We exist because God called the seminary into being. Long before distance education was respectable, the Lord led Dr Peppler to start a distance-education seminary. Why did he do it? The simplistic answer is to equip the saints for ministry. But why SATS, and why at this moment in history? With the wisdom of hindsight, we can see something of what he was doing.

  1. A Bible-believing seminary. Although South Africa has a rich tradition of university theological education, the larger institutions teach liberal theology. God called into being an alternative that remains faithful to the Scriptures and the gospel, providing faith-building theology in service of the church.
  2. An online seminary. The churches that are healthy and growing raise leaders in-house. They do not send their best and brightest to residential seminaries. The Lord raised SATS to provide sound biblical and theological education for those emerging leaders. They need to learn how to hand the Word of God correctly, but they will not consider full-time, residential training.
  3. A church-based seminary. We are passionate about sound theology and healthy churches, and convinced that sound theology produces healthy churches. The best ministry- and character-formation occurs when God’s people learn and apply his truth in the context of his church. Therefore, God raised up SATS to train leaders for ministry in ministry.
  4. An African seminary. In 25 years, SATS has grown from its humble origins into one of the largest and most influential seminaries in the world. Because the centre of gravity for world Christianity was moving to the Global South, God brought into being a world-class online African seminary.