Every place is a unique context for ministry. No matter where you go, you can always find nuances that make serving and leading the church difficult, complex, or just different. Scripture, of course, does not change, but the application of Scripture and the contextual basis for understanding truth has its own set of challenges in any given location.
When it comes to learning, teaching, and living the word of God, Salt Lake City may be one of the most contextually difficult places in the U.S. On the one hand, our city is home to many who would ascribe to the dominant worldview of the western world. Tolerance and inclusivity are championed and self-expression is encouraged. In this progressive secularism, truth is relative if it exists at all.
But on the other hand, SLC is the headquarters of the dominant religion in this region. The LDS church increasingly calls itself “Christian” and commandeers orthodox terminology, but they are attaching their own meaning to these familiar words. The semantic blur of Mormonism can be confusing for a theology student arriving in Salt Lake for the first time.
So when a student brings a theology degree to the city, there are contextual layers of learning that must take place before he or she can effectively minister. But what if it were possible to get theological training right here in this context? What if you could study the deity of Christ in a context where that very doctrine is under attack? What if you could learn what’s at the heart of the atonement while at the same time comprehending what differentiates the Mormon and the orthodox Christian definition of the term?
What better place to learn theological truth than where it is proclaimed, defended, and applied?
This is the heart of Salt Lake School of Theology.
It is our desire to contextualize learning so that students can quickly understand how God’s Word comes to bear in this unique context. Students can sit in a classroom with other pastors and students from around the valley, learn theology in community, and apply its truth in their own local church.
Salt Lake City and the surrounding metropolitan areas require highly contextualized ministry, and there’s no better place to learn than right here in the city.
Salt Lake School of Theology exists to glorify God by training and equipping students spiritually, theologically, and missionally to lead and serve the body of Christ.