About Us

Welcome to Cliff College

Our Heritage

Cliff College has a long and rich heritage of providing Bible training to people from diverse backgrounds, for mission and evangelism. It started in 1883 in the home of its founder Thomas Champness in Bolton.  He later moved into Castleton Hall at Rochdale where the work continued until he retired and the lease at Castleton Hall expired.  The Wesleyan Methodist church took over the work and moved the college to its current location, Calver, in 1904 where more space was available for the work. Since the beginning we have sought to provide Biblical, Evangelical training that is both relevant and forward thinking, with an emphasis on Scriptural Holiness.

As a Bible College, we have a high standard of excellence with the courses we deliver in order to provide the best Bible training we can give so that people are equipped for the services of mission and evangelism. Cliff College currently serves most Christian denominations with its training. Historically, Cliff was a Methodist Lay Training college but now our student body is lay or ordained from a diverse denominational background with our emphasis now being Evangelical Christians.

Life at Cliff College

At Cliff we understand the needs of our students and the needs of the church today. We aim to provide Bible training, practical training and pastoral training of high standard for all of our students, so when they leave the college they are prepared, equipped and discipled ready for any ministry on which they may embark.

We see ourselves as a community of grace, which builds each other up in Christ in order to help carry the church forward. Our ideology is built on learning, discipleship, mission, evangelism and caring for one another.

Our motto ‘Christ for all - all for Christ' sums all this up. We want to train people from all walks of life to be better Christians, better evangelists and better disciples of Jesus. Our approach has changed as society has changed so we remain relevant to the world around us, but the calling is still the same.

We would love you to be part of our vision. Cliff College is not just about getting a degree; it is about the experience of living here, sharing our lives and growing in Godliness while you are with us. It is about gaining skills, character and knowledge that will help you through the rest of your life and ministry. Ask any of our students, being at Cliff is life changing - for the better!

Prayer and Worship

Here at Cliff, we want our Bible training to fuel our prayer and worship. These two things are central to our community life. Each week includes morning prayers, and Tuesday evening Celebration/House Groups. Students are encouraged to be involved in leading these various activities during the year so they have a chance to share with the community the gifts God has given them. Students should attend all these activities when possible so that they share in the experience of living in and submitting themselves to Christian community. We also encourage our students to be a part of a local church and serve them while with us.

Lectures

This is where our students will wrestle with the Bible and learn from experienced practioners. We want our students to be pushed, challenged, inspired and transformed by God's word as they take part in their lectures. Our staff are some of the finest in their field and are consistently providing engaging and relevant lectures to challenge our students. God wants us to love him with our minds, as much as we do with our heart and soul and this is a good place to start.

Serving

As part of our role within the College Community, each student takes part in about 6 hours of work around the College each week. Administration, gardening, maintenance, tutorial support, and housekeeping are the various areas in which we ask the students to serve.  This is an important aspect of each student's discipleship as they learn to serve in practical ways around campus. Students generally share in these tasks on Monday and Friday afternoons, although flexibility is built into the system in order to best serve our needs.

Coffee and Meals

Every morning at coffee break you will find the Crush Hall full of people. This is a great point in the day to take a break from lectures and catch up with other students and staff. It might be a bit unfair to call it a Coffee break as our students are regularly getting up to more than just having a cuppa. Fancy dress contests, snowball fights and charity hair cuts are just some of the things students get up to during coffee break throughout the year. Meals are another great opportunity to get to know other students and staff. As all the meals are provided for you, this makes life a little easier for socialising and taking a break from the lectures of the day.

Leisure Activities

We are never short of fun activities on campus throughout the year! Football, table tennis, dancing, discos, choir, special dinners, walks, outdoor/indoor games are just some of the things to highlight not to mention the evenings that are spent in ‘Student Digs' watching DVDs, playing video games or just reading a book. We want our students to work hard in their studies but we also want them to thoroughly enjoy their time with us!

Missions and Preaching

All students participate in the following College activities:

• Faith-sharing weekend in Autumn Term
• Easter mission in last ten days of Spring Term (BA student placement)
• ‘Festival' during Spring Bank Holiday Weekend
• Summer Missions

Preachers in training (except married students who are encouraged to spend the remaining weekends at home if possible) should expect to preach in local churches about one in three Sundays in term time. Most engagements involve two services at different times of the day in different churches.

Apart from the above exceptions, students are free at weekends and are normally free to be away from college if they wish.  Those who are in residence are expected to attend a local church.

Your experience

This website will tell you about the study programmes and academic life that Cliff has to offer. What it can't tell you is what it is actually like coming to Cliff, living within the community and being involved in mission and evangelism. We would encourage you to visit us, spend some time with staff and students, sit in on some lectures, eat with us, pray with us and worship with us. Experience Cliff life and we're confident you'll want to come again!