Ministry Leadership Residency

Woodlands Church is excited to be hosting two full time residents for the 2024-2025 Ministry Year.

Applications are open for the 2025-2026 Ministry Year (July – June).

Our program seeks to give experiential development opportunities for prospective ministry leaders, and will work to find ministry placement opportunities for them. Our full time program focuses on broad ministry engagement, continuing seminary education, and spiritual formation, all focused on producing long-term, successful ministry leaders.

As a Healthy Church with experiential and ministry resources, we feel a responsibility to train up the next generation of christian leaders.

There is a nation-wide need for leadership development in the church. According to Christianity Today, just 16% of current pastors are under 40, and a quarter of current pastors plan to retire in the next six years. The country will be facing a striking lack of qualified, experienced ministers. 79% of current pastors agree that “churches aren’t rising to their responsibilities to train up the next generation of Christian leaders.”

Our Ministry Leadership Residency provides in-depth training and mentorship for post-undergraduate students, with a desire to see all placed in full-time ministry leadership upon the completion of the program.

Recommendation

“The Ministry Leadership Residency program at Woodlands Church is a highly intentional, highly relational, and highly beneficial experience. The depth of learning, experience, and exposure provides an incredibly rich space for growth toward ministry readiness. We will always have more to learn about God, ourselves, and others; there will always be things we can grow in for our own spiritual formation and in how to help cultivate spiritual formation in others. Throughout the New Testament, we see the principle of learning from those who walk ahead of you in the faith (1 Cor. 4:15-17, 11:1; Titus 2; Heb 11, 13:7). The Ministry Leadership Residency program at Woodlands Church is an excellent opportunity to live out this precedent for ministry preparation and personal growth. The men and women who are helping people faithfully follow Jesus at Woodlands Church, are deep wells of knowledge and insight into Christian life and ministry. With Christ-like humility, confidence in the Word of God, and compassion for people, the staff and leaders of Woodlands Church are brothers and sisters that I count myself abundantly blessed to have learned from and served alongside. They truly live out their mission “to be a Christ-centered community helping people faithfully follow Jesus both locally and globally.” If God has put a burden on your heart for the ministry of the local church, then the Ministry Leadership Residency at Woodlands Church is a great next step for you.”
– Elizabeth Smith, ’24-’25 Ministry Resident

Why should I consider Residency at Woodlands?

There are fantastic resident programs accross the country. Here are some of the reasons our program is unique and might be a good fit.

A focus on broad ministry experience. Many programs focus on skills and experiences in a specific ministry area – youth, for instance. Our residency seeks to expose you to every aspect of church ministry, inviting you to ask broad questions about those areas and then to further ask, “If I went into another ministry area, how should I expect to interact with this area?” We want to train church leaders, not just specific ministry area leaders.

It is also focused on exposing you to a variety of pastoral tasks in a learning environment. What does pre-martial counseling look like? Wedding rehersals? Sermon prep? Funeral support? Pastoral counseling? Before you step into ministry, these are good things to know.

Our program is ideal for someone pursuing an associate pastoral role.

A focus on spiritual formation. Ministry moves quickly. When you’re in the heart of a full-time placement, you will struggle to develop habits of pastoral prayer and deep personal spiritual formation. This is a core component of our curriculum – we want you to be placed in full-time ministry with healthy spiritual formation patterns already in place.

A focus on learning. Because we work with Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and provide broad resources, we help you develop pastoral and leadership knowledge you might not yet have.

Our residency is ideal for students graduating with a secular degree, but interested in pursing full time ministry.

A focus on placement. Our goal is to develop leaders – and then get you placed in full time ministry. We will provide job coaching, mentorship, resume support, counseling assessments, and a church network that can help you find a ministry position as you leave our program. Our vision is to grow the local church, wherever it is that God would call you.

What does a resident do?

Resident Cohorts will be primarily engaged in three things:

Observe: Through Ministry Embedding, cohorts will spend extended time in the regular rhythms of broad ministries, engaging fully with the planning, programming and execution necessary to run Youth and Kid Ministries, Sunday Services (including worship planning and sermon prep), finances and accounting, care ministry, small group ministries, and local outreach. The majority of this ministry embedding will result in follow up questions and conversation.

Residents will also shadow pastors in premarital and wedding preparation, hospital visits, and funeral work.

Learn: Residents will learn Bible Study skills (including training in Logos Bible Software), as well as gain theological training. Over the course of the year, residents will write a personal statement of faith and recieve a Gateway Certificate, which will prepare them for licensure in the EFCA. They will also be enrolled in Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and complete a Certificate Program of up to 12 Masters-level credits (transferrable if additional seminary eduction is later pursued).

Do: While learning and observing are the key components, residents will also gain experience in teaching in Kids, Youth, and adult ministry programs – including receiving feedback. Residents will also be expected to be part of discipleship programs that model ministry. They will be engaged in spiritual formation practices that will stead them for their entire ministry career.

What is the purpose of residency?

The primary goal is to train and develop Ministry Leaders for full-time work in the church. The success of this work will be gauged by how many of our residents find immediate placement in full-time roles in churches.

Secondarily, Woodlands benefits by bringing fresh eyes, energy, and passion into its regular ministry programming. We are excited by the opportunity to train and mentor these young leaders.

How long is a residency?

A residency lasts twelve months, from July – June, and is a full time commitment. Residents can expect to spend 40+ hours a week in study, observation, conversation, or ministry. The weekly schedule will vary throughout the year, depending on ministry involvement.

Throughout the program, there is a high value placed on observation and experience through ‘ministry embedding’ and ‘alongside ministry.’ There will also be learning and study.

In general, the first six months will include an evaluation for ministry placement, and the final six months will focus on future ministry placement, including job or seminary seeking.

Describe an ideal residential candidate

A candidate should be a college graduate who can articulate a clear call to church leadership. Candidates may be any age, and both men and women are encouraged to apply. Candidates may be single, or married, or have a family, and may be just leaving undergraduate or seminary studies or may be coming from the workplace.

A Bible or Theology undergraduate degree or previous church experience is not required, although it is favorable. Seminary, a Master’s degree or an M.Div is proper schooling for a candidate pursuing a Senior Pastor role, and may not fit best with our residency. If you have an advanced degree and are interested in our program, please reach out to talk.

Candidates should agree wholeheartedly to the Evangelical Free Churches’ Statement of Faith, and should be in alignment with Woodland’s Purpose and Priorities.

They should have a willingness to learn and a desire to teach.

What's included in Residency?

Woodlands Church desires that Residency would be a sustainably funded program that covers all associated costs for our residents.

We provide a monthly food and gas stipend, cover all registration costs – including seminary and events – and provide a computer and a version of Logos Bible Software. In addition, we will work to find reasonable housing, supported through our church congregation, depending on your stage of life and needs.

Residents will be part of a residential cohort that meets weekly and functions as a processing, scheduling, and accountability network. They will also have a personal mentor who will help them process their experiences and think critically about church leadership.

Residents will also be given a professional clinical ministry readiness assessment, and be provided with job search support, resume writing and job search coaching.

It is our hope that the stipend and housing would allow a resident to focus fully on the program. If additional finances are needed, support raising is encouraged; we can help you in that process.

How do I apply and what's the timeline?

Apply below by opening the Google Doc, making a copy, and filling out the questions. You’ll send a .pdf version, along with your resume, to residency@woodlandschurch.org. Our application deadline is March 31st, 2025.

We know you need to make decisions about the upcoming year. We will review applications as they come in, follow up with questions, and conduct interviews. The application process may include an invitation to an in-person interview.

If you are a qualified candidate, we will seek to offer a residency position for the upcoming year as quickly as possible after application. We are seeking up to four residents for our 2025-2026 cohort. As a result, our application process may close early if we have found our residents. If you’re interested in participating, apply soon!

What if I want a shorter or more specific opportunity?

Our Ministry Internships are shorter, 13-16 week ministry-specific opportunities that are available throughout the year. More information can be found here, and applications are open!