Two young “Apprentice Vicars” in the Black Country have progressed through the Church of England selection procedures and will be starting theological college in September ahead of possible ordination as deacons in three years time.

Ordination as a deacon is the first of three stages of ordained ministry in the Church of England and is usually followed by ordination as a priest the following year.

The ministry trainee scheme began at St Luke’s Church in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, six years ago when the Revd Neil Robbie was Curate. It has now been extended to Holy Trinity Church in West Bromwich, where Mr Robbie is now Vicar. Similar ministry trainee schemes take place in other churches within the diocese.

Dubbed “Apprentice Vicars” by locals, a number of young people have completed the one or two year placements and are now going forward for future training.

The first ministry trainee at St Luke’s was Mark Hopkins. Now aged 25, he was appointed as a Children’s Ministry Trainee in September 2006 and worked with children at the church and at St Luke’s Primary School. At the end of his placement he considered working in education and spent another two years working in education before putting himself forward for ordination. He begins a three-year programme of study at Trinity College, Bristol, next month.

The first ministry trainee at Holy Trinity, West Bromwich, Tommy Merry, will shortly complete his placement and will begin his three-year study at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield in September.

In addition to helping people consider ministry in the Church of England the scheme has also proved to be beneficial on an ecumenical and international level: two other trainees at St Luke’s Church have gone on to explore further training in their home churches: the International Central Gospel Church in Ghana and the Church of England in South Africa (a denomination independent of the Anglican Communion).

The Revd Richard Espin-Bradley, Vicar of St Luke’s, said: “One of the benefits is that people have seen the benefits of investing particularly in young people with a longer term view. So it’s not just about what we can get from the ministry trainees as a local church; it’s about what we can give as a church in investing in and developing future Gospel ministers, whether they go into ordained ministry, youth ministry or even every-day secular employment but use the skills and training they’ve benefited from with us in their own churches.”

He added: “It is very important to encourage young people to consider vocations because we need to be training more and more workers for the harvest field; as Jesus said; so as an act of simple obedience to Him we should all be considering what part we can play. And the good thing about the approach we are taking is that it gives people the opportunity to explore it in a safe context; it gives them opportunities to experience new forms of ministry which they have not been able to before and get feedback on that; and it involves the wider church family in confirming that sense of ‘yes – we believe this is a person God is calling into some future full time ministry.’”

The Revd Neil Robbie, Vicar of Holy Trinity, said: “We have benefited as a church from the enthusiasm and commitment that a young person exploring their calling while a ministry trainee brings; and the wider deanery has also benefitted from Tommy going out to preach at other churches during his year with us.

“But this scheme isn’t just help the local church; it also helps the Kingdom of God by helping young people consider their calling at a time when most clergy in the Church of England are aging.”

Mark Hopkins said: “I’ve got enormous benefits from the scheme. When I first came to Wolverhampton I had no experience of public speaking and not much experience working with young people and children although that’s what I felt God was calling me to do. I have been given enormous flexibility in the scheme to explore my calling. Initially that meant I was able to go to Birmingham City Mission and help with their schools’ team; and also go on the Midlands Ministry Training Course and develop in my Bible teaching skills.

Tommy Merry added: “This has been a pretty full-on year and certainly very challenging; not least in the differences in churchmanship between this parish and my Anglo-Catholic background. But it has provided a safe space for me to consider and test a calling to the priesthood.

“If I hadn’t been on this scheme I would probably still have put myself forward for possible selection; but I would have had to fit interviews with the director of ordinands and the bishop around secular work; whereas with this scheme I’ve been living and breathing ‘church’ full time.

“It’s also been helpful to see a different part of the Church. The Church of England has a diverse range of churchmanship and it was good to experience the charismatic evangelical side before I move on now to Mirfield which, as a small theological college based around a monastery, will be a far more disciplined and contemplative feel to what I’ve been used to.”

The Revd Richard Espin-Bradley said other churches should consider adopting the ministry trainee process: “Our average Sunday attendance at our main service is around the 75-mark; so I’ve never seen ourselves as a big church and we struggle for resource so we’ve very dependent on others, including the Diocesan Growth Fund, to enable us to fund the training scheme but we’ve managed it through the generosity of others and the commitment of members of the congregation who, over time, have seen the value of the scheme.

“And some of our volunteers have been able to secure some of their own funding, for example through their home church, so it is doable by small churches and there is something to be said for more small churches doing this because that’s the context most people will find themselves ministering.”

The Revd Neil Robbie agrees, but stresses that churches should approach the scheme with eyes open to the potential pitfalls: “If you take on a youth worker on a five year contract you’ve got four years to recoup the benefits of the initial training; but a ministry trainee on a one-year placement is different.

“As a vicar and as a local church you put a lot of effort and resources into the initial training but you don’t have a long period of service to re-coup that. But It’s not about benefiting just the local church but resourcing the wider Church.”

A candidate’s selection for training by the church does not guarantee his or her eventual ordination. At the end of the three years the candidates will need to secure a placement as a curate – the next stage of training for ministry in the Church which usually includes ordination as a Deacon and then a Priest.

• Holy Trinity West Bromwich has appointed a new Ministry Trainee. Simon Skidmore, aged 21 and from Wolverhampton, will begin his placement in September.