The mission-based track is a response to the missional challenge now facing the church in our urban areas. Its aim is to form and equip people with the character and skills to engage in creative mission and church planting in demanding city environments.

The unique features of the course are the opportunity it provides to engage in incarnational style mission and ministry whilst being supported as part of a team at the same time as training, and  the opportunity to work for two days per week in another job and thus develop a broader appreciation of mission through bi-vocational practice.

This course of missional-ministerial formation leads to an academic qualification acceptable to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and thus to admission to the Union’s ministerial accreditation list. However we also welcome those from other church networks.

In addition to the competencies already in place as part of ministerial formation, we have added a further four which relate specifically to mission, these come under the headings of pioneer, community formation, urban and bi-vocational. These additional competencies will focus the formation process for the development of a creative and resilient missional future.

The course takes place in partnership with re:Source Bristol (part of West of England Baptist Association) and Urban Expression (urbanexpression.org.uk) who will develop and support ‘mission teams’ in urban areas of Bristol where there is an opportunity to re-plant a struggling church or plant a new congregation or Christian community.

“The incarnational mission track has given us an opportunity to continue to engage in ministry in south Bristol, where we have lived for 19 years. We have felt challenged throughout that time by the proximity of Knowle West and other South Bristol estates, and are encouraged by other Christians who have responded to the call to move there. We are now looking forward to becoming fully immersed in the life of the estate ourselves.”
Phil Lawrence, newly accredited minister Knowle West Baptist Church, Bristol