Training Leaders for God’s Mission

The Niagara School for Missional Leadership officially launches this fall with a slate of eight courses. 

“The Niagara School for Missional Leadership is the matrix of sharing and learning the best practices and the best theological thinking for building—with God’s leading—the future of the Church,” says Bishop Susan Bell.  

The school’s mission is to be a Gospel-focused learning community that trains effective missional leaders to respond to the needs of God’s world.

“This school is borne of a listening posture: listening for where the Spirit has been trying to lead us,” says Bishop Bell.  “She blows where she will and we have been trying to keep up with her!”

The formal launch of the school comes after more than a year of discernment, planning, and testing, including the piloting of four missionally oriented courses in the winter and spring of this year.

“We’ve built this school together: through broad consultation in the diocese, through our MAP process, through the deeply able representation on the planning team, through the hard work of our diocesan volunteers and staff,” says Bishop Bell. “It has been a joint effort and a labour that, we pray, reflects God’s love.”

Expressing gratitude to the people of the diocese for their ideas and partnership in building the school, the bishop also gives thanks for those whose gifts were offered early on to help turn the dream of a missional school for leadership into a reality: “I am deeply grateful to those who have offered their resources to support this idea. Their generosity has helped to underwrite creativity and innovation into the future.”

The goal of the school is to connect experienced, effective missional practitioners with participants to inspire and equip them to missionally lead vibrant communities of faith. Ten esteemed missional leaders, including Bishop Bell, will lead this fall’s courses, which cover a variety of interests and topics relevant to building up the missional church today.

“I’m excited by the breadth and depth of our instructors’ expertise, and by their excitement in offering the results of their experience with us all,” notes Bishop Bell.

All courses will be offered online, in the hope that people from all parts of the diocese will register for a course without the barrier of having to travel to a central location. 

Registration for courses is now open through the school’s website. Spaces will be reserved for Niagara participants through September 10, after which registration will be opened up to participants from beyond the diocese. Each course will cost $250 and bursaries are available to support participation where cost might be a barrier to registering. 

“We hope that every person who takes one of these courses is as inspired as we have been to see how it will transform them and the culture of our parishes and diocese,” says Bishop Bell. 

Learn more about the school, see the course calendar, or sign up for a course at nsml.ca.