The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Apprenticeship Journey

OUR LEARNING OUTCOMES

01:35

Entrepreneurial thinking

Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to see problems as opportunities and take initiative. This kind of thinking is not only a natural ability but can be developed or improved. Entrepreneurial thinking is a state of mind rooted in Gospel principles of creativity, pioneering missions, and dependence on God's provision. Through lectures, projects, reading assignments, and thinking exercises, this learning outcome exists to help apprentices develop and put into action their own ideas and objectives for kingdom building without fear of risks.

02:21

Incarnation

The “breaking in” of God into his creation is the most important reality of human history. Although the Exodus, the giving of the Law at Mt Sinai, and the exile preoccupied the thoughts and theological understanding of the biblical authors, the incarnation of the Son of God stands alone as the most paradigm-shifting event in the history of God’s interactions with humanity. Through exegetical study and theological reflection, this learning outcome will introduce the apprentice to importance of the incarnation to every aspect of the Christian life, including biblical interpretation, being “one with Christ,” living as Christ, serving Christ’s body (the church), and engaging with fallen humanity.

01:33

Stewardship in Marketplace Missions

This learning outcome is designed to train apprentices in the essential skills and biblical principles for managing church and business finances in an ethical manner. Beginning with the biblical text the apprentice will lay a foundation for developing godly practices of financial stewardship, generosity, and investment. Through lectures, study of relevant biblical texts, and hands-on experience in a local church and BIM, the apprentice will be equipped with the basic principles and practical skills needed for effective marketplace missions for the advancement of God's kingdom.

01:50

Community

Christian community is the means by which God builds his church. It is a gathering of believers called to serve one another and build each other up in love and toward Christ-likeness. Through lectures, practical experience in the BIM, and participation in a local church the apprentice will learn to enter into an existing secular community as a means of marketplace missions and begin to develop relationships, openly living out and proclaiming the Gospel, discipling individuals from unbelief to devotion, and nurturing a growing Christian community that forms from this discipleship.

02:06

Gospels

Through exegetical study of the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this learning outcome will introduce the apprentice to the joys of encountering Christ through the four-fold Gospel account. Rather than treating the Jesus of the Gospels as a literary construct, this learning outcome operates from the belief that the Gospels are the church’s living memory of Christ. In this way, Christians are confronted in the Gospels with Christ himself. The aim of this learning outcome is, therefore, to acquaint the apprentice with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is building his church; he is her master, her head, and her sure foundation.

01:30

Family

Christian family consists primarily of these two spheres: the nuclear family and the spiritual family. This learning outcome is designed to help the apprentice understand and live out both of these concepts biblically. Through lectures, reading, and personal reflection projects this learning outcome will address such pertinent topics as biblical marriage and singleness, parenting, living as a family in the context of a BIM, and strategies for navigating through the difficulties of church planting.

02:05

Capstone

This is the final graded learning outcome of the Aquila Theological Institute. It allows the mentors to give a final assessment of the competency of the apprentice. It consists of a single portfolio that is meant to be meaningful and relevant for future marketplace ministry.

01:29

Cross cultural communication

As a communicator of the Gospel it is important that the apprentice understands that everyone receives information according to his/her worldview. Although the truth of Scripture is unchanging, the means of communication must be reframed in order to communicate across a broad spectrum of cultures. Through selected readings, interviews, and cross cultural experiences, this course is structured to help the apprentice think beyond his/her own culture to empathize with and communicate to the people of God with passion and conviction.

APPRENTICESHIP

What does it mean?

In the context of ministry training, an apprenticeship is a model for training that combines classroom education as well as hands-on experience. Unfortunately, most missionaries and church planters that come to Europe have been trained in a context that has not allowed them to gain practical experience.

Another much-needed advantage of this approach is that the local church is involved the entire time.
At the end of the training, the local church can affirm competency and send a fully-equipped church planting team that has demonstrated their calling.

COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION

How does it work?

Like other competency-based programs, the ATI curriculum is designed with the end result in mind.

With the aid of fellow pastors and practitioners the development of the ATI curriculum began with the end goal in mind. Next, the Aquila team worked backwards to identify the full range of competencies necessary to achieve these goals. In this way the result of the curriculum can be more assured than through traditional approaches. The competencies themselves represent a unified body of knowledge, skills, and character traits that, when achieved, ensure the graduate is fully competent for church planting and marketplace missions.

Apprentices and their needs are at the heart of curriculum development, and the program supports and encourages personalisation in response to experience, personality, context, and pacing. The curricular design ensures that the level and complexity of the competencies are congruent with the achievements required.

The chart below explains the stages of development of the Aquila curriculum and how the various components fit together.

PROGRAM PURPOSE

The purpose of the ATI curriculum is to help churches train leaders and church planters who are competent to fulfil their calling through marketplace ministry.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Church planters in Europe must be Kingdom-minded, must have Godly character, and must contextualise their ministry. These make up the Aquila Program Objectives.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Often known as classes or modules, these are the areas of study that embody the Program Objectives. They summarise the knowledge, character traits, and skills that the apprentices will master.

Competency in each Learning Outcome is developed through the following process:

INPUTS

The tailored sources used to build knowledge in the apprentice.

OUTPUTS

The contextualised activities that give evidentiary support for the assessment of competency.

INDICATORS

The measurable criteria for evaluating competency.

COMPETENCY

The unchanging standards used to evaluate mastery of key areas within a Learning Outcome.

SO HOW DO YOU PROGRESS?

Moving through the curriculum

Pick a Learning Outcome

Look through the Learning Outcomes and pick one that is strategic and interesting for you.

Mentor Team Confirms
Inputs / Outputs

Mentor team meets to determine the most strategic inputs and outputs for the apprentice.

Do Inputs
Turn in Outputs

Work through the inputs and outputs at your own pace.

Receive Assessment
(Improve if Necessary)

Mentors assess outputs and offer feedback. If necessary, work is redone or inputs are added to grow in competency.

Pick another Learning Outcome

Look through the Learning Outcomes and pick one that is strategic and interesting for you.

Achieve Competency

Once competency is demonstrated through outputs done in the context of ministry, it is awarded.

ACADEMIC BOARD OF ADVISORS

What is it and what do they do?

Every trade has a guild.

The guild is made up of leaders and experts of their trade who together set the standards and chart the trajectory of that trade. Our trade is marketplace missions, church planting, and leadership development. We have created what we believe is a unique approach to church planting in the post-Christian west that is sustainable, local church minded, and strategic. We are engaging in this manner of church planting ourselves because we believe in it.

In our context (western Germany) modern accreditation makes less sense than the apprenticeship model, which is more traditional and, we believe, more biblical.

At this point, all our current apprentices have a greater desire for church-based training than for an accredited theological degree. As a guild of sorts, the Academic Board of Advisors work together to help sharpen our curriculum to ensure that the training we provide is relevant, up-to-date, and directly transferrable to ministry in the twenty-first century. This approach helps protect us and our apprentices from a curriculum created in an echo chamber.

The members of the Academic Board of Advisors serve as necessary correctives, wise counsellors, seasoned practitioners, and godly examples. Together they review our curriculum and provide feedback that will help us ensure our apprentices will be thoroughly prepared and equipped for marketplace missions and church planting.