ID - still a year that will transform lives
2020 - what a year hey?!
Like everything in the time of Coronavirus, ID is adapting to the current context. In this post, I (Matt Fell, leader of the ID team) want to update you, our RM family, of what we’ve been working on. I’m really excited for how our present circumstances might provide opportunities for the discipleship of ID students and for the many missional opportunities that are out there for them to step in to.
A different approach
We’re going to kick-start the year with a day together in Cambridge where the IDers can get to know one another (from a distance of course), be orientated to the rest of the year and receive some teaching on discipleship. After that we’ll begin a ten-week syllabus of online collective learning that we’ve been working hard on. Over those weeks we’ll dig deep into Scripture, learn about how God reveals himself to us, begin to explore the means of discipleship that Jesus gives to his followers, and gain a theology of salvation. Each week we’ll gather together for five hours online (learning, teaching one another, praying and worshiping). Accompanying those sessions the IDers will have a set bible reading plan and a weekly assignment to complete, all designed to take up a further four hours of their time. So, all in all that’s nine hours of study a week that will be allocated from the official ID time.
Is this the new normal?
Our hope is that we can return to our normal training blocks come November, but we will have to assess that as the months go by. We are confident that we can extend the online learning further if necessary.
As for ID placements, we recognise that churches are in a different situation to usual and placements may look different this year. For that reason, we are ensuring IDers are only placed in churches with a guarantee that there's enough for them to do. We’ve been able to allocate ID students to some great placements for the coming year and have more available for others who apply.
Ways that you can be involved
With these great placements in mind, we really encourage you to consider how you and your church could promote ID for this coming September. We’re seeing that many young people have put off making a decision for the coming year given the uncertainty of the time; with statistics saying that one in five people with a place at university are deferring for a year. At the same time, many employers aren’t recruiting as they usually would. This is such a good moment for young people to do the ID year - to learn to seek God when all else is being shaken, and to give themselves to serving the Church - the light of the world. Please consider who you could suggest ID to!
So that’s our plan for the coming year. We’re really excited to see how the Lord will work through it and cause it to be fruitful. Keep us in your prayers and watch our website over the coming months.