A key role of the local church is to help us grow in our lifelong faith, discipleship and ministry.
This can happen in all kinds of ways - through services and sermons, through small groups and Lent courses, through personal prayer and study, and through reflecting on everyday life.
To complement this, as a diocese we offer a range of training and learning opportunities to encourage and equip mission and ministry, both in and through the local church.
Learning Hub
The Learning Hub is open to everyone in the Diocese of Oxford, and the content is designed to be accessible to all. It's a growing library of online courses, so there's something for everyone.
There are three learning pathways, all free of charge, tailored to different learning goals.
Whether you're looking to complete some quick, Bite-Sized learning, hoping to get stuck into a Going Deeper course, or interested in learning alongside others in a Study Group, the Hub has it all.
A study group course runs across ten units during the course of a term. For each unit, you’ll work through online learning resources and meet with your study group. Groups typically meet online for eight weeks and attend either one or two on-site study days.
Courses at this level are open to all and designed to be accessible to everyone in the church. While some people find assignments helpful for their learning, you don’t have to complete any if you don’t want to.
Each module generally includes some introductory content, often a video or a podcast, followed by an invitation to delve deeper into the subject matter, through both interactive learning and self-reflection.
Courses are open to anyone who wants to come along and learn more about Christian life, faith and ministry in the world. You’ll find a warm, friendly and stimulating context in which people enjoy learning together and from each other. What you’ll also find is more structured learning environment than is normally possible in the local church. You’ll learn alongside people who are discerning a call to a recognised ministry.
You can sign up to the Learning Hub at any time and have a look at our course catalogue. Bite-sized and Going Deeper courses are available at any time, while our Study Groups run throughout the academic year.
To be added to a termly emailing of forthcoming course information, please contact the training department through Carolyn Main. Alternatively, to hear of such events (and other news) on a regular basis, you might like to subscribe to the diocesan eNews.
Learning together
Sometimes it makes sense for a number of churches in an area to work together to provide a learning opportunity. This might be across a benefice, a cluster of churches or ecumenically. Many deaneries organise training within the deanery (and Department of Mission staff are happy to help deaneries with this). Do contact us if you are interested in this.
Lay training resources that you can deliver locally
Pastoral visiting: this resource aims to enable you to equip your volunteers for safe pastoral care by exploring the principles and practice of visiting on behalf of the local church.
Further resources
Here is just a sample of other resources and information you might find helpful for local use:
- Everyday Faith - a Church of England initiative to help churches 'inspire everyday faith';
- London Institute for Contemporary Christianity - frontline training resources for frontline mission;
- Arthur Rank Centre - useful especially for rural churches;
- Renovare - resources for developing a deeper life with God.
There are, of course, many other organisations which provide training and specialist expertise in particular areas. Some of those to offer training locally include the Church Mission Society, and the Royal School of Church Music.
Safeguarding
We take safeguarding seriously throughout our learning opportunities. Our safeguarding statement outlines our safeguarding commitments and how we uphold these.