“We want you to be the best possible gift”
Mike Ovey
This was how Mike Ovey, former principal of Oak Hill Theological College described the mission of his college. He saw pastor-teachers and other Gospel workers as a gift to the church and wanted each pastors, children’s workers, youth workers, women’s workers, church planters and cross cultural missionaries to be the best possible gift to The Church and to their local churches.
Well, our theological colleges do a fantastic job of equipping people for Gospel ministry, so they are the best possible gift to their churches. However, for some people, Theological College is not the right option. It may be that you don’t have the finances to fund an expensive course over 3 years or that you don’t have the time for full time learning. Not all of us learn best in an academic environment.
So, one of the aims of Faithroots is to provide training for those who are unable to best benefit from a Theological College/Seminary education. The aim is to provide teaching and training that supports a vocational route into pastoral ministry.
There are two ways to train with us:
- In Person
- Distance/Online
In person vocational training
Join us here in the West Midlands for in person training and mentoring. This option is particularly suitable for those considering urban church planting who are either already living in the West Midlands or considering moving to the area.
Training would start with an assessment of where you are already against a set of core competencies for pastoral ministry including: Teaching God’s Word, pastoral counselling, evangelism and practical leadership.
We believe that training should be shaped by those particular outcomes and the specific needs of each individual. Your training will therefore be tailored to your needs.
- Regular opportunities to meet up for in person tuition and mentoring.
- Access to training resources including PDF E-books, videos and audio recordings (with a structured reading and listening plan).
- Opportunities to put into practice what you’ve learnt.
- Practical Assessments
We ask that those moving to the area commit to train with us for a minimum of two years and ideally for three.
Distance/Online
As with the in-person training, you will have full access to all the teaching resources (E-books, videos, audio podcasts) here on Faithroots and we will suggest a guided programme to help you structure your learning. This will be tailoured to your specific needs.
We will also arrange 1-1 or small group tutorials with you using Zoom.
We will liaise with you and your home church about opportunities to put learning into practice and be assessed in your home context.
All of our online content is available here
How much does it cost?
One of the aims of Faithroots is to make training accessible to those who would not normally be able to attend traditional seminary including due to cost. Therefore, there are no set fees. However, if you have benefited from Faithroots training resources and wish to make a donation to help others benefit too, you can via paypal or check our donate page for more ways to give.
What do you get at the end?
Faithroots Training is intended to be first and foremost about equipping men and women for urban Gospel ministry. We do not want it to be about certificates and qualifications
So, instead of receiving a diploma or degree at the end, the benefit is in the actual competencies you’ve developed, the knowledge and skills acquired.
We will provide you with a reference letter outlining both those competencies we’ve been able to assess in practical contexts and what we’ve observed about your character, testimony and spiritual growth during the time we’ve got to know you.
Who do we train?
The answer is that Faithroots offers training to anyone whose home church believes they will benefit from ministry training but for any of the reasons mentioned above may not best benefit from traditional seminary.
Faithroots training is available to men and women regardless of previous academic background.
Faithroots primary concern is to equip and support people involved in or seeking to get involved in urban discipleship. However, there’s no restriction on who can access the training.
Find out more
To find out more about training with us, please get in touch using the contact form below:
Please let us know…
- Your name(s)
- and current church.
- A little bit about your Christian background
- Why you are seeking training.
Faithroots 