Trinity School for Ministry

The information on this page was last updated 3/16/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]

Summary

Contact information

Mailing address:
Trinity School for Ministry
311 11th Street
Ambridge, PA 15003

Website: tsm.edu

Phone: (724) 266-3838

Email: [email protected]

Organization details

EIN: 251271008

CEO/President: Dr. Byran Hollon

Chairman: Elizabeth Lewis

Board size: 25

Founder: Rev. Alfred Stanway

Ruling year: 1975

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end:

Member of ECFA: Yes

Member of ECFA since: 1980

Purpose

Mission statement

Welcoming evangelical, charismatic and catholic streams: We welcome students and faculty who long for a Church that is evangelical in faith, catholic in order, and Spirit-driven in mission. We have a vital commitment to students from Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and also to students from The Episcopal Church (TEC) and from other Anglican jurisdictions both in North America and abroad. We also welcome students from other Christian traditions.

Upholding a strong evangelical and Anglican identity: We stand in the great Anglican Evangelical tradition that is rooted in the primacy of the scriptures and the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and which is foundationally expressed in the classic Book of Common Prayer.

Serving the Church faithfully: We are committed to serving the Church by preparing men and women to be leaders for its mission, its renewal, the planting and growth of congregations, and the proclamation of the never-changing truth in an ever-changing world.

Providing excellent teaching and scholarship: We hold high standards of excellence in teaching and scholarship, believing that these will further both personal maturity and practical effectiveness in mission.

Planting deep formational roots in our community: We value the deep formation in Christian ministry that is possible in the residential degree programs of the school. In addition we believe in being flexible and innovative in providing theological education by extension with a global reach through the internet and off-campus classes and conferences.

Engaging in active discipleship: We believe that the discipleship of the whole person is essential preparation for ministry. We commit to foster in all our seminarians - men, women, single, married, married with children - spiritual and emotional maturity, integrity, grace, and holiness of life. Creating lifelong learners: We are committed to building a life-long community of learning among our graduates and other Christian leaders aimed at constantly improving their knowledge and ability as servants of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Trusting God's provision: We believe that "money follows ministry," and therefore are accountable to our partners in ministry for careful stewardship of God's money. We prayerfully rely on God's provision and the generosity of His people in providing quality theological education at a reasonable cost for this and future generations.

Statement of faith

We affirm our belief in historic Christianity as revealed in the Scriptures and summarized in: the three Creeds (the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian) and the Thirty-Nine Articles.

The purposes of the following statements are to indicate certain emphases in the teaching of Trinity School for Ministry rather than to circumscribe its theological interest. We recognize the need today for reaffirming the following beliefs.

ARTICLE I: The Holy Trinity: The mystery of the Holy Trinity, namely, that the one God exists eternally in the three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and has so revealed himself to us in the Gospel.

ARTICLE II: The Lord Jesus Christ: The full deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, who by reason of his birth of the Virgin Mary, sinless life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, glorious ascension and triumphant reign, is the only Mediator between God and man.

ARTICLE III: The Holy Scriptures: The trustworthiness of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as "God's Word written," which contain all things necessary for salvation, teach God's will for his world, and have supreme authority for faith, life and the continuous renewal and reform of the Church.

ARTICLE IV: Justification and Sanctification: The justification of the repenting and believing sinner as God's gracious act of declaring him righteous on the ground of the reconciling death of Christ, who suffered in our place and rose again for us; and sanctification as the gracious continuing activity of the Holy Spirit in the justified believer, perfecting his repentance, nurturing the new life implanted within him, transforming him into Christ's image, and enabling him to do good works in the world.

ARTICLE V: The Christian Church: The Church as the Body of Christ, whose members belong to the new humanity, are called to live in the world in the power of the Spirit, worshipping God, confessing his truth, proclaiming Christ, supporting one another in love and giving themselves in sacrificial service to those in need.

ARTICLE VI: Spiritual Gifts and Ministry: The calling of all Christians to exercise their God-given gifts in ministry, and to work, witness and suffer for Christ; together with the particular calling of ordained ministers, who, by preaching, teaching and pastoral care, are to equip God's people for his service, and to present them mature in Christ.

ARTICLE VII: The Gospel Sacraments: The sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion as "visible words" which proclaim the Gospel, and are means of grace by which faith is quickened and strengthened.

In particular, the significance of the Lord's Supper as a communion in the Body and Blood of Christ, who offers himself to us in the action of this sacrament, so that by faith we may feed on him in our hearts and offer ourselves to him in gratitude for our salvation through his cross.

Also, the openness of the Lord's Table as the place where all baptized believers, being one in Christ, are free to celebrate their common salvation in the Lord, and to express their common devotion to his person and his service.

ARTICLE VIII: The Return of Christ: The personal return in glory of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of this age for the resurrection of the dead, some to life, some to condemnation, for the glorification of his Church, and for the renewal of the whole creation.

ADDENDUM: In 2014, Trinity entered into a partnership agreement with the North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS). As the seminary of the North American Lutheran Church, the NALS is doctrinally committed to the three creeds and to the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, as it is interpreted by the other confessional writings in the 1580 Book of Concord. This authority of Holy Scripture, historic creedal orthodoxy, and central principles of the Reformation provide a basis for partnership without compromise of either institution's mission of doctrinal integrity.

Donor confidence score

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Transparency grade

C

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Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Colleges/Universities

This ministry has not been rated.

Financial ratios

Financial ratios for this ministry have not been calculated.

Financials

Financials for this ministry have not been collected.

Compensation

Compensation data for this ministry has not been collected.

Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.

The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/16/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]

History

Trinity School for Ministry is an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition. In this fractured world, we desire to be a global center for Christian formation, producing outstanding leaders who can plant, renew, and grow churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. To this end we are forming Christian leaders for mission.

Trinity School for Ministry was born in the renewal movement of the 1970s. In 1975, the Rt. Rev. Alfred Stanway, a retired Australian missionary bishop, answered a call from members of the Fellowship of Witness to be Trinity's first Dean and President. He moved to the Pittsburgh area and set up an office in his home, using his garage for the library. Bishop Stanway had been recommended by John Stott, J.I. Packer, John Guest, and other evangelical leaders for his vision of renewal and his extraordinary ability to translate this vision into a lively Christian body. He called the Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, a professor and chaplain at Virginia Theological Seminary, to be the senior professor.

Classes began in 1976 with a small faculty and 17 students-none with sponsoring bishops-meeting in rented classrooms at a local college. Two years later, the seminary purchased an empty Presbyterian Church in Ambridge, PA and the abandoned supermarket across the street. These buildings were then converted into a campus.

Trinity has grown steadily in our residential, online, and partnership programs. Trinity alumni, both lay and ordained, serve both domestically and around the world. We now have a faculty of fourteen and numerous adjunct professors.

Our student body continues to increase, more and more bishops are ordaining Trinity graduates, and the seminary has received millions of dollars in gifts from a growing number of parishes and individuals. Trinity has had many alumni and former members of the faculty who have served as bishops and other significant leadership roles in the Anglican global world. In 2010, the Most Rev. Hector "Tito" Zavala was elected as the Primate of the Southern Cone, making him the first Trinity alumnus to oversee a province of the Anglican Communion.

The Very Rev. Bryan C. Hollon, Ph.D. is the eighth Dean President. He was installed in September 2022.

Previously published works detailing the history of Trinity are Lift High the Cross and Our History & Heritage.

Question	Response	Score
Does the organization have a statement of faith consistent with historic Christian creeds and is that statement of easily found on its website?	Yes	3/3
Does the board have no more than 2 non-independent members?	Yes	10/10
Does the board have at least four independent board members for every non-independent member?	Yes	3/3
Does the board contain between 5 and 11 members?	No	0/10
Does the organization file a Form 990 and make its Form 990 available to the public?	No	0/25
Does the organization make its audit or review (if annual revenue is more than $1-m) available on its website?	No	0/2
Is the organization a member of the ECFA?	Yes	20/20
Is the CEO/President's compensation within one standard deviation of the median compensation?	No	0/2
For the past five years, has the organization been free of any lawsuits or administrative actions filed against it by an employee, client, board member, vendor, donor, or other related party?	Yes	2/2
Does the organization require its employees to affirm upon hiring the statement of faith of the organization?	Yes	2/2
Is the board chair an independent member of the board?	Yes	2/2
Have there been no public accusations of misdeeds against the organization, founder, CEO, senior pastor, or board members in the past five years?	Yes	2/2
Has the organization refrained from the use of non-disclosure agreements?	Yes	2/2
Does the organization have an overall financial efficiency rating of at least 3 stars?	No	0/15
Total donor confidence score		46/100