When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:36-37, ESV).

This picture is just as true for the people of Africa today as it was for the people of Galilee when Jesus walked this earth. It has been estimated that there are half a million preachers in Africa who have no theological training. Those of us who live in Africa are in constant contact with pastors who long for adequate, sound theological training. Besides pastor-teachers, the church must be built up by equipping the saints for works of service.

Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary (SGTS) has a number of distinctives which enable it to make a unique contribution in meeting the needs of pastoral training and theological education in Africa.

The vision statement of Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary is:

To be a centre of excellence for reformed Biblical scholarship, devotion and teaching, impacting Africa with the gospel of Christ and a God-centred world view.

As is always the case with a vision statement, each word is significant, so it is helpful to explain in a little more detail what is intended by the statement.

Our mission statement is:

To build up the church by training men for pastoral ministry and equipping other believers with a deeper knowledge of God through his word.

It is helpful to look at the various parts of this statement in more detail.

The following six value statements help clarify our ethos and provide guidance for the way in which our work is done.

I have appreciated the quality and depth of the courses and have really benefited from my first three courses.  The Contact Sessions provided interaction with other students as well as with the lecturer, which was of great benefit to me.

Andrew Johnson
Church leader, East London, South Africa