Support from the Baptist family for Spurgeon’s students  

The whole Baptist family has responded magnificently to BUGB’s Spurgeon’s appeal - £90,000 has been donated by churches and individuals to support Baptist students who had been studying at Spurgeon’s College when it sadly and unexpectedly closed its doors in July 2025

Initial support for students was provided by BUGB who funded a small team of Spurgeon’s staff working as a Student Support Office. In just four weeks, they ensured that submitted worked was marked, certificates were sent out, and relevant student data was captured to support our ministerial accreditation processes. The Support Office also handled many queries from individual students. 

Meanwhile, the other five Baptist Colleges and the affected Regional Associations all worked hard to see how existing Baptist students could continue their studies elsewhere. Almost every Baptist student on a ministerial training track found a new home to continue their studies. The majority joined a newly formed London hub of Bristol Baptist College that now meets weekly in term time in Westbourne Park Baptist Church, while Luther King Theological College in Manchester, Regent’s Park College in Oxford and St. Hild Centre for Baptist Ministry in Sheffield all took in students. 

However, many students were facing considerable financial disadvantage because of the change of their host college. Some had already paid fees for 2025-26 with no guarantee that the money would be repaid. Others were going to incur additional travel and accommodation costs as they accessed training beyond London. These were the reasons why BUGB launched an appeal for support for these students in September.

The Baptist family rose to the occasion and by the time the appeal closed in early November, £90,000 had been collected.

This has enabled BUGB to ensure firstly that all Baptist students who had already paid fees were fully compensated.

Secondly, BUGB has been able to give a substantial sum to each of Baptist students on a ministerial training pathway. 

Tim Fergusson, Ministries Team Co-Leader, said, 'We have been delighted and humbled by the generosity and compassion of Baptists across our Union that is expressed in the donations made. The total enabled us to help more students than we initially thought would be possible, and to a higher level.

'Thank you so much to all who gave!'

BUGB continues to support all our ministerial students through a £140,000 annual bursary scheme. 

 
We continue to pray:

• For all those – both students and staff – who have been affected by the ending of studies at Spurgeon’s College.
• For all our students in their various colleges as they prepare for Baptist ministry.
• For more people to hear and respond to the call to train for ministry.
• For our Colleges and Associations as they nurture and equip women and men for ministry.