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 sources used to build knowledge in the apprentice.
OUTPUTS
The activities that give evidentiary support for the assessment of competency.
INDICATORS
The measurable criteria for evaluating competency.
COMPETENCY
The standards used to evaluate mastery of key areas within a Learning Outcome.
Support the Initiative
EVERY CHURCH LEADER BEING FORMED RIGHT NOW
has someone investing in the work behind them.
Supporting Aquila Initiative means investing directly in the local churches and mentors who are forming the next generation of leaders across Europe. Your giving and your prayer helps make that possible.
YOU MAY NOT BE POSITIONED TO MENTOR
but you can still be part of this.
Not every church that believes in church multiplication through mentorship is able to take on an apprentice right now. Not every individual has a pastoral role to offer. But you can believe in the model, and you can invest in the churches and mentors who are carrying it.
Aquila's training infrastructure — the programme design, the academic support, the network of mentors — requires sustained investment to remain accessible to churches who need it most. When you give to Aquila Initiative, you are not funding an institution. You are funding the means through which local churches can raise up and commission their own church leaders. Your financial donations remove a major barrier that hinders training potential leaders in local churches across Europe.
WANT TO HELP?
Here's how.
Financial giving
Your giving sustains our ability to resource Ministry Mentors in local churches with our curriculum, learning platform, academic oversight, and network connections — keeping training accessible regardless of a church's size or budget.
Prayer
Commit to praying regularly for apprentices, Mentoring churches, and the Aquila network. Prayer is not a secondary contribution — it is the primary one.
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Ambassador
Spread the word within your church or own network of friends and family.
We can only reach the churches that need it if people who believe in it make introductions. If you know a church leader who should know about Aquila Initiative, connect them with us.