User talk:Dr. Paul Allen

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Hope College Australia is a Bible College on the Gold Coast of Australia offering courses in Ministry, Theology, Chaplaincy, Aged and Disability Care. It was started by Dr. Paul & Janine Allen with a small class of 30 students studying Christian Theology. Today it has grown to three campuses. Both Sydney and Brisbane Campuses offer Christian Theology in the Korean Language. The Gold Coast Campus offers all our courses in English, Korean and soon will be offering basic theology in Mandarin.

Hope College Australia is registered with ASQA and can receive international students and all courses are registered with ASQA so that graduates can continue their studies into university, TAFE or another registered provider.

Hope College Australia is a ministry of Hope Church Australia which is affiliated with ACC (Australian Chrisitan Churches). Both the college and the church have recently celebrated 24 years of ministry on the Gold Coast of Australia. Dr. Paul Allen (talk) 00:50, 9 January 2017 (UTC)

Bible Colleges are different from Seminary institutions.

What is a Bible College?

There are Bible Institutes, Seminaries, and Theological Colleges. Different countries and different Christian church denominations may use different terms for such educational bodies. Each educational body may also serve different purposes. For example, a church denomination or church group may require all pastoral candidates to have a higher educational award such as a Masters of Divinity in order to be a candidate for a pastoral position and or ordination within that denomination, movement or church group. Denominations often encouraged candidates to study at their own denominational educational body in order to understand, and further the goals of that denomination.

The emergence of church based Bible Colleges, not attached to any denomination and open to all candidates has been a recent development, especially within the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement. In Australia, the term Bible College tends to be a generic term that describes an Christian educational body that may offer competency based training and or higher education training for those seeking ministry education and or a step towards either further theological training or ministerial ordination.

For example, Hope College Australia commenced in 1993 without any Australian Government accreditation. It didn't exist at the time. Where it did exist it was limited to Government training bodies called TAFE. Hope College Australia was an expression of a local church called Hope Church Australia. Hope Church Australia at the time was affiliated with the Assemblies of God (now ACC or Australian Christian Churches). At the same time that Hope College Australia commenced, the VET (Vocational Education training) sector was expanding from TAFE;s to private eductional providers by offering accreditation, so that students could transfer between educational bodies and or receive recognized training for skills, or advanced standing in a Higher Education Award.

Like many Bible Colleges during that early period, Hope College Australia wrote its own courses and had them approved by a local committee then a representative from VET in Queensland. Since that time, VET has developed training awards ranging in scope from Certificate I to Advanced Diploma in many fields and disciplines, funded by Government and seeking to meet specific work needs in Australia. All VET course now have expiry dates and are subject to revision, improvement and updating. When a course expires an RTO (Registered Training Organization) must apply and update it scope of awards.

Since that period, Bible Colleges in Australia have either developed their own specific and unique awards and or registered a training package with VET.

For example, Hope College Australia located on the Gold Coast of Australia offered courses from the Ministry Training Package awards in Christian Ministry and Theology. This package of courses were developed in consultation with several Bible College and ministry leaders. The courses were generic in that they could be customized to a particular need or a denominational emphasis. In addition, Hope College also registered several VET training courses in order to offer a Certificate III in Aged Care, Disability and Certificate IV in Chaplaincy.

Bible Colleges can offer non-registered courses if they desire. They can structure their courses as they see fit. However, students benefit from registration, in that they are able to receive Government funding, international students can enroll, students can obtain study loans like VET FEE Help and or Centrelink payment and can transfer between colleges, and receive recognition of completed work with another similar provider or a higher educational provider.

For example, Hope College Australia is registered with ASQA and can receive international students at any of its three Australian campuses. There are separate rules and Government reporting requirements pertaining to international students but this is seen as a positive outcome for Bible Colleges in that they see themselves as training people worldwide. The other main benefits is that a college like Hope College Australia, provides a solid biblical foundation for students who may then wish to continue their studies without forfeiting complete courses. Because all courses offered by Hope College Australia are registered with ASQA, graduates can continue their studies into university, TAFE, another registered provider with higher education awards in theology or ministry.

Dr. Paul Allen (talk) 01:51, 9 January 2017 (UTC)