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

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

courses from

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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 list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

with a campus in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The Adelaide campus, formerly including the national headquarters, is housed in heritage listed buildings in Millswood, which were formerly the Goodwood Orphanage and more recently an education centre. The Tabor Institute of Music (TIM) established in 2022 provides short courses, professional development and specialist music facilities.

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 Finished Work Pentecostalism, Finished Work Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in New Zealand and Australia by Leo Harris in Adelaide, South Australia, ...

), a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

denomination. It has retained its

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

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

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

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, 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 C ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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

Transfiguration of Christ The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event described in the New Testament where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) recount the occasion, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers t ...

described in the

gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

and

Second Epistle of Peter 2 Peter, also known as the Second Epistle of Peter and abbreviated as 2 Pet., is an epistle of the New Testament written in Koine Greek. It identifies the author as "Simon Peter" (in some translations, 'Simeon' or 'Shimon'), a bondservant and ...

Expansion and partnerships

The college expanded with new campuses in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

: Australian College of Christian Studies (ACCS), established 2014 *Victoria: Eastern College Australia established 2015. *Tasmania: Alphacrucis 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) for all domestic students, or the ATAR-based Combined Rank (CR) for all International Baccalaureate (IB) students,

and interviews held between the applicants and faculty.

Awards

Tabor College offers undergraduate Bachelor of Music,

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

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

Bachelor of Social Science The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

degrees in Counselling or Youthwork, and a variety of

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

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