The objectives and purposes of FTC’s academic programme are best expressed in its mission statement, “to equip pastoral ministers who will be thoughtful listeners, effective evangelists, dynamic preachers, informed educators and models of integrity.” The focus on the preparation of pastors was particularly strong in its early days after its founding in 1942. Prior to that the Friends missionaries had been active in planting churches and carrying out pastoral duties, but from that point forward until the mid-Sixties, when most of the missionaries’ pastoral work had been handed over to the most gifted of the believers in the churches, it became a high priority of Friends United Meeting to prepare local pastors and other leaders for the churches. Friends Theological College has been the principal means of reaching that goal.
Some Christian groups have put their training emphases mostly on men, but the Quaker movement from its origins in Sixteenth Century England felt strongly that God’s call to ministry and leadership is received by both men and women. Some of the most capable FTC students in preaching, teaching and church leadership continue to be women. Download the full Educational Perspective of Friends Theological College here.
Statement of Faith
Being a Quaker institution, FTC members believe in God as the Creator and sustainer of the world, they confess His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and submit to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in their worship, their personal lives, and their administration of the church. FTC upholds Quaker values namely simplicity, honesty, integrity, peace, sharing and equality of all people. Further information about the faith and practice of Friends is found in the Christian Faith and Practice in the Friends Church, published by FUM in 2002