From Wellington to University of the Western Cape (UWK): Church historical notes about the shift and establishment of the theological education of the Dutch Reformed Missionary Church in South Africa (NGSK) 1958-1994

The years between 1958 and 1994 saw radical shifts in the theological training of the DR Missionary Church (DCMC) in South Africa. This article offers a chronological overview of those changes by extensively quoting from and offering interpretation of the original documents. The shifts are analysed thematically as a journey from a pietistic inspired curriculum taught by missionaries in a single-church seminary in Wellington, to an academic education at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Belville. This was guided by well-trained theologians and represented a further leg of the journey, representing development from a single-church institution to an ecumenical collaboration with the University of the Western Cape (UWC). This article presents a historiographical overview of the development of theological training under the influence of the specific contexts of an era. It offers a window on an overview of the educational changes that were affected and indicates the need for the acceptance of a discipline that can consistently continue to accommodate formation, reformation, and transformation. The article in itself testifies to a changing and developing educational process and to the way that the passage of time enhances its growth and development.