International Christian College

The International Christian College in Glasgow, Scotland, was formed in 1998 as the result of a merger between Glasgow Bible College (formerly the Bible Training Institute) and Northumbria Bible College (formerly Lebanon Missionary Bible College).

Citing "prolonged and substantial falls in new student intakes" and unsuccessful "attempts to cut costs" and "to reverse these falls" - it announced the intention to cease current operations on 20 February 2014.^[1] This means that there is no new student intake for the 2014/15 academic year with operations continuing to the summer of 2015 to see current students through where possible. Much prayer and thought will be going into seeing what happens after that point.

History

The foundation of the Bible Training Institute, originally located in Bothwell Street, Glasgow, can be traced to visits to Glasgow between 1874 and 1891 by the American revivalists Dwight Lyman Moody and Ira D. Sankey, and was one of several Christian initiatives in the city that owed their origins to their work - including the Tent Hall and various other missions that had a special appeal to the working classes of the day, who often felt uncomfortable mixing with the more middle class congregations of established churches.^[2]

The Bible Training Institute was opened in 1892 and from 1898 was located in or alongside the Christian Institute building, which also housed the YMCA. In 1980 it moved to a former Church of Scotland building in the fashionable west end of the city, at the corner of Byers Road and Great Western Road and in 1991 became known as Glasgow Bible College. Facilities here were more extensive than previous buildings, but the college soon outgrew them and relocated to an even larger property in St James Road, in what was previously a college of nursing and midwifery adjacent to Strathclyde University. In 2013 the college announced the sale of this building and its intention to move to a new location that will be better suited to the changing nature of the educational scene, with greater numbers of part-time students and the development of online and intensive courses.

The International Christian College offered Certificates and Diplomas, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Theology, Youth & Community Work, and Urban Theology, with various specialisms in each subject area - all of them validated by the University of Aberdeen. It was the largest independent theological college in Scotland, and graduates can be found in many walks of life, including social work and teaching as well as Christian ministry in all major denominations and several mission agencies.

The current college, SSCM, offers SQA qualifications such as HNCs and Higher Education degrees in partnership with Nazarene Theological College.

Principals

Bible Training Institute (1892–1991)

John Anderson (1898-1913)
David McIntyre (1913-1938)
Francis Davidson (1938-1954)had been invited by McIntyre as a visiting lecturer in Biblical and Systematic Theology some 5 years before he succeeded him as principal. He was also Professor of Biblical Criticism in the United Original Secession Church of Scotland.
Andrew MacBeath (1954-1969)
Geoffrey Watts Grogan (1969–1991) continued his involvement with the college in various roles until his death in 2011^[3]

Glasgow Bible College (1991–1998)

C Peter White (until 1996)
Alexander McIntosh (acting principal until 1998)

Northumbria Bible College (−1998)

Rev D W Lambert (1946 - 1967) as Lebanon Missionary Bible College
Rev Dr David J Rigby (1968 - 1982) as Lebanon Missionary Bible College
David W Smith (who was later on ICC teaching staff)