Tyndale Seminary is an institution of higher education, distinctly Christian and standing in the Protestant Evangelical tradition. With Christians East and West, North and South, we affirm the historic Apostles’ and Nicene creeds, and we affirm our spiritual kinship with all who seek to exalt and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tyndale is also rooted in the Protestant Reformation with its conviction concerning the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the normative authority of Scripture. In the tradition of the Evangelical awakenings, we proclaim the message of a personal faith in the crucified Christ and a transformed life through the Spirit. We are also dedicated to serving the global Church in all its cultural diversity. We embrace the biblical call to seek justice and peace and to serve the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed.
As a Christian institution of higher education marked by its transdenominational character and a diverse constituency, Tyndale understands, as described in our Statement of Faith, that the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the authoritative written Word of God and useful for personal and community life. It is in this that we believe that people best flourish by affirming its teaching and striving to live by its precepts.
As members of Tyndale, we strive to live lives that nurture a grace-filled community that honours God in its actions, attitudes and beliefs. We long that all in our community daily edge toward personal transformation of character that is marked by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22).
As an academic community, Tyndale University’s main purpose is articulated in our mission statement:
Tyndale is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, to excellence in teaching, learning and research, for the enriching of mind, heart and character, to serve the church and the world for the glory of God.
With our mission statement guiding us, Tyndale is committed to being a community focused on academic endeavours, community life, and Christian formation. To this end, Tyndale strives to be a place where all of its members – Christian administrators, staff, and faculty, along with students who have chosen to study at Tyndale – exhibit concern for the well-being of others and engage in open, rigorous, and respectful intellectual inquiry. These commitments are supported by patterns of biblical belief and behaviour that foster a distinctively Christian learning and working environment.
As it is with all institutions, membership has responsibilities. Therefore as responsible members of the Tyndale community each ought to contribute in meaningful ways to our common good. We know that individualism is a strongly held value in our culture. We believe, in congruence with the Christian Scriptures and a Christian worldview, where self-sacrifice and service for the greater good and the benefit of the community are highly valued. So it is with this in mind that we believe all members of the Tyndale Seminary community will aspire to exemplify attitudes and to exercise biblical virtues.
Therefore we commit to:
- live commendable lives characterized by honesty, civility, truthfulness, generosity and integrity
- communicate, by various means, in ways that encourage others while respecting the need to correct as required
- honour all persons and their ideas with respect and dignity
- be responsible citizens both locally and globally, submitting to the laws of this country, and contributing to the welfare of creation and society
- practise sexual fidelity and appropriate intimacy in all relationships and reserve sexual expressions of intimacy for biblical marriage between a woman and a man, and within marriage taking every reasonable step to resolve conflict and avoid divorce
- encourage and support other members of the community in their pursuit of these values and ideals, while extending forgiveness, accountability, restoration, and healing to one another
In addition, for the sake of our community and in keeping with the Christian Scriptures that draw us into the way of a virtuous and ordered life, members of the Tyndale community will refrain from the following:
- using illegal drugs or abusing prescription drugs
- using alcohol or marijuana on campus or at campus-related activities and irresponsibly using alcohol by drinking to excess and or participating in high‐risk drinking at any time
- engaging in dishonest practices including plagiarism, theft, fraud, breach of trust or confidence
- promoting religious beliefs incompatible with Christian faith
- engaging in degrading, dehumanizing, exploitive, hateful, or gratuitously violent activities including the use of pornography in any form
- using profanity and obscene speech
- participating in violent or abusive behaviour and harassment of any kind
These community standards and expectations, considered central to preserving and promoting the distinctly evangelical Christian character of Tyndale Seminary and the health of our Christian community, are applicable to all members of the Tyndale Seminary community – administrators, faculty, staff, and all students. By virtue of membership in this community, all are expected to honour these standards and refrain from conduct that would be inconsistent with them.