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The Diocesan Vocation and Formation team is delighted to announce it has secured £75,506 in grant funding from the Church of England’s Resourcing Ministerial Formation Innovation Fund. This investment will drive a bold revision of the Diocese’s lay ministry formation and training over the next three years.
The funding, part of the national Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) programme, will enable the creation of flexible, accessible learning pathways and the training of up to 24 academic mentors to support students. The refreshed Lay Ministry Course works intentionally to remove traditional barriers to learning by blending online and face-to-face teaching, reducing travel and allowing students to spend more time developing their areas of interest.
Preparatory work is already bearing fruit with 20 students enrolled for the new gateway course, Introduction to Theology, launching in January 2026, and further cohorts planned for 2027 and 2028. This course offers a gentle introduction to theology alongside spiritual formation, guiding students through discernment that may lead to authorised lay ministry, ordination pathways, or a certificate of completion.
Haydon Spenceley, Director of Vocation and Formation commented ‘I am delighted that the work that David Morton has done over the last year has led to this grant and my thanks go to Robin Bardon and Alison Lewis from Westminster College (Cambridge Theological Federation) for their partnership in developing our Academic Mentors training. It is a recognition from those stewarding the Church of England's Resourcing Ministerial Formation Innovation Fund that the work we are doing to train lay people for ministry of all kinds is growing well and has significant potential for further development.’
‘We look forward to welcoming students from across the Diocese in the coming years and seeing what God will nurture and release amongst us in the time ahead.’
Full details are available at peterborough-diocese.org.uk/layministry-whats-next.