Theology House has as its purpose the education and training of men and women for the ordained ministry or for lay ministry; and of men and women of any age in the principles of the Christian faith. This involves theological learning, development of ministry skills and spiritual formation. There is usually a wide variety of people attending any particular course.

Short courses are offered in theology, ministry and liturgical skills and spiritual formation. The length of these varies from a single day, to a weekend, to an evening a week for several weeks.

Goals of Theology House

The Goals of Theology House are to:

1. Provide and promote a wide variety of short general interest courses in theology, including opportunities for people to hear local and visiting speakers through seminars or conferences, and to engage in theological discussion.
2. Provide and promote courses in theology and training in ministry skills for clergy and laity, including opportunities for members of Tikanga Pakeha to enrich their understanding of and interaction with members of Tikanga Maori.
3. Offer and promote mentoring or supervision for individual learners and people working towards tertiary qualifications in theology and year-long courses in theology.
4. Maintain, promote, update and expand the theological library.
5. Publish educational material on the Christian faith.
6. Fulfil satisfactorily any contractual obligations entered into with the Diocese of Christchurch for the provision of training programmes or support for the same and for the management and maintenance of the Anglican Resource Centre.
7. Establish and maintain good links with parishes in the Diocese of Christchurch, with Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa o Te Waipounamu, and with churches of other denominations in the Canterbury area.
8. Provide courses at sites other than the Institute’s own premises in Christchurch and to take courses to centres outside Christchurch.