Discipleship year

Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.’ – Exodus 33:15

If you're 18–25 years old, we'd love to invite you to journey here at Saint Paul’s Hammersmith with a small community of young adults who are hungry to encounter God and grow as disciples of Jesus. You will spend a year going deeper in your faith through biblical teaching, character development, ministry experience, mentoring and growing a greater hunger for His presence through our weekly rhythms of prayer and worship. Our aim is that it will be a year in which you come alive and one that sets you on fire to follow Jesus for the rest of your life!

We offer two streams: part-time & full-time.

  • The Discipleship Year is made up of 5 core elements:

    1.     Presence – Everything we do at Saint Paul’s Hammersmith is marked by a hunger to live lives full of the presence of God. Monday evenings we are at The Worship Room, which is a weekly gathering that makes space for extended worship and devotion to Jesus.

    2.    Teaching – Wednesday Evenings we gather for teaching on the Bible, discipleship, identity, revival history, spiritual formation, leadership and much more! Our hope is to equip you in your understanding of the Bible and of a Christian worldview in order give you greater confidence in your walk with God. We have two weekend retreats, in which we take time away to go deeper in your relationship with God and with each other - they are always highlights of the year!

    3.    Servant Leadership – You will join one of our amazing teams serving on a Sunday at either the 10:30am or 5pm service. These teams include Youth, Kids, Connect, Production, Worship or Home Team. (There are also several midweek serving opportunities that could also be explored in your interview.)

    4.    Mentoring – You will be placed with a mentor from the team at Saint Paul’s Hammersmith who will journey with you throughout the year, helping you to reflect, learn and grow in both the practical and spiritual aspects of life. You will also be placed in a DY Small Group which will be a feature of our Wednesday Evenings – making space to gather with a small group of peers and a leader to journey deeper with God and each other.

    5.    Assignments – As part of processing and reflecting on the Wednesday night teaching, there will be monthly assignments including book reviews, presentations & follow-up homework.

  • We have sought to create a Discipleship Year stream that can fit alongside a busy job or student life. It runs two nights of the week; involves serving fortnightly at a Sunday service and attending termly DY Weekend Retreats and Socials.

    DY Part-Time Weekly Rhythm

    Monday – The Worship Room (7:30-9pm)

    Wednesday – DY Teaching Nights incl. Dinner (6-9:15pm)

    Sunday (fortnightly): Serving at one of our Sunday services (10:30am or 5pm)

  • We also run a 3 day a week Apprenticeship stream for those who would like a more intensive year gaining ministry experience, that can also work alongside a part-time job. This involves joining a ministry area and apprenticing alongside one of our staff team (placement lead), gaining invaluable ministry experience, training and serving alongside the Staff team here at Saint Paul’s Hammersmith.

    Placement options:

    ·        Worship

    ·        Youth

    ·        Kids

    ·        The Fold & Young Adults

    ·        Alpha & Evangelism

    ·        City Transformation

    ·        Discipleship

    ·        Operations & Events

    ·        Sports Ministry

    ·        The Way UK

    We highly recommend finding a part-time job alongside to help support yourself throughout the year, or you can be based full-time with extended time spent in your placement area.

    We have limited placements and applications include an additional interview process with the placement lead.

    DY Full-Time Weekly Rhythm

    Monday – The Worship Room (7:30-9pm)

    Tuesday – Staff meeting, DY Family time incl. lunch and placement related meetings (9:30am – 5:30pm)

    Wednesday – DY Teaching Nights incl. Dinner (6-9:15pm)

    Sunday (weekly) –  Serving at one of our Sunday services (10:30am or 5pm)

    + 8 hours elsewhere in the week depending on your placement area

     

  • September 2025 – July 2026 including:

    -       3 x 12-week terms

    -       2 x Weekend Retreats

    -       1 x Church Weekend

  • For Full-Time DY students accepted onto the stream, we aim to help to arrange accommodation with families from Saint Paul’s at a reduced rate for those who apply and are accepted onto the programme.

    Part-Time DY students will have to organise their own accommodation, but we can add you to our Saint Paul’s ‘Spare Room’ WhatsApp group to help in your search.

  • Full-time: £1,500

    Part-time: £900

    A termly payment plan is available, and a limited number of bursaries.

    The course fees cover the Wednesday dinners, teaching, retreats, socials, books and materials.

  • Applications are made by the online form, and we will require references from your Church. One of the team will be in touch with you to arrange an interview within 2 weeks of your application. There are limited places available and not all applications will be successful. We will notify you within 2 weeks of your interview and references with the result of your application.

    The Full-time DY application process is slightly longer, including an additional interview with the potential placement lead.

    ·        Applications for the Full-time DY will close on 31st July 2025. APPLY NOW

    ·        Applications for the Part-time DY will close on 31st August 2025. APPLY NOW

  • Email Ben

Meet the Team

Rachael Wooldridge
Curate
rachael.wooldridge@sph.org

Ben Graves
Ordinand
ben.graves@sph.org