Studying at Ridley / Learning Communities /

Missional Leadership

The Missional Leadership Learning Community seeks to help you become a leader who is proactive, creative, relational, pastoral, and evangelistic. Ministry in post-Christian Australia is increasingly complex, and we need leaders who are prepared to promote the gospel in  missional contexts. We want to recruit, teach and support those who are willing to accept the challenge and become youth ministers, pastoral workers, student workers, children’s workers, school, university or hospital chaplains, or church pastors and planters outside of the Anglican context.

What do want you to be like when you leave Ridley?
You will become an excellent communicator of the gospel in your chosen setting. You will be a resourceful teacher of the bible, an entrepreneurial leader who serve by gathering and empowering others for ministry, and a perceptive thinker who can make connections between the bible and the world. It is important that we develop you as a team player who can work respectfully within diverse ministry contexts. You will be formed as a prayerful person who is confident and self-aware in family life and pastoral relationships.

How do we achieve these outcomes?

1. You will follow the Missional Leadership Learning Pathway which provides a foundation in bible, theology, leadership and ministry with the opportunity to further specialise (for example in church planting or youth ministry). The three year pathway is described on the right, and the four year double degree described below.
   
   
2. You will be placed in a Ministry Development Group tailored to your needs (for example discussing issues like raising support, leading teams, identifying and training ministry-minded successors, leading church services for youth, mentoring, self-care), and a program of guest speakers to take you beyond the formal curriculum, to encourage networking and provide exposure to emerging ministry opportunities beyond College (for example hosting a Baptist pastor, AFES Director, church-planter, or youth minister).
3. College missions will provide you with opportunities to develop new skills, receive feedback, mentoring on the job, and contact with new churches.
4. You will be mentored, either within the College or from outside, to develop your particular gifts and interests, during and beyond College!
5. Annual reports will give you encouragement and feedback on your progress, and an exit interview will get you ready for the next stage of your ministry
6. At the successful completion of the programme, we will write you a Certificate of Competencies and a personal reference from the Dean to demonstrate your readiness for pastoral ministry

Prerequisites

Before entering this stream, you will need to complete all foundational level units for either BMin, BTh, or MDiv, that is two units of New Testament, two units of Old Testament, Greek or Hebrew, Early Church History, and Hermeneutics or Ministry Formation, and you will need to complete a separate application process involving form, interview, reference and Learning Agreement.

Requirements

During the remainder of your degree, you will need to commit to at least one year of full-time study, alongside participation in the Learning Community's life and programme.

Other Outcomes

You will develop closer peer relationships and form a support network for your later life in ministry. You will have increased motivation as a result of being affirmed in this community's life, and will be able to discern your ministry aspirations if you are unclear about this when you begin life at Ridley.

Rhys Bezzant is Dean of the Missional Leadership Learning Community