The Growing Young Disciples Academy offers a unique opportunity to equip and empower all those dedicated to serving children and young people in their local church communities.
Accessible entirely online, our comprehensive programme delves into essential topics such as the biblical foundations of children’s and youth ministry, the spiritual growth and development of young hearts, and the crucial aspects of pastoral care for children and adolescents.
But that’s just the beginning. With Growing Young Disciples Academy, you’ll explore a myriad of invaluable insights and practical tools designed to enrich your ministry and amplify your impact.
Endorsements
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Overview of the GYD Academy Course
Year 1
- The next generation—God’s heartbeat & our urgent calling
- Standing on their shoulders—learning from the past to build the future
- The Church & the next generation—reimagining discipleship
- Teaching for transformation—Wisdom’s invitation in discipleship
- A theology of the child—understanding who we are discipling
- A theology of discipleship—beyond moralism to true faith
- Structuring for long-term discipleship—beyond events & entertainment
- Building houses of wisdom—implementing biblical ministry
- The doctrine of scripture
- Word ministry – Part 1
- Word ministry – Part 2
- Effective illustration and application
- Teaching to reach the heart
- Writing a Bible talk
- Communicating in children’s and youth ministry
- Tips for communicating with children and youth
- Understanding children’s spirituality
- Spiritual development by age and stage
- Spiritual development and the family
- Factors affecting spiritual development
- Faith development theories/Towards a biblical model of spiritual development
- Towards a biblical model of spiritual development
- The discipleship of boys and girls
- Spiritual development and the sacraments
Year 2
- God
- Trinity
- Jesus
- Imago Dei
- Sin
- The Church
- Teaching doctrine to children and young people
- The role of catechesis in ministry
- Christian character
- Leadership dynamics
- Leadership skills
- Developing and communicating a vision
- Building and managing a team
- Training a volunteer team
- Caring for yourself in Christian Ministry
- Leadership on the ground
- Developing a model of pastoral care
- Child protection in pastoral care
- Caring for children and young people through bereavement
- Caring for children and young people through separation & divorce
- Caring for children and young people with image disorders
- Caring for children and young people with addictions
- Young people and sexuality
- Young people and mental health
Year 3
- Understanding worldviews
- Building a biblical worldview
- An introduction to culture
- Engaging with Tik Tok
- Engaging with Gaming
- Engaging with the Selfie
- Engaging with Fan Fiction
- Training parents to engage culturally with their kids
- Understanding Gen Z to reach them
- Understanding Generation Alpha to reach them
- Teaching truth in a post truth world
- Planning and implementing outreach activities
- Writing evangelistic talks
- Apologetics for crossing youth cultures
- Training children and young people to be apologists
- Raising world Christians
- Parent and toddler’s groups
- Working with the under 3’s
- All age services
- Holiday Bible clubs
- Weekends away
- Caring for children with special needs
- School’s ministry
- Final Big Q & A
Tutors
Peter Wright, Caz Petersen, Jane Watkins
Academy Fees
One off payment for the full 3 year academy course
£1800
Pay yearly for the academy course
£750
Pay per module
£300
2025–2026 dates
Tuesday afternoons on Zoom from 12.30–2.30pm BST (GMT+1)
Autumn Term 2025
23 Sept • 30 Sept • 07 Oct • 14 Oct • 21 Oct • 04 Nov • 18 Nov • 25 Nov
Spring Term 2026
20 Jan • 27 Jan • 03 Feb • 10 Feb • 24 Feb • 03 Mar • 10 Mar • 17 Mar
Summer Term 2026
14 Apr • 21 Apr • 28 Apr • 12 May • 19 May • 2 Jun • 9 Jun • 16 Jun
Requirements of the course
The Academy course as a whole works best through shared, accumulative learning. There are no assessments, however approximately 2 hours of additional (optional) reading is provided for those seeking further engagement. We don’t have any formal accreditation at present but there will be a certificate for those who finish the 3 years. In terms of commitment we ask for at least 80% attendance online each year.
