Fulfilling Denominational Requirements
The Seminary works with students from all denominations, as well as nondenominational students, in order to assist them with their ordination requirements and any other expectations.
Free Methodist Church
Three faculty members and one staff member of Seattle Pacific Seminary are ordained elders in the Free Methodist Church, and several others attend a Free Methodist church.
Seattle Pacific Seminary is approved as one of six recognized seminaries affiliated with the John Wesley Seminary Foundation for educating Free Methodist students for ordination. This approval means that Free Methodist students who are certified by their annual conference Ministerial Education and Guidance Board are eligible for a significant scholarship to be applied toward their tuition.
The Seminary also offers the courses that are required for Free Methodist ordination. The denominational liaison, Dr. Doug Koskela, an elder in the Free Methodist Church, works with students who are interested in ordination within the FMC.
United Methodist Church
Seattle Pacific Seminary is approved by the United Methodist University Senate. Four faculty members of Seattle Pacific Seminary are members of the United Methodist Church, three of whom are ordained in the denomination. The Seminary offers the courses required for denominational ordination as a deacon or elder in the United Methodist Church, including “UM Doctrine,” “UM History,” “UM Polity,” and “Evangelism.” The current denominational liaison, Dr. Matt Sigler, works with students who are interested in the candidacy process within the Pacific Northwest Conference or any other United Methodist annual conference. View the guidelines for how UM course requirements can be fulfilled through SPS (PDF).
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Four Seattle Pacific Seminary faculty members are ordained to Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and several others attend a Presbyterian church.
The Seminary has been validated by regional presbyteries, and it adheres to the standards of the PC (USA) Office of Theology, Worship, and Education for approved educational institutions in preparing students for ministry. The curriculum for all students under care in the PC (USA) is structured around the specific concerns and collaborative direction of the student’s committee for preparation on ministry, and in the context of the five key content areas outlined in G-2.0607 of the PC (USA) Book of Order.
We suggest that all PC (USA) inquirers and candidates take the Bible Content Examination in their first year of seminary. In preparation for the other four examinations, PC (USA) students take a denominational distinctive course ("Reformed Polity and Worship"), which Seattle Pacific Seminary offers in alternating years, and which is ordinarily taken by inquirers or candidates after completion of two full years of theological education. The denominational liaison, Dr. Jeff Keuss, who is ordained to Word and Sacrament in the PC (USA), works with students who are interested in ordination within the PC (USA).
Evangelical Covenant Church
Four Seattle Pacific Seminary faculty members are members of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and one of them is ordained in the denomination. The Seminary will assist ECC students who need to take the four Covenant Orientation Studies courses (“History of the ECC,” “Theology of the ECC,” “Mission and Ministry,” and “Sustaining Vocational Excellence”). The courses will be taken either at North Park Seminary or at another venue. The History and Theology courses will be transferable to Seattle Pacific Seminary. The denominational liaison, Dr. Bob Drovdahl, works with students who are interested in licensing and ordination within the ECC.
Other Denominations
The faculty and students of Seattle Pacific Seminary represent a range of churches in addition to the denominations listed above, including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Church of the Nazarene, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN), and various Baptist, Pentecostal, and nondenominational churches.