Laidlaw College

Story

Laidlaw College is the largest theological college in New Zealand. The college offers tertiary courses in biblical, theological, historical and pastoral studies, as well as professional degrees in teaching and counselling. Laidlaw has around 800 students, and offers programmes at Diploma, Bachelors and Masters levels, as well as doctoral supervision. It is the highest ranked non-University research institute in New Zealand.HistoryThe college began in 1922 as the Bible Training Institute under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Kemp, a Baptist preacher and pastor of the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle. In 1972 the Institute was renamed the Bible College of New Zealand. It has since grown to become one of the largest tertiary theological institutions in the South Pacific.In June 2008, BCNZ announced it had acquired MASTERS Institute, a school of education for training primary school teachers. In August 2008, the enlarged college was renamed Laidlaw College in honour of Robert Laidlaw, a founding trustee and longstanding President of the College.Along with the transition to a new name in August 2008, College programmes underwent a process of simplification and strengthening. All degree students at Laidlaw now study a core set of courses designed to ground students in the biblical story and bring them into "thoughtful dialogue with different perspectives" to prepare for "effective engagement with society." These courses are: