Bible colleges affiliated with Australian Christian Churches

Last updated

Bible colleges affiliated with Australian Christian Churches refers to Bible colleges that are registered with Australian Christian Churches, a Pentecostal denomination. Australian Christian Churches currently has eight registered Bible colleges, that train aspiring ACC pastors, leaders, evangelists and missionaries as well as people from other denominations and other aspirations. Alphacrucis is the official ministry training college of the denomination.

Contents

Official colleges

Alphacrucis

In 1948, Commonwealth Bible College was established as the official ministry training college of Australian Christian Churches. The college moved from Melbourne to Brisbane, then to Katoomba. In 1993, under a new incorporation, the college became Southern Cross College of the Assemblies of God in Australia, simply known as Southern Cross College. In 1996, the College moved to Chester Hill in Sydney. In 2009, the college adopted a new name Alphacrucis launched at the ACC National Conference. Alphacrucis and Harvest Bible College merged in 2018, [1] established in 1985, Harvest had campuses at Scoresby Victoria; Perth; Brisbane and on the Gold Coast; and in Denmark and the United Kingdom

Hillsong International Leadership College

Hillsong International Leadership College, established in 1988, has its campus at Baulkham Hills, New South Wales. The college relies on its courses being accredited by Alphacrusis. When Hillsong became its own denomination, it is no longer a college of Australian Christian Churches.

Other colleges

Relationship between ordination and academics in the ACC

Mainline church denominations generally require their pastors to have graduated from one of their own denominational theological colleges in order to be ordained. This is not the case in the ACC. Pastors and leaders can be ordained as long as they meet certain conditions set by the ACC, yet the academic conditions do not require that candidates have studied at Alphacrucis or any other registered ACC college. At one level this allows for an autonomy at a local church level which is unheard of in mainline churches. However, it also has called into question how there can even be a true and official ministry training college for the ACC.

Mainline churches generally require a bachelor's degree in either ministry or theology plus units which cover the denominational distinctives. This usually equates to about five years full-time higher educational study. Again, at the ACC this is not the case. In fact the minimum academic requirement by the ACC is that candidates "have undertaken a recognised Bible study course and/or given evidence to the interviewing committee that he/she is equipped by private reading and study to fulfill the relevant ministry." [4] This generally equates to a Certificate IV in Ministry. This is in line with ACC's understanding of priority of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit over and above academic training and allows a lot of autonomy at a local church level. But again, it has called into question how there really can be any official training colleges for the ACC, as whether someone has studied there or even done any formal study at all is unnecessary for ordination.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)</span> Mainline Protestant (religious) denomination

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Baptist Churches USA</span> Baptist denomination in the United States

The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 originally as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterian Church in America</span> Conservative Reformed Christian denomination in the United States and Canada

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.

The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism currently within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return them to its view of orthodox doctrine, or form a new denomination and disfellowship (excommunicate) them if the situation becomes untenable. Those who eventually deem dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within their churches and denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and/or Evangelical Churches that continue with the traditions of their respective denominations and maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate from the Mainline Protestant denominations.

Expository preaching, also known as expositional preaching, is a form of preaching that details the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. It explains what the Bible means by what it says. Exegesis is technical and grammatical exposition, a careful drawing out of the exact meaning of a passage in its original context. While the term exposition could be used in connection with any verbal informative teaching on any subject, the term is also used in relation to Bible preaching and teaching. The practice originated from the Jewish tradition of the rabbi giving a "Dvar Torah", explaining a passage from the Torah, during the prayer services. Expository preaching differs from topical preaching in that the former concentrates on a specific text and discusses topics covered therein; whereas, the latter concentrates on a specific topic and references texts covering the topic.

For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divinity schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabor (Australia)</span> Australian Christian college

Tabor College is an Australian Christian tertiary college offering a range of liberal arts courses from certificate to post-graduate studies in the areas of counselling, education, ministry, performing arts, mission, youth studies and humanities. The college is based in Adelaide, South Australia with a campus in Perth, Western Australia. 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.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia is a Christian denomination with its origins in Wesleyan Methodism. It is the organisational name for contemporary The Wesleyan Church in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covenant Theological Seminary</span> Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America

Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhere, especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all students to be members of the PCA, but it is bound to promote the teachings of its denomination. Faculty must subscribe to the system of biblical doctrine outlined in the Westminster Standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alphacrucis</span> Ministry training college of Australian Christian Churches

Alphacrucis University 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 official training college of Australian Christian Churches, the Assemblies of God in Australia. The college has campuses in every state capital city in Australia, campuses in Auckland and in Finland, and registered sites of offer in other places. Its main campus in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The college has programmes running in various colleges and churches around Australia. The college was founded in 1948 with the vision of being a "Spirit-empowered, church-planting, missions-sending, outreach-focused, distinctly Australian college that would contribute its efforts towards changing the world".

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsong Church</span> Global megachurch network headquartered in Australia

Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centre by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie Houston, in 1983. Hillsong was a member of the Australian Christian Churches – the Australian branch of the US-based Assemblies of God – until 2018, when it separated to form a new denomination. The church is known for its contemporary worship music, with groups such as Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free with many musical credits and hits and a series of scandals and criticisms.

The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.

The Alliance Graduate School (AGS) is an inter-denominational Evangelical Christian graduate school of theology in Quezon City, Philippines, housed together with Philippine Alliance College of Theology (PACT). It was established in 1977. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines.

Lutheran Brethren Seminary (LBS) is an institute of theological higher education of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA), located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. It shares its campus with the denominational headquarters of the CLBA and the denomination’s high school, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. The seminary’s primary mission is to train and equip pastors, missionaries, and Christian lay workers for ministry in the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and other church bodies.

Sidney James Williams was a pastor and leader of one of the most influential churches in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand. He was a published author and a General Superintendent of the NZ Assembly of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostalism in Australia</span>

Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvest Bible College</span> Australian Pentecostal theological college

Harvest Bible College was the first Pentecostal theological college accredited by the Australian government. In 2018 it merged with Alphacrucis College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise A. Austin</span> Australian Pentecostal historian

Denise A. Austin is an Australian Pentecostal historian, particularly focused on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

References

  1. "Harvest". Archived from the original on 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  2. "ICI College Australia | Leaders in Theological / Ministry / Biblical Distance Education and Training".
  3. "Southland Training Australia". Archived from the original on 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  4. Australian Christian Churches United Constitution. 11.2.3: Australian Christian Churches. 2013. p. 13. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)