If you want to do faith-based study without going to college, Regents LIFE could be your answer. And with several new courses planned for 2024 it’s a great time to check it out. Joel Turton gave Chris Rolfe a sneak peek.
Have you ever wanted to study elements of your faith in more depth but without the commitment of a college course or undergraduate degree? Turns out lots of people do, and that sparked the launch of Regents LIFE late last year.
Regents LIFE, explains teaching and research assistant Joel Turton, offers a selection of bite-sized online faith-based courses designed to be accessible to all.
“We had the idea towards the end of the last academic year,” he says.
“We wanted to do something different and new in addition to the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and the Ministry Foundation Certificate which we already offer at Regents.”
Regents LIFE provides introductory-level courses to different aspects of faith that people can self-facilitate.
“It’s quite different to doing a degree, and very laid-back. You can access the sessions online as and when you please and each video is around 20 minutes long, with interactive elements and opportunities to reflect,” Joel explains.
Each course is taught by a member of the Regents team, he adds, with content centred around specific topics.
Currently, the line-up features seven courses: Being Pentecostal; Helping People Effectively; Learning from Experience; Autism and Discipleship; The Bible as Story; Following Jesus and Others Well and the latest course, which launched just last month, Adolescent Discipleship.
The popularity of Regents LIFE in its first six months has prompted the team to extend this offer, says Joel, meaning plenty more courses are planned for 2024 too.
“This month there will be one about the apocalypse for the church – understanding Revelation in more detail.
Then we have a couple more in the pipeline for March, April and May, on self-leadership, Elim’s foundational truths and God’s power and presence in ancient Israel.”
And while course material has so far been provided by Regents, Joel adds that further courses involving other teachers could also launch in future.
Throughout the development of Regents LIFE, Joel has been working behind the scenes to film, record and edit the courses and assist with advertising and releasing them month by month. Doing so, he says, has been beneficial to his faith.
“I’m learning along the way, which has been very valuable for me personally.
“It’s been great to sit in on the sessions and think and reflect on some things for myself.
“I would definitely recommend any of the Regents LIFE courses!”
