WE MUST NOT EXPLOIT MINISTRY APPRENTICES

For the benefit of cc's overseas and secular readers, ministry apprentices are usually young graduates who work in a church for one or two years as a way of testing the water for full-time Christian ministry.

These apprenticeship schemes burst onto the UK scene in the 1990s and took their inspiration from the Ministry Training Scheme in the Diocese of Sydney, which encouraged significant numbers of young graduates into full-time Christian ministry.

The small South Yorkshire church cc serves is about to get an apprentice. A young graduate of 21 or 22 can enormously benefit from a year's experience in a local church and the church gains from their enthusiasism for Christ and practical help. A useful gap year after graduation can help the young person to mature a bit before they enter the secular work-place at 22 or 23 and, if full-time ministry is right for them, they can begin the denominational selection process and maybe look to go to theological or Bible college in their late 20s.

Problems can arise, however, in busy churches that have a large number of apprentices who stay for two or more years. In some cases, these churches are plants from larger churches in city centres or university towns and they are not formally part of a denominational structure.

When cc was a student, large churches took on parish assistants and there was usually only one or two of them and this was an established route to ordination. With lots of apprentices in churches outside of a denominational structure, what do they do next?

A disturbing report has reached cc's ears of one young man who has done nearly three years in one of these student church plants and is getting past his mid-20s. He is apparently too busy to apply for a secular job.

Something is wrong here. Apprentices undoubtedly provide growing churches with relatively cheap labour, carting equipment around and helping to set up in the school or other venue the church is meeting in as well as following up new comers and doing youth work etc. When there are lots of them, it can be difficult for a busy minister to keep a paternal eye on them.

Also, younger homogeneous church plants can lack wiser heads, older members of a congregation with life experience who can act as mentors and take a longer-term view.

The fact is, if a graduate hasn't got himself established in a job by his mid-20s, there is a danger of Evangelical drop-out syndrome. Furthermore, the job market is very tough at the moment.

To call a spade a shovel, two- or more-year apprentices who are too busy to apply for a secular job are being exploited.

Certain religions can do that to people. They are called cults.