Most church planters feel a burning desire to innovate, a restlessness with the status quo, and an urgency to fulfill their calling as soon as possible. These are crucial traits and usually serve the planters well—once they are on the ground. But they can be toxic attitudes for the church planter who is too impatient to learn under the wisdom and leadership of others.
If you are looking to plant a church, the most valuable thing you can do prior to planting is to serve in a gospel-centered, missions-minded church. I’ve met a lot of prospective planters who just want to be turned loose. Many of them think that by taking time to serve in another church that they are somehow taking their eyes off of the prize. But we have found that taking 9 months to do a residency makes a dramatic difference in the fruitfulness of a church plant.
In 2010, we at the Summit launched our first “church planting residency.” Since then, we’ve trained 7 residents to plant gospel-centered churches in strategic cities across the country. By God’s grace, those churches are not only surviving, but are thriving and growing. Just a few weeks ago, at Easter, these church plants saw a combined attendance of 3,400 people and baptized 53 people!
Any serious church planter should consider doing a residency for a number of reasons:
Time. It takes time to develop a vision and strategy, raise money, and build a team. Our residents are given the time and space they need to develop the plant as part of their job.
Assessment. We help our residents become aware of their strengths and weaknesses so they can be better planters. Church planting has enough challenges; you don’t need to be discovering your weaknesses for the first time on the field.
Training. We take residents through a proven 9-month training process. They not only benefit from formal training, but from the informal experience that comes from serving on the staff of a gospel-centered church and with other plants in our network.
Community. Residency is just the beginning. Join a network a group of like-minded brothers with a common vision to plant multiplying, gospel-centered churches.
Funding. We want our residents to thrive, not to fizzle out, so we invest significantly in them, equipping them to raise the money they need to plant.
People. The most valuable resource a planter has is his team. We help our residents build their core leadership team, and set them up to recruit within our church.
We’re looking for qualified and gifted leaders to join our upcoming class of residents starting in August 2013. There are only two more spots available, so don’t miss the opportunity to get your application in before the May 15th deadline. If you are interested in applying, check out our residency page for more details, then email us to start the process.
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