In the late 1970s, aspiring pastors at Grace Community Church would pile into 12-seater passenger vans for the hour-long drive to Talbot Theological Seminary. Eventually, GCC was sending so many students that Talbot allowed the church to start an extension campus.
On March 31, 1986, John MacArthur, pastor-teacher of GCC, and Irv Busenitz, a member of the extension campus faculty, decided it was time to start a new seminary. The seminary would train men for local church ministry on a local church campus. And students would be equipped by the pastors who ministered the gospel on that very campus.
The Master’s Seminary was founded in the fall of that year with ninety-five students and four full-time faculty members: Irv Busenitz, Marc Mueller, Donald G. McDougall, and Charles R. Smith. Charles R. Smith served as dean and John MacArthur served as president. In 1988, TMS received regional accreditation with The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
As we look back, we see God gathering a group of men and knitting their hearts together. Our founding members were united in sound doctrine and committed to the quality, integrity, and vision of the seminary. Today, we remain true to their convictions.
The Master’s Seminary exists to produce preachers. We envision a day where the pulpits, lecterns, and mission fields of this world are filled with faithful expositors of God’s Word. Our mission is to train men for pastoral ministry—to preach the Word of God, reach the world for Christ, and teach others to do the same.
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul writes, “The things that you have seen in me, the things you have heard from me, entrust these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” That is The Master’s Seminary’s model. We are entrusting the truth from one generation of church leadership to the next.
Expositors are born from sound theology, an accurate view of Scripture, a precise hermeneutic, and a comprehensive understanding of the biblical languages. Such knowledge ignites love for God, His Word, and His people. It cultivates humble hearts that long for holiness. Our students learn all of this from pastor-theologians who lecture by week and preach on weekends.
Over 2,000 graduates now serve in forty-five countries around the world. And a growing number of international students are training at TMS in preparation for ministry in their home countries. What began with ninety-five students has grown into an institution with twenty-two full-time faculty training almost 600 men. As the Lord continues to prepare and send out preachers through TMS, we pray that we would remember who we are. We are the Master’s seminary—from Him, through Him, and to Him. Soli Deo Gloria.
