church planting residency
About the
Residency
We believe effective church planting residencies are critical to planting healthy, gospel-centered, missional churches. Many churches desire to be “church-planting churches” but lack the resources or opportunity to do so. Redeemer Network helps our churches become “church-planting churches” by offering an immersive and collaborative residency program.
IMMERSIVE & COLLABORATIVE TRAINING
Our residency is largely about immersion in a church planting environment. Residents will be immersed in the life and leadership of one of our local churches that will best develop/prepare the future planter. Although residents will be immersed in different churches, they will get the opportunity to learn together in community with other Redeemer Network church-planting residents. Here at the Redeemer Network, we take responsibility for developing the resident into a capable, competent, and ready planter within the two-year residency.
DEVELOPMENT
The local church will play a large role in developing the character and testing the calling of the planter. Church planting residents will be given opportunities to observe, participate, lead, and learn alongside church planters who are 3+ years ahead of them in the planting process.
GROWTH
Residents will learn from the past and present experiences of their local church. We place residents within churches based on a similar context or location of the city they are hoping to plant in. The local church will be responsible for developing the resident into tested, trained, and qualified elder within the two-year residency.
TRAINING
Our residents will collaborate with eight training cohorts to get "cross-trained" over the two years of the residency. Our church planting cohorts will help future planters develop biblical paradigms for church planting (year 1) and a variety of skills/competencies needed to plant a church (year 2).
About the process
How we prepare planters
The information below will give you an idea for our framework for preparing planters. Much of this is built out of our collective experience of planting churches over the last 10 years. Year 1 will look the same for every resident, while year two will be customized to the needs/readiness of each resident based on ongoing assessments.
1 / Foundational Year
Duration: 12 months
Planting a church is hard. We have found that a church planter needs much more than just a vision statement and a list of values to hold on to during the early trials of planting a church. We want to help our residents develop deep biblical convictions for the churches they will plant. We want them to have strong theological foundations for the philosophies of ministry, methodology, practices, and values they will pursue. Year 1 will consist of three 12 week courses (Socratic in nature) that will force a resident to think critically about what the Bible is calling us to in church planting.
Foundational year timeline overview
PHASE 1:
Church Planting
PHASE 2:
& Strengthening
PHASE 3:
2 / Finishing Year
Duration: 6 months + A29 Assesment
Every church planter is unique. We want to dig into the gifting, skills, strengths, and weakness of each resident and build a development plan to sharpen the skills needed to successfully plant a gospel-centered, missional church. Some of this development will happen through Redeemer Network training cohorts (4 per year), while other parts will come from ongoing coaching and a resident’s development through their local church immersion. Below are some of the skills and practices we look to develop in our church planting residents:
- Personal Health & Self Care: Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, Financial Health
- Family & Marriage
- Missional Leadership
- Leading Teams: Sharing Leadership, Hiring/Leading a Staff, Creating Healthy Team Culture, etc.
- Organizational Leadership: Structures, Processes, Finances, Fundraising, Legality, etc.
- Pastoral Leadership: Gospel Shepherding, Preaching, Teaching, Counseling, etc.
- Developing Deacons & Elders
- Gatherings & Sunday Liturgy
- Discipleship and Gospel Communities
- Seeking Justice & Engaging the Marginalized in Your City
- Growing in Diversity & Generosity
CHURCH PLANTING RESIDENTS
Rick Bowers
Joe Guenther
Ryan Henson
Brit Holmes
Justin Smith
Jeremy Hare
James Vallee
Brian Carroll
Chris Vidaurre
JR Favela
Ivan Valdez
Rick Bowers
2020 / 2021 Resident
Rick and his family are originally from the Houston area where he worked in the petrochemical industry for 17 years while serving with local church plants across the Houston area. He is completing his residency with Redeemer Round Rock and will be planting Redeemer West on the west side of I35 in Round Rock.
Joe Guenther
2020 / 2021 Resident
Joe Guenther recently moved from his small West-Texas hometown to the Greater Austin area with his wife Audra and 2 daughters Addy and Emma. They have a desire to share the gospel and to plant churches. They have served in various roles of ministry in the local church for the past 14 years. They are connected to both The Well Abilene and Redeemer Round Rock.
Ryan Henson
2020 / 2021 Resident
Currently a church planting resident at The Well in Abilene, TX with hopes to plant a church in Clyde, TX where I’m from and live.
Britt Holmes
2020 / 2021 Resident
Britt was born to a military family, traveling at home and abroad most of his life. DFW has been his family’s home for the last 10 years. He is currently helping plant Redeemer Church Irving in Irving, TX.
Justin Smith
2021 / 2022 Resident
I am from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. My wife, Rebecca and I currently live in Lubbock, Texas, with our two boys Shepherd and Jude. I'm doing the residency at Redeemer Lubbock and our planting location is TBD. (We are hoping to know by August)
Jeremy Hare
2021 / 2022 Resident
I'm from Wichita Falls, TX and I'm doing my residency with Redeemer Round Rock. My family and I feel led by God to join others to plant a church in Hutto, TX.
James Vallee
2021 / 2022 Resident
I am from Midland, TX. I am currently the Discipleship Pastor and church planting resident at Redeemer Midland. We are looking to plant a church in Dripping Springs, TX.
Brian Carroll
2021 / 2022 Resident
My name is Brian and my wife Kirstie and I currently live in San Angelo, Texas. We are humbled that the Lord has called us to co-plant Redeemer San Angelo, and are excited to serve God through the local church in West Texas
Chris Vidaurre
2021 / 2022 Resident
Hello my name is Chris Vidaurre I am a Resident Church Planter at the New Hope Baptist Church in Amarillo. I am originally from the city and I am looking to plant in Amarillo’s Historic San Jacinto district.
JR Favela
2021 / 2022 Resident
Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas but left from 2016-2020 to live in Philadelphia, PA where I met my wife, did a pastoral residency with an Citylight Church (fellow member of A29), and receive my MDiv. from Westminster Theological Seminary. Now, we have returned back to Amarillo, Tx to do a church planting residency with Redeemer Christian Church and replant a church on the East side of Amarillo.
Ivan Valdez
2021 / 2022 Resident
My name is Ivan Valdez and I am from Brownsville Tx. I’m currently doing my residency with City Life Church in Austin Tx. We are planning to plant a church in East Austin Tx. There is a huge need in East Austin for solid biblical church plants. Our hope and prayer is to bring the gospel to the people of East Austin for their joy and for the glory of God!
Ivan Valdez
2021 / 2022 Resident
My name is Ivan Valdez and I am from Brownsville Tx. I’m currently doing my residency with City Life Church in Austin Tx. We are planning to plant a church in East Austin Tx. There is a huge need in East Austin for solid biblical church plants. Our hope and prayer is to bring the gospel to the people of East Austin for their joy and for the glory of God!