Classes and Curriculum Guide

1

CLASSES AND CURRICULUM GUIDE This document is designed to help you understand how the classroom aspect of Academy is organised and provide you with an outline of the core curriculum that is delivered to students. Contents Content Introduction Weekly Timetable Framework First Year Core Lecture Curriculum in Detail Modules and Units in Detail Pastoral Elective Curriculum in Detail Worship Elective Curriculum in Detail Youth Elective Curriculum in Detail Kids Elective Curriculum in Detail Assignments

2

Content Introduction All aspects of the Leadership Academy curriculum are broken down into broad modules that follow a theme. Each module is broken down into smaller units of work around a specific topic. Each unit is then broken down into individual sessions. The content is delivered through 4 different types of sessions:

 Core Lectures where the whole full-time year group are together for a classroom teaching session that is part of the core curriculum.

 Seminars. These are small group sessions where students are in groups of 8 - 10 and a seminar tutor leads a discussion around core curriculum content. During the full-time first year course, seminar groups form a key part of the pastoral care for students. Each seminar group will have a male and female tutor who will lead the group once a week. These tutors will become the first pastoral point of contact for students during their year.

 Focus is a church service for the students, compromised of worship and preaching.

 Elective Sessions. There are four elective streams which part-time and full-time first year students can choose to attend on a Thursday morning. You will find a typical weekly timetable framework on page 4 to show you how these sessions fit together to form the classroom aspect of the Leadership Academy programme.

3

Weekly Timetable Framework

Core Lectures are where the whole year group are together for a classroom teaching session which is part of the core curriculum. Seminars are small group sessions where students are in groups of 8-10 and a seminar tutor leads a discussion around core curriculum content. Focus is a church service for the students involving worship and preaching. Elective Sessions. There are four electives which students can choose a stream of teaching to attend.

4

First Year Core Lecture Curriculum in Detail Content Overview There are 5 modules that students will cover in their core lectures during the full-time first year course:

    

Module 1. Introductory Sessions Module 2. Theology Module 3. Leading in the Local Church Module 4. Leading in the World Around us Module 5. Personal Growth

These modules are designed to take students on a learning journey that will equip, challenge and develop them in 3 key areas: Academic Understanding – we want students to understand new theological principals and develop their understanding of God through solid and wide ranging Biblical study. Leadership – we want students to understand the importance of strong Biblical leadership and gain a good understanding of how to develop their personal leadership and their leadership of others. This will have a particular focus on the type of leadership required in local church ministry. Personal Faith – the Leadership Academy is about far more than just academic understanding. We also want students to grow in their walk with God, their sensitivity to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and their devotion to God’s Word. The 5 core lecture modules are spread across the year to ensure that students receive a varied teaching programme. Module 1 is taught in its entirety during the first few weeks of term 1. Then modules 2, 3, 4 and 5 are taught simultaneously for the remainder of the year, ensuring that the students have an opportunity to develop in all of these areas each week of the course. The following pages contain a detailed break-down of the units that make up these 5 modules.

5

Module 1 - Introductory Sessions Unit 1 - Key Cultural Values of Life Church A unit designed to help students orientate and understand the culture of LIFE Church

Module 2 - Theology Unit 2 - Understanding the Bible An introduction to the Bible as a document.

Unit 3 - Studying the Bible Equipping students with tools to make the most of studying and reading the Bible. Unit 4 - Old Testament Studies An overview of the themes, authors and content of the Old Testament books. Unit 5 - New Testament Studies An overview of the themes, authors and content of the New Testament books. Unit 6 - Understanding Church An introduction to Ecclesiology (the study of the Church). Unit 7 - Understanding God A unit of pure Theology looking at each aspect of the trinity: God the Father; Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. Unit 8 - Understanding Salvation Exploring what it means to be a Christian and the power of the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Unit 9 - Understanding God’s Kingdom Understanding what the Kingdom of God is, exploring what the Bible teaches us about the Kingdom of God and looking at the future of the Kingdom.

6

Module 3 - Leading in the Local Church Unit 10 - An Introduction to Leadership in the Local Church Equipping students to be great leaders in the local church is a key aim of our course. This unit introduces what good Christian Leadership looks like. Unit 11 - Your Leadership Style Helping students to consider different leadership styles that exist and understand their own leadership strengths. Unit 12 – Managing Teams, Volunteers and People The vast majority of people involved in ministry in the local church are volunteers. This unit will equip students to understand the key principles of leading volunteers effectively. Unit 13 - Communication and Preaching Developing the ability to speak publicly in a church setting. This unit will also consider the role of media communications in church. Unit 14 - Spirit Lead Leadership Understanding the importance of the Holy Spirit in leading others.

Module 4 - Leading in the World Around Us Unit 15 - Faith and Reason Understanding the interaction between our faith and the physical world around us. Considering some of the main arguments that people often raise to try and disprove Christianity. Unit 16 - Christianity and Government Lectures from Colin Bloom, a leading figure in the Conservative Party, about the importance of Christian Leadership in public life.

Unit 17 - The Global Church & World Missions A unit about the global problem of poverty, the responsibility of the local Church to help, and understanding the differences between short-term and long-term global mission. Unit 18 - Business and the Workplace Teaching students Christian business ethics and principles that can be applied in any workplace.

7

Module 5 – Personal Growth Unit 19 - Freedom in Christ A well-known discipleship course that will help students to understand what it means to walk in the freedom that we have as Christians. Unit 20 - Personal Leadership Foundations Helping students to develop self-leadership in key areas. Unit 21 - Transition from Academy A unit delivered in the final term to help students think about the transition of completing the course and moving onto the next phase of their life.

8

Pastoral and Community Elective Introduction This elective is designed to help you learn about the importance of HELPING PEOPLE and equip you with skills to do so more effectively. Jesus taught: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…’ 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30). But what does it really mean to love your neighbour as yourself? Jesus looked at the crowd and had compassion; they were like sheep without a shepherd and nothing has changed today. If you look at the world and you want to help the lost, the pastoral and community elective will help you learn how to use that compassion for life-changing good. In this elective you will learn about what it means to be a pastor, both inside and outside the four walls of church. Module Introduction Students on the pastoral and community elective will complete 3 modules of work:

 Module 1. Why do we Help People?  Module 2. Developing a Local Church Pastoral Model  Module 3. Personal Pastoral Skills The following pages contain a detailed break-down of the units that make up these 3 modules.

9

Module 1 – Why do we help people? Unit 1 - The Message of God’s Kingdom Considering the Kingdom of God as a framework for helping people. Module 2 – Developing a Local Church Pastoral Model Unit 2 – Pastoring a Church Defining and explaining the role of a pastor in the arena of helping people in the church. Unit 3 – Pastoral Programming Looking at the pastoral programming used at Life Church. Unit 4 – Life Stage Ministries Looking at some key life stage ministries at Life Church. Unit 5 – Community Ministries Looking at some of the key community ministries at Life Church. Unit 6 – Ministry Guests Hearing from other ministries about how they help people.

Module 3 – Developing Pastoral Skills Unit 7 - Providing Holistic Care Understanding the need for a joined up approach to pastoral care. Unit 8 Pastoring Those in Need Identifying and learning the skills required to pastor people through specific issues. Unit 9 Essential Pastoral Skills Learning specific skills required to succeed in local church pastoral ministry. Unit 10 Visits Visiting three local community projects to see how they help people at Emmanuel, Caring for Life and Christians Against Poverty.

10

Worship Elective Introduction The Worship Elective is designed to equip students in contemporary worship ministry, and to give them the skills needed to relevantly connect people with the message of Jesus Christ and the modern church. “Worship is a conversation between friends” Israel Houghton This elective is about helping students to identify, hone and develop their worship and creative arts gift in order to grow in worship leading and connecting others with God in a local church context. Students will complete 4 modules of work:

 Module 1. Worship Theology  Module 2. The Worship Team  Module 3. Developing You as a Worshipper  Module 4. Skill Development The following pages contain a detailed break-down of the units that make up these 4 modules.

11

Module 1 – Worship Theology Unit 1 - Definitions Exploring and defining praise and worship from a biblical point of view. Unit 2 – Who is the God we Worship? The foundation that underpins biblical worship theology. Unit 3 – Old and New Testament Worship A study of the origins of worship in Old Testament and New Testament. Unit 4 - Worship Music History Examining how music and religious experiences have been intrinsically linked in the history of the church over the last 2000 years.

Module 2 – The Worship Team Unit 5 - Culture Recognising and understanding the importance of a local church worship culture and discussing this at Life Church. Unit 6 – Being a Worship Leader Looking at the dynamics of being a worship leader in a congregational setting. Unit 7 – Being a Worship Pastor Developing pastoral skills necessary to run a worship team. Unit 8 – Being in the Team Looking at what it means to be part of a team of worship musicians with everyone playing different roles.

Module 3 – Developing You as a Worshipper Unit 9 - Worship and Social Justice Looking at the link between worship and social justice. Unit 10 – Personal Worship Exploring how we individually encounter God in different ways when we worship.

12

Module 4 – Skill Development Unit 11 - Song Writing Workshop sessions looks at lyrics; congregational song composition and the process of song writing and album production. Unit 12 – Playing as an Individual Studying and developing your individual musical ability and considering how this fits together.

Unit 13 – Playing in a group Bringing together individual skills in a band setting. Unit 14 – Production Developing audio engineering skills.

13

Youth Ministry Elective Introduction This elective is designed to equip you with the skills essential for leading a healthy and thriving local church youth ministry. Someone once said: “In 100 years time it won’t matter what car I drove, what house I lived in or what my bank balance was. If I was important in the life of a young person, maybe the world will be a better place.” Reggie Dabbs We believe that young people are worth investing in. Young people are not just the future of the church, they are the church. This elective is about helping teach you to value young people, giving you great tools to lead them well and inspiring you to build an awesome youth ministry in your local church. Students will complete 4 modules of work:

 Module 1. Youth Ministry Foundations  Module 2. Discipleship and Mentoring  Module 3. Team Leadership and Programming  Module 4. Schools and Community Work The following pages contain a detailed break-down of the units that make up these 4 modules.

14

Module 1 – Youth Ministry Foundations Unit 1 - Developing the Foundations Looking at the basic building blocks of a healthy youth ministry: How to develop a vision, purpose and direction for your youth ministry. Working towards healthy expectations of young people. Unit 2 - UK Youth Culture Unpacking youth culture in this country and helping students to understand some of the unique challenges that teenagers face in life today.

Module 2 – Pastoring, Discipleship and Mentoring Unit 3 – Discipleship and Pastoring Looking at what we mean by ‘discipleship’ and the how you can help young people build a strong walk with God. Unit 4 - Mentoring Looking at what we mean by ‘mentoring’. How to work one-on-one with a young person to succeed in areas of basic life skills. How to effectively run one-on-one sessions. Unit 5 – Pastoring Young People Through Specific Needs Equipping you with tools to help deal with teenagers who are working through specific problems.

Module 3 – Team Leadership and Programming Unit 6 - Building Team Examining how to facilitate leadership development in youth ministry and dealing with the challenges that can arise within a youth team. Developing your skills to grow a cohesive group of leaders who work together. Unit 7 - Programming Programmes are tools that youth ministries use to work with young people such as events or sessions. This unit is designed to help you develop better and more effective programmes to reach and grow young people. Unit 8 – Communication with Teenagers Equipping students with the tools to speak to teenagers effectively in a public setting.

15

Module 4 – Schools and Community Work Unit 9 - Schools Work Essentials An overview of how to do effective schools work; Planning a schools strategy for your local area; How to approach schools and market what you can offer; Different sorts of youth work you can do in schools. Unit 10 - Community and Detached Youth Work Examining how to take youth ministry outside the four walls of church and reach young people in the community. How to plan great community and outreach events. Looking at how to work effectively, with hard to reach young people in a community setting.

16

Kids Ministry Elective Introduction This elective is designed to equip you with the skills essential for leading a healthy and thriving local church kids ministry. We believe that children are worth investing in. This elective is about helping you to understand the importance of kid’s ministry and how to use knowledge of child development to support the creation of a theologically sound, yet fun and engaging curriculum. It will equip you with the tools to deliver this well and build a thriving kids ministry in your local church that impacts the community. Students will complete 4 modules of work:

 Module 1. Kids Ministry Foundations  Module 2. Child Development, Curriculum & Teaching Methodology  Module 3. Team & Leadership  Module 4. Schools and Community Work The following pages contain a detailed breakdown of the units and sessions that make up these 4 modules. Individual session titles are shown in italics followed by the teacher who delivers them in brackets and a number indicating how many are taught on this topic.

17

Module 1 – Kids Ministry Foundations Unit 1 - Developing the Foundations Looking at the basic building blocks of a healthy kids ministry, including Biblical foundation for kids ministry and where Life Church stands on key issues. We look at how to develop a vision, purpose and direction for your kids ministry. Unit 2 – Policy & Procedure Setting clear guidelines for working with kids and examining the need for safeguarding policies and procedures. Module 2 – Child Development, Curriculum & Teaching Methodology Unit 3 – Building the whole child Looking at how children develop emotionally, mentally & spiritually from 0-11 years. Unit 4 – Developing a profound but fun Curriculum Getting a good balance between being fun, whilst still maintaining an environment of learning. Being engaging whilst bringing a theologically sound curriculum. Unit 5 – Teaching Methodology Exploring the various teaching methods used from learning through play with 1year olds, through to self-lead learning with 11 year olds. Combining different methods to engage children in experiencing God, not just learning about Him. Unit 6 – Building Blocks of Sundays Taking a practical look at what it takes to make Sunday’s a great time for kids, where they encounter God, engage with team and have a good church experience. Module 3 – Team and Leadership Unit 7 - Building Team Examining how kids ministry is often a church within the church and the many teams it takes to build a thriving ministry. Unit 8 - Leadership Exploring what it takes to be a core leader of a kids team and the pastoral, managerial and personal development that comes with this.

18

Module 4 – Schools and Community Work Unit 9 - Schools Work Essentials An overview of how to do effective schools work and what this can look like. Examining after school clubs and the connection that brings between the church and families Unit 10 - Community Work Looking at how to take a kids ministry beyond the four walls of church by exploring different types of community projects and their purpose - including conferencing.

19

Assignments Whilst the Leadership Academy is not primarily an academic institution we still require students to complete a programme of assessment by completing a series of assignments throughout the year This includes a minimum of three written theological assignments, three elective based written assignments, and one spoken assignment. Assignment titles, marking guidelines and a full reading list will be allocated before the academic year begins.

20