Anyway: here’s five reasons why you should consider it.

1. There has arguably never been a more important time in church history for us to train lots of leaders, both practically and theologically. Here’s why I say that:

Leadership Foundations from Catalyst on Vimeo.

2. The leadership content is taught by people with a serious track record in church leadership. As in: the day on Reaching Nations is taught by someone who has spent the last five years planting a thriving church in a large Middle Eastern city. The day on Ethics is taught by our very own Matt Hosier, who is one of the most creative thinkers on Christian ethics I know. The day on Building a Supernatural Culture comes from a guy whose church has seen (literally) hundreds of people healed on the streets over the last few years. The day on Leading with Faith comes from someone who leads a church of 600+ in a village of 20,000 people, has founded an international children’s charity, and has links with churches in over forty countries. And so it goes on.

3. The theological content is taught by people with a serious track record in biblical studies and church history. Of the five teachers on our biblical and historical theology modules, two have PhDs (one in church history and one in biblical studies), one is studying for a PhD in biblical studies, one has a Masters in theology, and one has fluent Greek and Hebrew plus a decade’s experience leading a church. More importantly, present company excepted, they are excellent communicators who engage trainees superbly, with creativity and humour as well as rigour.

4. The course is accredited, as I mentioned, with a Diploma from Moorlands Bible College (backed by the University of Gloucestershire), which means that trainees can (a) get a serious academic qualification from doing the course, (b) enter the relevant Moorlands BA course in their second year, if they so wish, and (c) demonstrate their credentials from a British institution if they are in ministry elsewhere in the world, which often helps. Everybody wins.

5. Previous students champion the course with the fire of a thousand suns. Vanja Lutje: “one of the best decisions I’ve made this year.” Jon Bryon: “I’d do it again if I could.” Liz Green: “it truly is one of the best things I have embarked on.” If you’re a Twitter person, you can get a great feel for the course (and a rather less biased perspective on it) by perusing the #CatalystLT hashtag.

If you’re not persuaded by any of that, you probably never will be. If you are, or might be, you can find out more, or apply, here.