Ministerial Students arrive at Bristol Baptist College from all sorts of backgrounds, and with a great variety of experiences, gifts and aspirations. We could not write the script that draws each year group together and are constantly amazed by God’s calling and creativity in the lives of such varied men and women. What unites us is our commitment to following Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit wherever he calls us to be and whatever he calls us to do. And all this in order that God may be glorified, his love and grace known, and the kingdom grown. That’s our shared passion. For some that will mean church planting, for others pioneer ministry, for others pastoral and teaching ministry in an established church, for others youth and children’s ministry and the list continues to grow.

At Bristol Baptist College our key ministry is to help you to discover yours. So along with the academic programme which will stretch your thinking and reflecting, we offer a Ministerial Formation Programme which deals particularly with character and the practice of ministry, and that springs from a biblical conviction that God is more concerned with who we are rather than what we do. Of course, what we do springs from who we are! So the Ministerial Formation Programme is shaped to enable you to deepen your relationship with God, learn more about yourself and discern what God’s purposes are for you in the world – along with giving you some tools and skills to help you in all of that. Whoever you are and whatever ministry you are called to, we stand by the long-held conviction of the College that we are about forming competent, passionate,  Spirit-filled and evangelical ministers of the Gospel.

If you feel called to ministry within the Baptist church specifically, then you may also like to read the Baptist Union’s Introduction to Baptist Ministry document.