Melbourne School of Theology

Melbourne School of Theology

Former names	Melbourne Bible Institute Bible College of Victoria
Motto	Biblical Depth. Spiritual Formation. Missional Heart
Type	Tertiary Christian education
Established	September 1920
Religious affiliation	Nondenominational Christian Borneo Evangelical Mission
Academic affiliation	Australian College of Theology
Principal	Tim Meyers
Students	350+
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Campus	Wantirna South, Victoria, Melbourne CBD,
Website	mst.edu.au

Melbourne School of Theology (MST) is an evangelical Christian theological college with its main campus in Wantirna, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The School has a Chinese department, known as MST Chinese, in which undergraduate and graduate courses are taught in both Mandarin and Cantonese. It also has a postgraduate research section known as MST Centre for the Study of Chinese Christianity.

In 2011 the main (Wantirna) campus relocated from the suburb of Lilydale in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne to its present location. The Chinese Department, which used to operate in Box Hill, also relocated to the new campus and was renamed MST Chinese.

Founded as Melbourne Bible Institute (MBI) in September 1920, the institution was established to train missionaries to serve with the China Inland Mission in China. At its opening only one student sat down with the principal in the hall of the Congregational church in the suburb of Prahran near the city centre. They began with the study of the Book of Genesis. The college's first principal was a 54-year-old Anglican priest, the Reverend Clifford H. Nash, who was there because, in his words, he "felt constrained to undertake the task". For six weeks they continued until another man and two women joined the class. They were the first of the 1000 students trained by Nash at the institute. The total now approaches 5000 graduates. At the foundation of the college Nash made a public statement, saying:

The MBI stands foursquare for the wholehearted acceptance of the entire sacred volume of the Old and New Testaments as from God. This is God's book for the plain man, and to such He will interpret its full meaning progressively by His Holy Spirit. Herein, too, is provided a full equipment for everyone who would serve Jesus as Lord. This book holds a message from God adapted to the spiritual needs of every class in every age. That message received makes men "wise unto salvation" which has all the elements of completeness. But if the book is from God, it will bear without loss the sincerest and most searching examination . . . Its genuineness will defy the acid as well as the sledgehammer of criticism. It is sufficient, and always sufficient, for the purposes for which it has been given to us.