St Philip's Theological College is the product of CMS missionaries who came and planted the Church in East Africa back in 1876 in Mpwapwa area. In 1899 the Church was planted in Kongwa and small congregations were starting up throughout the area as revival spread, but how to bring these young Christians to spiritual maturity posed a problem. Missionaries could only visit the scattered churches once or twice a year. Because of that, missionary started some training to Local church leaders providing them with some initial training which equipped them for the role of evangelists. As the work grow they came to realization the church needs more local lay leaders and African clergy who will have to be trained to minister to the needs of the growing congregations. After much prayerful discussion the decision was made to minister to the needs of the growing congregations.
After much prayerful discussion the decision was made in 1913 by CMS UK to commission Rev. Dr Westgate of CMS Canada to launch a Theological College at Kongwa. The building work started in the same year and the College was officially started its ministry in 1914 to train Christian leaders for the Anglican Church and other Protestant Churches. Since then St Philips' emphasis has been in the training of men and women towards Church leadership and the ordained ministry with additional emphasis in offering special training to the pastor's wives so that the couples are prepared together.
Due to its reliable reputation, St Philips has for many years been receiving students from other denominations such as the Lutheran and Moravian churches and even from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Congo (DRC); and therefore has managed to train hundreds of men and women for Christian Leadership. Over the years St. Philip?s has seen many changes to staff, buildings and syllabus but the emphasis remains the same: to equip men and women for the task of serving the Christian Church in East Africa. Apart from the diversity in the dioceses represented in both staff and students who come from different denominations. The College has also been a diverse representation of nationalities from abroad.
Please read more about our history in a our kindle book available in the following link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Kongwa-Centenary-Theological-Tanzania-ebook/dp/B00NCQHC3C
St Philip’s College stands as a living active monument to the evangelical Anglican heritage of the Church planted by Church Missionary Society (CMS) who planted the Church in Tanzania mainland. As evangelical College, St Philip’s believes on:
Our vision:
By our work and our people, to spread the good news of Jesus’s gospel through Tanzania and beyond by prayers, teaching, example and mission.
Our mission:
To educate priests as disciples of Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel, to minister to their communities, and to achieve lasting change for the better wherever they work.
Our future plans: