Our ministry training programs are distinctive in several ways:

1. we are transdenominational in approach with a strong respect for ancient, traditional, contemporary and emerging forms of church leadership,
2. we blend a serious focus on academics with additional emphases on practical training and personal spiritual formation,
3. our intention is to develop healthy spiritual leaders that will be able to build healthy Christian communities,
4. we encourage an "ancient-future" paradigm by studying classical Christian writers as well as brand new writers and discussing their insights for pastoral care today,
5. we deeply value the ongoing work of renewal that the Holy Spirit brings to the church in many different ways, and we help people to be practitioners, not just observers. 
6. we include travel, prayer, study, community life, worship, conversation and mission as essential elements of Christian formation.

SSU’s approach to theological education is an attempt at a holistic preparation for a life of Christian ministry. It fuses together a striving for academic excellence, practical training in a local church or mission, and a serious focus on personal spiritual formation. All of this is carried out within SSU’s vibrant, trans-denominational, community ethos. We are preparing leaders for the 21st century church by revisiting Christian classics as well as by studying emergent and postmodern writers. In this way we are working toward the formation of an ancient-future paradigm. We celebrate the whole Church and we also honour the renewing work of the Holy Spirit around the world.

We believe that much of theological education for the past several generations  has been better at preparing researchers than spiritual leaders. In the words of Richard John Neuhaus, “What is needed is not the training of religious technicians, but the formation of spiritual leaders.”  We agree. In small, highly interactive classes, where people’s real questions and life issues are faced in a caring way, students gradually become the message they want to convey. This process is greatly enhanced by our focus on Ignatian Spiritual Formation—classes in prayer that lead to personal self-awareness for the sake of serving others. We are dipping into many fountains, both ancient and contemporary, from many parts of the Christian Church, to prepare healthy and authentic leaders for the future.

 

To learn more about courses, majors & requirements of the program click here >>>