Epsom Vineyard Discipleship Year 2026/27
Starting in Sept 2026, Epsom Vineyard will partner with the Vineyard Churches UK&I ‘Vineyard Discipleship Year’, running a gap year experience for 18 - 25 year olds. Vineyard Discipleship Year is a resource designed to equip passionate young adults to live with purpose seeking the extension of God’s Kingdom in their lives and their local communities. These resources have been curated by members of the DTI, CTLF and Pathway teams who have collaborated to create a year long program.
ABOUT THE YEAR
Vineyard Discipleship Year is a great opportunity for 18-25 year olds, especially as a ‘gap year’ post A-Levels, or post University.
The cost is £550 per participant (which can be paid in monthly instalments, termly or as a lump sum). This goes straight to Vineyard Churches UK&I (not Epsom Vineyard). This provides half a day’s worth of teaching and activation activities per week for a period of 36 weeks, plus food and accommodation for the Vineyard Discipleship Year Residential.
The sessions provided are a mix of:
conference content,
pre-recorded material
2 x Vineyard Theological Training modules
activation activities that students participate in each week.
You would serve in the life of EV -
Sunday Services (3 out of 4 per month),
Monday - serve in your chosen Ministry Area (based at the Church Centre),
Tuesday morning - half a day of teaching and activations,
Tuesday afternoon - further study, activations and ministry application.
This will leave Wednesdays to Saturday for part time work (to help support your living costs), plus days off. Our recommendation would be to still try to take 2 full days off each week!
Across the year there are other opportunities for participants where they can choose to serve in a variety of National and Regional gatherings, and the cost for accommodation & travel to these isn’t covered in the £550 Course fees:
N.B. If you would love to be part of our Discipleship Year, but the costs would be prohibitive, please do chat to any of the Pastoral staff & we’ll try to facilitate support with the costs, where possible.
If you aren’t from the Epsom Area, and would need to arrange local accommodation, please do speak to Duncan, Lorna or Sonya about the options, or email hello@epsomvineyard.org to get in touch & arrange a zoom call.
Why would I consider doing it?
Research says that those 18-25 year olds who undertake a Discipleship Year, benefit from the opportunity to thrive in their faith, and learn to lead in a church context in a way that benefits you for years to come. Both of these factors will help you to process where your ministry ‘sweet spots’ are, and to learn a whole load of transferrable skills that you can carry with you into University, or into the workplace, after your Discipleship Year.
Here at Epsom Vineyard, we’re also looking at the Discipleship Year as a great opportunity for us to sow into the next generation of Potential Church Planters, Pastors, Worship Leaders / Creatives, Small Group Leaders, Kids Leaders, Youth Leaders, and Ministry Leaders across a wide range of ministry opportunities.
And if that’s not enough, you will be investing a year of your time in growing God’s Kingdom. We hope this alone will have a huge positive impact on the rest of your life!
Still interested? Please do watch the video below -
I’m still interested, tell me more…..
If you’re still interested, the best next step is to speak to Duncan, Lorna or Sonya about any questions you may still have. We’ll help you process which Ministry Area(s) you’d like to serve in, and what that may entail on a week to week basis. Please also do chat to your friends in church, and your parents too.
What does the Teaching look like?
If you watch the video below, it will give you a flavour of how the Vineyard Discipleship Year teaching will be delivered.
‘Register my Interest’ and APPLICATION Forms
Well done, you’ve read all the way to the bottom of the page & hopefully are now armed with loads of info about our upcoming Discipleship Year. There’s a formal application process (much like applying for a Job or Uni place), which starts by filling the form in below. If you’re not yet ready to apply, please just register your interest by pushing the button below, so we can book a chat / zoom / coffee to answer any questions you might have.
N.B. We need at least 2 applicants to get us up & running!
We can’t wait to chat further with you about this exciting opportunity to grow your faith, expand your leadership abilities, understand how church leadership works, and invest in growing The Lord’s Kingdom together.
Huge Blessings,
Duncan, Lorna, & Sonya (The EV Pastoral Staff Team)