History and development

The Queen's College, founded in 1828, was one of the first colleges dedicated to preparing ministers for the Church of England. For a large part of the 19th century Queen's was uniquely not only a theological college, but a medical school as well. The holistic vision of salvation that this embodied - for body and soul - was not sustained, but Queen's has not stopped pioneering. The Queen's College became Britain's first ecumenical theological college in 1970, with the Church of England, the Methodist Church and (later) the United Reformed Church as the sponsoring churches. This was a bold move to anticipate and prepare the way for the reconciliation and union between churches that was envisaged. Queen's remains committed to the vision of our churches working to unity and embraces the Covenant between Anglicans and Methodists.

At the turn of this century Queen's took another pioneering step, creating the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education. The Foundation brought together into one institution:

• the Queen's College and its pattern of full-time and residential ordination training;

• the West Midlands Ministerial Training Course (WMMTC) and its pattern of part-time non-residential training;

• a new Research Centre dedicated to fostering research which served the mission and ministry of the churches.

As these different centres worked together, and as the benefits of closer cooperation became apparent, the College and the Course are now a single centre for Ministerial Formation within the Foundation, enabling greater flexibility for ordinands to train in full or part-time, residential or non-residential modes. The Foundation has continued to evolve and welcome new centres which enrich its life. In 2006 the Selly Oak Centre for Mission Studies was established at Queen's as the successor body to the United College of the Ascension. Up to 20 mission students and mission partners from the wider world church and the churches in Britain, four new staff, and a number of visiting scholars live, study, worship and learn with others on the campus.

The Foundation now incorporates three centres:

• The Centre for Ministerial Formation, serving primarily the Church of England and the Methodist Church;
• The Selly Oak Centre for Mission Studies, sponsored by the Methodist Church and the USPG, an Anglican Mission agency;
• The Graduate and Research Centre, providing post-graduate and research opportunity for individuals, and developing research that serves the mission of God.

Queen's has a proud record of empowering vocations among black and Asian Christians, and has taken a lead role in their education and training. This is a key area of current development with all our partner churches, and with new partnerships with independent black led churches.

Queen's is taking a lead role in the West Midlands regional training partnership, and as part of this is developing:

• pathways in its training for pioneer ministers working in fresh expressions of church
• new work in lay education and training,
• new patterns of ministerial training that more adequately connect pre- and post-ordination training, or pre-ordination training and probationer studies.

Queen's is, and continues to be, a pioneering place, embracing change in response to new circumstances and new awareness of God's mission, enabling those who share its life to respond creatively to change themselves.