Spiritual Formation

VCI training is based on its educational philosophy of Integrated Leadership Development (ILD) that aims to develop the whole person (on spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, and social level) and to cultivate analytical thinking. In addition to the competency unit “Spiritual growth for leaders”, the spiritual formation of the students is promoted as described below.

The Director for Ministry and Spiritual Formation is responsible to oversee the process of spiritual formation and its assessment. The spiritual formation is integrated in all the units that a student does. This is achieved in the following ways:

  1. At the start of the program the student is orientated on how to integrate their studies of each unit with their own spiritual formation.
  2. The student is expected to take care that the content of every unit is applied to their own spiritual lives.
  3. The students are strongly encouraged to keep notes on their spiritual development.
  4. The students who form a cohort share and pray together during online meetings and are encouraged to pray for one another regularly, and to spur one another on in their walk with God.
  5. During, or at the end of each semester, the ministry and spiritual formation director leads a group discussion with the students on the impact of the semester units on their spiritual lives.
  6. At the end of each academic year each student needs to write a concise report on their spiritual development during that year. This report needs to be reviewed by the spiritual formation director who will also discuss it with the cohort professor and/or unit professors as necessary.
  7. The spiritual formation director, unit professor and/or cohort coordinator may have a conversation with individual students from time to time. Any student is also welcome to request such a conversation.
  8. Students are encouraged to have a local spiritual mentor who could support them in their spiritual formation.
  9. When a student applies to graduate, the spiritual formation director compiles a report to assess the student's spiritual maturity as a pre-requisite for graduation eligibility.