This month, The Master’s Seminary appointed three new full-time faculty members: Dr. Nathan LeMaster, Dr. Peter Sammons, and Dr. Michael Riccardi. We are introducing these men in a series of three articles. Below is the second article, announcing Dr. Sammons’ appointment as Assistant Professor in the theology department.
The Master’s Seminary has appointed Dr. Peter Sammons (Ph.D. The Master’s Seminary) as a full-time faculty member. As part of the theology department, Dr. Sammons will teach courses on the doctrines of bibliology, Theology proper, Christology, and Pneumatology. He also has particular interest in the Reformers and Puritans and will teach electives on Calvin, Puritan theology, and the attributes of God.
Dr. Sammons grew up in Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. Not raised in a Christian home, he first understood and embraced the gospel in high school. Shortly after his conversion, a pastor friend encouraged him to read John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Through Calvin’s writing, and other works from reformers like Martin Luther, Dr. Sammons came to have a deep appreciation for reformed theology.
For his undergraduate studies, Dr. Sammons attended Olivet Nazarene University near Chicago. There he earned a degree in Philosophy and Theology, and met his wife, Gabrielle. The two married in 2007, the summer before their senior year. A few weeks after graduating from college, the Sammons moved to Southern California and Dr. Sammons began pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at The Master’s Seminary. The school’s connection to the local church was the main reason he chose TMS. He wanted to invest his life in the local church and be trained academically in that context.
In 2011, Dr. Sammons completed his Master of Divinity. A year later, he graduated from the Master of Theology program. And in 2017, he completed his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology. Since then, he has published two books. In January 2020, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, a German publishing house, released his book Reprobation: From Augustine to the Synod of Dort: The Historical Development of the Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation. On January 25, 2022, Kregel Academic will release Dr. Sammons’ second book. It is titled Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty: Redeeming a Biblical Doctrine. Alongside his faculty position, Dr. Sammons will continue to provide leadership to academic publishing efforts at the seminary, including The Master’s Seminary Journal.
“For the past five years, Dr. Sammons has served our institution in a variety of roles, including as an adjunct faculty member. During that time, he has proven himself both inside and outside the classroom,” said Dr. Nathan Busenitz, Executive Vice President at TMS. “The feedback from students who have taken his classes has been very positive. With the publication of his second book, Dr. Sammons continues to make valuable contributions to theological scholarship, both at TMS and beyond.”
Dr. Sammons and his wife Gabrielle have two children, and attend Grace Community Church, where they serve in the GraceLife fellowship group.