drawn, so that Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Reformed, Anabaptist, and independent students can study together without any of them having to leave their tradition at the door.
How are disputed questions handled in coursework?
On questions the articles do not settle - the mode of baptism, church government, the gifts of the Spirit, the millennium - courses present the major positions, the biblical texts each rests on, and the strongest case for each. Examinations assess whether you can state a position accurately and argue it responsibly, never whether you hold a particular one.
Will this statement satisfy my ordaining body?
Ordination requirements are set by each denomination and vary widely. The articles here are stated plainly, with their scriptural grounding, so that an ordaining council can read exactly what the seminary teaches and compare it with its own standards.
Who wrote and who maintains the statement?
The statement is held by the faculty and the Board of Trustees. It is reviewed on a regular cycle, and any change requires the agreement of both. It is published in full here rather than summarised, so that what the seminary teaches is a matter of public record.
Faith seeking understanding
Study theology in service of Christ and his church.
Every degree at Life Seminary is built on the convictions above, and taught by faculty who hold them.