School of the Word is based within the context of a missional church community. The course could not be fully understood were this not the case. King’s Church Manchester is the community setting where School of the Word students engage with surrounding cultures of this present age from within a Christian community belonging to the future. The church community itself has around 40 different nationalities represented in it. This provides a rich cross cultural kingdom mosaic for students to work out the reality of the kingdom of God and their place in it.

Students are encouraged to play an active part in the life of the church and be involved in extracurricular service; after an initial few weeks of settling into new routines as college students there is an expectation to become involved with the church community in such things as youth work, student outreach, children’s ministry, ministry to the homeless or prison ministry. Although not assessed in any way, this is seen as an important part of understanding the nature of the course, Missional Ecclesiology.