Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), based in Illinois, is preparing to leave Chicago-area Trinity International University and will affiliate with Trinity Western University (TWU) in British Columbia, the largest Christian university in Canada.
In a Tuesday announcement, the divinity school stated, “TEDS has entered into a formal commitment to take steps moving under the auspices of TWU, a union that brings together two institutions with a common statement of faith and story of origin.” The merger has received unanimous approval from the boards of both institutions.
According to a General FAQs webpage, TEDS will remain at its current location in Bannockburn, Illinois, for the entire 2025-2026 academic year, and the transition to Langley, British Columbia, is slated for the fall 2026 semester.
Founded in 1897 to train ministers for what became the Evangelical Free Church of America, TEDS relocated to Deerfield, Illinois, in 1963 and has since established itself as a hub for drawing "faculty and students from across evangelical theological traditions."
TWU, initially established as Trinity Junior College in 1962, is a liberal arts institution aligned with the EFCA and currently boasts nearly 6,000 students, making it Canada’s largest privately funded Christian university. Discussions regarding a partnership between TWU and TEDS began in the 1980s with a vision for “TEDS Canada,” although those plans failed to materialize.
Evangelical Free Church of Canada Executive Director Bill Taylor expressed optimism about the merger, stating, “As a globally recognized divinity school joins a global Christian university, we are grateful for the expanded opportunities for churches and communities to access Christian theological education and ministry training. We are excited to be part of what God is doing through university and seminary training and to see churches and ministers equipped for kingdom ministry.”
TWU has faced legal challenges in the past over its former policy requiring students to agree to a “Community Covenant,” which prohibited any sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman.
In June 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the decision to deny accreditation to TWU's proposed law school due to concerns regarding the covenant, which critics argued was discriminatory against LGBT individuals. Subsequently, TWU announced in August 2018 that it would no longer require students to sign the covenant, though faculty and staff were still required to comply.
At present, TEDS upholds a “Community Standards” policy for its students, which includes prohibitions on “dishonesty, theft, pre-marital sex, abortion, adultery, homosexual behavior, and use of pornography, profanity, gossip, racism, and infringement upon the rights of others.”
Last year, Trinity International University closed its Florida campus at the end of the spring semester, citing issues related to financial resources and student enrollment.
