Welcome!
BCV is one of Australia's best known Christian colleges. The main campus is located on a scenic hillside in the outer east of Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, Australia.
BCV's courses are up to date, relevant and diverse. Every program combines deepening knowledge, personal development and practical living and ministry. All levels are covered, from certificate and diploma, through to bachelor's degree and postgraduate studies. BCV's resources and facilities support quality learning for full time, part time, on campus, off campus or distance students. Take a tour - either here in the site or on campus - and let us show you some pathways for your journey ahead, whether your calling is in ministry, mission or marketplace.
The history of BCV is the story of people who have been touched by God and who have taken great risks to make a difference in the world.
Our History
It was in the context of a growing evangelical vitality in Victoria's churches, and a desire to train missionary candidates, that the Melbourne Bible Institute commenced in September 1920. One student sat down with one Principal in the hall of the Congregational Church in Prahran - a very humble beginning! Most appropriately they began with the study of Genesis. The first Principal was a 54-year-old Anglican minister, the Rev CH Nash, who was there because, in his words, 'he felt constrained to undertake the task'. For six weeks they continued until another man and two women joined the class. Three later became missionaries with CIM and the other went to Africa with SIM. They were the first of the 1000 students trained by CH Nash at MBI. The total now approaches 5000 graduates.
The explicit evangelical ethos of MBI was set out clearly in a public statement by CH Nash in August 1920. In the context of a time when he saw the most dangerous enemies of the church within its own walls in the form of critical scholarship that undermined the authority of the Bible, he said 'The MBI stands foursquare for the wholehearted acceptance of the entire sacred volume of the Old and New Testaments as from God. This is God's book for the plain man, and to such He will interpret its full meaning progressively by His Holy Spirit. Herein, too, is provided a full equipment for everyone who would serve Jesus as Lord. This book holds a message from God adapted to the spiritual needs of every class in every age. That message received makes men 'wise unto salvation' which has all the elements of completeness. But if the book is from God, it will bear without loss the sincerest and most searching examination . . . Its genuineness will defy the acid as well as the sledge hammer of criticism. It is sufficient, and always sufficient, for the purposes for which it has been given to us'.
BCV today stands on the past with this same explicit commitment in its Core Values and Training Philosophy to be an evangelical college committed to the teaching of the Bible.
With a view to future expansion, a new campus was built at Lilydale in 1978. Along with the change in location came a change of name. Melbourne Bible Institute became Bible College of Victoria. BCV provides some of the best facilities in Australia on its modern campus. College graduates are serving in the ministry, mission and market place in Australia and around the world. BCV is a foundation member of the South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges (SPABC).
Our Focus
The heritage of MBI/ BCV includes a number of key emphases-
- Biblical knowledge. The essence of training is to provide a thorough working knowledge of the Bible ('the Great Book' as Nash called it) as the one dependable revelation from God in an age of questioning and uncertainty. It is the chief equipment for the Christian worker.
- Equal opportunity for all Christians. Training is open to people of all levels of educational background, and is both for lay people and for those entering vocational Christian ministry.
- Practical relevance. There is great emphasis on the application of truth to daily life - as Nash put it - 'a testing of all knowledge acquired against the actual conditions amid which the Truth of God has to make headway and win victories'.
- Spiritual growth. The encouragement of personal spiritual growth in Christ is a major objective that permeates the total program of the College.
- Training in community. There is a strong emphasis upon students living and sharing together in community, discovering in depth the meaning of fellowship in Christ and the loving service of others.
- Disciplined lifestyle. There are requirements for students that encourage disciplined living in an age of increasing affluence, apathy and permissiveness. But this does not exclude the humour and enjoyment of sharing life with others.
- Interdenominational unity. Students come from many churches and discovered a working evangelical unity that transcends the boundaries of their own background, although the College always encourages a deepening loyalty to one's own church family.
- Flexibility in the program. The College has changed as its leaders have worked to relate the first God-given vision to the changing needs of the times through flexibility and adaptation in the courses being offered.
- Evangelism and mission. There is a strong thrust of evangelistic outreach and training, and a continuing emphasis to create awareness and equip people for cross-cultural mission who have a clear understanding of the Gospel and the uniqueness of Christ as Lord and Saviour in a pluralistic world.
- Leadership. There is a primary goal of equipping all graduates for leadership in church, mission and market place, so that they will be people who influence others in their thinking and behaviour in whatever networks the Lord opens up to them. It is also our passion to equip people for key leadership roles, and to continue to assist their professional growth and development through in service programs.