1 Year Equip Course

The closing date for applications has now been extended to Tuesday 20th June 2023.

The 1 Year EQUIP course is an immersive and stimulating way to go deeper in apologetics and evangelism. It is an in-person part-time course at OCCA that allows you to serve, work, or study as you grow in apologetics knowledge, skills, and experience.

The course, running from September until June, is aimed at people who:

• Sense a desire to be more involved in evangelism and apologetics
• Are looking to be better equipped to share their faith and answer questions
• Are interested in learning apologetics in-person and with high interactivity
• Keen to explore and discern their own gifts and skills
• Want to commit to some time to study
• Able to travel to Oxford for one day a week

The 1 Year EQUIP Course takes place at the OCCA in Summertown, Oxford and runs one day per week (Tuesdays) over three academic terms, starting in September 2023. The two, 3 day intensives are in Oxford.

The course welcomes Christians with diverse life experiences and values practical knowledge. While formal qualifications are not required, it is recommended that participants have a level of experience equivalent to an A-Level (High School graduate) or prior knowledge in apologetics, religious studies, theology, or philosophy. This guidepost helps clarify the expected difficulty level and ensures a rewarding learning experience. During the informal interview process, we provide further guidance to applicants, helping them determine if the One Year program is suitable or if an alternative apologetics course would be a better starting point.

Teaching is delivered by experienced evangelists, academics, and thinkers who are actively involved in the fields of evangelism, public theology, and apologetics. Sessions include lectures, seminars and fellowship time, as well as practical elements such as preaching practice, live Q&A, and discussion.

Curriculum

The CORE curriculum is structured around five key streams:

1. Bible (Theology & Historical Jesus)
   The BIBLE stream prepares you to deal with questions about theology, the bible and the historical Jesus, such as: ‘Are the gospels reliable? Has the text changed? What can be known about Jesus?’ You’ll do a deep dive into theological topics that can be crucial in apologetics such as the Trinity, Revelation, Creation, Incarnation, Atonement and Sanctification, as well as courses in Biblical Theology. These combine to form both a foundation and framework for answering questions and for gospel outreach.
2. Lenses (Philosophical thinking)
   The LENSES stream deals with Logic & Critical Thinking, the Concept of Worldview and Epistemology. Through ‘steeling up’ lectures, you will learn how to engage with strong viewpoints on Monism, Naturalism, Hinduism, Buddhism, ‘Spiritual not Religious’ and Agnosticism. LENSES is an introductory course in how to think carefully and logically about the world using the tools of philosophy.
3. Issues (Challenging Topics)
   The ISSUES stream tackles common objections or contentious topics, including: Science & Religion, Miracles, Race, Suffering & Natural disasters, Divine Hiddenness, Sexuality, Gender & Identity, Environmentalism, Artificial Intelligence & Transhumanism, Power & Abuse.
4. Skills (Preaching & Q&A)
   Conversational outreach, answering questions and sharing the message of the gospel in a way that connects, is what this course is all about. The supportive and encouraging SKILLS track equips you in multiple ways to effectively serve in Christian outreach. In supportive small workshops, you will get to grips with the basics of preparing, structuring and delivering different kinds of outreach talks. In the 1 Year EQUIP Course, we don’t presume that everyone is a public speaker. Creativity and clarity in communications is the goal.
5. Heart (Character Formation)
   In this track, spiritual life, prayer and the formation of individual Christian faith are nurtured and encouraged through spiritual disciplines, meeting with a local mentor, collective worship, group devotions, and learning in community. This is a stimulating and refreshing aspect of the 1 Year EQUIP course which is often a highlight for those studying at OCCA.

Format

Tuesdays for one academic year, starting Sept 2023

Provisional term dates

Cost

The fee for the full course is £2700. This includes:

• Most course materials are provided as PDFs
• Access to the OCCA library and wifi network
• Teas and coffees
• Accommodation and meals for the two 3-night intensives

The course fee excludes:

• Lunches (you will need to bring a packed lunch or purchase food from nearby shops during the lunch break),
• Optional suppers out
• Travel costs (including travel to the intensives)
• Your own books (roughly £100 for the year)
• Additional costs for printing

Payment options are available, including monthly instalments or pay per term.

Limited, partial bursaries may be granted. Please indicate on your application form if you would like to apply for this. We will send you a separate bursary application form to complete.
If you relocate to Oxford from abroad to do the 1 Year EQUIP Course (or to work alongside the course) you will need to arrange the correct visas to permit you to do this.

How is the course assessed?

The course grade is a combination of the scores from:

• 50% of the grade is based on a combined grade from 3×2,000 word essays. (2x on LENSES, 1x on BIBLE)
• 50% of the grade is based on graded skills tasks, such as preaching tasks, or creative communication tasks.

The course is non-accredited, but certificates will be awarded for successful completion.

How does discipleship/spiritual formation work on the course?

Formation on the 1 Year ONLINE Course and the 1 Year EQUIP Course have similar elements:

• Devotional and formation teaching
• Local mentoring
• Fellowship groups (2 per term)

Local Mentoring

As part of the spiritual formation work on the course, you will choose a mentor in your local context. If you are unable to identify anyone, this requirement could be fulfilled by meeting with someone online or a local small group. We run a free (online) training session for you to share with small groups/mentors and provide a curriculum and workbook with questions for you to discuss when you meet.

How to apply

Click the ‘Sign Up’ button to fill out the application form. In case of any issues please email admin@theocca.org.