The Bible College of South Australia (BCSA), formerly known as the Adelaide Bible Institute, is an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. It offers courses accredited by the

Australian College of Theology The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology and was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an ...

. The college's particular focus is on teaching "theology for ministry" and seeing men and women trained to serve in Christian ministry "in Adelaide, South Australia and beyond".

History

The College was established as the Adelaide Bible Institute in 1924 and offered evening classes to train people for missionary service. The founding principal was Allan Burrow. In 1949, the college became residential, first at West Richmond before moving in 1950 to Payneham. It was at this time that the college began to provide full-time ministry training programs. Growing numbers of students meant that, in 1962, the college relocated to

Mount Breckan Mount Breckan is a grand 38-room residence, originally located on in the south-coast town of Victor Harbor, South Australia. It was designed by William McMinn in a Gothic Revival style, and completed in 1881. The house was one of the largest r ...

, which provided larger premises in Victor Harbor. In 1962, J. Graham Miller was unable to take up an offer to become principal as he was unwilling to sign the required statement of premillenial belief. Baptist minister Ted Gibson was principal from 1961 to 1964 before moving to

Malyon College Malyon College is a Baptist college located in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland. The college is associated with the Queensland Baptists (Australian Baptist Ministries) in Gaythorne, Queensland. It offers degrees through the Australian Co ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Geoffrey Bingham was principal from 1967 until 1973. Student numbers grew from 40 in 1962 to 100 in 1967, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. The college was renamed the Bible College of South Australia in 1973 and, in 1978, the strategic decision was made to move back to the city. The former Concordia College girls' boarding house in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

was acquired and continues to be the college's home. In the 1980s, the college was a member of the

Adelaide College of Divinity Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD) is an accredited higher education provider offering diploma, associate and bachelor's degrees, graduate diplomas, master and doctoral degrees in ministry, it is also a Registered Training Organisation offering ...

along with the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Burleigh College. In the 1990s, the college with Burleigh offered the

Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Ministry degrees. In 1994, the college had the largest Bible college library in Australia, with over 12,000 volumes. At the end of that decade, they established the South Australian Graduate School of Theology to teach masters and doctoral degrees in addition to undergraduate awards. In 2007, following the closure of Burleigh, the graduate school was amalgamated into the college proper.

Courses

The college offers tertiary qualifications from

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

level, focusing on the Bachelor of Ministry, Bachelor of Theology and

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

Principals

*Allan Burrow * Geoffrey Bingham (from February 1967 – 1973) *Bryan Hardman * Raymond Laird (1991–2000)

References

External links

Bible College of South Australia
{{Authority control Australian College of Theology Interdenominational seminaries and theological colleges Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges in Australia Educational institutions established in 1924 1924 establishments in Australia

History

Courses

Principals

References

Further reading

External links