Passing the Baton: A Handbook for Ministry Apprenticeship

by Colin Marshall

After the gospel itself, the greatest need of the Christian church is to keep finding and training people who will faithfully teach the Bible to both Christians and non-Christians. How can we discover these individuals? How can we help them develop in both Christian commitment and ministry competence? This handbook is part of the answer. It's about recruiting godly, ministry-hearted Christians, placing them under the guiding hand of an experienced minister, and giving them a two-year full-immersion experience of working for a church or related ministry. It's about ministry apprenticeship. The insights and programmes in Passing the Baton are based on 25 years of experience in running ministry apprenticeships as part of the 'Ministry Training Strategy' (MTS). This programme, initiated by Colin Marshall and Phillip Jensen at the University of NSW in Sydney in the early 1980s, has been developed, copied, refined and implemented in many parts of Australia and the world, including Britain, France, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, and South Africa. For many, it has been a revolution. In this convenient handbook, you'll find an introduction to the what, why and how of ministry apprenticeship, including first-hand testimonies from trainers and apprentices, and loads of detailed information and practical suggestions about how to set up, run and maintain a ministry training program in your local church or fellowship. For ministers who see the need for such training in their churches, or potential trainees who want to understand what apprenticeship is about, Passing the Baton is the place to start.

Genres: Leadership

120 pages

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Colin is married to Jacquie and they have three adult children, Karyn, Deborah and Jonathon.

Together with Jacquie he has spent the past 30 years training men and women in the ministry of the gospel, both in university and local church contexts. He is a graduate of Moore Theological College, Sydney.

He is the author of The Trellis and the Vine, Growth Groups, a training course for small group leaders, and Passing the Baton, a handbook for ministry apprenticeship.

Until 2006 he directed The Ministry Training Strategy, a ministry apprenticeship movement.

Reviews

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing special here. But, for what it is, this is an excellent resource for thinking through ministry internships and apprenticeships. Something we need to recapture in local church ministries.

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 3 out of 5]

No nonsense advice from Col Marshall about training apprentices in Christian ministry. Down to earth, practical, not afraid of making some strong statements. Specificly related to the MTS program, but still useful for anyone training young leaders.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of practical guidance on starting and maintaining a pastoral/ministry training program/apprenticeship. I think useful in its eye towards raising up new leaders by investing in their life, doctrine, and experience. The amount of practical advice may feel overwhelming or tiresome to someone not in the process of thinking through starting that kind of thing. So I’d recommend this as a helpful foil in thinking through that kind of peterman or process, but not really to anyone outside of that specific situation.

If you’re looking for something on the idea of raising up leaders as a part of the life of the church, I’d encourage you to look at “The Trellis and the Vine” first (co-written by same author).

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Marshall makes lays out the how and why of ministry apprenticeships. In his context (Sydney, Australia), a ministry apprenticeship is targeted at people prior to doing formal theological training for ministry. So, whereas in my own denomination (the Orthodox Presbyterian Church), the emphasis is on summer internships during seminary or year-long internships after seminary, Marshall argues for an embedded ministry experience beforehand to determine whether a person should invest in further ministerial training.

I thought there was a lot of helpful things in the book that could be used as a springboard for planning something in one’s own context. I haven’t read any other resource like it.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gives a great description of training apprentices. However, I would warn people that this should be descriptive only and will need to be adjusted for different circumstances.

[Brad Hoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with a subject that I think needs more attention, more careful thought, and more action. The book is brief and closely linked to a specific apprenticeship program (or "programme") in Australia, but still very helpful. I wouldn't try to recreate the program the author serves, but that's not his intent. This book can be a great source of ideas, things that cause us to think about things that might not otherwise enter our minds when we think about mentoring.

[Eric Durso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feel like there was so much more to be said. But still, this book helped me think through apprenticeship training and practical ways to get started. Helpful, but limited.