About
Mission
The Pastors College exists to teach men how to build their lives and families and churches upon the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When the gospel is consistently and faithfully applied, it produces a particular kind of pastor—and you know it when you see it. They become joyful, humble, grateful, encouraging, servant-hearted shepherds.
Such pastors display the beauty and power of the gospel they proclaim. They are infectious, resilient, and steadfast—in a word, faithful. And these are the kinds of pastors whose own joy in Christ creates cultures of joy, humility, servanthood, and grace in the churches they lead.
Our ambition for the lives of our graduates is captured by these 10 traits—men who:
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Savor the beauty of Christ above all else
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Pursue the exaltation of God’s glory in all things
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Marvel that their sins are forgiven
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Trust fully in the power of God’s Word to change lives
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Rely wholly on the power of the Holy Spirit
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Delight in loving and leading their families
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Count caring for God’s people a staggering privilege
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Love and pursue the lost
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Value the strength, joy, and humility that team ministry brings
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Find steadfast resolve in Christ’s promise to build his church
Non-Discrimination Policy
The Pastors College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
Beliefs
We are a confessional institution.
The Pastors College is a confessional institution that is founded upon the beliefs and values of Sovereign Grace Churches. Our biblical and theological convictions undergird all that we teach, resulting in an overarching theological unity to our curriculum at every point, with the gospel of Jesus Christ at its center.
Far from producing a rigid conformity, this theological coherence is critical both for the stability of a pastor’s ministry and for the unity of our churches. Unity that endures must be theological at its core–unity in the truth of God’s Word. And since the Pastors College exists to serve Sovereign Grace Churches, the training we provide must serve to strengthen and reinforce the truths we confess together.
We emphasize theological ministry.
As our name suggests, our mission is to train pastors. Therefore, a Pastors College education is not merely theological education in the abstract, but training that equips a pastor to bring the truth of God’s Word to bear upon the lives of God’s people. Nor are the pastoral aspects of our program merely practical. We self-consciously train our students to do what we call “theological ministry”—ministry in which methodology is not incidental, but rather all methodology is informed and shaped by theological conviction.
We instill Gospel-informed values.
Finally, the Pastors College experience is also shaped by certain key values that shape the local churches and ministries of Sovereign Grace, regardless of our context. As a faithful application of our theological convictions, these values help define what it means to be a Sovereign Grace church. Our curriculum endeavors to instill these values with the hope that each student, his family, the church he will serve, and our entire denomination will be strengthened as we endeavor to proclaim in our ministries and reflect in our lives the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Affiliation
The Pastors College exists for Sovereign Grace Churches.
The Pastors College was founded in 1997 for the purpose of training men for pastoral ministry within Sovereign Grace Churches. The college continues to serve Sovereign Grace by equipping pastors, church planters, and bi-vocational elders to serve in our churches and beyond. The Pastors College remains a ministry of Sovereign Grace Churches, and it is accountable to the Sovereign Grace Churches’ Council of Elders for its doctrine and practice.
Dean of College
Jeff T. Purswell
As Director of Theology and Training for Sovereign Grace Churches, Jeff Purswell (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the Dean of the Pastors College. He is the editor of Bible Doctrine (an abridgment of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology), an editor and contributor to Scripture and the People of God: Essays in Honor of Wayne Grudem, and he contributed a chapter to Wordliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. He serves on the board of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and is a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. He and his wife, Julie, have two sons.
For more of Jeff’s story about how he came to the Pastors College, as well as his burden for the role of the Pastors College, listen here.
Staff
Steve Whitacre
Academics & Operations
Steve teaches Greek, serves as academic advisor to the students, and oversees all PC operations.
Brian Chesemore
Student Care
Brian brings pastoral care and encouragement to the PC students and their wives throughout the academic year.
Mikayla Hirsch
Administration
Mikayla provides academic administration and logistical planning for PC students.
Ciera Hainge
International Students
Ciera assists incoming international students in the visa application process.