Welcome to the Worship Central Academy!
This fantastic programme is a unique opportunity to invest a year of your life developing and sharpening your skills with us in London. We're going to be offering fifteen places to emerging worship leaders who will spend a year, starting in September 2012, working and studying with the Worship Central team.
The Academy offers a mixture of world-class theological training, practical coaching and the chance to be involved at the heart of a dynamic local church, Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB).
Our dream is that through the Academy, we'll shape each other and build friendships that will be a foundation for a life of serving the local church in the years to come.
We hope and pray that you'll consider applying!
Follow the Academy for a year to see what the students are up to: click here.
The Academy is designed for emerging worship leaders actively involved in leading in their church, with a heart to serve as a worship pastor.
"One of the most pressing needs for the Church is one of the hardest commodities to find – a worship leader who is missionally minded. As a number one priority, we need to raise up worship leaders who are ready to go to places others have not gone before."
Revd Ric Thorpe – Vicar of St Paul's Shadwell, London – Holy Trinity Brompton plant in 2005
If you think this might be you, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you have a heart for God, worship, and the local church?
- Do you feel called to worship leading and pastoring a team?
- Has this call for leadership been recognised and encouraged by others?
- Do you have experience of leading worship?
- Are you confident musically?
- Do you have the support and backing of your local church?
The vision of Worship Central is to encounter God, equip the worshipper and empower the local church. The programme is centrered around these three values.
- Encounter – Theological Lectures
- Equip – Masterclasses and practical placement
- Empower – Leadership Training and one-to-one mentoring
On Monday morning you’ll attend lectures given by leading theologians from St Paul’s Theological Centre. You will receive an introductory course to theology alongside an extensive study of the Old and New Testament. This training is non-accredited and not assessed but we would encourage all students to engage with the reading given.
Monday afternoon is time to read, study and to get creative. Each week you will be set assignments from the various streams and this is the time that you have to get it all done!
Students will also be assigned a mentor from the Worship Central team and Monday afternoons may also be when you have your one-to-one sessions.
Thursday is a teaching day with Leadership Training in the morning and Masterclasses in the afternoon.
On Sunday you’ll be helping out with the services – getting involved with everything behind the scenes at HTB. You will be required to do 8 hours of placement a week.
Throughout the year there will be other great events that you will have the opportunity to be involved in, such as monthly HTB Worship Team nights, Alpha and various conferences for example Worship Central events, HTB Leadership Conference, Pentecost.
Below is a glimpse of some of the things we will look at in the year. There will be lots more but this is just to whet your appetite.
Encounter: Theology Lectures
- Church History
- Authority of Scripture
- Old Testament Study
- Psalms and Lament
- New Testament Theology
Equip: Masterclasses
- Musical Theory
- Vocal Coaching
- Instrument Labs
- Working with a Band
- Sound and Production Training
Empower: Leadership Training
- Spirit-Led Worship
- Releasing Creativity
- Leading an Effective Team
- Authentic Leadership
- Pastoring musicians
The Academy will be led and hosted by Tim Hughes, Luke Hellebronth and Nikki Fletcher with input from Al Gordon, Ben Cantelon and Martyn Layzell.
There will also be input from the wider HTB team such as Nicky Gumbel, Pete Grieg, and Tricia Neill. Guest speakers for 2012/2013 academic year will be announced but in the past have included Mike Pilavachi, Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Pete Wilson, Jono McNeil, Nick Herbert, and Nick & Becky Drake.
"I loved spending a year at HTB with the Worship Central team. It gave me invaluable training for everything I’m now doing as the Worship Pastor at Soul Survivor."
Beth Croft - Worship Pastor of Soul Survivor Watford
"Taking on the role of Worship Pastor at St Peter’s Brighton has been hugely exciting and challenging. I was so grateful for having spent a year at HTB with the Worship Central team, to catch the vision and learn some important lessons."
Paul Nelson - Worship Pastor of St Peter's Brighton - Holy Trinity Brompton plant in 2009
Fees for the Academy are £3,500 for the year. This includes all tuition, materials and admission to special events. It does not cover living expenses and students will be expected to move to within commuting distance of HTB.
With this in mind we have structured the programme to allow you to carry out part-time work within London.
To apply for the Academy you’ll need to fill in the online form and tell us a bit about yourself, provide us with three references. One referee must be your senior church leader, the second a non-family member, thirdly a reference from someone who has worked with you in a musical capacity. Your referees should comment on your worship leading ability and experience, musical competence, leadership qualities and anything else they feel it is important that we know about you as an applicant.
If you have any questions email us on academy@worshipcentral.org
Please note there is a non-refundable £20 application fee.
Is there an age limit?
Applicants need to be a minimum age of 18.
Do I need to have a degree before the Academy?
No, a degree is not needed.
Is the Academy accredited?
The Academy is not accredited, but you will recieve a Worship Central Academy certificate on completion of the programme.
Why are there so many free days?
We know that living in London is not cheap! We have kept Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday as free days where you will be able to get a part-time job to help you cover tuition and living expenses.
Do you offer bursaries?
Unfortunately, bursaries are not available.
Can I apply from overseas?
We are accepting international applications but you need to have a British or European passport to be able to spend the year in the UK. Because the Academy isn’t accredited we aren’t able to arrange student visas and aren’t in a position to sponsor any other visas at this time.
What are the Term dates?
The Academy will start in September 2011 with the following term dates:
17th September - 10th December 2011
7th January - 18th March 2012
8th April - 24th June
What happens after I have applied?
We will be accepting applications until 1st March. After this time we will contact all those who have applied via both email and post to let them know whether they have been successful in getting an interview. You can expect to hear from us either way!
We encourage all of those thinking of applying to do so as early as possible.
Please make sure you provide us with accurate contact details.
