‘Serving and Enabling the Ministry and Mission of the Learning Church…’

Founded in 1995, York Institute for Community Theology is a connexional training institution responsible to the Methoidist Conference through the Methodist Council, working in partnership with York St John University and other ecumenical partners in Yorkshire and the North East., within the context of the Yorkshire Regional Training Partnership and the Methodist Training Forum for Yorkshire and the North East.

The Institute exists:

to offer quality provision for the development of recognised ministries within the Church in collaboration with partners
to develop opportunities for the whole people of God for reflection, formation, education and exploration
to resource the local church in the development of its mission and ministry
to act as a regional and national resource for the Church in the development of its mission and practice

Within this context, the Institute has particular responsibilities towards Methodism, exercised in teh context of agreed Methodist and ecumenical frameworks and benchmark statements, and working with, or through, partners wherever possible. These responsibilities can be identified as follows:

training to develop discipleship
training to support the life of the Church
training to develop mission
exploration of calling
structured exploration of discipleship, vocation and calling in all their aspects (Extending Discipleship, Exploring Vocation)
initial and continuing training (within connexional frameworks) as required by local preachers, those in lay ministries, deacons and presbyters
where appropriate, support for the implementation of connexional policies that require training in the region, and development and support of tutors, trainers and group leaders
the development of Higher Education routes and research to support the above and enable the mission and ministry of the universal Church