School of the Spirit 25-26

School of the Spirit will run from October 2025 to March 2026. We will meet most Tuesday evenings during term time, and there will also be four Saturday events.

Each session includes a mixture of worship and ministry, testimony and celebration, teaching, and activation. We also spend time each week in Courage Groups, small groups where we can get to know others well, practice together, and cheer one another on as we take steps of faith.

Below is an overview of our cultures and curriculum, as well as dates and FAQs.

Our Cultures

Our culture is just as important as our curriculum, because it creates the conditions we believe will nurture faith and obedience to the Spirit. Our five cultural values underpin who we are and how we behave together. 

  1. Honour: We honour God, and celebrate the value that God has ascribed to all people

  2. Safety: We carefully maintain a safe space where everyone is accepted as they are

  3. Compassion: We seek God’s heart for other people and love them from the overflow of God’s heart for us

  4. Courage: We are courageous and take risks in obedience to Jesus

  5. Celebration: We give God the glory for everything He does through testimony and celebration

Our teaching will cover a wide range of topics. We hold four weekends through the year, where we get to go in depth on some foundational themes, with plenty of time to practice and grow:

  1. Holy Spirit Weekend: Our first weekend of the course looks at who the Holy Spirit is and what he is like, some of the barriers to experiencing the Spirit, and what it means to be baptised in the Spirit and live a Spirit-filled life.

  2. Father Heart Weekend: We will explore more deeply how to connect with God as Father, how the Holy Spirit shapes our identity, and how to experience freedom from lies about God and about ourselves.

  3. Healing Weekend: We will explore a theology of healing, how to pray for people to be healed, how to understand the mystery of healing, and how to walk in a lifestyle of healing.

  4. Evangelism Weekend: We will learn how to share the good news of Jesus both with friends and strangers, how to start conversations about faith and explain the gospel, and how to pray for people to respond to Jesus and receive the Spirit.

Alongside these weekend topics, we will also look at subjects like:

  • Receiving and practicing spiritual gifts

  • Hearing God for ourselves and for others

  • Interpreting visions and dreams

  • Living in freedom from sin, lies, and spiritual strongholds

  • Deliverance: what is it, and how do we do it?

  • Cultivating a lifestyle of prayer, faith, and walking in the Spirit

  • Catching God’s heart for the place where’s called you

And plenty more…  

Our Curriculum

Dates

Dates for the course are currently being finalised, due to speaker availability. But we anticipate them being roughly as follows (subject to change). Tuesday evenings begin with refreshments at 19.15, for a 19.30 start, and end by 22.00. Saturdays run from 9.15-16.00.

Tues 7 Oct
Sat 11 Oct - Holy Spirit Weekend
Tues 14 Oct
Tues 21 Oct
Tues 4 Nov
Sat 8 Nov - Father Heart Weekend
Tues 11 Nov
Tues 18 Nov
Tues 25 Nov
Tues 2 Dec
Tues 9 Dec
Tues 16 Dec

2025

Tues 6 Jan
Tues 13 Jan
Tues 20 Jan
Sat 24 Jan - Healing Weekend
Tues 27 Jan
Tues 3 Feb
Tues 10 Feb
Tues 24 Feb
Sat 28 Feb - Evangelism Weekend
Tues 3 Mar
Tues 10 Mar
Tues 17 Mar
Tues 24 Mar

2026

FAQs

  • This course is designed for anyone who is a committed Christian, and wants to grow deeper in their faith, and their walk with the Holy Spirit.

    The course is run by Oxford Community Church, which is part of Salt and Light Advance Churches, but we welcome applicants from any church!

    We do ask that all applicants are rooted in a local church, and recommend that you have someone to act as a mentor, helping you apply what you are learning in your church context.

  • The course runs from October to March, taking place most Tuesday evenings during term time, as well as four weekends (Saturdays, and occasional Friday evenings). We ask that participants commit to attending all sessions, as far as possible.

    There is no homework as such (and certainly no essays or exams!) but most weeks we will set some suggested activities to help you continue growing through the week. We encourage students to plan space and time for this.

    From time to time we run additional events for School of the Spirit participants and alumni, for instance extra conferences, or serving opportunities. These are optional.

  • The fee for the course is £480, which covers venue and running costs, staff time, catering, speakers, and all materials you will need to take part.

    We are also able to offer a 50% reduction for University students. If finances are a challenge, we recommend talking to your church leader, to see if your church would be happy to subsidise you.

    Fees can either be paid as a one-off payment before the course begins, or in instalments.

  • We want to make sure that School of the Spirit is the right thing for you, so every applicant will have a conversation with a member of the team.

    This is a chance for us to get to know you, and to answer any questions you may have. So a member of the team will be in touch shortly after you have applied to talk further.

  • The last thing we want is for you to journey with us for 6 months, and then for life to go back to how it was before! So following School of the Spirit, you will be invited to join our alumni, of whom there are currently about 170.

    From time to time we run alumni events, or offer discounted rates for conferences. We also provide opportunities to continue learning and growing, such as serving on ministry teams, or joining outreach events.

    We also encourage alumni to gather with others in their church who have completed the course, to continue applying their learnings in a local setting.

How do I apply?

Want to join us for the next course? Then fill in the application below, and a member of the team will be in touch to discuss your application. And if you have other questions you’d like to talk through before applying, please get in touch.