BEDFORD COLLEGE LTD
Cathy Monro Chair 

Deuteronomy 7:9
Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. (NKJV)   

It is with profound thankfulness to God that we present to you this report for the year 2020, a year within which God’s presence was our pillar of strength, and His faithfulness was on full display as He carried us through. We have been wonderfully reminded that Bedford College IS God’s college.  

Our 2019 report preluded the commencement of comprehensive strategic and missional reviews at Bedford. These reviews were conducted by external experts between January and April 2020, at both governance and operations levels.   

GOVERNANCE
God has assembled a dedicated, and adept team of Directors to govern the college during this unprecedented challenging time. They are:   

  • Judith Carpenter  
  • Adele Ezzy  
  • Meighan Heard 
  • Graham Jones  
  • Yvette Karwaj  
  • Jamie Long  
  • Cathy Monro  
  • Allen Sibley (Chair, Audit & Finance Committee)  
  • David Slinn  
  • Peter Smith (Company Secretary)  

The Board of Directors has expediently established crucial governance framework, with relevant policies and procedures being progressively put in place to ensure that regulatory governance requirements are met, with clarity and efficiency.  

One of our critical missional priorities is to reconnect to Baptist Association and other Baptist entities. The Board is actively pursuing these connections. Conversations are ongoing, accompanied by a clear articulation of Bedford’s new missional and strategic directions.  

OPERATIONS
A period of renewal and transition is also taking place at the operations level. The Board has appointed Associate Professor Stephen Smith as Interim CEO following the departure of former Principal. Our new strategic priorities are being steadily operationalised under Stephen’s leadership, who has also provided crucial encouragement and pastoral support to our staff at this challenging time.  

Despite all the challenges, our students stayed with us, and celebrated their resilience and success at Bedford Graduation 2020. We are thankful to our dedicated staff, whose passion for teaching and nurturing the students in their charge has ensured the successful completion of their respective studies.  

It has been a privilege, and a blessing to witness God at work here at Bedford in 2020. Journeying with Him has inspired, empowered and strengthened us all.   

INTO 2021
We have finished 2020 on a strong footing. Some of our courses have been restructured for 2021, aiming to meet the needs of the wider community, particularly those who are seeking to be equipped or re-skilled.  

With the Board’s search for a permanent CEO well underway, we are moving into 2021 with the assured knowledge of God’s guidance and enablement.