The school was founded in 1927 and is currently located adjacent to Jarvis Street Baptist Church with which the school has had a longstanding relationship. The school was proposed in 1925 by Dr. Thomas Todhunter Shields, editor of The Gospel Witness and pastor of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church who was dismayed by the modernism that had taken hold in contemporary theological institutions. McMaster University, which provided training for Ontario and Quebec's Baptist ministers, drew Shields' ire when it appointed a liberal professor to the faculty of theology. On December 23, 1926, The Gospel Witness announced that "Toronto Baptist Seminary, the new Baptist College rendered necessary by the inroads of Modernism, will open its classes on January 4, 1927, in the Seminary Building, 337 Jarvis Street, Toronto." From that opening date continuous successive classes of students were trained in the Seminary except for a break of three years during World War II. In 1948, the seminary suffered a split when over 50 students opposed to Shields' control left to form the Canadian Baptist Seminary under the leadership of W. Gordon Brown. Later the name was changed to Central Baptist Seminary which in 1993 merged with London Baptist Seminary to form Heritage Theological Seminary. Today, Toronto Baptist Seminary affirms solidarity and enjoys cooperation with such like-minded evangelical institutions. In the post-war era Toronto Baptist Seminary has enjoyed multiple generations of successful administrators, professors, and students passing through its facilities, notable among them, Michael A. G. Haykin, who was the principal from 2003–2007. In 2017 Toronto Baptist Seminary celebrated its 90th anniversary.
Status
The seminary has conferred theological degrees since its inception. However, in 1982, the Ontario legislature officially recognized the seminary as a degree-granting institution through the passage of Bill PR 44. In 1985, the institution changed its name from Toronto Baptist Seminary to the Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College.
Governance
The seminary is governed by a board of trustees, roughly half of which is made up of members and officials of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, and a Senate composed of the faculty, school administrators and several trustees.
Academic Programs
The institution offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Undergraduate Programs include: One-Year Bible Diploma Two-Year Bible Diploma Bachelor of Theological Studies Bachelor of Theology Graduate Programs include: Certificate of Theological Studies Master of Theological Studies Master of Divinity Master of Theology
