Introduction
The Teachers' Christian Fellowship is a sectional group of the Graduates' Christian Fellowship (GCF). It was started in 2 November 1968 by a group of teachers who felt the importance of a continuing witness to Christ after graduation.
Aims
- To encourage Christian teachers in their witness in schools, colleges and other institutions
- To enable them to relate their faith to education and
- To build fellowship among them
- To encourage Christians to formulate a Biblical perspective towards educational issues
Ministry Focus
Occasional workshops, seminars and social gatherings are organised to address the needs of the teaching profession and to stimulate educational issues. Examples of such issues discussed have been pastoral care, and Christian concepts of discipline, administration and education
Publication
TCF's main communication is through its newsletter which is distributed free to anyone on its mailing list. TCF has produced a monograph "Called to be a Teacher" and a Bible study guide "The Beginning Teacher " for new graduates.
Annual Dedication Service
The Annual Dedication Service is to welcome Christian teachers who are new to the fellowship, as well as to challenge and consecrate each one in the teaching profession for Gods glorious service.The first Dedication Service was held on 8 January 1983 at the St Andrew's Cathedral.
TCF and NIECF
TCF maintains strong links with the National Institute of Education Christian Fellowship (NIECF). NIECF is part of the Nanyang Technological University's Christian Fellowship under the Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). The first joint Dedication Service was held in 1995. Instead of holding it in January, the joint service is held in May beginning in 2002, to make it more relevant for graduates posted to schools in July.
Brief History
As early as the mid-1950s, Christian students of the then Teachers College met to have weekly fellowship. This practice continued into the 1960s and was known as the Teachers College Christian Fellowship. During 1961-62, the GCF focussed its attention on two areas : Christian witness and literature work. A group of graduate teachers from the GCF formed the Teachers Committee, and together with the Teachers College Christian Fellowship, helped to start the Teachers Conference. The first Teachers Conference was held in December 1962 at Tanah Merah, Singapore.
Six years later, the graduate teachers within GCF gathered sufficient manpower to structure themselves into the Teachers' Christian Fellowship (TCF). TCF was inaugurated on 2 November 1968 and was affiliated as a sectional group to GCF in 1969. It then restructured and came under the Fellowship of Evangelical Students in 1971. TCF rejoined GCF in 1981.