Mission & Values
North Park Theological Seminary embodies the institutional values of North Park University and Affirmations of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
To these we add our particular Mission, our Vision for the church we serve, and five core Values that characterize our institution and community.
MISSION
We join the Triune God
in forming whole persons
with the living Gospel
to serve the church and world
for God’s glory and neighbor’s good.
VISION
We envision a faithful, healthy church for a just and flourishing world.
Values
These five values characterize the institution and community of North Park Theological Seminary
Living Gospel
Joining God’s work in the world, guided by Scripture, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we pursue education that transforms individuals and communities. Our work is grounded in and directed toward the living Gospel that redeems all dimensions of the created order.
Whole People
As new creatures in Christ, we understand Christian life and ministry to engage the whole person. Seminary education is for the head, heart, and hands, fostering nuanced thinking, emotional maturity and deepened spirituality, and discerned participation with God’s mission in the world
Rigorous Humility
We recognize there is a range of biblically grounded theological traditions and ethical applications in complex contexts. We cultivate rigorous, generous dialogue across diverse Christian viewpoints, with respect and humility, and seek to engage in honest dialogue as “companions of all who fear the Lord.”
Intercultural Community
We seek to embody God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, actively working toward greater equity, justice, and peace within the intercultural mosaic. We strive to be a learning community of curiosity and belonging, believing that growth takes place in particular relationships of mutuality and solidarity.
Active Hope
As a Christian community rooted in hope, we make intentional space for lament, laughter, and joy. Acknowledging that we live in a complex world, we are confident that God is present, active, and has good plans for humanity, and we join God in creative and purposeful action.
The Covenant Affirmations
While the Evangelical Covenant Church is nonconfessional, we take our theology and our history seriously, and we value the early creeds. Our common Christian affirmations are that we are an apostolic, catholic, Reformation, and evangelical church.
In that heritage, we share central Christian beliefs, which draw us together in faith and fellowship and make possible a freedom among us on more widely ranging issues.
We Affirm
The Centrality of the Word of God
We Affirm
The Necessity of New Birth
We Affirm
A Commitment to the Whole Mission of the Church
We Affirm
The Church as a Fellowship of Believers
We Affirm
A Conscious Dependence on the Holy Spirit
We Affirm
The Reality of Freedom in Christ
Our forefathers rarely asked, when they met their friends and neighbors, ‘What do you believe?’ But sooner or later they were sure to ask, ‘Are you alive spiritually?’ ‘Have you found life in Christ?’”
—Donald Frisk, Dean of North Park Theological Seminary, 1961-1967