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: 

• Lead the faith community in spiritual formation that nurtures their relationship with God. 
• Develop and nurture fellowship and mutual care within the faith community. 
• Facilitate the holistic well-being of people within the faith community by developing proactive and reactive (coping) life skills and a Christian value system. 
• Provide visional leadership that leads to obedience to vocation, as well as the well-being and sustainability of the faith community. 
• Develop a missional practise that shares the good news of Jesus Christ and serves the holistic well-being of the entire community. 

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.

Curriculum:

This qualification is made up of the following compulsory Knowledge and Practical Skill Modules:

Knowledge Modules (KM):

1. KM-01: Essentials of Religious Practitioners (Level 4, 6 Credits)
2. KM-02: The Bible and Interpretation (Level 5, 30 Credits)
3. KM-03: Basic Christian Concepts (Level 5, 8 Credits)
4. KM-04: Christian Ethics (Level 5, 8 Credits)
5. KM-05: Church History and Christian Traditions (Level 4, 6 Credits)
6. KM-06: Building Faith Communities (Level 5, 8 Credits)
7. KM-07: Principles of Preaching (Level 4, 8 Credits)
8. KM-08: Conducting Services (Level 4, 6 Credits)
9. KM-09: Spiritual Formation and Life Skills (Level 5, 10 Credits)
10. KM-10: Pastoral Counselling Principles (Level 6, 12 Credits)
11. KM-11: Missional Calling of the Church (Level 5, 7 Credits)
12. KM-12: Church Leadership and Ministry Management (Level 5, 8 Credits)
13. .KM-13: Church Administration and Financial Management (Level 4, 6 Credits)

Total Credits for Knowledge Modules: 123

Practical Skill Modules (PM):

1. PM-01: Prepare Sermons for Faith Community Needs (Level 5, 5 Credits)
2. PM-02: Conduct Worship Services (Level 5, 5 Credits)
3. PM-03: Facilitate Spiritual Growth (Level 6, 4 Credits)
4. PM-04: Nurture Fellowship in Faith Communities (Level 5, 4 Credits)
5. PM-05: Provide Care During Crises (Level 6, 6 Credits)
6. PM-06: Promote Christian Values and Virtues (Level 5, 4 Credits)
7. PM-07: Develop Life Skills Through Teaching and Mentoring (Level 6, 5 Credits)
8. PM-08: Provide Visionary Spiritual Leadership (Level 5, 4 Credits)
9. PM-09: Build Congregational Leadership Capacity (Level 5, 4 Credits)
10. PM-10: Facilitate Effective Ministries (Level 4, 4 Credits)
11. PM-11: Promote Stewardship in Faith Communities (Level 4, 4 Credits)
12. PM-12: Mobilize Faith Communities for Outreach (Level 5, 4 Credits)
13. PM-13: Plan and Execute Outreach Programs (Level 5, 3 Credits)
14. PM-14: Initiate Interventions for Community Needs (Level 5, 3 Credits)
15. PM-15: Participate in Inter-Faith Development (Level 5, 3 Credits)
16. PM-16: Plan and Manage Media Use (Level 5, 2 Credits)

Total Credits for Practical Skill Modules: 64

Work Experience Modules (WM):

1. WM-01: Conduct Worship Services to Strengthen Faith (Level 5, 15 Credits)
2. WM-02: Plan Teachings and Ministry Activities (Level 5, 15 Credits)
3. WM-03: Develop Life Skills and Nurture Christian Values (Level 5, 10 Credits)
4. WM-04: Engage Leaders in Visionary and Operational Practices (Level 5, 5 Credits)
5. WM-05: Execute Outreach or Community Development Projects (Level 5, 5 Credits)

Total Credits for Work Experience Modules: 50

International Comparability 

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: 

•  Course accrediting body: The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). 
•  Course Owner: Health and Community Services Workforce Council Inc. 
•  Course Title: 10433NAT Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology.

United Kingdom:

• Course accrediting body: The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). 
• Course Owner: University of London (http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk). Course Title: CertHE in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics.

Note: All the above qualification information is taken from the SAQA Qualification Document, available at the QCTO website www.qcto.org.za. 

Duration of Course

24 Months to 30 Months