Newbold looks to the future

Newbold launches Centre for Ministry and Mission

Friday 29 January 2021

Newbold’s Board of Governors met on Wednesday, 27 January, to finalise plans for the College’s theological programme offerings following an announcement in October 2020 regarding changes to the College’s provision and organisational structure.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Governors voted to replace the Department of Theological Studies (DTS) with a new Centre for Ministry and Mission (CMM). DTS is the department through which Newbold has previously offered (among other programmes and courses) its popular undergraduate programme in Biblical and Pastoral Studies, and its postgraduate Theology degree.

The Board also voted to approve the appointment of current Trans-European Division (TED) Education Director, Dr Daniel Duda, as the Transitional Head of the new Centre. Dr Duda holds a Doctor of Ministry from Andrews University and has a close association with Newbold going back many years – as a former theology lecturer and later as a College Governor. Dr Duda will be on secondment to the College from his role at the TED until 31 December 2021.

Other staffing changes that will accompany the introduction of the new Centre include the appointment of Dr Laszlo Gallusz as Undergraduate Programme Leader, and Dr Ján Barna as Postgraduate Programme Leader.

“Just two days ago our Governors voted to implement with immediate effect our long-anticipated Centre for Ministry and Mission (CMM). We welcome Dr Daniel Duda as transitional head, and we all look forward to working together to secure the brightest possible future for Newbold” – Dr John Baildam, College Principal.

More information about these changes, which took effect immediately, and the programmes and courses available through the Centre for Ministry and Mission, will become available shortly.

Update on teaching at Newbold

Friday 23 October 2020

On Wednesday 21 October the Executive Committee of the College’s Board of Governors met and voted on the details surrounding the immediate future of teaching on the Newbold campus.

The Executive Committee voted that:

• The English Language Centre will cease to operate at the end of the current semester, in December 2020.
• Business and Humanities courses will cease to operate at the end of the academic year, in May 2021. The College and its Governors are working with Andrews University, Washington Adventist University and appropriate UK universities to ensure that all students will be able to complete their studies without being disadvantaged academically or financially.

You can read more about the original decision by the Board of Governors below.

Spring Semester (January 2021): COVID-19 and online teaching

At the same meeting, given the ongoing and potentially worsening situation both in the UK and further afield caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was voted to endorse the College’s decision that it is in the best interests of staff and students that Newbold continue to deliver online learning and teaching at least until the end of the academic year in May 2021.

Newbold staff are working with affected students to determine the immediate implications of these decisions.

Dr John Baildam
Principal

Newbold looks to the future

Thursday 01 October, 2020

Despite the generous financial support provided by the Trans-European Division and its various fields over so many years, Newbold’s financial situation has become increasingly demanding. The challenges of COVID-19, resulting in low student numbers and a subsequent fall in income over the past six months, have served as a key catalyst for a decision made yesterday by our Governors, who announced significant changes to the College’s offerings and organisational structure.

These changes will be made over the course of the next few months, and will be in place for September 2021. Below you will find a release from the College’s owners, the Trans-European Division, which details the background to this decision.

This new direction will streamline Newbold’s offerings and will renew our focus on ministry and mission. This means that for the next few years it is unlikely that we will be able to offer any new intake in our English Language, Business, Humanities and Study Abroad programmes as they are now. We sincerely hope that we will be able to reopen these programmes to students in the not-too-distant future.

While we don’t yet know exactly what shape these changes will take, we can assure you that every decision made by the Board of Governors, the Trans-European Division and the College’s leadership team has been and will be made with a great deal of prayer and with your wellbeing at heart.

I understand that many of you will have questions about what this means for you as a student, and even though we might not be able just yet to answer all of the questions you might have, we wanted to pass this important information on to you as soon as possible.

We will be working hard over the next two to three months to provide you with a clearer picture of how Newbold will start the 2021-2022 academic year, but for now please rest assured that teaching and learning will continue as planned for the rest of this academic year, right through to May 2021.

Please do not hesitate to send us any questions you might have about how these changes may impact you, and we will follow up early next week with a further communication that aims to answer as many of these questions as possible.

We ask for your thoughts and prayers for God’s guidance, particularly in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, thank you for being part of the Newbold family.

Kind regards,

Dr John Baildam
Principal, Newbold College of Higher Education

An urgent need to renew focus on ministry and mission

Pastor David Neal, for TED News

For almost 120 years Newbold College of Higher Education (NCHE) has faithfully served the Trans-European Division (TED), preparing ministers and other workers to serve the region and far beyond. Ever sensitive to the needs of both society and the Church it serves, Newbold has never lost sight of its mission and identity. While regeneration of the College has been high on the agenda of the Board of Governors and management for many years, as the Principal, Dr John Baildam, notes, ‘Now more than ever, in these challenging and fast-changing times, we are considering how best to remain relevant to the needs of the 14 TED constituency units we serve.’ With this lead, the Newbold Board of Governors met for an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, 30 September to best determine how the College can urgently adapt and restructure.

Prior to this meeting there were many hours of deliberations between the TED leadership and stakeholders, including a 15 September group conversation of field presidents, with the Division president and board chair Pastor Raafat Kamal affirming the continuing importance of Newbold to the Division’s members. ‘Most notable in our conversation’, says Kamal, ‘was the consensus that Newbold exists first and foremost to train pastors and other Church leaders to serve TED members – and now is the time to urgently renew this focus.’

A new centre for ministry and mission

The Newbold Board of Governors voted a new ten-point ‘Framework for Operation’ at its meeting on 30 September. At its core, the ‘Framework for Operation’ commits to a new Centre for Ministry and Mission, giving sole focus and strategic direction to the education and preparation of ministers, evangelists, frontline church planters, leaders, and theologians. This is to be in place by September 2021, in time for the commencement of the 2021-2022 academic year.

‘The significance of this action cannot be overstated’, says Pastor Ian Sweeney, the board’s vice chair and president of the British Union Conference. He continues, ‘The decision to have Newbold concentrate its focus on its original purpose of ministerial education and equipping is an exciting one. The intent is that students who pass through Newbold’s doors will leave better able to fulfil the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with well-rounded, mission-focused, well-educated pastors and workers.’ ‘This is Newbold’s core business’, agrees Pastor Victor Marley, President of the Norwegian Union Conference. ‘Sometimes we need to take care of the basics in order to build again for the future.’ Pastor Dragan Grujičić, President of the South-East European Union Conference, concurs with hope. ‘With Newbold becoming more mission-centred, it is making a decisive step for the Church in the TED to grow.’

How will Newbold adapt to meet this new paradigm shift? The ‘Framework for Operation’ is based on an initial enrolment of 80-100 students, with a mixture of on-campus intensives and online classes as the new standard model of delivery. The former regional pastoral training programmes held in such centres as Belgrade, Budapest, Riga, and Warsaw will be restarted and expanded to other areas throughout the TED. ‘With the UK so far away from our field’, says Pastor Ivo Käsk, President of the Baltic Union Conference, ‘the plan to concentrate on offering online and intensive classes changes everything for us. It brings ministerial education closer to home, it is less expensive, and, best of all, the educational focus is towards front-line mission. I know our youth will be energised by this action.’

How the academic and curricular changes pan out has yet to be seen; but, under this plan, Newbold is making a commitment not only to maintain its reputation for delivering theological education of excellence, but also todeliver pastoral and evangelistic education to an equally high standard.

The use of campus land and buildings will be reconfigured, including the development of an investment masterplan. Included in this core commitment is an ongoing promise to review the ‘Newbold Culture’, ensuring a safe and welcoming experience for every student.

For the Newbold Senior Leadership Team and staff, this is a time of major transition. ‘With this in mind’, says Kamal, ‘I want to thank Dr John Baildam for his outstanding and ongoing leadership and ministry, and to thank each staff member for their sacrificial commitment and contribution to the College. I am praying for every member of the Newbold family.’

Day of Prayer for Newbold, 10 October

With the urgent need for this once-in-a generation change, we also wish to pray for God’s guidance and counsel. As Newbold renews its focus on ministry and mission, Pastor Kamal and the Trans-European Division leadership team are designating Sabbath, 10 October as a Day of Prayer for Newbold. ‘We are inviting all TED members’, says Kamal, ‘and the wider world-Church family to lift up Newbold in prayer on this day because we believe the leading of the Holy Spirit on this action is critical.’

‘It is critical’, Kamal went on to explain, ‘because on the TED front line of mission are almost 1,400 communities of disciples, each Christ-centred and modelled after its maker: Jesus. Disciples live faith, grow faith, and share their faith. Critical to their success are their leaders – pastors, teachers, and evangelists, joining them on their spiritual journey. Critical to the growth of the Trans-European Division (both spiritually and numerically) is the role of the Spirit-filled pastor who leads each community of disciples in the local church. That is why Adventist Higher Education is essential for the lifeblood of the Church. I believe that Newbold’s renewed focus on ministry and mission will produce a new generation of leaders with theological depth and conviction, which constantly stirs their call to serve Christ, and to grow disciples for Him in these expectant times.’