A new year message from the Principal

It's been a busy September at Cliff as the new academic year has got underway and our resident community has arrived back to College. The new semester brings a number of changes: a new Principal, a new Children, Youth and Family Tutor (Jenny, who has just arrived with us from the States with her family), new patterns of prayer and worship and a cheerful revamp of Chadwick’s to make the space more homely. 

This semester we have 164 people in our learning community across our various programmes. Some study with us on campus, while many more study online from their own contexts – this semester including Algeria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Switzerland, Uganda, Ukraine, and USA. Every one of our students is on a journey of learning, and I invite you to join with me in praying that their studies will inspire and equip them to be ambassadors of the joyful news of Jesus.

You'll be hearing quite a bit from me about being 'ambassadors of joyful news'. As I take up the role of Principal, I've had the opportunity to develop a new strategic plan for the College in consultation with the staff and trustees. At the heart of the plan is a clarification of our core purpose as a College. I've reached back into our heritage and reclaimed the title of the newspaper published by Thomas Champness from 1883, which began it all: Joyful News. Champness used the proceeds of Joyful News to support the training of Joyful News evangelists, who went out – around the country and the world – to energise and mobilise God's people in mission. Their stories of revival and renewal then became articles in the next issue of Joyful News. I love that – and I hope and pray that Cliff College can continue this ministry today. Being a catalyst for mission in local contexts and generating stories of joyful news that we can share. Connecting with us at Cliff will inspire and equip you to be joyful, and to be a joyful ambassador!

There's a great quote I found in the library, from 1927. It says, "'Joyful News' and Cliff College are inseparable, and whoever helps the one helps the other." That's still true! We may not have a weekly halfpenny paper anymore, but your support for Cliff College supports the work of sharing the joyful news of Jesus. If you'd like to consider supporting us, either one off or regularly, we are grateful for every gift.

I am looking forward to all that God will do through this next season of life at Cliff and hope and pray you’ll choose to join us on this journey in whatever ways you can. Grace and peace. 

Rev Dr Andrew Stobart, Principal