Diploma of Church Planting Leadership

Section 01 — The moment

A planting movement at a critical moment.

0%

of Australians not connected to a local church

0

new ACC churches to be planted by 2032

A student reading in the college common room

The ACC is Australia's largest Pentecostal denomination and its most prolific church planting movement. Research from Exponential Australia in 2025 names the number one impediment to planting more churches as simply this: the lack of potential church planters. Not funding. Not vision. Not strategy. People.

There is no accredited pathway that seeds a pioneering culture across the whole church, not just in the individual who eventually puts their hand up. The result is that churches are doing two things simultaneously: pastoring their existing community faithfully, and hoping that the next planter will emerge from somewhere — without creating the conditions for that emergence.

The problem isn't in the harvest. It's in raising more workers to send into it. Luke 10:2

Section 02 — The gap

What the movement has been missing.

A student reading alone in the college common room

The ACC has excellent tools for people who have already decided to plant.

What it hasn't had is an accredited, practitioner-led pathway that works upstream — forming planting instinct in emerging leaders who are still serving faithfully in their sending church and haven't yet named what they sense.

Section 03 — The course

Eight subjects. Four pillars. One year.

1

Biblical foundations

Applied Theology 1Core Christian doctrines, taught for today.

Lecture topicsHermeneutics · Christology · Holy Spirit · Salvation
New Testament Survey & The Birth of the ChurchThe New Testament and Acts, through the lens of church planting.

Lecture topicsLife of Jesus & the Gospels · The Global Mission & Inclusion of the Gentiles · Paul's Missionary Journeys · The Pastoral Epistles

2

Leadership development

Personal LeadershipBuilding the leader before building the team.

Lecture topicsPrinciples to lead your life · Effective and potent prayer · How to hear God's voice · Organising self
Church Growth Strategies 1Multiplication thinking over addition-based growth.

Lecture topicsBiblical foundations of church multiplication · Limitations of addition-based leadership · Applying multiplication to team building · Building environments that release new church expressions

3

Planting philosophy & strategy

Church Planting - PhilosophyA theology of the Church and the conviction to plant one.

Lecture topicsThe Bride and the Body · Nourishing the Church · Building through the gifts of the church · Faith to plant beyond the ordinary
Christian Living FundamentalsGrace and identity as the foundation for healthy leadership.

Lecture topicsBiblical foundations of grace and the finished work of Christ · Grace vs. performance · Identity and how it shapes leadership · Building sustainable, grace-centred ministry

4

Practical ministry

Professional Practice (100-hr placement)Hands-on ministry under an experienced pastor.

What it involvesWorking alongside an experienced mentor, you'll complete a 100-hour placement in a format matched to your calling — for example, 8 weekly hours in a local church's youth department. Includes mentoring & discipling, and managing relationships.
Elective (Kids, Worship, or Youth Ministry)A specialisation matched to the student's calling.
Options
- Kids Ministry — curriculum development, team recruitment, discipleship.
- Worship Ministry — production & tech, service planning, launch strategy, biblical foundations of worship.
- Youth Ministry — pastoral care in a youth context, developing leadership teams, running a youth ministry program.

Award: Diploma of Church Planting Leadership AQF Level 5
Delivered by: Alphacrucis University College
Duration: 1 year full-time · up to 4 years part-time
Delivery: Weekly evenings + 2 intensives
Fee: $1,565 per subject · $12,520 total FEE-HELP eligible

The practitioner principle

Every subject has been created by men and women who are currently doing what they teach. Pioneers imparting to the next generation — including Ps Ashley Evans, Ps Jane Evans, Ps Russell Evans, Ps Josh Greenwood, Ps Dave Edgar, and Ps Sam Long, alongside many other church planters from across the movement, with more contributors added as the course grows.

Section 04 — Culture change

Not just what it does to a student. What it does to a church.

A full room of students listening to a speaker at the front

A church that hosts the Diploma does not simply graduate one or two trained planters. Something happens to the whole community. Multiplication conversations appear across the church. The language of pioneering shows up organically in different places. Volunteers who have never considered planting begin asking questions they hadn't known to ask.

1
Pipeline clarity

Leaders who sense a call now have a defined pathway without leaving the church they love.
2
Cultural language

The vocabulary of multiplication becomes part of how the church tells its story — and its future.
3
Apostolic confidence

The sending church grows in conviction that planting is the call on this church, in this season.

Section 05 — How it works

Inside the Local Church College.

A student studying at a Local Church College session

The Diploma of Church Planting Leadership is delivered through Alphacrucis University College's Local Church College framework — the same model already powering diplomas in ministry, leadership, and business across the ACC.

A hosting church provides space and a local LCC coordinator. Alphacrucis handles accreditation, enrolment, and academic oversight — exactly as it does for every other LCC award.

Section 06 — The pathway

Year 1 shapes a planter. Year 2 builds a multiplier.

We're currently developing a second-year Associate Degree, offering more specific, in-depth training and equipping for future planters.

2027