
EAST KENT MINISTRY TRAINING COURSE
Introducing a new ministry training course for Kent
Coming in September 2025
The East Kent Ministry Training Course is designed for ordinary Christians in Kent churches who want to be better equipped to serve the LORD and his people. We expect there to be a whole variety on the course: retired people, young mums, church interns… anyone who wants to learn and then serve in their church. To enrol on the course, you must fill in an application form, and have it signed by your church leader. The course takes place on Monday mornings. We have put East Kent as the focus of our course because we identify this as an area of greatest need. People from all across Kent are, however, welcome to apply.
Why a new training course?
Teaching and training are biblical imperatives and, as Jesus said, ‘the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’ (Matthew 9:38)*. There is a desperate need for more trained workers in Kent: at school gates, in offices, factories, homes, shops, and churches. We need more believers equipped to have evangelistic conversations with their neighbours, build one another up, serve in children’s and youth work, lead Bible studies, and preach God’s word. We long to see women and men of all ages and stages of life with strong biblical convictions filling our seats and serving as leaders so that God’s church might flourish in Kent for His glory. There are several courses which train people to do just this and we are thankful to God for them. Nevertheless, we think there are at least three compelling reasons to start a new course here in Kent:
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Local training multiplies ministry. Church planting research shows that more churches means more people in church**. Another training course will mean more people equipped for gospel ministry.
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Local training strengthens the church in Kent. We hope that a course would provide a natural opportunity for ordinary Christians around Kent to growth together with a depth of training that any local church would be hard pressed to provide. We hope that this might lead to all kinds of outcomes such as local churches being revitalised, new ones planted, youth and children’s workers working together and collaboration on local missions.
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Local training lowers training costs. We are aiming to make our course affordable. We will be charging £450 per year (for comparison, London Cornhill is £1800 per term) and expect attendees to have much lower travel costs. We hope this will benefit churches and attract a wide background of students. For the first year the course will be run in Canterbury, but once established, we plan to move to other venues on demand.
*See also Matthew 28:16-20, 2 Timothy 2:2, Ephesians 4:12
**Tim Keller, Why Plant Churches? pp.2-3
Who teaches on the course?
Most of the course is taught by Richard Hagan, who is the Director of Kent Gospel Partnership as well as Senior Minister of Emmanuel Church Canterbury. He has been in full time paid ministry for almost 30 years, and has degrees in theology from Oak Hill Theological College and Westminster Theological Seminary.
Other experienced ministers and speakers will also be teaching on the course.
How much is it?
The cost of the course is £450 for the year and is non-refundable once the course begins. Bursaries are also available on a discretionary basis.
Timetable
This timetable outlines a normal morning on the course which runs for 3 terms. The term dates are:
Spring term 2026
12 January - 23 March
Autumn term 2025
15 September- 15 December
Summer term 2026
20 April - 6 July
Venue
The course meets at the home of Richard and Corinne Hagan which is 5 Queens Avenue, Canterbury, CT2 8AY. There is parking on their driveway, and on street parking. Their house is situated a few minutes’ walk away from both Canterbury East and West railway stations.
What does a normal Monday look like?
