Are You Ready? Three Questions to Ask

The title for this post could be “You Should Start a Leadership Residency Program at Your Church Even if You Aren’t Ready” because I know some great churches who keep putting off pulling the trigger.

We continue to have conversations with churches that jump into launching a residency, but others hesitate and wonder if they are ready.

If you answer yes to the following questions I think your church is the type of church that should jump in:

Is our church advancing?

Is our church a place where I believe someone could learn best practices for ministry?

Do I have a staff member who has proven they are a developer of people?

If you answer yes to those questions you should launch. Don’t fall victim to over-engineering at the beginning. You’ll never actually feel “ready” and you will tweak your plans at the end of the first year no matter what you do.

Church Leadership Residency is a journey. It’s one leader coaching a younger leader on how to navigate ministry. Our advice is to identify the staff member who has proven to be a developer of people and start there. Start with your strengths and avoid the temptation of beginning with a need for “cheap labor.”

Remember: you must want more for the resident than from the resident. This is not about helping out a weak ministry.

Don’t put this off another year. Like a lot of leadership moves you’ve made…you’ll never actually be “ready.” This will take a small risk with a lot of vision.