Regents Theological College

Our next Undergraduate Open Day is on this Saturday 20th June on our Malvern campus.

It’s a day to come and find out about everything on offer at Regents Theological College.

You’ll meet some of the academic staff and admin team, and be taken on a tour of the campus by current students.

There’s also time to ask all the questions you might have; and we provide refreshments throughout the morning, and then all have lunch together before heading home.

Regents is the national training centre of the Elim Pentecostal Churches. We offer a range of degrees and other courses to enable the body of Christ to fulfil God’s purpose in earth.

At the heart of the College is our desire to grow in faith and deepen our understanding of God through scripture. We are also an academic partner with the Department of Theology at the University of Chester.

If you would like to join us on the 20th, please see the link in the comments below or call 07851 249074.

“Spread the Word.”

Student finance, once again - but where to start this time?

Maybe a couple of weeks ago with the BBC headline that “A third of people say uni degree not worth it, as student loan inquiry begins.”

Or Eleanor Harding in this Tuesday’s Daily Mail (not our usual reading material by-the-way), “Is University a Waste of Money?”

These are pejorative headlines that are none-the-less targeting something important - the change in conditions by the government regarding student loans and their repayment - but couching these articles by suggesting a degree is a “Waste of Money” is something different.

Higher Education has an important role to play in the future, both for individual students and for the country itself.

Through it, people are trained to an acknowledged and necessary level to invest in their future; people who will go into their chosen profession and are enabled to succeed. Not because they are offered huge salaries, but because it is necessary for that success.

They are allowed to follow a path that they find fascinating, have an ability in, and curiosity about.

As Christians that might be easier for us than for others.

We understand “calling”; that God given invocation on our future; the way we sense His gentle nudge towards a life of purpose.

Regents Theological College is, as many of you know, the Elim Pentecostal Churches national training centre. We exist principally to enable students to fulfil the calling God has placed on their lives.

But to do that we must allow them to find out what they are thinking, and why; self-discovery if you like, to “delight in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1: 2), and to “do all things through Him” (Phil 4: 13) that strengthens them.

Theology is about self-discovery. To quote Professor Simon Oliver, it says “something about absolutely everything.”

Theology develops personal belief and societal values through the pursuit of truth, and by the way that truth shapes reality.

To lump theology, or any university degree, into the “it’s not worth it” campaign is facile and tunnel visioned.

Theology broadens skill. It is a degree that takes you into other fields because it is interdisciplinary.

It influences politics and law and culture and finance – and all the other ways through which we interact with everything around us.

Students of theology are “capable, well-rounded and eloquent.”

They have learnt to discern, to rationalise and to present their case. That’s an enviable quality that bridges all manner of employment opportunities.

But back to the money argument… we would suggest our fees, currently at £8,345 per year for undergraduates, and £9,030 for the entire postgraduate degree, are both worthwhile and affordable.

Those costs are part of fulfilling the calling on students’ lives whether they go into church work or the extensive range of other opportunities in the wider world.

It would be puerile to bandy around that other undergraduate degrees are £1,200 per year more expensive than ours (those that are currently capped by the government at £9,535 for a standard full-time course) because quality is not about financial gain.

Regents is not here to profit as some do according to Harding in the Mail, but to try, as best we can, to enable people of all ages to join with fellow believers to discover God through scripture at a deeper level than perhaps they can in everyday life.

Yes, it is academic – that’s the nature of higher education – but we work in “applied theology” meaning it is also practical and relevant to the things students may need to address in their future.

We are a learning, listening, spiritual community that moves forward together (discipleship), that listens to God and to each other (empathy), and who are spiritually committed to pray and worship (as the body of Christ).

But the books must balance, so fees inevitably creep up.

That is to cover real costs, not, as Harding suggests of some universities, to “over recruit in subjects that are cheap to make so that they can rake in tuition fees” and profit by “lowered academic standards.”

We are very aware of the challenges everyone faces in financing their degree, but we do everything we can to stop the threat of the debt argument hijacking the call of God on their lives.

If the momentum to address the way the current chancellor has changed the repayment policies and interest rates of student loans comes to the fore, we would welcome that, but we will not allow prospective students to be swayed out of their calling by polemic and headlines that distract them from the path that has already been laid for them.

Our last undergraduate Open Day before we start the new curriculum year in September is on Saturday 20 June.

If you’re thinking of Regents, whether for this year or in the future, it would be great to see you.

There’s a link to let us know you’re coming in the comments below.

“Spread the word…”

You may have seen the BBC News (28/05/2026) about 16 to 24-year-olds and NEET – “Not in Employment, Education or Training”, with reports of a “lost generation”.

Alan Milburn, the Former Heath Secretary’s recent report suggests one in six young people will not be in work or education within five years.

The UK.GOV press release has commented that his “groundbreaking investigation into the causes of record unemployment and inactivity among 16 to 24-year-olds” will also call for “young people and a range of experts to come forward with their views”.

Milburn warns that too many young people reach adulthood “to find the door of opportunity closed”.

Whilst we are genuinely sympathetic to the real challenges young people face in the UK and work closely with students from the category Alan Milburn has researched, we would like to offer a different viewpoint.

As a relatively small theological college, we recognise some would unfairly say we are in
a niche market as the national training centre for the Elim Pentecostal Churches, but 83% of our graduates were offered all sorts of employed roles when they left their studies at Regents in 2025.

We are not disputing Alan Milburn’s findings or the other qualifying statistics he has found that bring about a detrimental effect on young people’s job prospects; “mental health, the Covid long shadow, the loss of the Saturday job”; nor some recently
implemented government policies.

Regent’s students also come from many of the same social and economic backgrounds, which could, but do not, hold them back from achieving remarkable things even in similar personal and financial circumstances.

Many are neurodivergent, and include those that are autistic, or have ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, but these differences bring unique strengths and different perspectives.

We have all sorts of professional and pastoral support routes in place, so all students can achieve the success they hope for.

And we don’t just want to train them to be informed academic theologians but, as Jesus
showed us, to inspire and teach them “to go”, doctrinally strong and practically able.

Many of them do take up formal church-based ministries after college; others work in chaplaincy, the health and caring professions, the police and armed forces, tourism, the social services; some have even started their own companies and businesses.

To highlight this, after last year’s November graduation, we caught up with three of
them; here again are their stories:
www.elim.org.uk/Articles/737396/How_life_s.aspx

A theology degree at Regents not only develops a deeper understanding of God and scripture, but it covers literature, history, sociology, management, leadership, and practical life skills.

Round this up in a dynamic Pentecostal, prayerful environment, and you can see why students successfully fulfil the variety of vocations God has opened up for them.

As many of you know April 2025 marked our 100th anniversary of training and releasing men and women into their calling as Christians.

As that celebration continues, we are still offering a discount on our undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses for ordained Elim ministers, Elim’s Ministers in Training, their spouses, and other church leaders and elders.

The offer is a 50% scholarship on all our undergraduate courses, and a 25%scholarship towards our postgraduate programmes.

If you are interested in taking up this opportunity, please email Lucy Harvey in our admissions department before 15 June when the offer will close.

Lucy’s email is: [email protected]

Regents Theological College is the Elim Pentecostal Churches national training centre, where we are committed to releasing people in Christian discipleship and purpose from a charismatic, confessional and Pentecostal biblical point-of-view.

Since we began in 1925, the environment and demands may have changed, but we know the Word of God remains clear, consistent, and life changing.

Two things…

As we approach summer, we’re aware how quickly the days go by; the happy distraction of holidays coming up, the festivals and family get together’s, and of course the everyday work that needs to be done.

With all that in mind, we wanted to remind you that if you’re planning to join us in September, applications to study at Regents are open for both our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

It’s a great time for us as well, as the team in admissions are relatively quiet.

There’s also time to put in place any student funding applications you might need.

Alternatively, if you’re still thinking about it and want more information, we have two final Open Days before the start of the new curriculum year…

Undergraduate – Saturday 20 June from 9.30 on our Malvern campus

Postgraduate – Saturday 4 July at 11am on Zoom.

Links to both the applications and the Open Days are in the comments below.

As the Elim Pentecostal Churches national training centre, we are entirely committed to releasing people into their calling from a charismatic, confessional and Evangelical biblical point-of-view.

And as we continue to celebrate 100 years of doing so (1925 – 2025), the environment and demands may have changed, but we know the Word of God remains clear, consistent, and life changing.

Start of Day 3 at Elim Pentecostal Churches Elim Leaders Summit with the excellent round table discussions.

We held another two this morning:

‘Studying at Regents’ with Simo Frestadius, Jenny Kemble, Regents Dean of Undergraduate Students, and Ollie Ward, our Director of Spiritual Formation’

And ‘Ministry Placements’ with Luke Goodway, Regents Ministry Practice Coordinator, and current student Alex Hunt, Pastor of Motherwell Elim.

The round tables have been a great way to learn about the opportunities at Regents, to talk with members of the team, and to ask all questions the people who join us might have.

Start of Day 2 at the Elim Pentecostal Churches Leaders Summit…

A round table with Michelle Nunn, Regents principal, talking through our plans for Elim College Online.

We’re looking for ten churches to run a pilot project and road test all the online modules. They will have access to the courses, and then help us by feeding back what might be important and useful additions.

If that’s something that would interest you, please email: [email protected]