Experiencing

What is seminary really like?
What is the ministry really like?

When you step through the doors of CRTS, what will you find? We can assure you that it’s a community of warm fellowship and dedicated study. You will have work to do, but with God’s blessing, you’ll also experience a lot of personal growth. For the goal is to get you ready for the privilege of gospel ministry, wherever the Lord should call. The video and FAQs below will give a glimpse of the experience of seminary and ministry.

Key Takeaways

  • Seminary will stretch you, academically and spiritually, on your journey towards ministry

  • CRTS is a warm and supportive community

  • Spouses of our students enjoy fellowship in the JOY group

  • In ministry, you get to witness Christ’s power in transforming lives

When you come to CRTS, you can expect to work hard—no question. You will have dogmatics textbooks to read, Greek paradigms to learn, Hebrew vocabulary to memorize, plus research papers, sermon proposals, and book reviews to write. Seminary studies are demanding, and they will stretch you. And so they should, because these four years are a unique opportunity for you to acquire the basic knowledge and skills for a life of ministry, God willing.

The work of seminary will stretch you academically, and in other good ways too. By God’s grace, you can expect to grow spiritually. We see this happening through the weekly chapels and prayer groups, through visits with your faculty mentor, and through so many good conversations.

When you walk down the CRTS hallways, sit in the classrooms, relax in the lounge areas, and visit with the professors in their offices, you can expect an atmosphere that is warm and supportive. At seminary, you can expect to be challenged in your thinking. You can expect to sharpen your ability to understand other people and to relate to them in a loving way. You can expect to become tired while also experiencing the refreshing joy of diving deep into God’s Word and Reformed theology. Because that’s what seminary is all about.

It is our conviction that theological students must be well-rounded. That is, they should be men who are not only deeply devoted to the study of theology but also wholeheartedly committed to their families and churches. This reflects the Scriptural teaching that overseers must be men who manage their own households well (1 Tim 3:4) and who contribute their individual gifts to the body of Christ (Rom 12:4-6). School work will take a significant portion of your time each week, but no one is expected to study so much that there is no time for fulfilling their important calling in the home or church family.

As a seminary, we realize that a decision to come to CRTS is a momentous and life-changing step, not just for you, but also for your wife or girlfriend. Your dear one has surely been part of many prayerful conversations already about what going to seminary means for your relationship, for your family, and for your future together.

If you come to seminary, it will be so valuable to have your wife’s or girlfriend’s encouragement and support as you study. Meanwhile, we are sure that she too, will be blessed by coming to Hamilton and joining the seminary community. For instance, there are student fellowship events that she can participate in. There’s also a group of student wives (and little ones) that meets on a regular basis for discussion, prayer, and togetherness.

At its heart, gospel ministry is a privilege. Long ago, Paul wrote, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service” (1 Tim 1:12). Paul was humbled that the Lord should graciously rescue him, the worst of sinners, and then appoint him to the task of preaching the saving gospel to others. So it is for ministers of the gospel today: we are the worst of sinners who have been redeemed by God’s grace and who now get to herald that grace to others—whether that is among God’s covenant people, or among those who don’t yet know the Lord. In ministry, you get to witness firsthand the power of Christ in transforming lives.

The work of ministry is immensely varied, but it centres around the Scriptures. For instance, you will be labouring to explain the Word of God through preaching every Sunday, week by week. You will be instructing the youth and new believers in the fundamentals of the Scriptures as these truths are expressed in the Reformed confessions. You will be bringing the Word of God into the homes and lives of your congregation, visiting the lonely, comforting the distressed, guiding the confused, and rebuking the wayward.

Ministry will involve moments of profound beauty—such as when covenant children or new members profess their faith, or when the truths of the gospel comfort and convict—while it will also have its stresses and struggles. Surely every minister or missionary has despaired at the enormity of the task and the inadequacy of his gifts. Yet Christ is pleased to demonstrate his strength through our weakness as He builds his church through the labours of imperfect men. And to be part of that work is a great privilege indeed.

Becoming a gospel minister or missionary is not just a regular job. Ordinarily, ministry is for life, a task that you’re called to do for as long as God gives the strength. Ministry also requires a deep level of commitment, because in some sense, a minister is always on call. He is often mulling over the next sermon or thinking about the members of his congregation (cf. 2 Cor 11:28-29). All of this means that ministry will certainly affect your marriage and family. You’ll be sacrificing many hours and much energy to this work, so your wife and children will likewise be sacrificing for the sake of the Lord’s church.

Even so, it is certainly not God’s will that we neglect our wife or our children because of this calling. God calls leaders of his church to take good care of their households (1 Tim 3:4) and to be Christ-like husbands to their wives (Eph 5:25). One of the beauties of Reformed church government is that the minister is not the only pastor who is called to tend the flock but works alongside the other elders. This shared labour means that a minister can give priority to the work of preaching and teaching, while also being able to fulfill his God-given calling in the home.

We’re always happy to welcome visitors to the seminary. If you live in Ontario, or even if you’re just passing through town, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the seminary office. Our staff will connect you to one of the professors who will happily show you around the building and sit down with you to answer any of your questions about studying here at CRTS or about the work of ministry.

Once a year, we also organize a campus visit day. People from around Ontario—and sometimes from around the country—come to the seminary for a day. It’s a chance to sit in on a couple of classes, to chat with the professors and current students, and to get a small taste of some of the blessings of studying at CRTS.  Contact the Registrar’s office for more information.

Visit CRTS

Sit in on classes and chapel. Meet with faculty. Talk to current students. Join one of our scheduled campus visit days for prospective students or arrange a visit that works with your schedule. Contact the Registrar’s office for more information.