Cliff Global Partnerships

In-country training

Cliff College engages in a range of in-country training activities across the globe. For example, Cliff has partnered with Wesley University, Ondo to facilitate a Doctor of Ministry programme in the first Department of Theology in Nigeria. In March 2019, the Cliff faculty visited Wesley University for a teaching week and fostered healthy debate around topics such as worship and liturgy, global justice, the theology of preaching and theological reflection. The teaching weeks in Nigeria continue with a waiting list for pastors, bishops and archbishops who will begin the next cohort in March 2020. As with all our teaching activities, faculty are brought in from other theological schools in Africa, promoting an anti-colonial approach to theological learning. Cliff College also shares regular teaching with the Methodist Churches in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe. In Uganda Cliff is working alongside the Methodist Church to provide foundation training for pastors and lay leaders. Cliff College, through its partnerships, offers a diverse range of teaching topics and methods to meet the ever-changing need of the global Church.

Immersion trips

Throughout the year, Global Partnerships works alongside other teams in the College and the wider Methodist Church to provide immersive experiences into other cultures. Recent trips include the Cliff Year’s trip to Uganda, the One Programme’s immersion to the Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India, student engagement with the MTSE conference in Estonia on church planting, and the College’s visit to Zimbabwe. These immersive experiences allow participants to learn about life for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, and enhance learning for ministry in the UK.

TheologyX

TheologyX is a project of Cliff College and the Methodist Church in Britain to create an online learning platform specifically for theological education. The learning platform provides a central point for online theological learning and helps overcome the geographical, financial, and social barriers to learning. TheologyX also enables partner organisations and institutions to create their own interactive content, and enables others to enrol in courses created by partners. TheologyX is a growing learning platform and welcomes partners to get in touch and learn of its potential for their students and participants.

Global Partnerships also facilitates ‘resource creation seminars’ around the globe. At these seminars, global partners gather to learn effective pedagogy for online learning and practical skills for creating and administering online courses. In November 2019, partners from the Methodist Church Uganda gathered with ecumenical friends in Nairobi to engage in resource creation. An ecumenical network of sharing for learning was created to support online education in the region.