How can one pastor figure all that out and do the necessary work? I must confess that I often forget that I am one person with finite limitations.  The tension only builds as we consider our roles and responsibilities at home, in the community, to our denomination, and to the Kingdom of God in our region. 

Many questions arise out of this tense reality. First, do we have enough mature leaders to nurture current and potential disciples? Second, do we have an intentional plan to develop church leaders? Finally, what will happen if we do not have enough leaders and have no deliberate plan to develop them in our local churches? 

During this time I want you to prayerfully consider how you can intentionally raise up mature disciples of Jesus who can lead others in your local church. When we unpack this challenge, it begins by examining your current leadership structures for biblical clarity and organizational alignment.  The next step is creating a clearly defined pathway to express this clarity and alignment and to develop mature spiritual leaders. These future mature leaders could be described as a Pastor/Elder, Associate Pastor, Deacon, Ministry Leader/Director, Church Staff, Small Group Leader, Missionary, or Church Planter.  There is an old saying that is applicable, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I encourage you to prayerfully consider meeting with your church leaders to develop a plan.  It will benefit your longevity in ministry and the health of your church and give assurance to the next generation of leaders. 

Many churches have implemented an intentional Ministry Residency Program to help raise leaders to serve in their church and be sent out into greater Kingdom work. Some are highly structured, and others are more informal. In a sense, every residency must uniquely express the church leadership and local ministry context. In other words, pastors should not try to carbon-copy other  Residency Programs but should strive to prayerfully and collaboratively develop their own. 

I have sought to provide you with resources that can help you discover and implement Leadership Pathways/Pipelines and initiate General Ministry Residency Programs. 

Resources on Leadership Pathways/Pipelines and Church Residency 

Books 

• How to Start a Residency? By Clint Clifton (Free E-Book) 
• Designed to Lead: The Church and Leadership Development by Eric Geiger 
• Building Leaders: Blueprints for Developing Leaders at Every Level of Your Church by Aubrey Malphurs and Will Mancini
• The Multiplication Effect: Building a Leadership Pipeline that Solves Your Leadership Shortage by Mac Lake

Article

• “Our Pastoral Residency Program Reading List” by Jarrid Wilson of the Gospel Coalition 
• 7 Crucial Components of a Church Residency Program by Vanderbloemen
• Ten Steps to Launching a Residency in Your Church: North American Mission Board 
• What is a Leadership Pipeline by Todd Adkins 
• Why You Need a Leadership Pipeline in Your Church? By Mark Warnock
• How to Build a Leadership Pipeline in Your Church by Brandon Kelley 

Media 

• Leadership Pipeline Training by Lifeway’s Ministry Grid (This is a Paid Service) 
• Starting Residencies: North American Mission Board (Youtube) 
• Starting a Church Planting Residency by Bill Elliff (Youtube) 

Other 

• Liberty Baptist Church: Pastor Residency Program 
• Capitol Hill Baptist Church: Internship Program 
• Residency for Churches; North American Mission Board