Online course for cross-cultural mission

Bookings are now open for the Crucible Course, which will run online in the autumn. The context for the course is that Christians living in Western cultures are facing profound challenges and fresh opportunities. The long era of ‘Christendom’ is coming to an end. We now live in a plural society, with multiple religious options alongside the prevailing secular assumptions, in which Christianity has lost its position of dominance and privilege and churches find themselves on the margins of society. Although Christians seem to be declining in terms of numbers and influence, the context offers new possibilities for those with the courage and imagination to grasp them. Crucible is, therefore, for Christians with courage and imagination, who suspect that they need to operate as cross-cultural missionaries, because they live in a cross-cultural mission context; that they need to think creatively about incarnating the Gospel and planting new kinds of churches in emerging and diverse cultures; that they need to recover the biblical vision of shalom and reflect on how they live as followers of Jesus in light of this all-embracing vision; and that they need to pay particular attention to the margins, knowing that God frequently does new things among the poor and disenfranchised.

The ’After Christendom’ module, which investigates the opportunities and challenges that the end of imperial Christianity presents, will run on Tuesdays 5, 12 and 19 October, and 2, 9 and 16 November 2021. The ‘Church Unplugged’ module, which presents the challenge of pioneering creative and contextual forms of Christian community, will run on Wednesdays 6, 13 and 20 October, and 3, 10 and 17 November 2021. All sessions open at 6.45pm and end by 9.30pm. The sessions typically consist of presentations, small-group discussions and plenary conversations. In addition to the online sessions, it is hoped to provide in-person Learning Hubs (where there are enough participants living in reasonably proximity) and Communities of Practice (opportunity for online conversations after each module with a focus on applying what has been learned).

The Crucible Course is run by Urban Expression (Link HERE) and Incarnate Network (Link HERE), in association with Rural Ministries (Link HERE). The Course is delivered by a team of experienced trainers, mainly drawn from the sponsoring agencies, all of whom will have practical experience and the ability to reflect theologically on the implications of mission in a changing culture. The core team and planning group consists of Alexandra Ellish, Simon Jay, Sara and Barney Barron, Stuart Murray Williams, Simon Mattholie and Carmel Murphy Elliott. It costs around £80 per person to run each Crucible module. Because the Crucible team recognises that this will be too much for some, while others will be able to pay more, it invites everyone to pay what they feel, so as not to exclude people for financial reasons.

Read more about Crucible Course via THIS LINK.