Melbourne School of Theology

Melbourne School of Theology
Motto	Truth informing life and practice
Established	September 1920
Type	Christian Tertiary Education
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Campus	Wantirna South, Victoria, Coldstream, Victoria, Melbourne CBD,
Website	mst.vic.edu.au

The Melbourne School of Theology (formerly the Bible College of Victoria) is an evangelical Christian theological college with its main campus in Wantirna, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. People from all over Australia and the world travel to study there. It is one of Australia's largest Bible colleges and is highly recognised for its reputation in the training and development of missionaries.^{[citation needed]} It partners with the Australian Centre for Mission Aviation which focuses on training pilots and engineers for aviation mission work. It also has a Chinese department in which courses are taught in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

In 2011 the main (Wantirna) campus relocated from the suburb of Lilydale, in the central eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The Chinese department, which used to operate in Box Hill, also relocated to the new campus and the college was renamed to the Melbourne School of Theology.^[1]

History

Founded as the Melbourne Bible Institute (MBI) in September 1920, the institution was established to train missionaries to serve with the China Inland Mission in China. At its opening only one student sat down with the principal in the hall of the Congregational church in the suburb of Prahran near the city centre. Most appropriately they began with the study of Genesis. The college's first principal was a 54-year-old Anglican priest, the Reverend Clifford Nash, who was there because, in his words, "he felt constrained to undertake the task".^{[citation needed]} For six weeks they continued until another man and two women joined the class. They were the first of the 1000 students trained by Nash at the institute. The total now approaches 5000 graduates. At the foundation of the college Nash made a public statement, saying:

The MBI stands foursquare for the wholehearted acceptance of the entire sacred volume of the Old and New Testaments as from God. This is God's book for the plain man, and to such He will interpret its full meaning progressively by His Holy Spirit. Herein, too, is provided a full equipment for everyone who would serve Jesus as Lord. This book holds a message from God adapted to the spiritual needs of every class in every age. That message received makes men "wise unto salvation" which has all the elements of completeness. But if the book is from God, it will bear without loss the sincerest and most searching examination . . . Its genuineness will defy the acid as well as the sledgehammer of criticism. It is sufficient, and always sufficient, for the purposes for which it has been given to us.^{[citation needed]}

The college was later moved to the outer-eastern suburb of Lilydale. The current principal is the Reverend Michael Raiter.

In 2010 the Bible College of Victoria, as it was then known, began a relocation to the suburb of Wantirna, which is situated in the centre of the eastern suburbs. Classes commenced at the new campus in 2011.

Courses

There are a range of MST courses at undergraduate certificate, undergraduate degree, graduate degree and postgraduate level, including specialised options such as mission aviation and a Chinese department. In 2008, MST established the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths, through which students are given the opportunity to learn about the distinctives of other faiths and thereby be better equipped to minister to people from those faiths.

Courses range from one year full-time through to three or four year degrees and provide a wide range of choices for Christians looking to be equipped for ministry. Core subjects tend to be biblical or theological in nature with certain essentials such as communication skills, while electives provide opportunity for students to pursue particular areas of interest such as youth ministry, pastoral skills and methods, leadership, cross-cultural communication, aid and development and Christian worship.

Current accreditations available are:

• Certificate IV in Ministries
• Certificate IV in Aeroskills
• Diploma of Mission Aviation (Flight)
• Associate Degree of Theology
• Bachelor of Theology
• Bachelor of Theology (Honours)
• Bachelor of Ministry
• Bachelor of Ministry (Honours)
• Bachelor of Christian Studies
• Graduate Diploma of Christian Studies
• Graduate Diploma of Divinity
• Master of Divinity
• Master of Arts (Divinity)
• Master of Arts (Theology)
• Master of Theology
• Doctor of Theology
• Doctor of Ministry

Most courses/subjects are available full-time, part-time or via distance learning. Many are also offered through the Chinese department at which students undertake their studies in the Mandarin and Cantonese languages. Students participating in the aviation flight stream will also earn their commercial pilot licence with NVFR rating and command instrument rating.

Key staff and faculty

Principal	The Reverend Michael Raiter
Vice-principal	The Reverend Sam Reeve
Dean of Studies	Delle Matthews
Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Nash Institute	The Reverend Jeff Pugh
Professorial Dean, Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths	Peter Riddell
Dean of Chinese Department (MSTCD)	Y. Liong
Dean of Mission Aviation Course	The Reverend Bruce Searle
Dean of Students	Phyll Oostwoud (women) / Stuart Ray (men)
Head of Department of Biblical Studies	Greg Forbes
Co-ordinator of Diploma Studies	The Reverend Edward (Ted) Woods
Librarian	Kathy Caddy
Distance Learning Coordinator	Nigel Cunningham
Administration and Finance Manager	Rosemarie Eloff

References

1. ^ The Revd Michael Raiter (Principal), "Bible College of Victoria Moves and Changes Name", MST website, accessed 2010-09-09

External links

• Melbourne School of Theology official website
• Australian Centre for Mission Aviation official website

Coordinates: 37°51′35″S 145°12′33″E / 37.85972°S 145.20917°E / -37.85972; 145.20917