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Discipleship & Christian Basics Resources

Missional church is community where members grow in discipleship. But Anglicans old and new are often afraid to ask basic questions about their faith. These programs give participants the space and support to learn about Christianity and strengthen their call to follow Christ.

Alpha

Everybody knows about Alpha, right? Wrong. Recently refreshed, this Anglican resource helps you explore Christian faith through looking at a series of questions. In an 11-week course, Alpha invites people into conversations about life, faith, hope and Jesus.

Alpha is run all over the globe, and everyone’s welcome. It runs in cafés, churches, universities, homes – you name it. No two Alphas look the same, but generally they have three key things in common: food, a talk and good conversation.

Christian Foundations

Written by Patrick Paulsen, Susan Bell and Judy Paulsen, Christian Foundations is a joint project between the Diocese and Wycliffe College. It’s an introduction to the good news of the gospel and an overview of the Bible, church history, key Christian beliefs and core practices of the faith.

The material is designed for people without any prior Christian education. Each module explores a different focus question, facilitated through the reading of narrative-based material and interactive exercises.

Emmaus

A Christian basics resource from the UK, written by Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, John Finney, Felicity Lawson and Robert Warren.

The course is designed to help you move from knowing nothing about the Christian faith to becoming established as a new Christian in the life of the Church. You won’t need a lot of resources to run a group: just a room, a couple of leaders and copies of the members’ handouts for each person. This is something every church can provide at least once a year for people who are interested in exploring the Christian faith.

Pilgrim

Written by Stephen Cottrell, Steve Croft, Paula Gooder and Robert Attwell, Pilgrim is a major teaching and discipleship resource from the Church of England. It aims to help every local church create a place where people can explore the Christian faith together and see how it can be lived out each day.

Pilgrim takes a different approach to other Christian programs. It approaches the great issues of faith not through persuasion, but through participation in a pattern of contemplation and discussion with a group of fellow travellers. It includes two stages: the Follow stage for those very new to faith, and the Grow stage for those who want to go further. Each stage contains four short six-session courses that focus on a major theme of Christian life.

Education for Ministry

Every baptized person is called to ministry. The Education for Ministry (EfM) program offers the opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to Christian service and provides the education to carry out that ministry.

A theological education for the curious Christian, EfM is offered in a local group setting or online with a trained mentor. The program is four years long, but students are only committed for one year at a time. Graduates use their experiences in lay ministries within and outside a church setting.

Revive

Revive is a 10-month small-group discipleship program for active lay leaders to help them grow in confidence as spiritual leaders who love God and want to live a Jesus-shaped life. It was developed by Dawn Davis while she was a priest in the Diocese of Toronto. It is a gift of thanks for the dedicated service of those lay people who work so hard for the church.

Ministry in the church is demanding and difficult. Revive is for our dedicated lay leaders to give them the chance to be re-energized with some new ideas and lots of laughter, and to learn about themselves and the God we serve.