Equipping

"We believe that God calls us to be concerned for his worldwide church. As a local church we have the privilege of receiving many Christians who will be with us for a relatively short time before leaving to serve God throughout the world. We aim to nurture, teach and train them so that when they leave us, they will be better equipped for fruitful lives of service."

(From The church we want to be)

The teleios programme

Teleios: (Greek) complete, mature, adult
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)

We are committed to equipping all members of the church for lives of Christ-honouring service. Much of this will occur through our main meetings, our home groups, and our life together. However, many who come to Magdalen Road Church are only with us for a relatively short time before moving on to serve Christ in all parts of the world. We believe it is possible to help them in particular to grow more healthily in the long term by focusing on three particular aspects of their growth: their knowledge, character and skills. We are therefore committed to a specific programme of equipping which we are convinced will both help long term members to grow, and equip shorter term members for service elsewhere.

Knowledge

In addition to the normal growth in knowledge that comes through Sunday morning sermons, discussion in home groups, and personal bible study, we are committed to teaching people to handle scripture and to understand the world at a deeper level. Presently this mainly takes the form of learning groups.

Character

Character grows through reflecting on experience with a more mature Christian. We are therefore committed to helping younger believers find one-to-one mentors, and helping more mature believers to develop the skills and vision to be involved in mentoring others.

Skills

Most skills for glorifying God in the workplace and the wider world will, of course, be learned outside of the church environment. However, there are a some skills which are particularly useful for some Christians to learn, and which we as a church can teach. We are committed to training home group leaders, and the Spurgeons group helps people to develop their preaching gifts. We are also committed to helping people gain other skills as the need and opportunity arises.

Trainees

It is possible to be involved in most aspects of the teleios programme whilst in full time employment. However, we also have a trainee programme which runs for one or two years. Each trainee will have a personally tailored course usually designed to help them grow towards fill time Christian service.  For more information contact Peter Comont.

Outside Programmes

We have links with a variety of outside training initiatives which are suitable for a range of different needs.

South Central Ministry Training Course

The South Central Ministry Training Course is a one day a week lecture-based course helping people to become better equipped to teach the Bible.

Porterbrook Training

Porterbrook Distance Learning is an initiative to train people to become missional church leaders.

Christians in Sport Academy

The Christians in Sport Academy is a gap year course designed to help young sports people to live their whole lives for Jesus.