Originating in the United States out of the ministry of Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church, the programme runs over 27 weeks and includes weekly meetings, readings, three assignments, and three weekends away. It is an intense programme modelled on a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).

A number of organisations attempting to bridge the divide between faith and work have sprung up in recent years in Australia. These include The Marketplace Institute at Melbourne’s Ridley College and the City Bible Forum, which brings Christian faith into the busy lives of city workers.

The Australian Centre for Faith & Work is a part of the global church planting network City to City, is the organisation behind Gotham. Gabriel Lacoba, the manager of the Australian Centre for Faith & Work says, “Gotham is a unique experience. It is not simply about imparting knowledge.”

Lacoba says the programme is both intellectually rigorous and community-centred. It is designed to be run for members of the one church, by a trained leader from the same church.

It’s also about spiritual formation. “Participants are taught to meditate, reflect, and deal with their own sin. They have to complete a self-counselling project, with the goal that they will learn to pastor their own souls,” says Lacoba.

People have been created for work; created to be part of a culture. Lacoba says that Gotham teaches people to ask, “What does the essence of the gospel say in this culture?”

The Gotham Fellowship was initially developed for the New York context, and there are some parts that will need to be tailored to Australian life. Lacoba says, “This is a work in progress that is dependent on the feedback from the pilot cohorts we have run this year. But ultimately, participants apply the principles to their own context.”

Sarah Williams, corporate partnership manager for World Vision, was part of a pilot cohort this year. She says that she enrolled in Gotham because she “wanted to engage [her] brain”.

“I wanted to read and think through the writings of significant Christian theologians,” Sarah says. “Whilst I expected to be challenged intellectually, I didn’t expect to be as challenged emotionally and spiritually as I have been.”

Sarah says, “Gotham helps you to make more of God in all areas of your life. The most important thing I’ve learnt for my work life is just to be faithfully present as a Christian in all circumstances. Gotham has challenged me to be mentally present when I’m speaking to people, to listen and communicate intentionally, to seek justice or to show grace when I’m working with our staff.

“I was in no way expecting the programme to be so fruitful in my life. This year has really deepened my faith in a way I wasn’t expecting.”

Six churches are lined up to run Gotham in 2015 in NSW and QLD, and they are hoping for 100 Gotham fellows to enrol.

Find out more at http://www.citytocityaustralia.org.au/events/

Image: Flickr, Nick Wu, used under CC License