Learning is great but getting active with what you have learnt is even better! The Leadership Academy is not designed to help you get more ‘head knowledge’ but to give you the opportunity to learn and then put what you have learnt into immediate practice.
Throughout the year you will have the opportunity to engage in church life in a number of areas:
Elective Streams
All students choose from one of five Elective Streams that will help engage you in a specific area of church ministry. The choice of streams includes:
- Youth Ministry
- Children’s Ministry
- Student Ministry
- Creative Arts (which include a mix of media, design, worship and the performing arts)
- Church Pastoral Care & Management
If you are resident in Sheffield you will undertake your Elective Stream alongside the working ministries of Hope City Church during the three days at the Training Centre and throughout the weekend and evenings as required. For Partner Church students you have the opportunity to spend part of your Elective working alongside the Hope City ministries at the Training Centre before returning to complete your practical work in your local Church.
Community Practical
All students will be involved in community practical work during the week. This will include placements in schools and working with the City Hearts project – a residential programme for women with life controlling issues. Workshops will provide additional training that will help equip you in how to effectively engage with the community and build bridges between the church and those who live in the world around it.
Weekend Services
As a student you will help make church happen throughout the week and especially in weekend services at either Hope City Church or back home in your Partner Church. The weekend service is the flagship event for any church and your involvement in helping it run seamlessly is one of the most important training grounds for you to learn and gain experience in the art of doing church!
Conferences
Throughout the year there will be a number of conferences for all ages and demographics of church life that you will be a part of facilitating. There is a huge amount of work that often goes into putting on a successful conference and you will have an opportunity to be part of that process, learning key skills such as team work, team leading and managing responsibilities and deadlines along the way.
Mission
Each year our 1st year students travel to Ghana for a ten day mission with Hope City Accra. This is often one of the most exciting and life-changing experiences of the whole year as you get to experience a completely different culture and people. Throughout the week you will visit schools and universities as well as hitting the streets and markets with incredible opportunities to share the gospel through acts of love and compassion as well as helping large outreach events.
