Tabor College is an Australian Christian tertiary college offering a range of

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

courses from

certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...

to post-graduate studies in the areas of counselling, education, ministry, performing arts, mission, youth studies and humanities. The college is based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

with a campus in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The Adelaide campus, formerly including the national headquarters, is housed in heritage listed buildings in

Millswood Millswood is an inner-southern mainly residential suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It was named after Scotsman Samuel Mills, who arrived in the colony in 1839. Description The suburb is dissected by Goodwood Road, which travels north ...

, which were formerly the Goodwood Orphanage and more recently an education centre.

History

Tabor had its origins in the then Christian Revival Crusade (now

CRC Churches International CRC Churches International, formerly known as the Christian Revival Crusade, is a Pentecostal Protestant Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Leo Harris in Adelaide, South Australia, with assistance from Thomas Fos ...

), a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

denomination. It has retained its

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

ethos and established itself as a liberal arts institution with many students and faculty coming from mainline churches. These include the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 ...

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

churches, as well as many Pentecostal groups. Tabor seeks to ensure all its programmes are: Scripture-based, Christ-centred, academically sound, ministry-oriented, positively expressed and spiritually empowered. Tabor's founding principal was Pastor

Barry Chant Barry Mostyn Chant (born 1938) is an Australian academic, pentecostal pastor and author. His most significant contribution to the Pentecostal movement in Australia was as its primary historian. ''Heart of Fire: The story of Australian Pentecost ...

, now retired from the role of pastor of the International Congregation at

Wesley Mission Wesley Mission is a name used by three independent Uniting Church groups which are a part of the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. These predominantly grew out of inner city ''Central Methodist Missions'' of the Methodist Church ...

in Sydney. Chant is the author of several books including a history of Pentecostalism in Australia called '' Heart of Fire'' (1984, Adelaide: Tabor). Chant started the college in Adelaide with co-founder Dennis Slape. The name and logo of the college refers to

Mount Tabor, Israel Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabor ...

which, according to Christian tradition, was the site of the

Transfiguration of Christ In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these a ...

described in the

gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

Second Epistle of Peter The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. The text identifies the author as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to Peter the Apostle, but most criti ...

Expansion and partnerships

The college expanded with new campuses in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1988 and Sydney and

in 1992. Kingsley College merged its higher education courses with Tabor Victoria in January 2008.

Successor colleges

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

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_ ...

Australian College of Christian Studies The Australian College of Christian Studies (formerly part of Tabor College Australia) is an Australian Bible college offering vocational and under-graduate courses in ministry, theology and counselling and chaplaincyEastern College Australia established 2015. *Tasmania:

Alphacrucis Alphacrucis College (AC, formerly Commonwealth Bible College and Southern Cross College) is a tertiary Christian liberal arts college. In addition to being the largest self-accrediting Christian liberal arts College in Australia, it is the offi ...

from 2016 incorporated Tabor Tasmania *South Australia and Western Australia: Tabor College main campus in Adelaide, the previously independent Tabor Perth merged with Tabor Adelaide in 2015 maintaining a Perth campus

Admission

The admission process for undergraduates is based on the

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the primary criterion for domestic student entry into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities. It was gradually introduced to most states and territories in 2009–10 and has sinc ...

and interviews held between the applicants and faculty.

Awards

Tabor College offers undergraduate

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

, Bachelor of Ministry and Bachelor of Intercultural Studies degrees, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in humanities,

Bachelor of Social Science The academic undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Social Science (BSS, B.Soc.Sc., or B.Soc.Sci.) requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. I ...

degrees in Counselling or Youthwork, and a variety of

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

degrees. Tabor also offers master's degrees in all its faculties as well as a PhD in theology.

Associations

Tabor has formal links with a range of allied organisations including the

South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges The South Pacific Association of Evangelical Colleges (SPAEC) (previously the South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges (SPABC)) was an association of independent evangelical Bible colleges that operated from 1969 until the end of 2018. Colleges ...

, the Association of Pentecostal and Charismatic Bible Colleges of Australasia, the Australian and New Zealand Theological Library Association, Unilinc and Missions Interlink.Missions Interlink – Members
/ref>

References

{{authority control Australian tertiary institutions Pentecostal universities and colleges Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges Seminaries and theological colleges in Australia Educational institutions established in 1979 1979 establishments in Australia