Who We Are

With a vision to establish a Churches of Christ Bible College in Australia to train evangelists, the College of the Bible was established in Melbourne. It began with 16 students under the tutelage of Principal H.G. Harward on 19th February 1907. For a brief time, lectures were held in the Lygon Street Church of Christ (Carlton), and then on Rathdowne Street.

With the assistance of a generous benefactor, the College moved in 1910 to a four-acre property at Glen Iris. The second principal, A.R. Main, clarified the College’s reason for being:

‘The chief purpose of the College is to provide Biblical instruction and to furnish ample facilities in education for Christian ministry … to encourage an impartial and unbiased investigation of the Christian Scriptures, and in the spirit of devout faith in the Divine Word, freely to lay under tribute every source of light and truth available to modern scholarship.’

Church of Christ leaders in NSW, with the life and vitality of the churches in mind and the vision to see the movement expand, sought to equip and train evangelists/ministers in NSW & established the Churches of Christ NSW Bible College at Woolwich on the shores of the Lane Cove River. The new college opened on the 7th of March 1942, with Alexander Main appointed as the first Principal.

Since at least the 1920s, Queensland Churches had discussed the possibility of forming a local Bible College to halt the flow of their best leaders to the USA and inter-state colleges, few of whom would return. After fund-raising from the Churches, five acres of land were purchased in Kenmore, and in 1964 Kenmore Christian College was established. When Dr James Jauncey, Australian-born but ministering in the USA, returned home that year to become the inaugural Principal, the local TV networks filmed his return at the airport.

Churches of Christ in NSW Theological College, now located at a new larger campus in Carlingford, became a founding member of the Australian University College of Divinity (AUCD), a consortium of theological colleges. This enabled the college to teach AUCD's government recognised degrees from Diploma through to PhD.

The construction of the Monash freeway in Melbourne’s Southeast, forced the College of the Bible to sell its property to the State Government. What seemed at the time to be a setback proved to be a God-given opportunity. The spacious new premises in Mulgrave, with views towards the Dandenong Ranges, were opened in February 1989 and the name was changed to the Churches of Christ Theological College (CCTC).

Churches of Christ in NSW Theological College at Carlingford merged with Kenmore Christian College (Queensland) to form The Australian College of Ministries (ACOM). Over the next decade ACOM Training hubs were established in local churches around the country as ACOM sought to bring the academy to the church.

First, the University of Divinity, of which the college was a part, was elevated to become Australia’s first specialist University. Second, a name change was made from the Churches of Christ Theological College (CCTC) to Stirling College, a ministry of the Churches of Christ. The name ‘Stirling’ was chosen after considering the life and ministry of Gordon Stirling (1914-2010) who had served as Vice Principal of the college.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance of Australia (the C&MA) joined ACOM to offer specific mission training courses for intercultural engagements. The Alliance Institute for Mission was formed and is a catalyst for the development and training of men and women for cross-cultural ministry.

Stirling College came together with ACOM to begin the process of establishing 'One National College' for the Churches of Christ in Australia and the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Australia. Stirling College has a rich and vibrant history, whose passion and legacy continues within ACOM today for the common purpose of our students and mission. The Stirling School of Community Care was established to promote courses in Counselling, Chaplaincy and Professional Supervision.