Ministry Apprenticeship Program
In God’s mercy, we have a good number of young people who are members of our congregations. And among them are those who feel a God-given desire to serve in Christian Leadership. Paul tells Timothy, his deputy in gospel work, that such a desire should be fostered and tested: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” 1 Timothy 3:1.

An overseer is a person who leads God’s people, shepherds them, provides example, teaching and care. To desire to serve full-time in this way is a good and appropriate thing for a Christian to feel. But not all who have the desire should be appointed. Timothy and the other Christian leaders are to evaluate those who have the desire to serve in this way to see if they are suitable. (see v 2-16)

At St. Faith’s, we are seeking to play our part in raising up the next generation of Christian leaders, both men and women, by providing training scholarships to young people from St. Faith’s who have the desire to serve in this way. Our Ministry Apprenticeship Program provides a two year opportunity for such people to gain some practical experience in ministry, while being supervised and trained “on the job” by more experienced staff. We can then send them on, confident in their suitability since they have been tested and also given some practical skills for ministry.

We need two things to keep the program working. Firstly, we need people to pray for our apprentices: Neil, Evan, Tom and Robin. We are inviting people to join a team to pray for them in their training. Secondly, we need people to give to support this ministry. We are asking everyone to consider giving a one-off donation to support their training. Please do consider whether you can contribute to this fund.

Questions and answers from Kerry about the Ministry Apprenticeship Program:

1. Do you invite particular people to be apprentices or do they apply somewhere?

We invite suitable people after getting indications that they may be interested in paid Christian work in the future. This usually becomes apparent as they are already involved in Christian service and leadership with us. However, we are glad to speak to people who come forward wanting to do the training.

2. How do you decide how many apprentices to have?

The Wardens and Parish Council set a budget, and we work within that. They also interview candidates, to assess suitability. We also need to consider how many apprentices we can thoroughly train well - it takes time from the senior staff to give appropriate supervision and training. I think four is our limit, at present. In general, one or two would be what we might expect at any one time.

3. Do apprentices have to belong to St Faith’s before applying?

Not necessarily, though this would normally be the case (as for Evan Barnes, Tom Brittle and Robin Vonk, current apprentices). We would give such “local” people priority. Our past apprentice David Whittingham was not a member but was someone eager to train with us who was also willing to serve in the War Vets’ ministry. I already knew David as a godly and gifted man. So I was keen to take him on for that reason.

4. Are there age limits on apprentices?

No. However, at the younger end, we would want people to have been out of school at least a few years before starting with us. At the older end…? Please apply, and let’s see what is appropriate!

5. Can apprentices stay on for more than 2 years?

Generally not, unless they are doing the Apprenticeship part-time. Two years is long enough to watch them in action, assess their suitability for Christian leadership, and give them some basic skills and development in godliness.

6. Do apprentices have to do a theology course while they are doing their apprenticeship?

No, in fact I would discourage this, as the emphasis is on getting training in practical ministry skills prior to formal theological training. We want apprentices to spend as much time face-to-face with people, learning to understand how people “tick”.

7. Will apprenticeships be an ongoing thing at St Faith’s?

I hope and pray that this will be the case. This will depend upon God raising up suitable people and the congregations of St. Faith’s feeling that this is something they wish to support. We will assess this in part by seeing how many people give money to support the program and how many people sign up for the “Apprenticeship Prayer Team”.

8. Do other churches have apprentices and can people from St Faith’s apply to other churches?

Yes, many other churches and campus ministry groups have apprentice programs. (In fact, Mike Baines who was a member of St Faith’s last year is doing an apprenticeship with St Paul’s, Carlingford, based at the church and at Macquarie University with the Christian Union, I understand.)

9. Which apprentices have we had so far, not including the 4 we have this year?

Last year we had Beck MacCausland, Erich Serediuk and Pete Baker. Previously Chris Hale was doing something different - a Youth Ministry Training Course (www.youthworks.asn.au), which does involve theological training. It is focused on preparing someone for youth ministry.

10. What support does St Faith’s give apprentices after they finish their apprenticeships with us?

We will try and keep in touch with them,offering whatever help is needed. Certainly ongoing personal encouragement and prayer.