Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics
Academic Excellence – Effective Evangelism
The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA) is an exciting partnership between Wycliffe Hall, a permanent private hall of Oxford University, and RZIM Zacharias Trust.
For those with a passion to make Christ known, studying at the OCCA is a life transforming experience, combining effective evangelism with academic rigour. The OCCA brings together cutting-edge theologians and world class evangelists in a centre of excellence. All OCCA students are provided with an unparalleled opportunity to be stretched, envisioned and equipped.
The OCCA provides a unique opportunity to receive outstanding apologetics teaching and evangelistic training, offering a high staff to student ratio to ensure that each student’s learning and development is individually supported.
The teaching faculty comprises some of the world’s leading apologists and the students are provided with an unparalleled opportunity to be stretched, envisioned and equipped.
Our programmes on offer are:
One Year full-time Certificate in Theological and Pastorial Studies (CTPS)
This one-year Oxford University-accredited course is designed for those who wish to dedicate a full academic year immersing themselves in evangelism and apologetics. The emphasis of the course is upon training in practical evangelism and, as well as in-depth teaching in apologetics, students are given the opportunity to use what they have learned in real ministry settings. An integral part of the course is the close mentoring of our students to equip them according to their specific gifting.
Eight Week full-time Programme
This course is designed for those in the workplace who are unable to dedicate a year to full-time study but who are able to invest two months in apologetics training. It is the perfect choice for those seeking to go deeper in their Christian witness and wishing to sharpen their evangelistic and apologetics skills. It covers teaching in evangelism, apologetics, Biblical studies and workplace evangelism. Students attend both the annual Oxford Summer School and the European Leadership Forum.
My year in the OCCA course proved to be pivotal in my life. The formal teaching enlarged my understanding of the gospel and transformed my views on evangelism, and the ample opportunity for participating in mission and Alpha courses gave me much needed practical experience. This space for learning, reflecting and doing proved vital in my discerning process, as I transition from a career in law towards vocational evangelistic ministry.
Wendy Quay, Australia, Class of 2006
When I heard about the OCCA the first thought that crossed my mind was ‘Finally! I will be studying what I really care about!‘ OCCA is really exciting to me because it is a one-of-a-kind programme training people in such an important field and by the top people in that field. I feel immensely blessed by OCCA.
Diana Farhood, USA, Class of 2010
