Scripture, first
The text is read before it is applied, in its own context and on its own terms. A conclusion the passage will not carry is not taught here.
Home/About
Who we are
A school for the called
The Academy of Influence International is a theological school for men and women already serving — in pulpits, in teams, in homes — who want the scriptures handled properly rather than handled confidently.
What the Academy is
One academic year. 10 modules, 60 credits to the award, taught live on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9pm UK time, and ending in the Associate Degree in Theology. Students come from churches across the United Kingdom and beyond, and study together in one cohort rather than alone in a library.
The teaching is deliberately unhurried. A module is not a video to be finished but a passage, a doctrine and a question worked through with people who will ask you what you actually mean. What is learned on a Thursday is meant to be preached, taught and lived by the Sunday.
The Academy is not a substitute for the local church and does not try to be. Every student is expected to remain under the oversight of their own church while they study, and much of what is taught is designed to be handed straight back to it.
What we hold to
Three commitments
Doctrine, plainly
Where the church has agreed, students are taught it. Where the church genuinely disagrees, the positions are set out and the student is sent to their instructor — not given a ruling dressed up as a fact.
Answerable to a congregation
Study that serves nobody is study wasted. Assessment asks what you would say to the people you serve, not only what you can recall.
Who leads it
The administration
The Academy was founded by Dr Esther Susan Noreen, who serves as its President and Chancellor. Read about the founder and the Principal →
Dr Apostle Esther Susan Noreen
Chancellor & President
Visionary leadership, strategic direction, academic standards, and fidelity to the founding mission.
Pastor Ruth Moriah
Vice President
Day-to-day academic operations and faculty development.
Bishop Omar Elliott
Principal
Principal of the Academy. His biography is below.
Rowena Raine
Financial Manager
Tuition accounts, the student portal, and financial stewardship.
Where we stand
Accreditation and affiliation
The Academy’s programme is accredited by Christ Theological Seminary and Next Dimension School of Theological Institute, at 403 South First Street, Mount Vernon, NY · P.O. Box 642, Yonkers, NY 10705 (+1 914 376 2904, cts-live.org). That oversight is theological rather than governmental, and whether the award is accepted towards another qualification is always the receiving institution’s decision. Both facts are set out in full on the standards page, so a prospective student can check them before paying anything.
In affiliation with The Embassy of Influence International.
The practical facts
Programme
Associate Degree in Theology
Next cohort
Thursday 8 October 2026
Taught
Thursdays, 7–9pm UK · live on Google Meet
Where
London, UK · taught online worldwide
Enquiries go to office@theacademyofinfluenceinternational.com. The Academy’s terms of enrolment, privacy notice and policies are published in full — terms, privacy, policies.