Formation for Mission in Urban Britain: The Birmingham Mission Apprentice Scheme

The Birmingham Mission Apprentice Scheme is an innovative initiative of Church of England Birmingham, designed to offer an alternative pathway into missional leadership within challenging urban parishes. Mission Apprentices learn by growing an area of mission within their own parish context and also by meeting together for a fortnightly learning programme. This article evaluates the experience of the Scheme in relation to three areas of educational research: first, what constitutes effective formation for missional leadership; second, the nature of contemporary “apprenticeships”; and third, the nature and function of “communities of practice”. In each case, the article explores the extent to which the Birmingham Mission Apprentice Scheme reflects current thinking, but also considers in what ways these three bodies of research suggest possible improvements to the Scheme. In so doing, it highlights some of the critical success factors in what was achieved — including the value of forming Mission Apprentices into a learning community, and the critical importance of learning through responsibility and experimentation. The experience of the Scheme also raises questions about processes for training and deployment of leaders for highly urbanised parishes.