Apprenticeship schemes are 1 or 2 year placements with Bible teaching churches to provide good practical experience of gospel ministry. The focus is on helping individuals understand and train for the sort of gospel work that is suitable for them.
There are currently over 200 apprenticeships in the UK with around 100 churches. The majority of apprentices are men and women who have just graduated but more and more are older – and there are now some opportunities that are part-time.
Apprenticeships aim to act both as a testing of the water of whether full-time gospel ministry is right for the apprentice, and as a stepping stone into full-time gospel ministry if it is right for them. These placements will provide great experience of gospel ministry, in a context of training and mentoring, that will help in discerning whether gospel ministry is for the apprentice or not. UK based apprenticeships are run by local churches and the aim is that the church has the attitude of ‘train, train, train’ and the apprentice the attitude of ‘serve, serve, serve’.
Each apprenticeship will have the following three main components in different proportions depending on the individual situation of the particular church:
Practical service
Bible and ministry training
Bible teaching in ministry
What’s the next step?
The first step is to talk through the possibilities of full-time gospel work with your church leader (the minister, or student worker etc). Then take a look at the placements listed and see if there is one that you would be interested in doing and contact the church. They’ll take it from there.