Church Planting Residency
Last Updated: August 1, 2016 Contact: Katie ChowCOPYRIGHT
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INTRODUCTION
From Nick Nye: Lead Pastor of Veritas Community Church and Sojourn Network Board Member
Here is the vision for Veritas and the world. Two words that have deep meaning into how God desires us to live our lives. Constantly being changed by the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Because we are called as followers of Christ to go into all the world and make disciples we see this best being followed by planting churches. Which is why this residency is so important to the shepherds and leaders that guide Veritas and the people God has called to lead out this mission. Our goal is not to buy a bunch of buildings, have a great name for ourselves or even start a new church movement. Our goal is still Gospel Transformation. Blessings and movements come when the gospel is central to everything.
We have partnered with the NAMB <SEND North America> (namb.net) and Sojourn Network (sojournnetwork.com) to start a church planting residency to equip leaders to plant the gospel all around the world. We desire to help create vision, assess, coach and fund church planters for the work. Like any profession God calls us to we believe that solid training and investment must happen to be ready to invest a lifetime of planting and pastoring.
With that said, we have set out to develop a comprehensive plan to help a church planter be ready for the fire darts of the Devil and weariness that comes from beginning a work like planting a church. There is no desire to beat you up and put you through the ringer but merely to expose you to the ringer of planting. In order to do that we are asking that you get into the trenches of ministry with the leaders of this church. We are asking that you invest your time and energy into praying, strategizing and shepherding God’s people.
The schedule, assignments and assessments are designed in this very way- to see you in the trenches, working out our theology, methodology and pastoral nature. There is no ‘how-to’ manual for planting a church but we hope that by the end of this residency you will be equipped to deal with the highs and lows of church planting.
Nick Nye
Lead/Planting Pastor of Veritas Community Church
VERITAS CHURCH PLANTING RESUME
Veritas has had the privilege of being a part in some way with hundreds of church plants. Through coaching, assessing, training, funding and sending, Veritas has always sought to invest in church planters, their wives and family as well as their entire teams. Below is a simple resume of churches Veritas has been a part of.
PLANTED
Redeemer Leeds | Leads, England
www.redeemerleeds.co.uk
Planter: Gary and Hannah Aston
Scarlet City Church | Clintonville; Columbus, Ohio
scarletcitychurch.org
Planter: Jay and Megan O’Brien
Veritas Dayton | Dayton, Ohio
veritasdayton.org
Planter: Garrison and Amy Green
Veritas Tri-Village Congregation | Upper Arlington; Columbus, Ohio
veritascolumbus.com
Planter: Brad and Courtney Snyder
Veritas West Congregation | Hiltop; Columbus, Ohio
veritascolumbus.com
Planter: Wes and Amber Thompson
Veritas East Congregation | East; Columbus, Ohio
veritascolumbus.com
Planter: Aaron and April Lockhart
PARTNERED (funding, coaching, soul care)
Renaissance Church | Pennsylvania, PA
renaissancepgh.com
Planter: Rob Maine
Soma Community | Indianapolis, Indiana
somaindy.com
Planter: Brandon Shields
Freedom Church | Baltimore, Maryland
freedomchurchbaltimore.org
Planter: Michael and Dannie Crawford
Apostles | New York, New York
Planter: John and Jena StarkeThree Reasons For A Church Planting Residency:
1. Assessment
The health of our churches is directly related to the health and calling of our leaders. Scripture maintains a high standard of character and competency for the office of elder and so do we. Therefore, we utilize a rigorous assessment process to confirm qualifications, identify strengths, and understand weaknesses in potential church planters.
2. Training
Assessment is an essential part of the development process, but it is not the whole process. Once his character and competency has been assessed, we desire to come alongside him to aid his development as a leader. Spiritual growth does not happen in isolation, but in community. We believe the same holds true for pastoral training.
Shared DNA
Our vision is to be a network of churches with a shared DNA surrounding common commitments and identities. Therefore, we believe it is essential for our church-planters to spend a season investing fully into the DNA of Veritas Community Church in order to observe and absorb our DNA before they plant.
3. Relationship
Church planting can be one of the hardest, loneliest jobs in the world. Yet unfortunately it is easy to think that a church planters primary need is money, and while we do make significant financial commitments to our church plants, we also want to make significant relational commitments as well. Sojourn Network is a brotherhood of pastors who serve, pray, rejoice, and suffer together and this cannot happen apart from deep, intentional friendship.
ABOUT
This document serves as a simple guide to give you some direction as to the direction we wish you to grown in. Because every potential planter has different strengths and weakness this document is designed to be able to add to it according to the needs. At the beginning of your residency your coach will help guide you in more details of what you need for further development.
PROCESS
Phase 1 | may not be necessary for all candidates
- Online Application
- Assessment 1 | By Elder Board
- Church Planting Exploratory Internship (3 months)
Phase 2
- Assessment 2 | By Coach
- Church Planting Residency/Apprenticeship (9 months)
- Assessment 3 | By Coach and NAMB Board/Sojourn Network Planter
SCHEDULE
Dates are not scheduled by a starting point and stopping point as we see residents coming in at various points of the year. We desire to be flexible with dates though once approved for the year long residency you will have a set schedule.
PHASE 1: Church Planting Internship (Not all Go Through This)
1. Online Application
If you have no affiliation with Veritas please indicate your interest with a resume and with included references to veritas@veritascolumbus.com.
2. Assessment 1
Your first assessment will be a casual assessment with one of the pastors. Here we will get to know you and seek to help you discern your calling and gifting to plant a church. This assessment will not need to be with your wife, however we desire to have your wife apart of this process. This will be a simple interview to assess the potential residence readiness and commitment to the process.
If you show commitment and characteristics needed then you can move into the Church Planting Internship.
3. Church Planting Internship: Three Month Exploratory
The three month internship is designed to both help you, the potential planter discern your desire to plant a church and for Veritas leadership to determine if it is valuable to invest the rest of the year into development or if waiting is best. It is designed around three months because in three months your coach will be able to determine if planting is truly in your future or if you need more time to develop as a leader.
Below is the essence of what we desire to see from you during the three month internship.
1- Ministry Plan
You will be asked in this three month period to positively critique one ministry within Veritas and develop a plan to develop it into a strong ministry. This means figuring out how to lead, work with others and research various philosophies regarding the ministry. It is not your job to come in and push around current leadership or show them up but to humbly learn why this ministry functions.
You will be asked to write what they do and why. Then write out a plan to improve it as a means to help the current leadership.
2- Coaching
Along side the ministry plan you will be giving a coach. This coach will help you work through the various questions and give feedback when developing a ministry plan. They will focus a lot on your character, skills and aptitude towards leadership.
3- Teaching Development
Teaching is a strong component to planting a church and your ability to communicate God’s Word is important for the continuance of the residency. You will be required to give two sermons to the Veritas staff and approved people. One from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. The texts will be determined by your coach.
You may also be required to teach for the Veritas Learning Classes, read liturgy on a Sunday morning or even preach at various places.
4- Assignments
Since this is not the full residency your assignments will be limited but you will have some required readings that will be determined upon your first assessment. All assignments will be different since each person comes with different strengths and weakness.
5- Assessment 2
PHASE 2: CHURCH PLANTING RESIDENCY
1. Assessment 2
Elder Non-Affirmation
Many residents will most likely be called to wait. This three month exploratory track is good to determine if you are called and what you really need to focus in on for the next year.
Elder Affirmation
If the elders affirm that you are ready and capable to begin the full residency you will get a list of assignments and responsibilities. You will work in three areas.
- Ministry Implementation
- Assignments
- Character and competency development
2. Church Planting Residency (Months 4-12)
You will work on the three areas above during the entirety of the residency. However, the last three quarters will have specific focus areas. The Second quarter (months 4-6) will go deep into self-assessment. The Third quarter (months 7-9) will go deep into learning. Finally the Fourth quarter (months 10-12) will go deep into planning.
Quarter 2 Focus | Self-Assessment
The first three months are self-discovery. You will be asking, “Can I plant a church?” “Do I have the gifts to be a lead planter, a number two pastor, etc?”
What are your strengths & weaknesses? What is your plan if you aren’t ready or gifted to lead a church plant?
Objective Assessments:
- Enneagram
- Entrepreneur Aptitude Score
- DiSC
- Strength Finders
Field Assessments:
- Regular check-in with pastor
- Are ministry goals met?
- What fruit are you seeing?
- What in your life indicates that you are gifted for church planting verse another ministry?
Quarter 3 Focus | Learning
Reading
- See bibliography
Methods
Writing
- One page reflection on all books
- Defend Biblically each model
Quarter 4 Focus | Planning
Developing a plan. Writing and defending a strategy that is best for your context.
Questions to consider:
Missional – How will you do evangelism? How will you gather a core group? What do you know about your context?
Theological – Who will you be baptized, how is it done & why? What are your core distinctive in members, deacons and elders? How will you defend complementarianism?
Ecclesiological – Are you elder lead? Does the congregation get a vote?
Family – How will you cultivate depth in your family? What are your financial needs?
Etc.
Ministry Responsibilities
This will be determined more in-depth by individual
Assignments
– Readings: tbd
– Writings: tbd
– Research future demographics
– Planter Interviews
– Enneagram, Disc & Self reflection & evaluation
- Current Ministry Coaching/Assessment
- Wife recommended readings, researching and mentoring
Conferences
– SN Cohorts
– SN Intensives
– Greater Columbus Gospel Coalition
– Church Planting Networking
Character Development
Coaching
Evaluations
3. Final Assessment
Going through residency doesn’t means you’ll be perfectly ready when it’s done. You will get a lot of tools and it may show you that you aren’t supposed to plant or you need to wait longer.
TOOL BOX
Head [Knowledge]
Readings—
Redeemer Pres Church Planting Manual
Everyday Church by Chester and Timmis
Instruments in the Redeemers Hands by Tripp
Dangerous Calling by Tripp
When Helping Hurts
Why Cities Matter
Church Planter by Patrick
Center Church by Keller
Trellis and Vine
Do More Better by Challies
Church Planting Landmines
Contemplative Pastor by Peterson
Renewal As a Way of Life by Lovelace
Gospel Wakefulness by Wilson
FaithMapping by Montgomery
[more…]
Heart [Wisdom]
Hands [Experiences]
EXPECTATIONS
Time and Compensation
15-20 hours per week. However, if possible we encouraging full time work to get the most out of the development opportunities. Support raising optional. Depending on ministry involvement stipend may be available.
– Accountability with one elder a week and your coach
FAQ’s to discuss with your coach
What is the Sojourn Network?
What is NAMB, IMB, SEND NA?
How do I know if it is the right time to apply?
Fundraising?
Residency Ministry Description?
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