About LTS

LTS was established in 1977, under the vision and leadership of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, for the purpose of training men for pastoral and preaching ministry. Since then, a large number of men have completed the course and are now serving the Lord as pastors, preachers and missionaries in the United Kingdom and in countries across the globe.

Details of the curriculum and the subjects covered can be found here. The course is founded upon the following principles:

Biblical: The Bible stands at the centre of all that we believe and do at LTS. We hold the Scriptures in their entirety to be God’s Word – to all peoples in all ages – infallible and inerrant. Each day at LTS includes exposition of the Word. We give substantial time to learning the biblical languages, exegeting the biblical text and grasping the biblical message in its fullness.

Theological: The Bible needs to be understood in its entirety and as a unity. So we train students to understand the big story-line and the major themes and doctrines of the Scriptures - from the perspectives of biblical, systematic, historical and pastoral theology. We stand in the tradition of the Protestant Reformation, believing that the truths re-affirmed then represent the teaching of the Bible which needs to be communicated to our, and every, generation.

Contemporary: The Bible’s message needs to come to this generation. We help students understand the mindset, presuppositions and preoccupations of the society in which they will be ministering. We look at how biblical principles are worked out in the issues which face men and women today. We examine how the message of Scripture can be communicated effectively in the 21st century.

Practical: The work of pastoring and preaching shapes the entirety of our course. This lends a special ethos to the course and ensures that lectures, seminars and workshops are moulded to address real pastoral and practical concerns. Most of our lecturers are in full-time pastoral work. Each student takes part in our church mentoring scheme and there are opportunities for preaching as well as participating in extended short-term placements at partner churches.

Free Church: Our course is specifically designed for men intending to enter Free Church ministry (whether Baptist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, independent Evangelical or otherwise). We address the issues which pastors and preachers in Free Churches will meet, so as to prepare students for ministry in those churches.

Affordable: The cost of training is a real concern to many. We keep our fees as low as possible. We also have bursaries available to help those who would otherwise find it very difficult to engage in training. It is our aim that no one suitably qualified should be prevented from coming to LTS for financial reasons.

Basis of Faith

The inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures as originally given, their verbal inspiration by God and their supreme authority as the only rule of faith and practice.
The trinity of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Who are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
The essential, absolute and eternal Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; His conception by the Holy Ghost; His birth of the virgin Mary; His real but sinless humanity; His voluntary humiliation in life as a Man of Sorrows culminating in His substitutionary and atoning death as a sacrifice for sin; His resurrection from the dead on the third day in that very body that had lain in the tomb; His ascension into heaven as the only and eternal Mediator between God and Man and His coming again in power and glory.
The Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit through Whom the soul is born again to saving repentance and faith and by Whom the saints are sanctified through the truth.
Man's utter ruin through the fall and his salvation solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, whose righteousness imputed to him is the only ground of acceptance before God.
The resurrection of the body, the judgment of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost.
The spiritual unity of all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and their duty to maintain in themselves and in the Church a standard of life and doctrine that is in conformity with the teaching of God's Holy Word.