I'm responding to this as (probably) the slowest online student of all.  I have a full time job as a lawyer in the City of London, and am also a deacon and the treasurer at our church (Chatsworth Baptist Church in West Norwood).  I was encouraged by the then minister, Peter Stevenson, to start this course as a way of equipping me better to preach in church (which I do from time to time).  I started in 2001 and am about 75% of the way through level 2 at present.  I very much enjoy the reading and writing essays (though not the learning journals) and I don't mind whether or not I eventually end up with more letters after my name.  I'm not at all sure where God is leading me with all this - I just know I have to carry on (perhaps this is a little like the story of Abraham which I have just been studying in the course of the "Pentateuch" module).  I think this is a great way of learning and I would encourage anyone with more than a passing interest in theology to try it.

Posted on behalf of Kath Miller

I enrolled with Spurgeons following encouragement from the Pastor of the chapel I was a member of at the time. I believed I had a calling to pastoral ministry and was serving in this capacity in the church as an associate pastor. I was responsible for the preaching when the minister was away and led Bible study once a month. I was also preaching in another local chapel (that did not have a permanent minister) on a rota basis.

Studying with Spurgeons has been an invaluable source of knowledge, information, advice, encouragement and spiritual growth. Learning the skills of theological reflection has both challenged me and helped me to approach certain issues with more confidence than I ever could have done before.

My husband and I have now planted a chapel in a village in the South Wales valleys. It is an area with high unemployment, child poverty and antisocial behaviour. We have successfully engaged with the youth of the area and have been able to establish a youth service once per week in which they can explore issues and questions regarding the Christian faith through music, poetry, debate, multimedia presentations and so on. It is a service that is held in a relaxed and informal way, with food, drink and chat opening and closing proceedings.

We have also built links with the local community, joining their Community Partnership forum and ensuring that we work with them towards meeting the priorities and needs identified by local people.

I would encourage anyone considering a course of study to enrol with Spurgeons. The books, articles and modules that I have read since starting this course has helped to shape our approach to mission and to give us the structure to our thinking which has enabled us to have the confidence to try a new approach to being church in this community.