Why DTS?

Our core beliefs, world-class degree programs, and modern flexibility combine to create the perfect environment for you to become immersed in Scripture, enamored with Jesus, and equipped for the Church.

Teaching truth and loving well are at the heart of DTS. We believe that teaching truth without love and loving apart from truth fall short of the example set by Christ, the perfect embodiment of both truth and love. If we teach truth without love, we fail to communicate Christ’s invitation of grace. And attempting to love apart from truth neglects the foundation from which love derives its meaning. Neither truth nor love is an end in itself; they are inextricably linked, working together for the proclamation of the gospel and the building up of the body of Christ.

Our goal at DTS, therefore, is to develop leaders who are biblically rooted in their theology and relationally sound in their engagement with others. We want our students, faculty, and staff to be shaped by their love for God and equipped to teach truth, that we may all love the people we serve.

Core Values

Our core values reflect our mission as a seminary and embody our pursuit of teaching truth and loving well.

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Trust in God's Word

  • Divine revelation
  • Anchor of academic and community life
  • Identity-shaping
  • Hope-inducing
  • Worldview creating

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16

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Depend on the Lord

  • God never changes
  • People provided by God for the DTS mission
  • Prayer for increasing reliance on Him
  • Source of spiritual growth and ministry strength

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

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Love Others above Ourselves

  • Love is a disciple’s hallmark
  • Manifests in respect and honor for all image-bearers
  • Unity in Jesus Christ and variety in His body and the world
  • Relationship building as part of God’s good work for us

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:12-13

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Pursue Excellence in Everything

  • The Triune God is worthy of our best for His glory
  • Resources directed toward the good of others and DTS
  • Community coordination for God’s work at DTS
  • Service to God over personal gain

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

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Serve Our Students Everywhere

  • Students are the heart of the DTS mission
  • Seeking the best learning environment
  • Truth and charity characterizing seminary dialogue
  • Employees sacrificially meeting student needs

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3-4

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Strengthen the Church Worldwide

  • Global disciple-making
  • Mutual learning and serving alongside the global church
  • Resources and opportunities for encouragement
  • Anticipating every nation, tribe, people, and language worshipping God

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.

Psalm 67:1-3

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Outside of my family and church, DTS has played the most foundational
role in my spiritual development. The seminary shaped my theological
understanding and its application to my preaching, discipleship, and
ministry development. My coursework became an opportunity to assess
my leadership, revealing potential for further development, personally
and positionally. I’m still applying this kind of personal assessment in
my service at church and at DTS.

Pierre Cannings, THM (2013)

Our Mission

The mission of Dallas Theological Seminary as a professional, graduate-level school is to glorify God by equipping godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of His Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide.

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