Paul and Esther Ede
“Esther and I chose to join Invest because it was the only course like it available in Scotland. Other courses touch on the theological perspective and discipleship but don’t combine both in an easy to access format, for people looking to explore a possible call to church planting. I turned Invest into a placement for one of my years of study at ICC.

Invest fills a much needed gap in the Scottish scene. It is pioneering a format that will become essential in the future as the church is forced to come to terms with the challenging missional context that Scotland has already become. For those called to lead the next generation of ministries it is great to get alongside experienced practitioners in an environment of encouragement.

The content is diverse and challenging. The practical focus is very helpful, but well-balanced by times of reflection and discussion. The teachin g is very good, with input from Peter Neilson and other church plant practitioners really hitting home. The pastoral care we received was excellent and the hospitality impeccable. It gave us both the increased confidence we needed to actually put ourselves forward as team leaders in a pioneer church-planting context. We would highly recommend the course to anyone considering a call to planting churches in Scotland today.”

James Renwick
“My year with Invest was very beneficial learning more both about the theory of church planting and, more importantly, what issues need to be thought through when beginning to bring to reality what is on your heart. The course gave opportunity to talk and discuss many different aspects of church life.

But what I found most encouraging was the mentoring. Meeting regularly with members of the team helped me in terms of asking my own questions and listening to any wisdom they had. They were very positive, encouraging me to pursue what God has called me to.

As a result I have taken over leading a team in Whiteinch which is establishing “Encounter”, a youth congregation, and lessons that I learnt through Invest have proved their worth. It is scary, as this means that I am actually doing this church planting thing now, it’s not just talk, it’s a reality!

Shona Kerr
I came on the Invest course with a sense that God may be calling me to be involved in Church Planting. I was keen to learn everything that God teaches us about Church Planting and to learn from folks who were doing it. I was also aware of the personal growth that would be needed in my own life to serve God in this way.

The teaching was biblical and relevant from practitioners and those who have studied Church Planting thoroughly. In terms of personal growth there was a structured programme to work through and reflect on as well as time provided to allow God to speak and do the transforming work that only He can.

I am now part of a church planting team based in Possilpark, Glasgow where we are learning how to be Church in the community by sharing God's love and truth. I am so thankful to God for the opportunity to do the course and know that it has equipped me to be more effective in service. I would highly recommend this excellent and unique course.

Alex and Sally Smeed
Without the Invest course we would not be able to do what we are doing. This is the reality of our experience of Invest. Its combination of quality training, mentoring and community are the distinct virtues the Invest Course offers.

Sally and I are currently the Team Leaders for ‘experiments’, a project aimed at fostering a unique and culturally relevant form of Christian community in an area called Glasgow Harbour. Being a collection of chic, individualised apartments in the West End of Glasgow, the area was identified by the Church of Scotland as needing a specific style of ministry. Sally and I were chosen as the Team Leaders for this emerging ministry and we quickly recognised that the training we’d received was inadequate for this new initiative. Invest was the training we needed.

Invest's strengths are its use of practitioners in both the mentoring and teaching elements of the course. The depth of their knowledge and experience was key as we learnt from their successes and failures. We were given tools to help us read our communities, ideas to engage with the never-churched, insights into building teams, resources in self-understanding and inspiration to dream the big dreams of God’s Kingdom.

The outcome of having completed the Invest course is that we now have the confidence to go out and plant an expression of Christian community in Glasgow Harbour.