About
The Leadership & Theology Training programme is made up of three key components:
Training
Forty days of theological and leadership training, including: a comprehensive biblical theology programme, teaching modules in systematics and church history, and training in Ephesians 4 leadership: vision-casting and team-building, preaching skills, pastoring people, cross-cultural evangelism, prophesying and hearing from God, and so on. This is followed up by written assignments.
Discussion
Interactive sessions and open forums to discuss leadership issues with experienced leaders in Catalyst and elsewhere in Newfrontiers.
Mentoring
To discuss the issues raised in the sessions and help develop your skills as a leader. Guidelines and questions for how this works can be found here.
Certificate
We are able to offer a Certificate in Theology and Leadership to those on the course who want to take up this option. Students are required to write 6 assignments over the two year course, including two set assignments (each of 5,000 words) and four other assignments chosen from a wider selection (each of 2,500 words). There is a small additional cost for those taking this option to cover administration fees. Those who take this option can use their work as evidence within an application to Moorlands College to seek credit towards the first year of the College’s BA (Hons) Applied Theology programme.
Team
We are privileged to have a phenomenal selection of leaders providing the teaching on the Leadership Training programme. Below are the main contributors:
John and Alison Risbridger
John and Alison live just outside of Southampton on the edge of the New Forest and are part of King’s Community Church. After 10 years in student ministry, John became Minister and Team Leader of Above Bar Church in Southampton where he and Alison served together for 18 years, alongside John’s work as Chair of Council for the Evangelical Alliance and (earlier) Chair of Keswick Ministries. Alison has been involved in lots of areas of church life and has a particular passion for Internationals, having helped run an English language conversation cafe and taken many internationals through Alpha. She also teachers English to speakers of other languages at Southampton City College. John is the author of The Message of Worship (part of IVP’s Bible Speaks Today series) and is completing an MA in Global Ecclesiology at All Nations Christian College. He is passionate about mission being centred on the local church and good news for the whole of life.
Simon Holley
Simon leads the Catalyst Team, is the lead elder of the King’s Arms Church in Bedford, and teaches a number of the leadership modules on the course. A popular conference speaker and the author of Sustainable Power, Simon has seen his church grow in size, community impact and evangelistic effectiveness as they have pursued more of the power of God.
Andy Johnston
Andy oversees training on behalf of the Catalyst Strategy Team and teaches some of the modules on the course, as does his wife Janet. He is especially interested in Church History and holds a PhD in Reformation studies from the University of Southampton.
He has been a pastor for 25 years and, for the last seven years, has led the team at Kings Community Church, Southampton. He and Janet are passionate about raising up next generation leaders and their local team very much reflects this heart.
Alecs Atkinson
Alecs is the course administrator, and is responsible for the logistical and administrative aspects of the course. She is also involved in co-ordinating the God’s Big Story course, and has been a part of the Newday worship team since 2022. She is very passionate about worshipping Jesus and is a worship leader at King’s Community Church in Southampton.
Syllabus
Our theology training takes a narrative approach. In twelve days of biblical theology we go through the story of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, tracing the key themes of God, Gospel, People and Mission through the Scriptures. We then have eight days of historical theology, in which we study Christian doctrine through the story of the Church, from patristic Christianity, through the medieval period and the Reformation, to the present day.
Our leadership training is structured around the five types of leadership gift we find in Ephesians 4:11. Apostolic leadership involves leading with faith, vision and skill, both in leading and in managing. In four days on prophetic leadership we cover prayer, spiritual warfare, prophecy, and the pursuit of a supernatural culture. Evangelistic leadership features two days on evangelism in a UK context, and two days with a more cross-cultural emphasis. In pastoral leadership we look at character, ethics, discipleship and pastoral skills, and finally in teaching leadership we consider how to preach and teach, how to handle theological debate, and Paul’s leadership instructions to Timothy and Titus.
You can find an overview of current syllabus below:
– 2023-2024 syllabus
Key information
Dates
The course runs over two years and takes place in ten two-day blocks per year on Fridays and Saturdays. The dates for the upcoming year are as follows:
2024
2024: 12th-13th Jan,9th-10th Feb, 15th-16th Mar,
19th-20th Apr, 17th-18th May, 14th-15th Jun
Location
Training is hosted at New Life Church, The Ridgeway Centre, Featherstone Road, Wolverton Mill South, Milton Keynes, MK12 5TH.
Cost
The course costs £1150 per year for students wishing to take the Certificate option, and £995 per year for students who do not wish to take the Certificate option.
Accommodation
Overnight accommodation in Milton Keynes may be available for a few students who apply (£25/night) but the costs of staying overnight in a “Travelodge” should also be considered.
Testimonies
Apply
To apply for the Leadership & Theology Training programme, download and complete the Application Form. Please also download the Mentoring Guidelines and Questions document for your Mentor.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the course, please email: leadershiptraining@catalystnetwork.org
Contact
If you have any questions or you’d like some more information we’d love to hear from you – just email leadershiptraining@catalystnetwork.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
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