Staking a Claim: Establishing a Baptist College in New Zealand 1926-1933

Abstract

It took Baptists 75 years to find a way to secure their own training
establishment in New Zealand. The Baptist College which held its first
classes in Auckland in 1926 was a tiny venture. Its success was by no
means guaranteed and its challenges were many. This essay traces the
first years of the college’s operation. Key to its success was the
personality and reputation of its Principal, J.J. North. North, however,
was not universally approved. The 1920s was a decade of theological
controversy in New Zealand and especially in Auckland. North had to
negotiate his way through that maze, find a permanent home for the
college and establish his own patterns of teaching and training. The
onset of the Great Depression complicated the task still further. Despite
these pressures, the new venture flourished in its own terms and laid
foundations for a generation of Baptist ministers.