Claire is one of our staff members who has come up through the Reign Ministries ranks. From being a Reign youth, to doing the gap year and degree, and then finally becoming a valued part of the staff team, she is truely imbedded in our family!
Back in September 2021 I caught up with Claire to talk about her experience of doing the degree. In particular I wanted to see how the course had helped her develop skills and confidence in leadership.
“I had already done a gap year with Reign but I really didn’t think that the degree was for me. I found writing difficult and hated doing essays. Then I felt God calling me to go in that direction. Looking back, I can see the change in myself from the beginning of the gap year to the end of the degree.
I found that my classes not only gave me a deeper theological understanding, but I also came away with practical skills to use when discipling young people.
The training was relevant, and I felt able to share what I’d learnt with the girls in my discipleship group. Which, in turn, left them wanting to know more. Since then, two of those young people have begun their own journey with Reign Ministries.
One of the best things about being in the Reign family is that there is space for you to come as you are. Each student is cared for holistically, being formed by the community, peers, tutors and other staff. We have a foundational value of being completely for one another.
When a whole community of people get together, surround you, and are completely for you – however you come – it gives you the space and freedom to grow into the person who God has made you to be. I was becoming more secure in myself.
I’m still growing in a lot of the skills that Reign has given me. I hated having to do presentations, but in hindsight, practicing these in class provided a safe place to learn this key skill. And now I’ve even been able to hold assemblies in front of an entire school.
The degree gave me the knowledge and practical tools to minister to young people in my area. But even more than that, Reign was concerned with who I was, God’s calling on my life, and who I was becoming, in Him. It has given me a degree, but has also shaped the woman I have become, and continues to shape who I am becoming.”
Reign Ministries has a vision to impact churches across the UK by training up a generation of disciple-making youth ministers. This goes beyond students graduating with a degree. Our students emerge from the programme equipped to lead, disciple and build relationships. Our aim is that at the end of their three years with us they are more connected to God, and His plans for them, than the day they started. Claire’s story of feeling unprepared and unsure of her abilities is common for many new students. We celebrate when they can look back and see the impact Reign Ministries has had on them through this journey.
Maybe you could be the next ‘Claire’ to join our degree next September? To come along to one of our information sessions or open days, or do request a prospectus, click the links below!
Categories: Testimony, Youth Ministry Degree Course
Updated: 28 Mar 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Hi everyone! I am Jamie Gurling and I started studying at Reign this year. I am 19 and from Glasgow in Scotland. I left high school in 2022 and I thought the next step was obvious, to go straight into further education, just the same as everyone else. So, I followed the norm, moved city […]
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Updated: 18 May 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
As a ministry we have been reviewing how we deliver the degree progamme in a way that fits both our vision and DNA, whilst still providing quality training for the next generation of disciple-making leaders. From September 2023 we implemented some changes and we are excited to see how God is going to lead us […]
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Updated: 26 Apr 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
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Updated: 29 Mar 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Is Bigger Better? The bigger your youth group, the better, right? We get a special energy from the buzz of a crowd. We believe that when we’re connected to more people we’re able to have more impact. But is this really the case in youth ministry? Most of us have the feeling that this approach […]
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Updated: 22 Feb 2023 | Posted by: kmckinnon
If you were to attend one of our Expand Training Experiences you will hear our team talk about discipleship. That’s because it is the foundational to who Reign Ministries is. During our Expand: Online training you will learn the tools to help you be effective in your discipleship of young people. Watch the video below […]
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Updated: 8 Feb 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Where Is God Calling Me? I have a calling to youth ministry. But 30 years ago – I had no idea! I remember sitting in a marquee at a Christian music festival as a teenager, listening to a speaker talking about ‘Hearing God’s Call’. This was something I was wrestling with, so I figured that […]
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Updated: 8 Apr 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Exciting news! Reign Ministries is excited to announce we have a new college we are linking with for an undergraduate degree! Moorlands College will be the new home for our degree students from September. For over 20 years, Reign Ministries has played a key role in the development of a youth pathway for an undergraduate […]
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Updated: 24 Mar 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Learning from those that have gone before you. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” writes the wise King Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He saw that life can sometimes resemble a treadmill, where history simply repeats itself and continues in a loop. […]
Read moreUpdated: 16 Dec 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
After a few years of considering this move, the trustees and leadership have decided the time is right to try and sell the building we affectionately know as “the moto” (in it’s former life it was a motorcycle sales and repair shop). This building has served the charity well over many years, as a base […]
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