Approach to Training
All Nations training equips men and women with effective tools for world mission.
Mission is not just a speciality, it is EVERYTHING we do.
Our training focuses on four key areas:
- Biblical and Theological Understanding: understanding and applying God’s Word
- Cross-cultural Engagement: understanding other cultures and how to engage with them
- Personal Development and Spiritual Maturity: understanding ourselves and others''
- Relevant Ministry and Practical Skills: understanding practical ways of applying your learning.
Life Long Learning
At All Nations we believe that being equipped for mission is not a one off experience but is a life-long process.
Whether you are just exploring what mission is, or have been involved in Christian ministry and mission for years, we will have a course for you! Our courses range from foundational level to post graduate training.
Biblical and Theological Studies are part of your training so that you can be effective and confident in speaking about the Bible as well as sure of your position when the awkward questions start to come your way. You will always receive this training from a cross-cultural missional perspective.
Cross-Cultural Studies- we offer a range of modules that enable you to engage with a variety of different faiths and cultures around the world.
Personal and Spiritual Growth is essential in your preparation for mission. Our courses cover topics such as prayer, spiritual warfare, pastoral issues and how to avoid burnout.
Practical Ministry enables you to engage and give to the local church and community We provide ministry placements for you to get practical “hands on” training and experience. We also offer short day courses to help you develop useful skills such as car mechanics, basic dentistry, hairdressing and digital technology!
Holistic Learning
Head, Heart and Hands Approach
At All Nations, we believe that people are whole beings and learn best when subjects are taught in an integrated way, addressing our minds, attitudes and our ability to do things. Thoughts (the cognitive domain), Feelings (the affective domain) and Acts (the psychomotor domain) are rarely discrete entities but are the expression and combination of who we are.
Traditionally training focuses on these three learning domains. We acknowledge, however, that when we learn in a more connected way - with head, hearts and hands all engaged - that this integration ensures fuller assimilation of each subject into the understanding and experience of the learner, thus enabling a process of personal and group transformation through the learning experience.
Undergraduate Learning
All undergraduate courses are taught using our holistic learning approach. For more specific information please see the Programme Specification here or go to the relevant course page (Certificate, Diploma or Degree).
Postgraduate Learning
For specific information regarding the learning and teaching methods used on the MA programme see the Programme Specification here or go to the Postgraduate course page.
Flexible Learning
Flexible learning takes into account the busy lives that people lead these days. Depending on your availability and time we are able to offer you courses ranging from 5 days to 3 years.
We also understand that not everybody can physically get to All Nations, so we offer a variety of online and flexible delivery training programmes too. Flexible Delivery is when students from all around the world study with and at the same time as those in the classroom. This is achieved through video technology.
Fast track Learning
En Route, Explore and Express
If you are imminently heading for cross-cultural mission service then our en route courses are for you. Our 10 week residential en route course will prepare will give you the essential basic training needed to equip you, especially for short term missions. Many mission agencies have recommended their missionaries to attend this course.
If you can’t come to All Nations, our 13 week explore online course will provide you with essential foundational level mission training.
For those going on short mission trips, our express course is available, this can be accessed either as a 5 day residential course or online (20 hours).
En Route Programme
Short Courses
In addition to the full-time courses offered at All Nations, there are a variety of complimentary, standalone courses run by a combination of our own staff and other experts. These include advanced short courses at post graduate level. Our courses are open to all and provide insights into contemporary cross-cultural issues relevant to mission.
Focused Learning
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME
All Nations provides the opportunity to take electives in the undergraduate studies with particular specialisms in mind. These are in the following four areas:
Cross-Cultural Mission
This is taught in the core module 'Integral Mission Foundations & Practice' at Level 4 and 'Missiological Anthropology' at level 5 and offers a selection of further elective modules, according to student demand, such as:
Level 5: Urban Mission / Engaging with Islam / Islam: Faith & Practice / Africa: Missional Issues / Asia: Missional Issues / Latin America: Missional Issues / Europe: Missional Issues / Research Paper.
Level 6: Advanced Mission Studies / Church Planting & Discipleship / Religion & Society / Global Migration & Diaspora Studies / Contemporary Islam / Intercultural Team Leadership.
The world has now well and truly turned into a “global village” - and a very mobile one at that. Most of the people who come to study at All Nations nowadays subsequently go off to work in different cities all over the world, and most of those cities are very multi-cultural places. So it is not only mission personnel and NGO workers serving abroad who move across cultural boundaries - all urban church workers and leaders need to see themselves as cross-cultural “missionaries” within the context of their own country.
Increasingly, Christian workers in Western countries have to be prepared to cross over and enter into a variety of cultures to be able to witness and minister appropriately and relevantly. This is not a natural or easy thing to do - newsletters, journals and books are full of stories about the cultural mistakes which have often been made by people who have recently arrived in different cultural contexts. Usually these stories are very funny and they can make for a very humorous anecdote, but sometimes the consequences of these mistakes can be very far-reaching. So – the best thing is to be prepared, and to make sure that you do a module on cross-cultural mission.
Theology and Ministry
This is taught in the core modules 'Old Testament & Mission / New Testament & Mission / Introduction to Christian Theology' at Level 4 and 'Pentateuch / Synoptic Gospels / Theology of Mission' at Level 5 and offers a selection of further elective modules, according to student demand, such as:
Level 5: Hermeneutics & Homiletics in a Global Age / Psalms & Wisdom Literature / Pauline Literature / Acts of the Apostles / New Testament Greek / Leadership / Pastoral Care.
Level 6: Isaiah / Johannine Literature / Old Testament Theology / New Testament Theology / Intercultural Evangelism & Apologetics / Biblical Hebrew / Teaching Adult Learners.
The All Nations approach to theology and ministry reflects our evangelical, interdenominational, cross-cultural and integral mission emphases. We seek to lay a strong Biblical foundation for students seeking to minister cross-culturally in the teaching and preaching of God’s Word. At the same time our theology modules seek to expose you to different theological traditions, creeds and practices. They are also distinctly contextual, as theology necessarily emerges from a context in response to the needs of a context and seeks to address those needs.
These modules also seek to provide you with practical ministry skills enabling you to reflect theologically on your ministry context, in light of the Scriptures and relevant church traditions, in order to form, develop and encourage appropriate, context-sensitive, missional practices.
To these ends, students at level 4 complete the compulsory modules on the Old Testament and New Testament and their relation to the overarching narrative of God’s mission. The Introduction to Christian Theology module covers essential Christian doctrines and the development of Christian worship, considering how these have been expressed and practised throughout church history and across the global church.
At level 5 students have the opportunity to hone their skills of Biblical interpretation and application to cross-cultural contexts by studying the Pentateuch and Synoptic Gospels. The Theology of Mission module encourages students to interact with different contextual theologies and develop competencies in theological reflection.
For students undertaking studies at level 6, specific modules in Old Testament Theology and New Testament Theology are offered to enable them to continue building on theological modules studied at previous levels.
Students wishing to specialise in Biblical Studies can choose electives in New Testament Greek (level 5) and Biblical Hebrew (level 6), and engage in more in-depth study of various Old and New Testament books from a missional perspective, including: Acts of the Apostles (level 5), Psalms & Wisdom Literature (level 5). Johannine Literature (level 6) and Isaiah (level 6).
Ministry skills can be further developed through the following modules: Hermeneutics & Homiletics in a Global Age (level 5); Pastoral Care (level 5); Intercultural Evangelism & Apologetics (level 6); Teaching Adult Learners (level 6); and Leadership (level 5).
Poverty and Justice
This is taught in the core module 'Integral Mission Foundations & Practice' at Level 4 and offers a selection of further elective modules, according to student demand, such as:
Level 5: Holistic Community Transformation / Holistic Community Programme Development / Holistic Community Programme Management.
Level 6: Vulnerability & Resilience / Global Peace & Justice Studies.
Despite global progress in the fight against poverty, inequality at the global and local levels has continued to grow, and entrenched poverty continues to be a reality for many in the global South (and an increasing issue within the global North). The study of poverty and justice at All Nations starts at level 4 with an examination of the Biblical and theological foundations for an integral approach to mission. It also helps students to gain an understanding of God’s heart for justice and for those who live in poverty. We look at the nature of poverty and how we can be appropriately involved.
At level 5 we take a deeper look at poverty in different contexts, both North to South and rural to urban. We then take an in-depth look at approaches to address the root causes of poverty and bring about holistic transformational change starting at the community level. A second module equips students with the tools and skills for initiating and running community-based ministries seeking to address issues of poverty and injustice.
At level 6 we look in more detail at the issue of vulnerability and approaches for holistic work with vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and children. We also explore the issue of gender and contexts of vulnerability, particularly disasters and conflict. In the final module we look at issues of peace and justice at a global level, examining the causes of global inequality and responses to global conflict and injustice, including advocacy and peace-building.
Arts and Mission
At level 4 the arts modules are built into the programme and connect with personal and spiritual formation, theology and integral mission. Levels 5 and 6 offer a selection of further elective modules, according to student demand, such as:
Level 5: Visual & Western Culture / Creative Media & E-Mission / Performing Arts in Education / Arts for a Better Future / Multicultural Worship.
Level 6: Performing Arts in Community / Music & Global Worship / Arts, Culture & Identity. You can also opt to do a practice-based extended arts research project at level 6.
All Nations offers a series of innovative and specialist arts modules at undergraduate level. The arts are a unique and integral part of the curriculum, and are embedded into the programme. Through different arts disciplines we can equip you with creative skills and competences relevant for mission and ministry today. We specialise in:
Performing Arts, focusing on drama and education. Wehelp you understand how performance can be a vehicle to tackle moral and social issues in the community and / or church setting. You will develop skills in devising performances and running performing arts workshops in a range of settings.
Music & Worship, focusing on the music of other cultures. We help you deepen your understanding of the relationship between music, worship and culture. In addition we seek to develop your skills to lead worship and song creation workshops, and minister in multicultural church contexts.
Visual Arts, focusing on cultural identity. We help you explore in practice, and identify ways in which cultural identity is expressed through visual art forms. We give you tools for interpretation and analysis, and provide opportunities for you to engage with issues of art, culture and faith.
POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME
All Nations also provide the opportunity to take electives in the postgraduate studies with particular specialisms in mind. These are in the following areas:
- Expressions of Church Worldwide
- Migration, Diaspora, and Church
- Intercultural Worship
- Mission in Europe: Context and Practice
- Creation Care and Christian Mission
- Vulnerable Children: Biblical and Theological Perspective
- Leading across Cultures
- Mission Strategy
- Community Transformation: Principles and Practices
- Contextual Engagement with Islam
- Contextual Theology: Methods and Models
- Staff Care & Wellbeing: Issues and Application
NB This is a selection of the modules available across the awards offered by the PG programme.
