The selection, formation and ongoing development of Ordained and Lay Ministers is enabled through the Church of England Birmingham Ministry Team under the leadership of the Bishops, guided by national criteria. The aim is to sustain missional, collaborative and adaptive ministry relevant to our Birmingham context, and this is achieved through programmes of in-person and online learning.
The Pathways learning platform
Some of this learning is provided through external programmes and online resources, but most is developed and centralised on Church of England Birmingham’s bespoke Pathways online platform. Our courses and resources support leadership development and discipleship for staff, clergy, lay people, children and family workers, and other parish representatives in Birmingham. The goal is to provide opportunities for every Christian and church community to grow in their capacity to live out the Good News of Jesus, and to equip them for serving Him and being servant leaders in every sphere of life.
The Pathways team work closely with formation and course leaders to apply features of the online platform in support of ‘in person’ training for lay and commissioned roles such as Oversight Ministers, Readers, Youth Workers, Curates and Area Deans. We also offer numerous shorter courses and resources, sometimes calling on subject-specific experts to collaboratively develop materials, as in our Unconscious Bias course created with Karamat Iqbal of Forward Partnership.
