No New Methods: The History of TMAI

How Did TMAI as We Now Know It Begin?

Since the inception of TMAI, God has shown His sovereign hand, highlighting His faithfulness in every encounter. He laid the groundwork for years before the ministry’s official founding.

And it all began with a need, a piece of paper, and an invitation.

From a Local Seminary to a Global Vision

The Birth of The Master’s Seminary

In 1986, the Master’s Seminary (TMS) was founded in Sun Valley, California. Born out of a need to train men in expository preaching and shepherding, TMS would become the template to address a need that did not end in America.

The founder and President of TMS, John MacArthur, had identified this need.

And he knew there was more to do.

Collecting his thoughts, he wrote down desires to fill the needs he saw on a piece of paper. He prayed for the future of the men at TMS, the young people growing up in a secularizing culture, and for missions work around the globe, sketching out his goals and hopes. This paper would include plans that would one day include The Master’s Seminary, The Master’s University (TMU), Grace to You, and The Master’s Academy International.

As the seminary grew, Dr. MacArthur never stopped praying for an opportunity to help missionaries.

“This was all an effort to protect the Church and defend it from false doctrine—to be faithful to biblical truths and practices.”

The Call from Ukraine

In 1991, a call from Ukraine would open that door.

Before the Iron Curtain fell, there was a great need across the Soviet Union. Faithful expositors of God’s word needed to be raised to shepherd the church when the onslaught of false teachers would inevitably enter the region. A pastor’s conference was arranged in Kiev, and MacArthur came and spoke to these faithful believers, sparking a flame.

This was all an effort to protect the Church and defend it from false doctrine—to be faithful to biblical truths and practices.

The strategy of local training centers was an idea that emerged from the Christian leaders in the region. They had not had the freedom to train their leaders in the USSR, but they knew that these men needed to be equipped to rightly divide God’s word and ensure the church was biblically sound.

Looking for someone they could trust, they turned to MacArthur and TMS. They invited TMS graduates to come train pastors in Ukraine to be expository preachers and faithful shepherds.

From this invitation, the first training center was born.

In the years that followed, this same call would be heard around the world—from Russia to Honduras.

The Founding of TMAI

But TMAI, as we know it, did not exist yet.

In 2004, the ministry was officially founded, with ten training centers represented. TMAI’s first steps had started.

Under the leadership of several faithful men, TMAI’s first 10 years saw its expansion to 15 training centers. In 2014 when a new leader was needed, Dr. MacArthur knew exactly whom to tap. He reached out to the Provost of the Master’s University (and chairman of the TMAI board), Mark Tatlock, and asked him to help in this new venture. Tatlock accepted and became the President of the growing ministry. Recognizing the gravity of the undertaking before him, Tatlock asked a veteran missionary who was unable to return to the field to join him in this exciting effort. The missionary gladly accepted.

Thus, in 2014, a new era for TMAI began, with two men sharing one desk.

Growth, Trust, and the Future

In the past 10 years, TMAI has grown from two employees to dozens, from 15 to 18 training centers (13 of which are led by indigenous men), with over 7,500 graduates, and with 13 more schools in the membership process.

And in the past two decades, those who have sought training have come due to one major factor: the trustworthiness that TMAI has shown to stand firm on biblical truths, values, and practices.

There are no new methods, only new opportunities.

What has brought us here is what will move us forward: aiming to do what the Lord has commanded us to do in His way for His glory.

Moving forward, we aim to continue addressing the needs of the global Church. Just as the methods, the needs remain the same: to strengthen the local church by training its pastors. This has culminated not only in the development and publication of the Biblical Missions textbook and workbook, but also in the creation of the Center for Biblical Missions.

Looking back, we praise God for His faithfulness and His sovereign choice in using TMAI to accomplish His work around the world.

Looking ahead to the next decade, we are committed to upholding the pattern of faithfulness to Scripture, the centrality of local churches, and the training and resourcing of faithful pastors to reach the nations for His glory.

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