Presidents Welcome and Message
For over a quarter of a century, I have watched as Andersonville Seminary has grown from a small unknown Bible school into a seminary with a worldwide student body. Over those years, many things have changed at ATS so that our students might have the best opportunities to receive a seminary education while actively serving in the field. Yet, one thing has not changed and will not change – Andersonville Seminary’s commitment to teaching God’s word in a verse-by-verse style as frequently as is possible in every program. No filler courses will be found in our curriculum; instead our programs are overflowing with actual Bible exposition and exegesis. Further, ATS has a commitment to offering students the widest range of courses within the world of Bible based seminary distance education – Greek, Hebrew, Systematic Theology, Pastoral Counseling, along with scores of other courses can all be completed by the Christian actively serving in the field without having to leave the field. Not only has Andersonville Seminary successfully offered a thorough Bible curriculum, but ATS has offered our programs at the most affordable tuition rate in the world. Surely, we could charge more for our programs and we could become like all the other seminaries that have chosen to follow the pattern of secular colleges and universities. Instead, ATS has chosen to continue to keep the active Christian as our focus, which simply means that Andersonville has chosen to offer discounts, payment plans, and low tuition rates for all of our programs and courses. While this has drawn criticism from others within Christian education circles, Andersonville Seminary has not waivered from this commitment, and as all can see, God has blessed our stance greatly.
Beyond all question, I know that there are yet a few seminaries remaining that still are striving to teach God’s word, but I think of these select few, ATS is the best. That being said, I know that ATS is not for every student, for our commitment to the active Christian is accompanied by an even stronger conservative commitment to God’s word. As our doctrinal statement plainly declares, Andersonville Seminary not only teaches God’s word, it teaches it as the infallible and inspired word of God in its strongest sense. Like no other book in the world, the Bible is handled as God’s sole written revelation to all humanity and as the final authority in all matters of faith. This is not limited to the intangible originals, but the very Scripture we can all hold within our very hands today. While this stance may seem out of step with the current mainstream views of other seminaries, ATS unapologetically declares that God’s word is still available and still alive for us today even as it was to its original audiences millennia ago.
So as I close, I want not only to encourage you to carefully consider ATS as the most wonderful seminary to learn God’s word, but I also want to thank you for allowing me to visit with you in these few lines. Should you choose another seminary, I pray God’s will will be fully accomplished in your life. Should you choose Andersonville Theological Seminary, I truly hope that you will find Andersonville to be all that I have shared with you and that I will be able to personally hand you an Andersonville Seminary degree at our on-campus graduation ceremonies.In His Service,
Beyond all question, I know that there are yet a few seminaries remaining that still are striving to teach God’s word, but I think of these select few, ATS is the best. That being said, I know that ATS is not for every student, for our commitment to the active Christian is accompanied by an even stronger conservative commitment to God’s word. As our doctrinal statement plainly declares, Andersonville Seminary not only teaches God’s word, it teaches it as the infallible and inspired word of God in its strongest sense. Like no other book in the world, the Bible is handled as God’s sole written revelation to all humanity and as the final authority in all matters of faith. This is not limited to the intangible originals, but the very Scripture we can all hold within our very hands today. While this stance may seem out of step with the current mainstream views of other seminaries, ATS unapologetically declares that God’s word is still available and still alive for us today even as it was to its original audiences millennia ago.So as I close, I want not only to encourage you to carefully consider ATS as the most wonderful seminary to learn God’s word, but I also want to thank you for allowing me to visit with you in these few lines. Should you choose another seminary, I pray God’s will will be fully accomplished in your life. Should you choose Andersonville Theological Seminary, I truly hope that you will find Andersonville to be all that I have shared with you and that I will be able to personally hand you an Andersonville Seminary degree at our on-campus graduation ceremonies.In His Service,
Jimmy L. Hayes, Th.D.
President, ATS
