[1][2] Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri,[3] it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhere, especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors.

The institution's founders believed that their denomination needed a strong theological school to resist liberalizing influences in American Evangelicalism.

[6][7] Over its 65 years, the seminary has continued to grow in size and reputation, and is now home to a student body (both on campus and online) drawn from nearly every U.S. state and many other nations.

[10] The seminary is doctrinally committed to the Reformed faith and Covenant theology, and it believes the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant word of God.

[4] The seminary is also home to the Francis Schaeffer Institute,[11] which encourages Christians to engage contemporary culture in a compassionate way with the truth-claims of the gospel.