About the Institute
Jonathan Edwards Institute is a Christian higher education institution. We see every student as created in the image of God, with gifts to be developed and used in the service of others. Our teaching is grounded in the Bible and in the Reformed Christian tradition. The programme is taught in person, and contact sessions with faculty are central to how we teach: students learn directly from experienced, biblically grounded teachers who share years of practical ministry with them.
We combine study with practice. Every student completes Work-Integrated Learning in a local congregation, so that theory and ministry are learned together rather than apart.
Vision
To grow into a South African Christian higher education institution.
Mission
To provide quality Christian higher education, beginning with theology, that forms thoughtful, well-equipped graduates to serve the church and the wider community.
The churches behind the programme
The Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika established their Theological School in Burgersdorp in 1869, and moved it to Potchefstroom in 1905. Its academic work later developed through cooperation with the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and then the North-West University, while the church kept responsibility for ministerial formation. As that university agreement approached its conclusion in 2026, the churches established the Gereformeerde Teologiese Akademie as the renewed structure for theological training. The Bachelor of Divinity stands on that commitment: supported by the churches, taught by qualified specialists, and built on a curriculum newly designed in the light of decades of theological education.
The GKSA establishes its Theological School in Burgersdorp.
The building that housed the Theological School at its founding, 29 November 1869. Argief van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika
The School moves to Potchefstroom.
Students and staff before the first Potchefstroom building, 1913. Argief van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika
Academic cooperation with the university develops, while the church keeps responsibility for ministerial formation.
The final-year class at the retirement of Prof J.D. du Toit (Totius), 1949. Argief van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika
The GKSA establishes the Gereformeerde Teologiese Akademie as the renewed route for theological training.
The Academy acquires the Institute, which moves to the historic Theological School site in Potchefstroom.
Ownership and authority
Jonathan Edwards Institute of Higher Education (Pty) Ltd is the private higher education institution. It is owned and operated by the Gereformeerde Teologiese Akademie, which works within the structures and under the authority of the Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika. The Institute holds academic responsibility for the programme, its students, assessment and awards. The church provides the ecclesiastical context and the ministry pathway. The two decisions stay separate: the Institute alone decides academic admission and academic results, and the church applies its own requirements for ministry, calling and ordination. A student who does not seek ordination in these churches may still be admitted on academic grounds.
Why Jonathan Edwards?
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was a pastor and theologian whose careful thinking and pastoral work still shape Reformed theology today. The Institute carries his name as a mark of that seriousness: study that engages the mind, in the service of the church.
Our teaching stands in the Reformed Christian tradition.
Register your interest
Register your interest and we will be in touch. You can also sign up for our newsletter and download the prospectus.
There is no application fee.