Twenty-two New Leaders Graduate From Accelerate
We had a wonderfully inspiring and faith-filled morning recently when we hosted a graduation ceremony for our new cohort of church planting graduates!
Accelerate is a programme designed for final-year curates ahead of planting or revitalising a church. This year, 15 took part in the Multiply Stream for leaders planning to plant a city or town-centre Resource Church, and seven were on the Neighbourhood Stream curated for leaders hoping to plant or revitalise churches in suburban enclaves, villages or housing estates.
What Happens on Accelerate?
Rachel Bedford, Head of Training at Revitalise Trust explained, “We believe each participant has been called by God to play their part in the revitalisation of the Church, whatever parish they happen to be sent to. As curates, they receive lots of training in their diocese, but we want to add to that. So over two terms, we pack the programme with content that we hope will be helpful. Some of it is focused on personal formation, some of the input is on the faith-based aspects of church leadership whilst other sessions are purely practical. Throughout the programme, they also receive coaching from experienced leaders and practitioners.”
Opportunities and Challenges
Much of the morning was spent hearing from the graduates themselves about the journey they had been on during Accelerate. They talked about the different contexts they felt called to and the hope, joys and challenges that lie ahead.
Mark Nelson
Mark Nelson, who will shortly be heading to Margate with his family to lead a new Resource Church, shared some of the highlights of his amazing journey of discernment with God, resulting in a passion and calling to serve the people of Margate and the surrounding parishes.
Lizzie Osborne
Lizzie Osborne who will be moving to Nottingham as Vicar of St John’s Woven, shared how excited she was to be leading a church in the town she grew up in. Although she was realistic about the challenges ahead, she was also full of hope and encouraged by the vision and passion of others who had been on the Accelerate journey with her.
Praying for New Opportunities
Although many of the cohort knew where God had called them to lead, it was also acknowledged there were those still waiting for doors to open and we had a time of prayer asking God to move significantly and provide new opportunities for them.
The graduates shared how thankful they were to those who had led them through the training, coached them, and journeyed with them over the last two terms. Tom Simpson summed it up by saying, “There’s such a continual sense of God’s love on Accelerate. It’s so woven through that it means you can step out in faith and stretch yourself, but you also know you have the security of amazing people who are going to support you... and that security means you can have a bold vision for what God can do through the nation!”
Hope for the Future
The overriding sense from the day was one of unity, excitement, and hope for the future of the Church. We are so looking forward to hearing more from this talented group of leaders as they head out into the various places God has prepared for them.
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