TRAINING FOR GOSPEL MINISTRY

CO-MISSION HAS BEEN TRAINING MEN AND WOMEN IN GOSPEL MINISTRY SINCE 2005, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING HAVE NEVER BEEN STRONGER OR MORE DIVERSE.

Our Co-Mission Training Scheme offers two years of full-time ministry experience based in one of our Co-Mission congregations, alongside structured training.

The scheme is for mature believers, men and women, who want to be involved in full-time Christian ministry. The aim of the scheme is to prepare people for long-term gospel ministry. Applicants from all backgrounds are very welcome.

We require that individuals subscribe to the Co-Mission Statement of Faith

Hear from a few ministry trainees about their experience:

Training Overview

Andy Mason, Director of Training, talks about what to expect from the two-year training scheme.

TRAINING WITH CO-MISSION

Trainees are involved in gospel ministry in a local church within the
Co-mission network, where they work alongside the staff team. A trainer from amongst the staff in that congregation has responsibility for mentoring the trainee.

The kind of ministry that trainees do varies according to the church they are in, but may involve leading Bible studies, doing kids’ ministry, following up students or reading the Bible 1-2-1. In that context, they’re also involved in practical and organisational tasks. These more mundane, everyday jobs are seen as an important part of preparing individuals in servant-heartedness and humility.

In addition, trainees receive high quality training in ministry for 1-2 days a week. Many will attend the Cornhill Training Course one day a week for formal training on how to teach the Bible. They will also attend centralised monthly Co-Mission training, where they get input from Co-Mission pastors and outside speakers. In addition, there may be some who want to specialise as evangelists, and they will have an opportunity to attend specialised evangelism training.

DEVELOPMENT

We focus on three areas of development:

CHARACTER AND SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

This is the basic qualification for spiritual leadership and, accordingly, we seek to develop trainees’ spiritual growth through encouragement and constructive feedback. This takes place through the training workshops and involvement in the local church but, in particular, through the trainer-trainee mentoring relationship.

KNOWLEDGE

Biblical and doctrinal understanding are vital for good ministry, and so we are unapologetic about pushing trainee’s understanding in a wide variety of areas necessary for ministry. While we do not use written assignments, nor do we maintain any formal academic requirements for the scheme, the training will require reading and rigorous engagement with theology.

SKILLS

While we recognise that all trainees have different gifts, and that future ministry might look different for different people, we focus particularly on the skills necessary for Bible-based ministry – teaching, prayerfulness, pastoring ability, spiritual leadership and evangelism. In addition to these, trainees will learn about the values and vision of the Co-Mission network, and, in particular, our emphasis on planting churches across London.

TRAINING WITH A
CO-MISSION CHURCH

As a trainee, you will be placed in a Co-Mission church in London, where you will work alongside staff to get a first-hand experience of life in full time ministry. During this time you will:

Gain in-depth Bible-handling skills through the Cornhill Training Course
Get rigorous formal input in the training workshops
Get practical ministry experience in a local church
Receive ongoing mentoring and constructive feedback
Be exposed to the challenges and opportunities of church-planting
Be trained in a network of churches that is strongly evangelical, but broad in culture and diverse in style

Ministry Trainee Handbook

The Ministry handbook will give you a more in depth understanding of Co-Mission, our training course, and the two year timeline of a ministry trainee

Download Now

funding

There is flexibility in the scheme, with some doing it full-time while others work part-time to fund it themselves. There is also an opportunity to apply for special grants to cover essential costs during the two years. These issues are determined in consultation with the particular local Co-Mission church and mentor.

FIND OUT MORE

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Which co-mission church are you part of

Message

We need people in the church who have been taught and equipped well at handling the Bible , who will be great elders in the future, who will be great older women to disciple the younger women in the congregation. No matter what God has in store, there’s still huge value in doing the ministry trainee scheme.

Even if you’re not thinking about going into full time ministry, a) this will probably change your mind and b) it’s such an amazing time learning how to handle the Bible, learning how to teach other the BIble encourage each other the words of Jesus.

Being part of a small church you might feel isolated, but being part of this bigger network, you have this knowledge that there’s a load of other churches in London trying to do the same thing, have the same vision, wanting to share Christ with their local communities

Co-Mission are great at saying here’s some things you could do - crack on and do them. There’s flexibility within your scheme -they’re very keen for you to have a go at ideas for ministry.