Section outline

  • Foundation

    Readiness, Discipline, and Identity

    February 2027 | Approximately 40 hours | 4 units

    What this module is about

    This module prepares you for the seriousness and sustained discipline of a 440-hour formation pathway. It establishes the formation rhythm, builds the cohort community, introduces you to ecclesial accountability, and begins shaping the attitudes and habits that will carry you through eleven months of study alongside work, family, and existing commitments.

    This is not a gentle introduction; it is an honest beginning. You are expected to confront your own capacity, motivations, weaknesses, and readiness for serious formation. If you cannot sustain the discipline of Module 01, you are unlikely to be ready for ordination. It is better to discover that now than two years into ministry.

    Units 1.1, 1.2, and 1.4 are for all learners. Unit 1.3 is jurisdiction-specific and clearly marked. Learners of the sponsoring jurisdiction complete the Unit 1.3 Book and pass its quiz with at least 80%. External learners studying through a partner body or their own jurisdiction upload proof of equivalent governance training through the Unit 1.3 external-evidence assignment. The Course Director must review the evidence and award a passing grade before you may proceed; submitting a file alone does not unlock Unit 1.4. Once the applicable route is passed, you join the full cohort for Unit 1.4.

    What you will learn

    • Explain what the LDM is, what it requires, and what it does not guarantee.
    • Describe diaconal formation as service, not status.
    • Identify the attitude, self-discipline, teachability, and relational maturity required for 440 hours of intensive formation.
    • Plan your time concretely and honestly for eleven months of sustained study.
    • Explain the weekly and monthly rhythm of the programme, including the December–January recess.
    • Describe the ecclesial authority under which you are being formed and the responsibilities that this creates.
    • Explain the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer as formation anchors.
    • Explain inclusion as a sacramental conviction, not merely a social policy.
    • Begin your formation portfolio and identify the role of your formation mentor.
    • Begin praying the Daily Office as the primary prayer rhythm of an ordained minister.

    Units in this module

    • Introduction to Module 01: read this page before opening any unit.
    • Unit 1.1 – Entering Formation: expectations, rhythm, commitment, StepBible, the Formation Covenant, and your Formation Readiness Plan.
    • Unit 1.2 – Attitude, Teachability, and Self-Leadership: humility, self-discipline, emotional maturity, relational integrity, perseverance, and servant character.
    • Unit 1.3 – Jurisdictional Identity, Polity, and Governance: sponsoring-jurisdiction governance or an external learner’s equivalent jurisdictional engagement.
    • Unit 1.4 – Creed, Prayer, Inclusion, and the Cohort Begins: the Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer, inclusion, vocation reflection, and the first cohort call.

    A word before you begin

    Formation is not passive. You will not absorb it by reading. It requires you to engage honestly with the material, write carefully, sit with genuinely difficult questions, and allow what you study to change the assumptions you brought with you.

    Ten hours of study each week is a floor, not a ceiling. The discipline of showing up consistently — not brilliantly, not dramatically, but consistently — is itself part of what is being formed.

    Open Unit 1.1 and begin.

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