ACTS
DIVINITY
Welcome to ACTS
ACTS — The Apostolic Church Theology School — exists to equip men and women across the Apostolic Church and beyond with Biblically rooted, Spirit-empowered teaching and training.
ACTS Divinity is the new ministerial and leadership training programme for the Apostolic Church UK, aiming to help raise up and equip ministers and leaders for Christ’s Church who are confident in the Scriptures, growing in Christlikeness, fuelled by prayerfulness, empowered by the Holy Spirit, equipped for service, skilled for leadership, and ready for mission. The programme provides robust training to equip those called to ministry and leadership in the church, focused on the main areas of Bible, Theology and Ministry Praxis.
A combination of online classes and residential weekends over two years means that students will remain rooted in their local churches while also benefitting from time in-person with their tutors and fellow-students. Local church ministry involvement is an essential element of the programme, which will involve the supervision and mentoring of the local minister. You can read our 2024-25 Prospectus here.
The Apostolic
Church
Theology
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Programme
Info
CHurch-Based training
The ACTS Divinity programme is designed to enable you to train for ministry and develop in leadership while remaining rooted in your local church. The programme combines online learning with six residential weekends over two years, so that you can train from your local setting, while also benefitting from time in-person with your tutors and your fellow students. That means you can study with ACTS no matter where you live. Over 2 years, you will study 12 Modules: 4 each in the areas of the Bible, Theology, and Practical Ministry. You can read our 2024-25 Prospectus here.
Programme Delivery
Each week there will be 3 hours of online classes: 1 hour prerecorded and 2 hours live (on a Tuesday evening via Zoom). In addition to this, you should expect to spend a minimum of another 2-3 hours per week on work for the course. Three times a year, students and tutors will gather for a residential weekend.
ACTS
DIVINITY
Modules
Bible
This is the Word of the Lord: Understanding & Interpreting Scripture
The Old Testament
The New Testament
Biblical Living & Decision Making: An Introduction to Christian Ethics
Theology
Doctrine 1: The Triune God, His Word & His Good Creation
Doctrine 2: Jesus the Saviour & Our Great Salvation
Doctrine 3: The Holy Spirit & the Body of Christ
From the Past for the Future: Learning from Church History
Ministry
Proclaiming Christ Biblically: Preaching & Teaching
An Apostolic & Prophetic People: The Church, Mission, and Gifts of the Spirit
Pastoral Care & Missional Leadership
Disciple-making Disciples: Spiritual Formation & Discipleship
The Apostolic
Church
Theology
School
What We Believe
ACTS holds to the the doctrine of The Apostolic Church UK, which is set out in the Creeds, The Tenets, and The Vision Glorious: A Confession of the Faith of the Apostolic Church. The paraphrase below provides a summary of the faith contained in those doctrinal standards.
1. We believe in one true and living God, the Holy Trinity, who from all eternity is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. We believe that the Triune God created all things out of nothing and proclaimed them to be good. He made mankind, male and female, in His image and likeness. Yet, through the sin of our first parents, sin and guilt have passed to us all, and human nature has been inherently corrupted. Therefore our only hope of salvation lies in repentance from sin and regeneration by God’s grace in Christ. Those who do not finally repent will face God’s eternal judgment.
3. We believe that God the Son has taken on true humanity and united it to Himself in the one person of the Lord Jesus Christ. For us and for our salvation he was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died an atoning death in our place to bear the penalty of our sins, rose triumphant from the dead the third day, ascended bodily to the Father’s right hand, and ever lives to make intercession for us. He will come again and establish His millennial reign upon earth.
4. We believe that through the finished work of Christ, believers are both justified by grace alone through faith alone and are being progressively sanctified.
5. We believe that the glorified and ascended Christ baptises believers in the Holy Spirit with signs following, empowering the church for its mission in the world.
6. We believe in the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit for the upbuilding, encouragement and consolation of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
7. We believe in the Sacraments of Baptism by immersion and of the Lord’s Supper.
8. We believe that the sixty-six books of the Holy Scriptures are inspired by God, without error, and carry His full authority.
9. We believe that the ascended Lord Jesus governs and guides His Church through gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders and deacons, for the unity, maturity, and growth of the church.
10. We believe that God’s saving grace is found only in Jesus and that we are called to persevere and abide in faith in Him.
11. We believe that Christ’s people are called to express their love through obedience to His commands, which includes the privilege and responsibility of bringing tithes and offerings to the Lord.
Ps Jonathan Black MA (Cantab.), MTh, PhD
Principal of Acts & Director of Training for ACUK
Ordained as a pastor, teacher, and prophet in the Apostolic Church, Jonathan currently serves an assembly in south Wales. He is recognised internationally as a leading Pentecostal theologian and has written several books. Jonathan is a member of the Theology Working Group of the Lausanne Movement, and has previously taught at theological colleges in the UK and Belgium and was formerly Co-Director of the Institute for Pentecostal Theology. He edits Eucharisma and the Hearing God’s Voice Bible commentary series. Jonathan teaches Christian Doctrine, preaching, and spiritual formation.
FACULTY TEAM
Ps David Mitchell BA, BTh, MTh
Tutor in New Testament & Mission
Ordained as a pastor and teacher in the Apostolic Church, David serves an assembly in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Originally from Canada, David trained in theology in Scotland and has pastored churches in both the UK and British Columbia. David teaches New Testament and missional leadership.
Ps David Dando BA (Hons.)
Tutor in Old Testament & Leadership
Ordained as a pastor and teacher in the Apostolic Church, David serves an assembly in Bridgend in Wales. He is a retired Police Divisional Commander and during his career in the Police Service was seconded as a Director of Studies at the Police International College, Hampshire and project lead at the National Centre of Policing Excellence, Cambridge. David teaches Old Testament and Christian leadership.
Ps Simon Taylor LLB (Hons.)
Tutor in Biblical Ministry
Ordained as an apostle and pastor in the Apostolic Church, Simon serves an assembly in Taunton in Somerset and provides apostolic oversight to a number of churches. For nine years he served on the National Leadership Team of the Apostolic Church UK and is currently one of the trustees of ACUK. Simon teaches biblical interpretation, preaching, and ministry praxis.
How Much Does It Cost?
Programme Fees
The course fees for ACTS Divinity in 2024-25 are shown in the table below. This will include the cost of accommodation and food at residentials, but not the cost of transport to residentials, nor the cost of books and any additional study materials. A discount of 40% is available for the husband or wife of a student to enable married couples to study together.
Student Category | ACUK | AC Europe / ACUK Affiliated | Other |
Fees per year | £1,500 | £1,800 | £2,200 |
How to apply
1 In order to apply for ACTS Divinity, prospective students must have the support of their pastor/local presbytery. So first discuss your application with your pastor.
2 Complete the application form online here. Deadline for applications: 1st July.
3 As part of this form you will provide your pastor’s details. We will then ask your pastor to complete a pastoral reference. Without this reference your application cannot proceed.
4 Wait to hear back from us to hear if you have been invited for interview. Interviews will usually take place via Zoom.
5 After the interview, we’ll get in touch again to let you know whether you’ve been accepted on the course. In the meantime, make sure that you have completed all prerequisites. (Before commencing ACTS Divinity, students must have completed the The Bible Course from the Bible Society. Students should also have read the whole Bible before commencing the course, and will be required to read it again during the course.)
ACTS
DIVINITY
FAQ
Does Completion of ACTS Divinity LEAD to ordination?
ACTS Divinity is designed to equip for ministry, but completion of a training programme to equip for ministry is not the same as a call to ministry. The Lord alone calls to the ministry, and makes his call known through his church. ACTS Divinity is the basic training requirement for those who are called to ministry in the Apostolic Church UK, but does not automatically lead to a call.
Does ACTS DIViniTy Lead to A Government Accreditied qualification?
No. ACTS is not accredited to issue government recognised qualifications. This is intentional on our part to ensure that the training meets the needs of the local church rather than a government agency and to keep course fees as low as possible. Students who successfully complete the programme will be awarded an internal ACTS Certificate of Divinity which is recognised by the Apostolic Church UK and some of our partners as meeting the training requirements for those who are called to ministry.
IS ACTS DIVINITY Open to Non-UK Students?
Yes. Students from European countries who can travel to the UK for the course residentials can enroll on the programme in the same way as UK students. For those from further away, there is an international version of the programme which does not involve residentials. Please contact us for further details. Please note, live zoom classes run on UK time, so students who live in a different time-zone should ensure they are able to attend these zoom sessions (which may not be conveniently time-tabled for their time-zone).
Do I have to be from an Apostolic Church to Study with Acts Divinity?
No, you do not have to be from an Apostolic Church. Students from other churches and movements are very welcome to study with us, and other local churches and networks are welcome to partner with us. Our faculty are all pastors in the Apostolic Church and ACTS holds to the Tenets and Confession of Faith of the Apostolic Church (which you can read here), but we have always sought to serve the wider body of Christ and over the last 90 years, many students from beyond ACUK have trained with us. At ACTS you will find one of the UK’s most biblically and theologically substantial Pentecostal/Charismatic ministry and leadership training programmes. (For example, we have up to three times the amount of teaching on the Bible and on Christian Doctrine compared to other UK Pentecostal/Charismatic non-degree ministry training courses.) You can also be assured that all our tutors have significant ministry experience in the local church and beyond.
Is It Possible to take Individual Modules without enrolling for the Whole Programme?
Yes — in certain circumstances. If you are a pastor, you can enroll for individual modules to help you continue your theological and ministry development. Please contact us for further information. If you are entering the ministry of the Apostolic Church UK and have already completed theological training elsewhere, you may be asked by the Ministry Appointments Board to complete some additional modules through ACTS. If you are involved in another local ministry role and some modules would help you without completing the whole programme, this might also be possible. In these circumstances, get in touch and we’ll talk through the options with you and your pastor.
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ACTS is a department of the Apostolic Church, which is registered as a charity in England and Wales 284789 and Scotland SC037835.
