Community Bible Church is partnering with BILD International Ministries and their Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development.

The Antioch School is church-based theological education that provides accredited academic credentials for ministry.

Steve Kemp, Academic Dean of Antioch, writes, “The Antioch School is ‘a school without the schooling paradigm.’ I like that the word ‘Antioch’ comes first in our name because the endeavor is firmly rooted in the Antioch tradition of church-based theological education and the spontaneous expansion of the gospel. Yet, academic degrees are an important form of cultural currency in most of the world. The Antioch School maintains high standards of achievement represented by academic credentials but is a totally different way to approach ministry training. It is not just another nontraditional version of formal theological education institutions. The central context of student development in Antioch School programs is the work of the Holy Spirit in local churches, church networks, and church-planting movements. Learning occurs in-service and in the context of genuine communities of faith with wise leaders. The quality of degrees is assured by rigorous competency assessment. We recognize academic credentials for what they are but not as a replacement for church credentials, which may include academic credentials as a

subset. It is an incredible privilege to lead such a strategic instrument as the Antioch School in the efforts of BILD International and its partners to accelerate church-planting movements worldwide by training leaders in ‘the way of Christ and His Apostles.’”

For CBC, the Antioch School provides an excellent tool for leadership development since every class we offer is available to every member of CBC (or non-members) without charge. Whether you want to pursue a formal degree or not, you are invited and encouraged to participate in this training which is designed to develop leaders for the kingdom of God. We don’t want to be a seminary, but we do want to follow the Biblical instruction of 2 Timothy 2:2: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

For more information about the new partnership between Community Bible Church of Lawrence and the Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development and how you can participate, please contact CBC’s pastor, Shaun LePage. You can also browse the Antioch website.