SayPro 101571 Occupational Certificate in Christian Religious Professional

Description

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION
Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Christian Religious
Professional.
A Christian Religious Professional directs and conducts the ministry functions in a faith
community in order to facilitate spiritual formation; nurture fellowship and mutual care
within the faith community; helps members to develop a Christian lifestyle; provides
strategic leadership that leads to obedience to vocation as well as well-being and
sustainability of the faith community; and develops a missional practice that shares the
good news of Jesus Christ and serves the holistic well-being of the entire community.
A qualified learner will be able to:
• Lead the faith community in spiritual formation that nurtures their relationship with
God.
• Develop and nurture fellowship and mutual care within the faith community.
• Facilitate the holistic well-being of people within the faith community by developing
pro-active and reactive (coping) life skills and a Christian value system.
• Provide visional leadership that leads to obedience to vocation, as well as well-being
and sustainability of the faith community.
• Develop a missional practice that shares the good news of Jesus Christ and serves the
holistic well-being of the entire community.
Rationale:
Religious ministers serving churches and Christian groups in Southern Africa come from
two distinct backgrounds. The first is deemed more formal in nature (also referred to as the
so-called historic churches) while the second is seen as less formal and originated from
more recent development processes. This second group includes what is referred to as
Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and the large group of African Initiated Churches
(AICs). Recent estimates indicate that there are around 186,000 pastors (ministers of
religion) in this less formal group, compared to the number of around 9,000 for the historic
churches.
As far as professional formation is concerned, the historic churches have a strong teaching
and training tradition. Training of pastors (ministers of religion) in this relatively small
group of churches was mainly on tertiary level at public universities (faculties of theology)
or denominational seminaries. By contrast, access to formal training is virtually impossible
to the vast majority of pastors in the less formal group. This lack of access is due to several
reasons including geographical and financial reasons, and to most also due to a lack of
appropriate prior learning. The qualifications under discussion are designed to overcome
these challenges.
There are currently no formally recognised qualifications for religious practitioners within
the Christian tradition, apart from the Higher Education qualifications registered through
the different tertiary educational institutions. With the introduction of the new
occupational certificate, society will benefit from the assurance that large numbers of
spiritual leaders who did not have a proper training opportunity in the past, will now have
training available to develop a relevant set of competencies. Two aspects are important in
this regard.
Firstly, there is a growing concern in South Africa about moral degeneration and the loss
of positive values in our communities, with the associated loss of hope, increase in crime
levels, degeneration of our social fibre, etc. As South Africans have been shown to be a
religiously inclined population, and as the people adhering to the Christian faith form the
vast majority in the country (about 80% of the population according to the latest census
information), Christian Ministers of Religion can play a significant role in turning these
negative tendencies around. Well-formed and trained religious leaders in the community
are needed for this to transpire. The new qualifications that aim at providing quality
training with the appropriate content and focus, and that will be accessible to large
numbers of presently untrained ministers of religion will make a huge contribution to the
turning around of negative tendencies.
Secondly, there is a growing concern in our country about religious leaders, including
leaders in the Christian tradition, whose conduct is unprofessional and detrimental to the
community. This can, inter alia, be ascribed to a lack of proper training and inadequate
training standards and professional oversight. Although this problem does occur in all
spheres of the religious community, it is certainly also a serious issue in the informal
church environment. Quality training, linked to the development of professional standards
and a system of professional oversight will go a long way to protect communities against
irresponsible persons who misuse their position as spiritual leaders in the community.
Churches with existing qualifications also support the development of this occupational
qualification. The new qualification is not intended to replace existing Theology
qualifications on tertiary level, but would rather fill a gap in the need for a qualification for
the large number of pastors and other persons who want to function as ministers of
religion, but do not have access to Higher Learning. The qualification would serve in this
need as well by providing access to Higher Qualifications.
The training should be of a nature that will address the competencies required to
effectively direct and conduct ministry functions whilst also making provision for the
various unique theological nuances of the various Christian traditions.
The Occupational Certificate will be accessible to existing spiritual leaders who did not
have the benefit of proper training in the past, and who do not have access to tertiary
training at universities or private training institutions. It will also be accessible to
newcomers to the profession who want to be trained as pastors, but who do not have
access to tertiary training or who prefer to go the occupational training route.
LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR
LEARNING
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and
approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related
curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and
workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result or certifying a
work experience record.
RPL for access to the qualification: Accredited providers and approved workplaces may
recognise prior learning against the relevant access requirements.
Entry Requirements:
• Level 4 with English Communication