Offered On-Campus
Offered Online
our Mission
The mission of Maranatha Baptist Seminary is to glorify God by further preparing His servants for gospel ministry. The goal of Maranatha Baptist Seminary is to provide balanced theological and practical training in a biblical way. The graduate-level programs are intentionally dispensational, fundamental, and Baptist. The Seminary provides education and development for those who are called by God into ministry settings as pastors, evangelists, missionaries, counselors, chaplains, teachers, and other leaders in biblically based ministries.
DISTINCTIVES
Maranatha Baptist Seminary provides graduate-level theological training that emphasizes both academic rigor and practical guidance from instructors experienced in ministry.
Maranatha stands squarely in the tradition of a fundamentalist, Baptist educational institution. Clear distinctives exemplify the stand and direction of Maranatha Baptist Seminary.
Baptist
Maranatha stands without apology for the Baptist distinctives. Baptistic principles and polity are taught in the classroom and practiced in the personal ministries of each faculty member.
Biblical
Maranatha believes in verbal, plenary inspiration. The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice and is inerrant in all matters it addresses. The literal, historical-grammatical approach to the interpretation of God’s Word is emphasized through the entire curriculum.
Dispensational
Maranatha emphasizes the pretribulational rapture of all believers and the premillennial return and reign of Jesus Christ. Students are warned about the errors of Reformed theology, and they are taught to “rightly divide the Word of Truth.”
Evangelistic
Maranatha challenges and prepares students to have warm soul-winners’ hearts and to build strong evangelistic churches. The faculty includes teachers who have many years of experience in building and developing soul-winning churches.
Local Church
Maranatha teaches that the local New Testament church is God’s ordained institution to carry out His work in this age. The primacy of the local church in scriptural teaching is emphasized both in doctrine and practice.
Separatist
Maranatha takes a clear-cut stand on separation from personal worldliness and ecclesiastical error. The leadership of the school has been and continues to be against all forms of modernism, inclusivism, neo-orthodoxy, new evangelicalism, and other forms of theological compromise.
our History
THE MIRACLE SCHOOL
Maranatha Baptist Bible College was established by Dr. B. Myron Cedarholm and his wife Thelma. The Cedarholms helped raise $150,000 to purchase a campus from the Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The first payment was made June 1, and Maranatha Baptist Bible College opened on September 10, with over 200 students and 27 faculty members.
FIRST GRADUATION
Maranatha awarded degrees to 13 students on May 31, 1969.
FOCUSED EXPANSION
The academic offerings, fine arts options, and
intercollegiate athletic programs all greatly
expanded under Dr. Cedarholm, who remained president until 1983. Several campus buildings still used today were constructed, including six of the ten dormitories and the gymnasium.
REMARKABLE ADVANCEMENT
During the 1980s and 1990s, Maranatha
achieved financial stability as well as enrollment growth that expanded nearly every year. No fewer than 39 different building and remodeling projects, including the Cedarholm Library, were completed between 1983 and 1998.
REGIONAL ACCREDITATION
Maranatha earned regional accreditation in
1993, a pivotal moment in the university’s
academic history. Enrollment continued to
grow.
STRATEGIC ADDITIONS
In the fall of 2005, Maranatha opened the Dining Complex which houses classrooms, offices, and the Dining Hall. The Global Encounters missions program began in 2006 with the goal of sending at least half of our graduates on one trip before they graduate. Maranatha’s capacity to train leaders expanded in 2009 when Dr. Marriott announced the formation of the Online and Distance Learning department. Since then, ODL programs such as Bridge to Campus, Dual Enrollment, Advance to College, and the strong lineup of graduate programs have provided options for students previously excluded from the campus experience. The Doctor of Ministry in Preaching and Leading, first offered in 2014, exemplifies Maranatha’s academic and missional goals while fulfilling our most crucial role as a ministry training institution.
our History
THE MIRACLE SCHOOL
Maranatha Baptist Bible College was established by Dr. B. Myron Cedarholm and his wife Thelma. The Cedarholms helped raise $150,000 to purchase a campus from the Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The first payment was made June 1, and Maranatha Baptist Bible College opened on September 10, with over 200 students and 27 faculty members.
FIRST GRADUATION
FOCUSED EXPANSION
intercollegiate athletic programs all greatly
expanded under Dr. Cedarholm, who remained president until 1983. Several campus buildings still used today were constructed, including six of the ten dormitories and the gymnasium.
REMARKABLE ADVANCEMENT
achieved financial stability as well as enrollment growth that expanded nearly every year. No fewer than 39 different building and remodeling projects, including the Cedarholm Library, were completed between 1983 and 1998.
REGIONAL ACCREDITATION
1993, a pivotal moment in the university’s
academic history. Enrollment continued to
grow.
STRATEGIC ADDITIONS
STRATEGIC ADDITIONS
In the fall of 2005, Maranatha opened the Dining Complex which houses classrooms, offices, and the Dining Hall. The Global Encounters missions program began in 2006 with the goal of sending at least half of our graduates on one trip before they graduate. Maranatha’s capacity to train leaders expanded in 2009 when Dr. Marriott announced the formation of the Online and Distance Learning department. Since then, ODL programs such as Bridge to Campus, Dual Enrollment, Advance to College, and the strong lineup of graduate programs have provided options for students previously excluded from the campus experience. The Doctor of Ministry in Preaching and Leading, first offered in 2014, exemplifies Maranatha’s academic and missional goals while fulfilling our most crucial role as a ministry training institution.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments; God in three persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the new birth in Christ alone; baptism by immersion for believers only; the eternal security of the believer; the Lord’s Supper as a memorial; six creation days of twenty-four hours each; the bodily resurrection of Christ and His bodily ascension into heaven where He now intercedes for believers; the pretribulation rapture of all believers; the premillennial return and millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ; the judgment; the reality of heaven and hell; the local church as God’s institution to carry out the Great Commission; and the obligation of every believer to live a holy life and witness to the lost of the saving power of Christ.
Maranatha Baptist Seminary has enlarged this doctrinal statement for Seminary purposes. Students are not required to be in complete agreement with this statement but should understand that this is the basis on which all teaching in the Seminary is grounded. For more thorough descriptions, please read our Commitment Statements.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally, plenarily inspired Word of God and are inerrant in the original writings (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; Rev. 22:18-19; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; John 10:35; 17:17). The Bible is the final authority on all matters of faith and practice (Isa. 8:20; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). We practice a dispensational hermeneutic, based on a progressive unfolding of revelation from God which results in various dispensations or distinguishable economies of God’s revealed truth (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-4; Col. 1:25-27; Heb. 1:1). This hermeneutic recognizes a fundamental distinction between Israel and the Church in origin, purposes, and destiny (1 Cor.10:32).
The Godhead
We believe in the one Triune God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:21-22), eternally existing in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Gen.1:2; Matt. 1:18; 3:17; 12:32; 28:19; John 4:21, 23; 5:44; Rom.1:3-4; 15:6; 2 Cor.13:14; Jude 20-21), of one essence but distinct in persons, and equal in perfection and attributes (2 Sam.23:2 -3; John 5:23; 6:27; 16:15; Acts 5:3-4; Eph. 2:18; Heb. 1:8; 9:14). We believe that the Trinity created the physical universe, including all life forms, in six successive solar days, and the spiritual universe of angels (Gen. 1-2; Exod. 20:11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 90:2; Isa. 40:28; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 11:3; Rev. 4:9-11). We oppose the evolutionary hypothesis of origins, whether theistic or atheistic.
God the Father
We believe in God the Father, the First Person of the eternal Trinity (John 17:5; Rom. 16:26). The Father is the ultimate source of all things, the sustainer of all things, and the controller of all things (Neh. 9:6; Ps. 103:19; 104:19-22; 148:8; Prov. 19:21; 1 Cor. 8:6; 10:13; John 5:17; Eph.3:9).
God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God (Isa. 9:6; Matt. 16:16; John 10:36; 17:5), who in His incarnation became man while remaining God (Matt. 20:28; John 1:1; 8:40; Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 2:5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20). We believe in His virgin conception and birth (Matt. 1:18-25), His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice(Isa. 53:1-12; John 1:29; 1 John 2:2), His bodily resurrection from the tomb (Matt. 28:5-7; Luke 24:1-7; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rev. 1:18), and His ascension into heaven (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:2, 9 -11) as the believer’s High Priest and Advocate before the throne of God (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3; 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1; Rev. 3:21).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead (John 16:7-8; 1 Cor. 3:16; Heb. 9:14). He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8-11), imparts spiritual life in regeneration (John 3:3, 5; Titus 3:5), permanently indwells believers (John 7:37-39; 14:16; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16), becomes the seal of divine ownership and earnest that guarantees the final salvation of the believer (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30), and fills and empowers believers as they yield to the Word (Acts 2:4; Rom. 6:13; 12:1-2; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 4:30).
Sin
We believe that man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-31; 2:7-25; 1 Cor. 11:7; Jas. 3:9) in righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24; Col 3:9-10). Man freely transgressed God’s commandment (Gen. 3:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:14), and because of the sin of Adam all humans are now condemned and are sinners by nature and by choice (Gen. 8:21; 1 Kings 8:46; Isa. 53:6; Jer.17:9; Rom. 3:10, 12, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10).
Salvation
We believe that salvation has been provided by the substitutionary death of Christ for all sinners, is given to man by grace, and is received by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Isa.53:4-12; John 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2:24). All the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5). Salvation results in justification (Rom. 4:1-5, 25;5:1, 18-19), forgiveness of sin (Acts 10:43; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14; 2:13; 1 John 2:12), adoption (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5), sanctification (1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 6:11; Heb. 10:10, 14), and glorification (Rom. 8:30). We believe that sanctification has three aspects. First, in positional sanctification the believer is given a perfect standing before God (Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 10:10, 14). Second, in present sanctification the believer is cleansed of the daily defilement of sin and is in the process of being brought into conformity to the image of Christ (John 13:10; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Thess. 5:23). Third, in final sanctification the believer will be fully conformed to the image of Christ, and sin will be eliminated forever from his experience (Phil.3:21; 1 Thess. 3:12-13; Heb. 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Jude 24).
Church
We believe that the church is God’s institution for spiritual ministry and activity in this age. The Head of the church is Christ, and the members are believers in Jesus Christ, who have been immersed upon their confession of faith and who share a common body of truth (Acts 2:42; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:11-22; 5:23; Col. 1:18, 24; 2 Thess. 3:6; Jude 3). The church is the center of a Christian’s worship, work, and fellowship. The church assembles for the preaching of the Word, the observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the discipleship and discipline of the members (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:4-5, 12; 6:1-5; 2 Cor. 2:6; 2 Thess. 3:6; 1 Tim. 3:15; Jude 3; Rev. 2-3). The ordinances for the church are water baptism by immersion (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; 10:47-48; Rom. 6:3 5) and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:41-42; 1 Cor. 11:23-32). The church has two offices: pastor and deacon (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 2:12; 3:1-13; Heb. 10:25). The church is independent and autonomous, free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). The church is responsible for the spread of the Gospel to the world (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2: 41-42; 10:47-48). The Great Commission and the practice of the early church require churches and believers to proclaim the Gospel to all nations (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21;Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).
Fellowship and Separation
We believe that true spiritual fellowship is the result of a common faith. While unity is preferable and sought after (John 17:20-23), personal separation is required from a brother who refuses to live a lifestyle in accord with the teaching of Scripture, and ecclesiastical separation is necessary from a church which holds to divisive doctrinal error (Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor.5:11; 2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15). The worldview of the believer is dictated by Scripture, rather than by the world, and is motivated by love for God, fellow believers, and the lost (Rom. 12:1-2;14; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; Eph. 5:15-18; Titus 3:10; 1 John 2:15-17; 4:1; 2 John 10-11).
Future Events
We believe in the personal, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, first to take His saints home to be with him at the rapture of the living and resurrection of the dead (Matt. 24:44; John 14:1-3; 1 Thess.4:4 -18; Titus 2:11-13), and second to establish His earthly kingdom (Dan. 7:9-14; Zech. 14:1-4; Mal. 3:1-2; Matt. 24:29-30; Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 1:7). We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).