Life as a Ridley Lay Ministry student
September 2021
Mirin Niekirk, who graduated this summer, talks about life as a Ridley Lay Ministry (RLM) student.
Mirin studied for her BA in Theology, Ministry and Mission through our six teaching weeks a year in Cambridge, and applied the learning in her ministry placement as a primary school chaplain.
“Ridley Hall provides the opportunities and the structure to grow in yourself and in your faith in a spiritually healthy way, with support, encouragement . . . and a whole lot of Jesus along the way.”
Q: What did you do in your children’s ministry role?
I was a student chaplain in two primary schools with children aged 4–11 years old, where I reached 630 students and 120 staff each week. I provided pastoral care for staff and students through one-to-ones, coaching and mentoring, and encouraged school communities to explore faith and spirituality through activities such as responding to big questions, reflective spaces, and assemblies. I was being a positive Christian presence to whole school communities.
Q: How did studying at Ridley change your ministry?
Ridley Lay Ministry teaching encouraged me to reflect theologically on the work that I do, to explore my faith in depth and develop a wider understanding of the impact of children’s ministry. I developed as a leader through having opportunities to explore what I’m capable of, setting goals of what I would like to achieve, and being able to find my passions through the work that God has called me to do.
Q: What have been the challenges?
I have learnt a lot about myself, my faith, children’s ministry, and I’ve grown in confidence, all in the company of supportive and encouraging people in the Ridley community. This has sometimes been difficult to do as these are pretty life and faith-shaking things to experience, but having the safety of the Ridley community to grow in this way has been such a great experience.
Q: If someone reading this is considering the Ridley Lay Ministry programme, what advice would you give?
There are many highlights and challenges that come out of studying lay ministry, because it’s a time when you are going to grow in yourself and in your faith — and Ridley Hall provides the opportunities and the structure to do this in a spiritually healthy way with support, encouragement, and a whole lot of Jesus along the way.
Book into one of our upcoming Tuesday evening RLM open days:
- 23rd November 2021
- 11th January 2022
- 8th March 2022
- 26th April 2022
- 14th June 2022
