Central Baptist Seminary was itself formed out of a split in fundamentalist Baptist ranks when, in 1948, firebrand Baptist leader Thomas Todhunter Shields, then head of the Union of Regular Baptist Churches of Ontario and Quebec, dismissed Dean W. Gordon Brown from his seminary. Brown and 50 students then went on to begin a new seminary holding more moderate positions under the direction of President Jack Scott.[1] The first number of years the seminary was housed at Forward Baptist Church in Toronto, Ontario. In 1950, the seminary acquired a new building at 225 St. George Street, Toronto.[2] In its formative years, CBS provided undergraduate and graduate theological education until the mid-1980s. In later years the seminary was moved to Gormley, Ontario (north of Toronto).
London Baptist Seminary began in 1976 in London, Ontario. The school provided undergraduate and graduate theological education. In 1981, the school's name changed to London Baptist Bible College and London Baptist Seminary (LBBC & LBS).
In 1991, the Ontario legislature officially recognized the seminary as a degree-granting institution through the passage of "An Act to Incorporate the Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary, 1991, 1991".[3]
Heritage was founded in 1993 through the merger of the former London Baptist Bible College and Seminary of London, Ontario and Central Baptist Seminary of Toronto, Ontario.[4][5]
Heritage College and Seminary is governed by a Board of Governors composed of distinguished Christian leaders from across Ontario. Heritage has adopted a Carver Policy Governance model for the Board of Governors and the institution. Heritage College and Seminary is affiliated with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada (Central Region), to whose churches the school serves with other like-minded evangelical churches, organizations, and denominations.[6]
Heritage is currently organized into two schools:
College (confers undergraduate degrees and certificates)
Seminary (confers graduate degrees and certificates)
For the college and seminary, the educational mission is "to glorify God by partnering with churches and parachurch organizations in providing a biblically based education equipping people for life and ministry in the church and in the world. More specifically, the College has its mission statement as: "to provide an evangelical, faith-based, university-level education to equip students for life and serve in the church, community and the world."[8] The Seminary's mission statement is: "to equip people for biblically and theologically grounded leadership and ministry to serve the mission of Christ and his church through their involvement in evangelical churches, denominations, mission agencies, and parachurch ministries.[9]
With eight core faculty and twenty-four adjunct faculty, the college offers undergraduate-level certificates and degrees in a range of disciplines. All Heritage bachelor's degree programs are Bible and Theology majors consisting of 30+ credit hours in Bible/Theology and Biblical Studies. In addition, the Bachelor of Church Music and the Bachelor of Religious Education––Honours degree programs are double majors consisting of the specific degree major in addition to the Bible/Theology major.[10]
Heritage Seminary currently has seven core faculty and nine adjunct faculty. The Seminary offers graduate-level programs in biblical and pastoral studies. Degrees include: Master of Divinity, Master of Divinity (Research track), and Master of Theological Studies.
^Brackney, W.H. (2006) Baptists in North America. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 167
^Haykin, Michael A.G., Baiyu Andrew Song, and Paul Andrew Grey Gillespie (2019) "Behold, the Lamb of God": A centennial history of Forward Baptist Church, Toronto, 1919–2019. Forward Baptist Church. p. 71
^General Information, Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary website, retrieved July 25, 2014
^Gordon L. Heath, Dallas Friesen, Taylor Murray, Baptists in Canada: Their History and Polity, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2020, p. 78
^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 214
^Michael A.G. Haykin, and Baiyu Andrew Song (2015). Finding Him Faithful: Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Westney Heights Baptist Church 1990–2015. Westney Heights Baptist Church. p. 27.
^Leslie K. Tarr (1968). This Dominion, His Dominion: Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada. Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches. p. 166.
^Pauline A. Brown (2006). Jars of Clay: Ordinary Christians on an extraordinary mission in southern Pakistan. Doorlight Publication.
Haykin, Michael A.G., and Jonathan N. Cleland (2023). “A priceless heritage”: A history of Heritage College and Seminary in three essays. Cambridge, Ontario: Heritage Seminary Press.
