Student Minister

We dream of seeing hundreds leaders thriving globally, after a 2-year training at Vine Church.

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” — 2 Tim. 2 : 2

Student Ministers at Vine Church

Vine Church offers the position of Student Minister to those who are studying at theological college who wish to be trained in leadership and church ministry in an urban environment. We train and equip students in leadership and church ministry so that they are prepared for a lifetime of ministry.

The role of a Student Minister will require at a minimum the same level of commitment expected from one of our core members at Vine Church (i.e. leading a ministry), and for the spouse (if applicable), at least the same level of commitment expected from one of our members (i.e. in a Community Group and serving in a ministry team).

Qualifications for a Student Minister role at Vine Church :

• Deep love for Jesus
• Strong commitment to seeing lives changed by the gospel via prayer and scripture.
• Competence in teaching the Bible simply and clearly.
• Clear, humble, sacrificial and an engaging leadership style.
• A willingness to work alongside others in a team and under the Lead Pastor.

We offer a hands-on, fully involved training experience including...

Preaching Training

Students are provided opportunities to give Bible talks in a variety of situations across the year. Male students are given 2 opportunities to preach at Sunday services. For each sermon you preach, the Lead Pastor offers four training sessions which take you from exegesis → big idea → outline → draft → manuscript → delivery.

Each student minister will have the opportunity to meet with a Vine Church pastor on a quarterly basis. These sessions are designed for guided reflection on what you are learning in your ministry journey. These meetings will include dedicated time for prayer and encouragement. This regular pastoral support aims to nurture your spiritual development and strengthen your effectiveness in ministry.

Leading a Ministry Team

It is our conviction that a weakness in the training of pastors and ministers in our tribe is the lack of team leader training. To counter this, we expect all Student Ministers to take on the role of Team Leader (or Area Leader) for one of our ministries and learn the skill of leading people in achieving an outcome.

Team Leader opportunities include :

Area Leader opportunities include :

The cohort of student ministers (usually three) will also meet together with the Lead Pastor two-four times per year as a training cohort. This collaborative environment fosters growth and development, enabling student ministers to refine their skills and deepen their understanding of various aspects of church leadership.

The cohort sessions provide you the opportunity to ask questions and receive focused training in the following areas :

Fortnightly Training

On Monday afternoons every fortnight the staff team and student ministers meet for 1.5 hours of training with the lead pastor. This is an opportunity to get to know those serving in leadership at church as well as receive training from our Lead Pastor and other guests. Recent training topics have included :

Additionally, we encourage all student ministers to accompany the staff team at annual conferences which we attend (including Reach Australia, Priscilla & Aquilla). Apart from the direct training students will receive at the conference, they will also learn from how teams implement what they learn.

Specific Training Requests

Students are also invited to speak to Toby about any ministries or pastoral experiences they would value observing in their time at Vine Church.

Some of these experiences include, but are not limited to :

The value we do add to your training

Historically, the benefit of accepting a student minister position at Vine Church is you get team leadership experience and you see from the inside how a different church staff team operates . Additionally, many former student ministers have said the preaching training you receive with our Lead Pastor is the most helpful training they have ever received because it provides them with a clear framework for writing and delivering a sermon.

The value we don't add to your training

We don’t provide our student ministers with a weekly, one-to-one, intensive mentoring relationship with a pastor. We work together as a team and provide quarterly one-to-one meetings with a pastor each year. This role isn’t like MTS . If you are looking for a more intensive one-to-one mentoring relationship with a pastor, we would encourage you to look at other churches who may be able to provide this.

Scholarship and application details

Vine Church offers a yearly tax-free scholarship of $9,200 for four ministry students per year which can be used to pay your accommodation or study expenses.

Candidates will be fully reimbursed for all church conferences and ministry expenses.

For expressions of interest, please include your resume along with a personal statement about your life and ministry. This should be sent directly to our Lead Pastor, Toby Neal ([email protected]).

If you’re keen, and want more information then let’s have an initial conversation and talk about the possibilities. We’d love to chat and explore whether we’re a good fit for a Student Minister placement at Vine Church.

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