Redcliffe College was a mission training centre and theological college based in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, England, specialising in training men, women and families working in Christian mission and ministry anywhere in the world. In July 2020 it was announced that Redcliffe would be merging with

All Nations Christian College All Nations Christian College is an English missions college, located on the Easneye estate near Ware, Hertfordshire, and validated by the Open University. Aims Unlike some Bible colleges, the focus of All Nations Christian College is prim ...

, a similarly positioned mission training college based in Ware, Hertfordshire, north of London. Redcliffe was an international and

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 is a member of the

Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and socie ...

and Global Connections. Redcliffe College had completed its merger with All Nations by September 2020.

History

Redcliffe College was founded on 5 April 1892 as the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Testing and Training Home.Redcliffe College, ''Redcliffe College: 1892-1992'' (London: Redcliffe College, 1992), p.1. Originally based at 495 Kings Road,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, in 1896 497 Kings Road was purchased and a door was made between the two houses. Redcliffe was the first institution to provide missionary service training for women. In 1917 the College moved to 66 Redcliffe Gardens,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

. In 1931 the College moved again to 66 Grove Park Road,

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

where it remained until 1995. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

took over the college for use by the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

while the students moved to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Upper Norwood, and

Feering Feering is a village and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England. The parish is between Colchester and Witham. The village, which lies at the south-west edge of the parish, is conjoined to the neighbouring village of Kelvedon. W ...

. They returned to Chiswick in 1944. In 1984, the college became co-educational, allowing men as well as women to enrol. In 1995 the College relocated to Wotton House in Gloucester, where it began delivering courses in collaboration with the

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes. In partnership with

Wycliffe Bible Translators Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have objective of translating the Bible into every language. The organisation is named after John Wycliffe, who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole ...

and

SIL International SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...

, Redcliffe established the Centre for Linguistics, Translation and Literacy in 2013, providing specialist training for field workers in this area; this continued until July 2019. In 2015, the College embarked on a new era, discontinuing its undergraduate programme to focusing on providing

continuing professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

for Christian ministry, mission and development workers. Selling its Wotton House site in early 2016, Redcliffe moved to the grounds of

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

, where it delivers

blended learning Norm Friesen (born March 21, 1966) is Professor in Educational Technology at Boise State University. Norm Friesen studied German Literature, Secondary Education, and Communication at the Johns Hopkins University, University of Alberta and Simon Fr ...

postgraduate programmes. Redcliffe also has hubs in Asia and Oceania where it delivers the MAs in Leadership and Member Care.

Approach

Redcliffe's ethos and course design is based on providing

(also described variously as continuing

vocation A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

al development or continuing

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

development) to those in active

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, ministry or third-sector

global development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

work. Redcliffe has a specific focus on cross-cultural training, noting that the majority of students are involved in work that requires significant cross-cultural skills, as they work with and across multicultural and cross-cultural boundaries. Core programmes are designed to be studied part-time and with blended delivery, in order to ensure that students remain effective on-the-job practitioners while they study, critically engaging with their practice and experience, as well as their theory.

Courses

Each course at Redcliffe comprises a range of modules including topics in biblical, theological, cross-cultural and missional studies. Current courses available include:

Postgraduate courses

*Postgraduate MA in Contemporary Missiology; can recognise a specialism in: **Bible and Mission **European Mission **Justice, Advocacy and Reconciliation **Scripture Engagement *Postgraduate MA in Leadership in a Complex World *Postgraduate MA in Member Care

Week-long courses

*Time to Lead

University accreditation

All of Redcliffe's courses (except short course options) are validated by the

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

, and the College is accredited by the

British Accreditation Council The British Accreditation Council (BAC), also known as The British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education, is an educational accreditation agency recognised by the British Government for international students entering ...

. In-keeping with its focus on continuing professional development, modules are available to auditing students on a non-validated basis, and postgraduate degree programmes can be completed over a period of between two and four years.

Organisations based at Redcliffe College

*Centre for the Study of Bible and Mission *Global Leadership Initiative *Encounters Mission Ezine - a topical mission journal published online every three months *''Vista'' - a quarterly online research bulletin communicating research and innovation in mission in Europe

Notes

External links

Redcliffe College, Centre for Mission Training

Encounters Mission Ezine

Vista

Centre for the Study of Bible and Mission
{{authority control Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 1892 1892 establishments in England