What is the Residency Program?

The primary goal of our Residency Program is to train and develop ministry leaders for full-time work in the church. The success of this work will be measured by the number of our residents who find immediate placement in full-time ministry roles. Secondarily, we benefit by bringing fresh eyes, energy, and passion into our regular ministry programs. We are excited to train and mentor young leaders, and excited to learn from you as well.

Program Structure

THIS JOURNEY WILL REQUIRE A HIGH LEVEL OF COMMITMENT

1.  You will spend 20 hours each week working at a job in the community. You are responsible for finding, applying for, being hired, and keeping this job during the entirety of the Residency Program. If accepted, we will work with you and your employer to designate days as work or residency days. Our goal is for you to be embedded in the community you are learning/serving in. Ministry happens in the workplace just as much as it does in the church’s buildings.

2.  You will spend 20+hrs each working in the Residency Program during the week. You will serve in various ministries across the church to gain experience and exposure across a large variety of ministries. Our goal is to give you a well-rounded view and experience in all of the ministries of the church. Ideally, program participants would serve in the church in the days surrounding Tuesday since that is our primary meeting/prep day.

3.  Serving on the weekend will be key to putting the mid-week learning/preparation into practice. Residency Program participants will be given key leadership roles on the weekend to learn and gain experience.

4.  All Residency Program participants will be required to participate in our formal leadership development program called the Riverbank Leadership Academy. These programs are semester-based. It is a 1-2 year program. Residency Program participants will participate by both attending and leading and teaching many of the sessions. To teach is to learn twice. The act of teaching someone else forces you to deeply engage with the subject matter, leading to a deeper understanding and essentially learning the material on a second level yourself.

Ideal Candidates

1.  Should have a willingness to learn and a desire to teach.

2.  Should be able to articulate a clear call to church leadership.

3.  Candidates may be any age, and both men and women are encouraged to apply.

4.  Candidates may be single, or married, or have a family.

5.  Candidates may be just leaving undergraduate or seminary studies or may be coming from the workplace.

Housing & Finances

1. Our Residency Program is not paid. Residency Program participants are expected to work 20hrs/week to cover living expenses.

2. Our Residency House is offered at reduced prices to help program participants financially. The Residency House is offered at $400 per month. All utilities are included (power, water, heat, internet, etc…).

3. Renters Insurance is a requirement for each participant who lives in our Residency House. This insurance must be in place before move in day and must be sustained for the entire time living in the house.

4. If participants are not able to support themselves on 20hrs/wk due to student loans, outstanding debt, etc… raising support may be possible. Please have a conversation with us to explain the specifics of your situation.