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Extending the reach of theology
Rebecca Paveley looks at how theological colleges and Bible colleges are appealing to a new type of student
 Seats of learning: students at work in the library at Trinity College, Bristol MARK LOUDON |
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“COLLEGES have a commitment to the renewal of the Church,” says the Revd George Kovoor, Principal of Trinity College, Bristol. Trinity is Britain’s fastest-growing theological college. Once small, it now has more than 240 students, and it aims to reach nearly 1000 in the next decade. Making the college grow, and serving the Church of England by doing so, is one of Mr Kovoor’s goals for the next few years. He puts the college’s success in the competitive field of university admissions down to its “context-based” approach, which places students in teams of 12 in different “contexts”, or church communities. This approach has been hailed by clergy and churches in Bristol. The placements in urban areas have led to instances of growth and renewal. Now a new rural “context” has also just been established outside Bristol.Mr Kavoor, who was brought up and educated in India and is oriented in liberation theology, said that the classic Western education system placed too much emphasis on individual goals and solitary learning. |
 Varied backgrounds: students on their way to a seminar at the London School of Theology in Northwood |
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“We want people to live together, to work collaboratively, and to understand communities, to appreciate diversity and solve problems together.
“We want to develop students’ relational skills. Too many ordinands can be socially inept, not knowing how to talk to people of other faiths or none. We need people with audacity.”
Students living in these communities come into college two days a week for academic work, and spend the rest of the time in their communities.
This approach is growing fast: this year, 40 per cent of students are living in this way, but next year it is expected to be 60 per cent.
Trinity has a tradition of training people for the Anglican ministry, but it also accepts students for independent study, and international students, most of whom are undertaking research.
It also is working to expand its research sector and attract more “scholar saints”, as it terms them: high-level research graduates who can “bless the Church through their scholarship”.
“Scholarship is mission at that level,” says Mr Kovoor. The College also attracts students who go on to work for Christian mission agencies or other organisations, such as the Bible Society. |
 Outside: those who study at Redcliffe College, in Gloucester, are encouraged to participate in a weekly pastoral group |
| Redcliffe College in Gloucester specialises in training theological students for mission work overseas. Many of its students come from overseas to study at Redcliffe: currently there are 25 nationalities represented on the student body. Abbie and Paul Brooks are degree students in the third year of their applied-theology degree course at Redcliffe. They met at college and married last year. Abbie said she chose the college partly because of the annual work placements offered. She has worked in a foster home in London, with street boys in Mozambique, and spent a month in Cambodia last year. Now 21, she said she had felt since a young girl that God was calling her to work overseas. “I wanted to do mission work, but it was also quite important to me to get a degree; so coming here was perfect.” Her husband, Paul, who is 25, is the son of missionary parents. He said: “God re-awoke my faith after I left school and was drifting from job to job. I wanted to serve God and thought: what better way to do that than go to Bible college? “Having grown up overseas, I really liked the fact that Redcliffe is very multicultural.” The couple finish their degrees this summer, and are planning to get more involved in their church in Salisbury while they wait to go overseas. at the London School of Theology, in Northwood, Middlesex, student numbers are also on the rise, notwithstanding widespread publicity in the media about rising student debt. |
 In the sun: students at Spurgeon’s |
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Jane Smith, the school’s marketing manager, says that the introduction of top-up fees had helped their numbers. “As we weren’t eligible for government funding before, the introduction of top-up fees at other universities means our fees are now comparable; so we have seen a rise in numbers.”
The LST offers what it believes are innovative theology courses: one trains people in Christian counselling, and another in leading music and worship. “These are very popular courses, and we attract people with life experience. In fact, really on the counselling course we wouldn’t want people under 30; we want them to have been and done something else first.”
Lizzy Grech, a theology and counselling graduate, said: “I studied psychology before coming to LST, and realised that counselling would be a great way to help others through their difficulties, encouraging them and just being with them through their hard times.
“I’ve been encouraged to question my beliefs and build a firm foundation, working out how I interpret various biblical issues and how I can apply them today. Counselling challenged me to the core, and helped me understand God’s purpose for my life.”
Many students go back into the marketplace, finding work as counsellors or in other sectors. Some go into youth work, and others into ministry.
ANOTHER huge growth area for Bible colleges is distance learning. LST has more than 1000 students registered as distance learners. Many of these are studying theology for their own personal development, and may already be holding down full-time jobs.
Spurgeon’s College in London has just launched the first online learning package for students. It offers students the chance to study for certificates, diplomas, and degrees anywhere. All materials and resources are accessible online.
The college launched the scheme just three weeks ago, and has been surprised by the take-up. It was advertised only in the UK, and yet students have registered from as far away as Singapore, Sweden, South Africa, and Canada. More than 50 firm applications have been received already, and enquiries are coming in each day.
Paul Scott-Evans, business manager at Spurgeon’s, said that the college had wanted to do more to increase its accessibility. “We wanted to make theological training accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world, to strengthen and deepen people’s understanding of the Christian faith.”
One of the strengths of this form of learning is that it is open to all ages. Some of those registered are retired; some are still in their teens, and trying out this form of higher education before, perhaps, going on to university.
While the average age of students in theological colleges has tended to rise in recent years, as more students arrive having pursued other careers first, places like Trinity, in Bristol, and Redcliffe are beginning to buck that trend, with a recent growth in younger students.
Trinity is offering special deals to attract gap-year students to study for a certificate in theology in one year, and is offering the incentive of a 50-per-cent reduction in fees. “It is for young students in their 20s, to give them a taste of a theological education, in the hope they will come back for more,” says Mr Kovoor. www.trinity-bris.ac.uk www.redcliffe.org www.lst.ac.uk www.spurgeonsonline.org.uk |
 “Encouraged to question”: studying at the London School of Theology |
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