BUILD is not simply an idealistic training initiative with a philosophy. The initiative is expressed locally as a training programme of the Church, whether at the level of the parish or diocese or region or province (or the non-Anglican equivalents of those levels). This means BUILD can be hosted locally as a programme of a church department and/or at a training institution.
The BUILD programme structure
Any educational programme has a number of different components that, together, deliver the training. For example, human resources, educational materials, training patterns etc. But, uniquely, every BUILD programme has a four-fold structure that provides the framework and setting for these components. Each training programme has a force behind it, a foundation for it, a focus to it, and the fruit of it. Or, in longer-hand as follows:
1. The force behind a BUILD programme
Programme coordination and curriculum
Every BUILD programme needs to be driven by a team of coordinators who can see the big picture and help guide the training.
This element is like the sun and rain that feed and water a tree, it nurtures and nourishes the whole programme.
2. The foundation of a BUILD programme
The formal training-of-trainers
The formal training-of-trainers is the foundation of every programme. Ideally this is done through our block-release style diploma course. But it can be done through training workshops or even by explaining the system to competent and well qualified leaders. The course strengthens trainee-trainers in their own theology and practice, and equips them to pass on the training at the non-formal level.
This component is like the roots of a tree, it provides a strong base for the whole programme.
3. The focus of a BUILD programme
The non-formal, group-based training of local church leaders
The focus of the training is the non-formal equipping of grassroots pastors in local BUILD groups by the trained trainers. These groups of lay readers, evangelists, catechists, Sunday school teachers and others are trained using the BUILD course and they encourage one another in their ministry.
This part is like the trunk of a tree, it is the centre-piece and strength of the whole programme.
4. The fruit of a BUILD programme
The informal learning in churches and other outcomes
The fruit of the work is the informal learning and discipleship that goes on in churches, together with the improved leadership, preaching, care and outreach.
This final part is like the fruit of a tree, a visible display of the impact and outcomes of the programme.
The thinking behind it
This unique four-fold structure is not only central to the way a BUILD programme functions, it also means that the work is scalable and can be replicated in different contexts. The structure reflects our philosophy in a range of ways, for example in its focus on in-service learning and the escalation of that training through it. You will no doubt notice other echoes.
You might also notice another key feature, the way in which the structure is based on and connects with three different types of educational culture. Formal, non-formal and informal types of education lie behind three components of a BUILD programme. That is then driven by a fourth element, the coordination and curriculation that is needed for a healthy programme, which sits at the top of the structure.
The links within the programme structure
Why is it pictured at the top as a driver rather than underneath, undergirding it? It can be and is seen in both ways at times and in different BUILD materials. But that is the preferred arrangement, not least because it reflects the implicit links within the structure and how they serve the programme, particularly in the two ways mentioned above: in making BUILD both scalable and replicable. Those links feed both upwards and downwards within it, from bottom to top and from top to bottom. Learners can emerge and work up through the system, and beyond it, and learning and experience can be passed back down.
In Module One Unit 1 the programme structure is given in more detail, with the links from bottom to top and from top to bottom described rather than drawn. That can be viewed as this Sample Unit.
In that unit, a BUILD programme is also pictured as a tree: “A healthy tree, with deep roots, a strong trunk and shady branches full of fruit is a good way of thinking about the BUILD programme and its structure.”
The trainers’ notes that go with that unit not only explain the picture, but will provide an example of trainers’ guidelines:
“Explain the picture in the manual or, better, draw it on a flip-chart or blackboard. Begin by drawing a line a third of the way up to represent the ground level. You can talk about the need for good soil, for churches and leaders who recognise the need for local church leadership development and who will welcome and encourage the programme. That welcome needs to be from top to bottom (the overall leadership of the church) and from bottom to top (those at the grassroots who understand the need for training).
“Next, draw the sun, the clouds and the rain at the top of the sheet or board. Explain that without water and light nothing will grow, and that coordination and curriculum development feeds and nourishes the growth of the programme.
“Now draw in some strong roots below the soil, and label them to show that the foundation of the programme is the formal Training of Trainers. Talk about how these roots are vital for supporting and strengthening the programme. The roots are unseen, this training is not the main focus of BUILD, but without them local leaders cannot be reached so that the Church can be built up. There are great benefits to this formal training, but they are just that: additional benefits.
“Then draw a strong trunk of the tree and explain that the central focus of the programme, its strength and main goal, is the non-formal training of Participants who are the more mature Christians, Lay Workers and others who lead, care for and teach those in local churches: this solid training is what builds the Church and expands the work of BUILD.
“Finally, put on the branches and leaves with fruit and tell them that the informal training and other impacts, such as better pastoral care and evangelism and community transformation, is the fruit of the programme.”
Developing BUILD programmes
One benefit of the four-fold structure is the guidance it provides for developing new BUILD programmes with key stakeholders who will be involved in various ways. In the Trainers’ area there is a ‘BUILD programme planning and implementation guide’ in the ‘Key documents’ folder. That six page guide and tool has been developed and honed in practice and begins with this introduction and outline of the five steps it follows:
This guide is designed to help you develop a new BUILD training programme. The sheets are based on the fact that every BUILD programme has four areas of activity and impact. This fourfold structure can then be used to guide the planning and implementation process. With those four areas in mind it is helpful to go through these five steps:
Step 1.
Picture BUILD’s four main areas of activity and impact
Step 2.
Understand BUILD’s four main areas of activity and impact
Step 3.
Know the links in the BUILD programme
Step 4.
Plan BUILD’s four main areas in practice
Step 5.
Gather the information
Those steps and that ‘BUILD programme planning and implementation guide’ are not only used when planning new BUILD initiatives with the key stakeholders, they are incorporated into the guidelines for one of the practical or applied papers of the BUILD formal training-of-trainers, described after the introduction to the main BUILD course below. But before that, a note on the educational typology mentioned.
Developing BUILD programmes
The educationlal typology of formal, non-formal, and informal training in the BUILD programme structure is deiberate.
‘Formal’ learning is a form that is done from an institutional base and connects with the recognised patterns and pathways of national education. The BUILD training-of-trainers can be done in the form of a recognised diploma, which not only serves the quality of the training itself and the recognition of the trainers, but also provides, secondarily, a step into or within more formal theological education. That in turn can contribute to the learners’ education and/or preparation for ministry. But that is a foundation for rather than the focus of BUILD’s work.
‘Non-formal’ learning tends to be organised and deliberate, and is more driven by motivated learners than by an institution. BUILD local leadership learning groups reflect just that. They do not connect with national educational patterns – in other words while they can provide a basis for later academic theological study, they are non-academic in nature leading at most to local recognition.
‘Informal’ learning is just that: more relational learning at the local level, together with the various outcomes associated with that.
