Theologian and author Andy Ollerton, who taught on Romans at Regents London

London’s calling for theological studies!

How do you make quality academic teaching easily available to Elim members across the UK? This is the challenge Regents has been grappling with recently. One part of the solution is Regents London, but this is just the beginning says Paul Folland

Paul Folland

“We’re called to love God with our hearts, souls, minds and strength. And loving him with our minds means understanding him more,” says Paul Folland.

“That’s why our courses are so important. If we can learn more about God and apply that knowledge to our work settings, churches and personal lives, we can become more effective in our mission to bring his kingdom to earth.”

Paul, pastoral dean of students at Regents, is discussing the exciting development of the college’s new sister campus and its courses at Kensington Temple in London.

It’s all part of Regents’ aim to make its teachers and the modules for its Applied Theology degree – which have historically been taught on its campus in Malvern – more accessible to Elim members living elsewhere in the UK.

“We appreciate that not everyone can give up three years and move to live on our campus here, and so six years ago we introduced the option of studying with us, but living in your home location or context. But now we are looking to offer something more locally based,” Paul explains.

“Our aim in opening Regents London has been to bring theological education into a major urban centre to help resource people from the London region, or internationally. Many may already have jobs or degrees, but want to study theology as well.”

To this end, Regents London launched its Certificate in Leadership & Discipleship in September, with the three weekly modules covered so far – Spiritual Formation & Discipleship, Making Sense of the Bible and Gospel & Mission – attracting 72 people in person and on Zoom over the courses so far.

The course is designed to fill the space between devotional and academic study and allow people from local churches to learn and grow in a classroom- and research-based way.

Regents London has partnered with Kensington Temple to deliver these sessions, drawing on KT’s history of training through its International Bible Institute of London.

“It’s been a great opportunity to partner with KT on what’s already in place, but also to bring fresh modules and teachers in. It’s been a really positive relationship,” says Paul.

Michelle Bennett, principal at IBIOL, agrees. “The new partnership between IBIOL and Regents Theological College has got off to a strong start,” she says.

“I believe we are building more than just ‘another course’ but developing a learning environment where people can hear in-depth teaching, try out the principles they have learned, then come together and reflect.

“We have deliberately set this in an atmosphere that is more relaxed than you usually find in a classroom, which has led to a high degree of openness, discussion and willingness to ask questions. I am loving the energy that both students and teachers are bringing to the evenings.”

But London is only the beginning, Paul continues. “The idea with the Regents certificate course in London is that anyone can access our courses and learn more about themselves and God, but there is potential to progress this further and have host bases in other regions too.

“For us, the next step is launching our masters degree course and a part-time undergraduate degree in London in September, then also asking how we can extend our certificate course into other parts of the UK.”

And what better time to do this than as Regents approaches its centenary?

“In 2025 we’re 100 years old and we’re asking how we can bring more high-quality training to people across the movement to mark the occasion.

“People have been taking this course in London because they want to be more effective in connecting their faith with their everyday lives.

“So for us, it’s about how we can create more space for other people elsewhere to do likewise.

“The Holy Spirit wants to interact with every part of our lives and this is just one way to help people understand more about God and how they can bring him into their everyday worlds.”

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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