By Garry Sanossian
In a global first, the Australian College of Ministries (ACOM) has launched a suite of accredited higher education qualifications dedicated to equipping a new generation of church planters.
Officially announced at the Exponential Church Planting Conference on 6 August, the new programs are available from early 2026. The awards range from diplomas to master’s degrees and have been approved by the Australian University College of Divinity.
Dr Mark Riessen, Doctor of Ministry Program Manager and Stephen Parker, Associate Academic Dean.
Stephen Parker, who led the development at ACOM, said the program fills a critical gap in ministry education. “To our knowledge, these will be the first awards based on church planting worldwide,” Stephen said.
“Our hope is that more people will be saved, more churches will be planted, and more people will be transformed because of this training.”
“We have been consulting with experts from around the world, in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia and are confident that what we are building represents some of the best thinking about church planting,” Stephen said.
To shape the program, ACOM drew on the expertise of international leaders including Jay Moon, Professor of Evangelism & Church Planting at Asbury Theological Seminary, Dave Ferguson, US-based pastor and global church-planting leader with NewThing and president of Exponential Conference, and Martin Robinson, former national moderator of the Churches of Christ in the UK and Europe and ex-principal of ForMission College in the UK.
The program departs from a purely academic model, focusing instead on practical, hands-on training. Course content covers bi-vocational ministry, discipleship pathways, community transformation, financial literacy, team building and theological foundations, all tailored specifically for church planting contexts. ACOM is hoping that the new program will allow students to receive prior learning credit for recognised training from groups such as City to City, Reach Australia and M4, though this aspect of the course is still under development.
The college offers six qualification levels, from as small as the four-unit graduate certificate to the 24-unit Bachelor’s degree, with a core diploma program forming the foundation for all other courses. The program will offer foundational courses in church planting, discipleship and spiritual formation, followed by advanced topics in leadership development and church health.
Course delivery combines online learning with optional in-person sessions, making it accessible to planters regardless of location. For churches in Australia and our network, the courses offer formally recognised qualifications, credit for existing training programs, and cross-denominational networking through the community of practice model.
Applications for ACOM’s Church Planting programs are now open for the 2026 intake. Prospective students are invited to submit an expression of interest by 5 December 2025, with formal applications closing on 27 January 2025. Students can apply by submitting an expression email of interest and then complete the online application.
ACOM Church Planting Awards Brochure
