Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Christian Religious Professional. A Christian Religious Professional directs and conducts the ministry functions in a faith community to facilitate spiritual formation; nurture fellowship and mutual care within the faith community; helps members to develop a Christian lifestyle; provides strategic leadership that leads to obedience to vocation as well as well-being and sustainability of the faith community, and develops a missional practise that shares the good news of Jesus Christ and serves the holistic well-being of the entire community.
A qualified learner will be able to:
Rationale:
Religious ministers serving churches and Christian groups in Southern Africa come from two distinct backgrounds. The first is deemed more formal in nature (also referred to as the so-called historic churches) while the second is seen as less formal and originated from more recent development processes. This second group includes what is referred to as Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and the large group of African Initiated Churches (AICs). Recent estimates indicate that there are around 186,000 pastors (ministers of religion) in this less formal group, compared to the number of around 9,000 for the historic churches.
There are currently no formally recognised qualifications for religious practitioners within the Christian tradition, apart from the Higher Education qualifications registered through the different tertiary educational institutions. With the introduction of the new occupational certificate, society will benefit from the assurance that large numbers of spiritual leaders who did not have a proper training opportunity in the past, will now have training available to develop a relevant set of competencies.
The Occupational Certificate will be accessible to existing spiritual leaders who did not have the benefit of proper training in the past, and who do not have access to tertiary training at universities or private training institutions. It will also be accessible to newcomers to the profession who want to be trained as pastors, but who do not have access to tertiary training or who prefer to go the occupational training route.
This qualification is made up of the following compulsory Knowledge and Practical Skill Modules:
Knowledge Modules (KM):
Total Credits for Knowledge Modules: 123
Practical Skill Modules (PM):
Total Credits for Practical Skill Modules: 64
Work Experience Modules (WM):
Total Credits for Work Experience Modules: 50
Most countries have qualifications in the Higher Education Band. In addition, churches have seminaries that qualify their ministers to be ordained. Australia seems to be the only country that has registered vocational qualifications for ministry that are not denomination specific. Evangelism, missionary and other outreach organisations offer courses for people that want to pursue a calling in ministry, but these programs are not accredited.
The following equivalent qualification was found for a comparison with the qualification developed:
Australia:
United Kingdom:
Note: All the above qualification information is taken from the SAQA Qualification Document, available at the QCTO website www.qcto.org.za.
24 Months to 30 Months
| Item | Amount (ZAR) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full course fee (upfront) | R22 770 | Pay once; excludes application, enrollment fee and EISA exam fee |
| Monthly plan | R800 × 30 months = R24 000 | Instalments over 30 months. |
| Enrolment fee (once-off) | R1 200 | Payable upon acceptance |
| EISA fee | R2 000 | External Integrated Summative Assessment; payable before EISA. |
| RPL assessment (optional) | Up to R1 500 | Only if applying via Recognition of Prior Learning. |
| Reactivation fee (lapsed student) | R450 | To reopen an inactive student record. |
Please submit the following documents with this Online Application Form:
Note: Per month payment plan is available: R 800 (Excluding printed learning material).
The application fee (R 350) must be paid with the online application. Once a student is accepted in the programme/qualification with the student number, the next step will be to pay the once-off enrolment fee (R 1200) and first month instalment fee as signed in the payment plan with the main application. For those choosing the full payment option, the full course fee is payable upfront. The relevant details will be communicated by the admissions department after an applicant is accepted.
For more information, please contact us at training@wnlacademy.com.