Section outline

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    Institute of Ministry · Course welcome

    Welcome to Servant leadership in Christian and professional organisations

    Examine how you exercise authority, share responsibility, and care for people through Scripture, the early Church, and practical decisions in ministry and professional life.

    Study commitmentApproximately 40 hours across four substantial units. A pattern of five hours a week takes about eight weeks.
    How it is deliveredFree, online and self-paced, with six months to complete from enrolment.
    AssessmentFour quizzes; 80% pass mark; two attempts per quiz; a verifiable completion certificate.
    Who may beginPrimates, Archbishops, Bishops, church and business leaders, and people preparing for responsibility. No previous qualification or church membership is required.

    Who this course is for

    For leaders who want to examine authority as service and make their decisions answerable to the people affected by them. You may study without holding office. The teaching is written from the Apostolic Old Catholic Mission’s perspective; the Institute of Ministry is the educational body providing the course.

    Titles are nothing

    Even Moses received counsel and shared responsibility. If Moses needed help, none of us can claim to be above correction, advice, or the need to share the work.

    If you are unwilling or unable to carry a role, give it to someone who can. Arrange a proper handover through the authority responsible for the appointment. Humility means admitting the truth; grace allows a different place of service without treating it as personal disgrace.

    Titles are nothing. A title proves neither competence nor faithfulness. Keeping a position for its prestige while its duties go undone is arrogance and self-importance. The people entrusted to your care need the work done.

    What you will learn

    You will distinguish service from domination, interpret the pastoral tradition carefully, share responsibility through competent delegation, evaluate concerns about power and confidentiality, and judge financial and organisational decisions by their effects on people. You will also consider mentoring, rest, continuity, and practical review.

    Course content — preview the four units

    1. Unit 1.1 — Vocation, authority, and the burden of office — 10 hours. Christ’s pattern of service; Augustine, Gregory, and Chrysostom; office, humility, and honest self-knowledge.
    2. Unit 2.1 — Jethro, discernment, delegation, and formation — 10 hours. Moses and Jethro, the early Church, usable authority, mentoring, and continuity.
    3. Unit 3.1 — Truth, trust, safeguarding, and conflict — 10 hours. Independent review, privacy, safeguarding, complaints, conflicts of interest, and repair.
    4. Unit 4.1 — Money, culture, community, and sustainable service — 10 hours. Financial care, fair rewards, incentives, community responsibility, and sustainable leadership.

    What you can expect

    Read each unit carefully and work through its guided cases and private practical exercises. Each quiz draws 20 questions, allows 25 minutes and requires 80% to pass. There is no essay, learning journal, or written submission. Recommended books are optional; everything assessed is taught within the course.

    Successful completion requires a pass in all four unit quizzes. The certificate is a record of study and assessment. It does not confer ordination, appointment, faculties, professional registration, or permission to minister. No CPD accreditation or professional points are claimed.

    Support and study time

    You have six months from enrolment. For course or technical help, accessibility needs, or an extension, contact getsupport@ministry.institute. Please ask before your access ends if you need longer.

    How to begin

    If this is your first Institute course, complete Getting Started with the Institute of Ministry once. Then open Welcome to this course, read the language and source guidance, and begin Unit 1.1. You may read as a visitor; sign in and enrol free of charge to take the quizzes and record your progress.