Ligonier Ministries: Difference between revisions
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Ligonier offers undergraduate degrees through its sister organization [[Reformation Bible College]].<ref>https://reformationbiblecollege.org</ref> Ligonier also offers various teaching series, along with running annual national and regional conferences.<ref>https://ligonier.org/events</ref> | Ligonier offers undergraduate degrees through its sister organization [[Reformation Bible College]].<ref>https://reformationbiblecollege.org</ref> Ligonier also offers various teaching series, along with running annual national and regional conferences.<ref>https://ligonier.org/events</ref> | ||
==Primary activities== | == Primary activities == | ||
The main activities of Ligonier Ministries include the following: | The main activities of Ligonier Ministries include the following: | ||
* Producing ''Renewing Your Mind'', a daily radio and Internet broadcast wherein Sproul and others teach [[systematic theology]], [[Reformed theology]], and the [[Bible]] | * Producing ''Renewing Your Mind'', a daily radio and Internet broadcast wherein Sproul and others teach [[systematic theology]], [[Reformed theology]], and the [[Bible]] | ||
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* Holding conferences in Orlando and, in smaller form, elsewhere around the United States and internationally. | * Holding conferences in Orlando and, in smaller form, elsewhere around the United States and internationally. | ||
* Educational Church History Tours to the United Kingdom, Europe and Cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska that combines the cruise with Christian teaching | * Educational Church History Tours to the United Kingdom, Europe and Cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska that combines the cruise with Christian teaching | ||
== History == | |||
The ministry began at the '''Ligonier Valley Study Center'''. In 1970, Dora Hillman, widow of industrialist J. Hartwell Hillman, offered R.C. Sproul land near [[wikipedia:Stahlstown, Pennsylvania|Stahlstown, Pennsylvania]], to establish a Christian study and conference center. Sproul, then serving as associate pastor at [[College Hill Presbyterian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio)|College Hill Presbyterian Church]] in [[wikipedia:Cincinnati|Cincinnati]], accepted, and in 1971 he and his family relocated to Pennsylvania along with Jim Thompson, who developed an audio ministry that recorded Sproul's lectures. The center, modeled in part after [[Francis Schaeffer]]'s [[L'Abri]], welcomed students for extended study and hosted weekend seminars, with participants living and dining alongside staff families. | |||
By the mid-1970s, the center expanded through audio and video ministries, beginning videotaped lecture series in 1974. These recordings, facilitated by Jack and Linda Rowley, extended Sproul's teaching to churches and schools nationwide. Additional teaching staff, including [[Bill White]], [[Tim Couch]], [[Stu Boemig]], [[Jackie Shelton]], and [[Art Lindsley]], joined to support the growing programs. The center developed a regular schedule of public lectures, Bible studies, and weekend seminars, with notable contributions from [[John Gerstner]], Sproul’s mentor and professor of church history at [[Pittsburgh Theological Seminary]]. | |||
== Controversies == | == Controversies == | ||
Latest revision as of 00:25, 21 August 2025
| Headquarters | Sanford, Florida |
|---|---|
| Type | Religious Non-profit |
| Founder(s) | R. C. Sproul |
| Leadership | W. Robert Godfrey (Chairman), Chris Larson (President and CEO) |
| Date Founded | 1971 |
| Theological Tradition | Reformed theology, Presbyterianism |
| Website | Ligonier.org |
Ligonier Ministries (also known as simply Ligonier) is an international Christian discipleship organization headquartered in the greater Orlando, Florida area. Ligonier was founded in 1971 by R. C. Sproul in the Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh. Ligonier is distinguished by its teaching of Reformed theology.
Since the passing of Sproul in 2017, the primary teachers at Ligonier are its teaching fellows:
- Sinclair Ferguson (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)
- W. Robert Godfrey (President Emeritus, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Westminster Seminary California)
- Stephen Nichols (President, Reformation Bible College)
- Burk Parsons (Senior Pastor, St. Andrew's Chapel, Sanford, Florida)
- Derek Thomas (Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary)[1]
Ligonier offers undergraduate degrees through its sister organization Reformation Bible College.[2] Ligonier also offers various teaching series, along with running annual national and regional conferences.[3]
Primary activities
The main activities of Ligonier Ministries include the following:
- Producing Renewing Your Mind, a daily radio and Internet broadcast wherein Sproul and others teach systematic theology, Reformed theology, and the Bible
- Publishing a monthly magazine called Tabletalk
- Selling and distributing music, audiobook, video and print materials by Sproul, John Gerstner, and others
- RefNet (Reformation Network) internet radio
- Ligonier Connect online classes for lay people
- Reformation Bible College
- Holding conferences in Orlando and, in smaller form, elsewhere around the United States and internationally.
- Educational Church History Tours to the United Kingdom, Europe and Cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska that combines the cruise with Christian teaching
History
The ministry began at the Ligonier Valley Study Center. In 1970, Dora Hillman, widow of industrialist J. Hartwell Hillman, offered R.C. Sproul land near Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, to establish a Christian study and conference center. Sproul, then serving as associate pastor at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, accepted, and in 1971 he and his family relocated to Pennsylvania along with Jim Thompson, who developed an audio ministry that recorded Sproul's lectures. The center, modeled in part after Francis Schaeffer's L'Abri, welcomed students for extended study and hosted weekend seminars, with participants living and dining alongside staff families.
By the mid-1970s, the center expanded through audio and video ministries, beginning videotaped lecture series in 1974. These recordings, facilitated by Jack and Linda Rowley, extended Sproul's teaching to churches and schools nationwide. Additional teaching staff, including Bill White, Tim Couch, Stu Boemig, Jackie Shelton, and Art Lindsley, joined to support the growing programs. The center developed a regular schedule of public lectures, Bible studies, and weekend seminars, with notable contributions from John Gerstner, Sproul’s mentor and professor of church history at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
Controversies
In September 2015, R. C. Sproul Jr., the son of Ligonier founder R. C. Sproul, was suspended from the organization until July 1, 2016 due to his visiting the Ashley Madison website.[4] In December 2016, Sproul Jr. resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College "for personal reasons."[5] It was reported the following week that the reason for his resignation was that he had recently been arrested for drunk driving with a minor passenger in his vehicle.[6]
See also
- Ligonier Conference
- Reformation Bible College
- R. C. Sproul
- R. C. Sproul Jr.
- Sinclair Ferguson
- W. Robert Godfrey
- Stephen Nichols
- Burk Parsons
- Derek Thomas
References
External links
- ↑ https://www.ligonier.org/about/who-we-are
- ↑ https://reformationbiblecollege.org
- ↑ https://ligonier.org/events
- ↑ http://www.inquisitr.com/2385576/renown-christian-minister-r-c-sproul-jr-suspended-by-ligonier-ministries-over-ashley-madison-visit/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170111115817/http://www.ligonier.org/updates/rc-sproul-jr/
- ↑ https://www.christianpost.com/news/r-c-sproul-jr-resigned-from-ligonier-ministries-after-felonious-dui-arrest-with-minor-in-vehicle-172192
