Here at Bristol, pioneering in new mission opportunities is a major priority for all our students whether they are preparing to be church pastors, chaplains or leaders of new initiatives. During 2022 one of our students moved onto a new estate where she will lead a missional presence; another launched projects with drug users, the homeless and those on probation; and another started a prayer room as part of her school chaplaincy. Our module on mission and evangelism takes our students to visit mission initiatives operating in the most marginalized communities in the city, while a different course focuses on the church and community development. All in all, the college is at the cutting edge of new approaches to mission, while continuing to respect the role of pastors of congregations.
Click here for the link to 'Creativity in Ministry'.

We offer a focus on prophecy as a part of the vocation of the people of God. The college is always seeking to learn from those who speak truth to power and are faithful to God’s word even where this provokes opposition. Examples of this can be seen in the work, directed by our Biblical Studies tutor, Revd Dr Helen Paynter, of the Centre for the Study of the Bible and Violence and in our teaching of apologetics. Helen’s work on domestic violence and on challenging the use of the Bible by violent nationalists is a significant contribution to vital public issues.
Click here for the link to ‘The Bible Doesn’t Tell Us So’ information or the preview video.
 

In active partnership with the regional associations, the college offers courses specifically designed to help Baptist Christians engage in mission within their churches and in their day to day lives. In Bristol we offer Equipping Missional Disciples (EMD) with Webnet and in Exeter with the SWBA we offer Prepare, Feed, Sustain (PFS). And, of course, our student ministers are all trained to understand that part of their calling is to equip their local churches to take part in the mission of God.
Click here for the link to EMD on our website and the link to EMD video.
 

For more than three centuries the college has been investing in the next generation of Baptist leaders. Back in the eighteenth century this was expressed as forming ‘lively, zealous, able and evangelical ministers of the gospel’ and to some extent the goal remains the same. The college, through its staff and its other resources, invests time, money and expertise in helping, in partnership with placement churches and mission contexts, form the next generation of leaders for our movement. But these days, we’re not only about those called to accredited ministry. We offer theology courses from undergraduate level all the way to PhD. In addition to the courses mentioned above, we also offer a one day a week course called Disciple-Makers which is designed to offer a year of formation and training to people who are thinking about the call of God on their lives.
Click here for the link to the Disciple-Makers video and the link to core values.