The Church Planting Academy is a catalyst for a multiplying church planting movement. A church planter resident will be equipped, trained, resourced and sent with on-going coaching.
The Church Planter Residency is a 2 year program that seeks to create an environment that helps potential planters prayerfully discern their calling and suitability to planting, develop their gifts through a structured training program, and in context opportunities doing, to grow in skills and attributes.
Year 1
Foundation
This year is designed for those exploring the call to church planting. Potential planters are introduced to basic church planting competencies and helped to deepen their self-awareness of these needed skills. Participants will discern their call to church planting while growing a heart for the vision of disciple-making and multiplication.
Year 2
Finishing
This year is designed for those who are launching their church plant in the next 12-18 months. It is aimed to prepare the planter and give confidence and affirmation in their calling, vision and plans. Training and equipping a planter in the core competencies of planting — including theological, missional lifestyle, disciple-making, leadership, preaching, multiplication, vision casting — helps give the planter the best chance of success and longevity in their church plant.
Year 3
and Beyond
It is our desire that the cohorts would continue to function as a peer to peer coaching cohort where the planters can continue to benefit from mutual encouragement and sharpening in one another. We’d love to see these groups continue to support and pray for another in the mission.
Context
Planters will be situated in a current church context from which they are serving and affirmed by their church leadership. Here they get to “do” the work of ministry and grow in their character and competencies.
coaching
Residents will receive a church planting coach who will meet with them to help them work out their training, developing a plan, and help strategise the steps required to plant a church. Coaching aims to see a healthy planter plant a healthy multiplying church.
Community
Residents will come together throughout the year for a 48-hour learning community. Here they are taught preset content from experienced practitioners, grow in knowledge through roundtable discussions, and case study learning, whilst allowing space for prayer and worship together. In addition there will be online sessions with a mix of training and input.
CO-horts
Planters will be part of a co-hort (Year 1 or 2). This learning community will allow the planters to grow in a peer to peer environment thereby sharpening one another and journeying with others through mutual prayer and support. This will lead to long term friendships and relationships across churches thereby a greater work of collaboration across the UK.
Character
We are committed to upholding the biblical standards of the character qualification of leaders. This will include the resident themselves assessing themselves and building external affirmation from leaders, mentors and coaches.
Competency
We will assess a resident’s competency for planting. Competencies will include, theological clarity, leadership, disciple-making, missional lifestyle, marriage and family, vision and strategy.
Calling
Whilst many are called to church leadership, not all are called to church planting. We recognise the important correlation between a church’s health, longevity and the planters. We want to be able to affirm and send but also protect and care for planters and their families if this isn’t what God is calling them to.
The GEM UK Church Planter Residency is run by experienced church planters who have planted and led churches, trained and assessed church planters and walked with churches who seek to be church planting churches. This includes both first cultural and cross-cultural workers.
Are you ready to get Church Planting?
The course is set to begin in January 2026, reach out to Josh Walsh to get connected!