Our Core Values
Grounded in the Local Church
As a church-based institution, The Apprentice Academy classes are woven into the life and ministry of The Village Church. From participation in corporate worship to active involvement in church community groups and ministries, our Apprentices will deepen and stretch their faith by partnering together in the Gospel with the congregation. In addition, our teachers self-consciously bring the Core vision, values (Declare, Train, Serve, & Plant) and theology of The Village Church to bear on all of our course readings, lectures, and discussions.
Rooted in Historic Christian Orthodoxy
The Apprentice Academy through The Village Church embraces the historic Christian teaching on the Trinity and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ as set forth in the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds. We are reformed in our soteriology and charismatic in our affections. We hold all of our theological positions in submission to God’s inerrant and infallible Word.
Sustained by God through Prayerful Dependence
In all of our teaching, preaching, and service, we make it our aim not to serve God, but to be served by him. He is the Giver; we are the receivers. And the fundamental activity of the soul that expresses this great reality is prayer. Therefore, we are intentional in building prayer into the visible life of The Apprentice Academy, from the Tuesday Night Lectures and discussion, and from Sunday Morning Service to mentoring and discipleship. We desire to make it plain that all of our endeavors are done in reliance on God’s power.
Marked by Academic Rigor
If God has inspired a Book as the foundation of the Christian faith, there is a massive impulse unleashed in the world to teach people how to read. And if God ordained for some of that precious, God-breathed Book to be hard to understand, then God also unleashed an impulse to teach people how to think about what they read—how to read hard things and understand them, and how to use the mind in a rigorous way. Therefore, we endeavor in all of our intellectual inquiry to love God with our minds by thinking deeply and humbly about his word and his works.
Shaped by Life-on-Life Discipleship
A solid education should be more than intellectual development; it should be marked by spiritual growth and maturity. Intentional mentoring, discipleship, and ministry-involvement are hallmarks of The Apprentice Academy and The Village Church. Each fall, every incoming Apprentice is paired with a mentor who seeks to provide encouragement, counsel, accountability, and practical help to the Apprentice throughout their time at The Apprentice Academy.
Concerned for the Lost, the Poor, and the Oppressed
We live in a fallen world, under God’s curse and marred by human sin. This devastation extends to all areas of life: physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. Therefore, we cannot pursue education insulated from the oppression, tribulations, and pain of the world. In order to bring the powerful love of God to bear on this broken world, we aim to send out Apprentices who will care for the least of these, look after the widow and the orphan, expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness, strengthen weak hands and feeble knees, and most importantly, proclaim Christ crucified for sinners to those who are in desperate need of his grace.
Characterized by Humble Authenticity and Courage
We seek to practice what we preach and teach. We desire our personal lives, educational philosophy, and organizational structure to give explicit evidence that we treasure Jesus Christ above all things. Therefore, we make it our aim to be loving, gracious, and honest in all of our communication. We also seek to serve others and consider them better than ourselves. When engaging with those who disagree, we seek to assume the best in them and represent them and their views accurately and fairly. When facing opposition and persecution, we seek to be bold as a lion, speaking the word of God with courage, even as we entrust ourselves to him who judges justly.
Devoted to the Priority of Worship
Education is not the ultimate goal of The Apprentice Academy. Worship is. Education exists because worship doesn’t. Nothing makes God more beautiful and more central than when people are utterly persuaded that nothing—not money or prestige or leisure or family or job or health or sports or toys or friends—nothing is going to bring satisfaction to their aching hearts besides God. Therefore, worship is both the fuel and goal of all of our Apprentice Academy endeavors.
