Becoming a Companion
We are actively seeking wise and prayerful new Companions for the Alongside Scheme. You would join a growing team supporting an ever increasing number of Church Leaders. These may be lay or ordained and come from a range of churches.
This downloadable role description will give you an idea of what is involved:
We adopt a rigorous, but light touch approach to selection, taking up references and conducting a brief and informal interview. Initial training, ongoing support and supervision are provided.
Our next Companion training will take place on zoom at 2pm on Thursday 9th January.
To apply click here:
(Please note that this form has to be completed in one sitting. To apply you will need to provide details of two referees, one from church, and one personal).
If you have any questions or would like to chat anything through please contact Jolyon@resourcingrenewal.org or Katie@resourcingrenewal.org.
Testimonies
“After retiring from 39 years in ministry, I wanted in some way to support Resource, having received so much from them during my ministry and knowing the isolation of ministers and the need to support them. When Resource launched Alongside Companions I booked a place for my wife and I for a Resource week at Lee Abbey, anxious to meet Christopher Landau and explore how I might be able to help. The week proved to be life changing for me. I came back a renewed person. I was invited to apply to become a Companion for a Church leader. The interview with Resource confirmed my calling. ‘The Lord equips those whom He has called’ has very much been my experience as I benefited so much through the wisdom and insights of the training courses and the remarkable anointing of the Resource team. From the start my chosen church leader and I found we shared much and welcomed the partnership. We very much value the intercessors who pray for us each time we meet. The words that they have shared with us have proved really helpful and have encouraged us. Over the months, new confidence in ministry and a renewed vision have come.”
Tim Dickens, Retired vicar in Plymouth
“It is a privilege to be working with the Alongside Companionship Scheme; to hear stories of what challenges and what encourages Ministers in our ever-increasing secular age; to be part of their journey for a while, as together we listen to God for answers for that part of their journey. It is also a great blessing to me to know that the Intercessors are listening to God for us during those session times. There are highs and lows on these journeys but real answers to prayer. There was a situation last year that seemed so difficult for one of my Ministers and her health was impacted. God intervened and eventually placed her in a new situation where today she is flourishing. This is Teamwork and I thank God for calling me into the team!”
Claire Charley (Lay)
“I find that being a Companion is immensely stimulating and satisfying. Helping your leader get to the heart of their matter can be a mutual blessing and delight. And it’s possible to forge a deep and fruitful friendship. Companionship is a valuable discipline, too. I find that to be a source of spiritual insight and a channel of grace to my leaders, I need to be as close and as aligned to the Lord as I can. So it’s deepening my prayer life, particularly my ability to wait on the Lord to hear his voice, and sense any words for my leaders.”
Alan Riley (Lay)
“It’s an enormous privilege to be a companion to two church leaders. To journey alongside someone, offering encouragement and prayer is very much part of the ordinary Christian life - in all our relationships of fellowship we are pilgrims together looking for signs of God at work and joyfully joining in - and the Alongside Scheme is one expression of that. Through this ministry I’ve been gifted a wider perspective of the life of the Holy Spirit - seeing God’s blessings unfold in different places and unexpected ways. And as in all authentic relationships, the benefits are mutual- standing next to another minister in their context, scanning the horizon with them and considering the hopes and the challenges they face from their vantage point has taught me so much about the need to stay prayerfully reflective, watchful, and committed wherever we find ourselves. So often I come away from our meetings feeling blessed to have learned something new, and to have been entrusted with the responsibility of prayer.”
Hannah Lins, Priest-in-Charge, Severn Loop Parishes, Shrewsbury
