MINISTRY-SPECIFIC TRAINING

9 Core Competencies

 

In addition to completing a Master's Degree and receiving practical, hands-on training in a number of different ministry areas, you'll also leave our program equipped in these 9 key disciplines through a combination of readings*, discussions, classes, and experiences.

*Books will be provided for residents at no cost.

 
 

CHURCH PLANTING

Whether or not a resident ever chooses to actually plant a church, the apostolic mentality and skill set they gain through the residency will yield much fruit in any of their ministry endeavors.

  • Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission (Darrin Patrick)

  • Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things (Mike McKinley)

  • Future Church: Seven Laws of Real Church Growth (Will Mancini, Cory Hartman)

  • Global Church Planting: Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication (Craig Ott, Gene Wilson)

  • How to Build a Healthy Church (Mark Dever)

FAMILY FIRST

Rhythms for life and family can either magnify or detract from a pastor’s success and tenure in ministry. Residents will be challenged to live out the call to disciple and lead in the home as their first priority.

  • Cherish: The One Word That Changes Everything for Your Marriage (Gary Thomas)

  • Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home through Time, Moments, and Milestones (Matt Chandler, Adam Griffin)

  • Give Them Grace: Leading Your Kids to Joy and Freedom through Gospel-Centered Parenting (Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jessica Thompson)

  • Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family (Paul David Tripp)

  • Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age (Melissa Kruger)

  • The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Tim Keller)

Leadership Development

How do you cast a compelling vision? How do you serve, care for and maximize those whom you lead? Here, residents will learn to lead themselves, lead others, lead teams and lead leaders in a ministry context.

  • Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church (Paul Tripp)

  • Leading from the Second Chair: Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your

  • Dreams (Mike Bonem, Roger Patterson)

  • Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer (Oswald Sanders)

  • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (John Maxwell)

  • The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World (Peter Scazzero)

  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (Patrick Lencioni)

  • The Trellis and the Vine (Colin Marshall, Tony Payne)

 

Multiethnic Ministry

Residents will unpack the biblical and theological underpinnings of multiethnic ministry and then learn the practical tools needed to develop and grow multiethnic ministries in their future contexts

  • Christ and Culture (Richard Niebuhr)

  • From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race (Daniel Hays)

  • Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Christianity (Anthony Carter)

  • Loving the City: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Tim Keller)

  • No Flesh Shall Glory: How the Bible Destroys the Foundations of Racism (C. Herbert Oliver)

  • The Integrated Church: Authentic Multicultural Ministry (Tracey Lewis-Giggetts)

  • Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission (Sherwood Lingenfelter)

PREACHING

By combining the ins and outs of preaching theory and real-time feedback from our team, residents will find their God-given “voice” as a communicator and then learns to wield it as the Bible demands.

  • Biblical Preaching (Haddon Robinson)

  • Doctrine That Dances (Robert Smith)

  • Economical Writing (Deirdre Nansen McCloskey)

  • Is There Meaning in This Text (Kevin J. Vanhoozer)

  • Learning From a Legend (Jared E. Alcantara)

  • The Art of Eloquence (Joseph Evans)

  • Why Johnny Can’t Preach (T. David Gordon)

Self-Awareness

God has uniquely wired you with a specific personality and set of abilities that He intends to use in unique ways. We'll spend a season diving deep into who you are to help you be the most effective leader possible.

  • Cultivation of Christian Character (Oswald Sanders)

  • Devoted to God (Sinclair Ferguson)

  • Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It's Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining

  • Emotionally Immature (Peter Scazzero)

  • Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (J. C. Ryle)

  • Lectures to My Students: The 28 Lectures, Complete and Unabridged - A Spiritual Classic of Christian Wisdom, Prayer and Preaching in the Ministry (C. H. Spurgeon)

 

SHEPHERDING

What does the call to shepherd God’s people actually entail? How do you regularly provide Christlike care to those whom God has entrusted to you? Here, we'll dissect the intricacies of the pastoral enterprise.

  • Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible (Timothy Laniak)

  • The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need (Jeremy Pierre, Deepak Reju)

  • The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (Timothy Witmer)

  • The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (Dallas Willard)

  • Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time (Greg Ogden)

  • Transformational Groups: Creating a New Scorecard for Groups (Ed Stetzer, Eric Geiger)

Spiritual Formation

Every leader feels the struggle of constantly pouring out. The healthiest are those who "refill" daily. Residents will develop the rhythms needed to enjoy the Lord in their own personal lives and give their ministry a joyful longevity.

  • A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (Eugene Peterson)

  • Celebration of Discipline (Richard Foster)

  • Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness (Andrew Murray)

  • Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did (John Mark Comer)

  • Preacher and Prayer (E. M. Bounds)

  • Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (Dallas Willard)

  • Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer (Oswald Sanders)

  • The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God Through Prayer, Wisdom, and Silence (Henri Nouwen)

Stewardship

Nothing belongs to us. Instead, we are stewards, called to maximize and utilize the time, passions and finances that God has entrusted to us. Residents, then, will learn to invest for His glory all that God has given them.

  • Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life (Henry Cloud, John Townsend)

  • Budgeting for a Healthy Church: Aligning Finances with Biblical Priorities for Ministry (Jamie Dunlop)

  • The Business of Ministry: How to Maximize God's Resources for Kingdom Impact (Jeff Simmons)

  • Stewardship: For the Care of Souls (Nathan Meador, Heath Curtis)

  • The Business of Ministry: How to Maximize God's Resources for Kingdom Impact (Jeff Simmons)

  • The Call: Finding and Fulfilling God's Purpose For Your Life (Os Guinness)