Sydney's newest ministry school will be hanging up its shingle tomorrow, inviting city workers to trade Thursday night at the shops for a theological education.
"We’ve had a lot of people express interest. There are about 20 people who are confirmed already, which I’m quite pleased with," says City School of Ministry facilitator the Rev Ken Noakes.
Mr Noakes says the school's initial class will be tackling "Introduction to the Bible', the first unit of Moore College's Preliminary Theological Certificate.
The City School of Ministry offers the opportunity for prospective students to follow through courses which might not have enough interest to warrant running at a congregational level.
"Putting on extra courses for a few people can be a real strain on ministers," Mr Noakes says.
"But the value of the PTC is well known " just over 50 per cent of people attending Moore have done at least one subject before coming to college."
Mr Noakes says the early-evening opportunity to study the bible has attracted an interesting mix of people.
"There are some people there who have been Christians for awhile; there are others who are coming along to just find out what the bible is saying for themselves," he says.
A range of courses are open for study after "Introduction to the Bible' including New Testament 1, Old Testament 1 and non-PTC courses like "Leading Better Bible Studies'.
Mr Noakes says the curriculum will initially be dictated by interest, but he is happy to run more than one unit at a time.
Even students who can't attend Thursday nights will find a place.
The City School of Ministry is offering to oversee students via weekly emails if they are unable to make the evening classes.
"Just turn up on the first night and we'll be able to work out the details then," Mr Noakes says.
The City School of Ministry will be running classes in the Upper Chapter House of St Andrews' Cathedral Thursday nights from 7.30 to 9.00 PM.
Contact Ken Noakes to register.
