In all the pathways offered by the College, students are encouraged and enabled to integrate theoretical learning with pastoral practice, drawing on the different disciplines which make up the study of theology and relating these to experience gained from the contexts in which they work and live. Ministerial students may choose from the college-based course, congregation-based learning, Children, Youth & Family Ministry, and pioneer context-based training. We also offer our Ministerial Formation course at our Exeter Hub based at the SWBA offices.

All of these can be accompanied by the BA degree or Diploma, or by Postgraduate courses up to PhD level. All courses are University-accredited, and taught in partnership with Trinity College, Bristol. Students who already have a degree in theology may follow a bespoke internal award of the College designed to ‘fill in the gaps’ of previous study and prepare them for ministry.

At Bristol Baptist College ministerial students are formed spiritually, intellectually and practically for a lifetime of ministry; not because they have learned in College all there is to know, but because they have been given the right foundations, have been taught to reflect theologically on any situation that may present itself, and are equipped to be lifelong learners.

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.