Mission
The mission of GSTPS is to provide training to believers, pastors, and ministry leaders in sound biblical instruction and application that is equivalent to or greater than most seminaries.
GSTPS embraces the foundational truth that the Word of God is the final authority on all matters of doctrine, theology, and ministry. Further, we believe that the Reformed system of theology summarized in the 2nd London and Westminster confessions of faith represents the teaching of scripture. Therefore, the thrust of our mission and vision centers on and around the “knowing & understanding” the bible. This is vital because only through scripture can one know God and most vitally, know the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ.
We exist to provide training to believers, pastors, and ministry leaders in sound biblical instruction and application that is equivalent to or greater than most seminaries. Whether one is a pastoral candidate, current pastor, missionary or ministry student, GSTPS will provide functional and rich theological instruction as an extension of the local church.
Vision
Our Vision for GSTPS is that when students complete a program they will not only have learned the material, but have learned to apply it to their lives and ministries.
A student will be required to “learn” theological teaching and in turn “apply” this teaching to their personal lives, ministries and future plans. One constant will be that all students completing any program will be required to establish how the learning will be effective in his or her own lives as a Christian.
Our instruction is geared only toward theological training and applied theology rather than pragmatism of methods and philosophies. We feel that true ministry preparation begins and ends with scripture and methods of application are clearly taught within the confines of the biblical text. Therefore, the dogmatic philosophy of GSTPS is geared toward the end of worship of God rather than practice of man.
Additionally, GSTPS exists and operates through a cooperative effort of pastoral oversight from several churches who share the vision as a biblical mandate for theological education. GSTPS has an advisory board and educational council that will bring accountability to the doctrinal positions and the philosophy of education.
GSTPS purposes to provide local and online training that is overseen through the cooperation with one’s own church establishing a more credible interest along with oversight for those desiring to pursue active ministry during or after completion of their education. GSTPS
Because the scripture reveals that the church is to make disciples, we value the expansion of theological education through the church and as such we are comprised of instructors and overseers who are active in the local church who teach not in theory, but in practice and application.
GSTPS will not seek accreditation from local or federal agencies and while our learning methods and instruction will be of the highest caliber, utilization of these credits for future education should be discussed before matriculation. We have partnerships with many accredited institutions but the assessment methods for some of them are different and must be examined on a case-by-case basis. There is also a higher cost on some classes due to this and the student should make the administration aware of any future plans so that the program can be customized accordingly.