Residency Programs

What is a Church Residency?

The residency program at Mercyview is a means to resource the training of future pastors, church planters, and artists who will give themselves to serving Christ’s church both here and around the world. To serve in a residency, all interested individuals (and their spouses, if applicable) must fill out an application and upon successful completion of the application, a preassessment interview will be set up with the elders to determine if the applicant will officially become a Mercyview resident. All residents will be expected to become partners with Mercyview for the duration of their residency. There are currently three residencies available at Mercyview:

Pastoral Residency Program

Church Planting Residency Program

Pastoral ministry as an important aspect of the work of God in His Kingdom. Gospel-centered, Spirit-led, missional pastoral leadership is imperative for God’s church thus, the intentional training of those who feel a calling to vocational ministry should be an important aspect of fulfilling the work and mission of Christ in the world. The pastoral residency program will be designed to cultivate ministry formation in the most appropriate context for developing pastoral competencies—the church itself. For many, this initiative could lead to opportunities to join the Mercyview pastoral staff but it could also be preparation to pastor a church outside of Mercyview. The duration of the pastoral residency will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

As a general rule, pastoral residents will have completed an internship with Mercyview or with another church before beginning the residency program. If you are interested in applying to our pastoral residency program, contact us at info@mercyview.com.
The main goal of our church planting residency program is to see churches planted to the glory of God and for his Kingdom. Mercyview desires to be a regional hub for multiplication of missional communities all over the High Plains and beyond. Participants will receive a realistic experience of life and ministry in a church planting church while preparing to plant a church themselves. Residents will receive assessment, training, and ongoing coaching through Mercyview and associated networks while recruiting, fundraising, and developing strategy for the future plant.

Applicants should demonstrate a calling to be the lead planter of a church, be around 12-24 months away from planting, and have proven ministry experience. As a general rule, church planting residents will have completed an internship with Mercyview or with another church before beginning the residency program. If you are interested in applying to our church planting residency program, contact us at info@mercyview.com.

Artist in Residency

Mercyview is determined to tear down the walls between church art and city art so that music can freely flow between the two venues. To this end, we are committed to an ongoing program of resident artists in an effort to act as an advocate for the arts in our community, world, and church. We desire to move beyond theoretical discussion of the value of arts and artists in the life of the Christian community and weave the arts into the fabric of our culture, particularly engaging those who are professionals and students in the arts within our city. Art forms that are applicable to our residency program would include: music, film, painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking, mixed media, photography, graphic design, interior design (to include stage design), spoken word, and other forms of visual art.

The artist residency program will be a hybrid of artistry and ministry. Artists will be given space and time to work on projects with the full support and blessing of the congregation, as well spend a specified number of hours a week actively engaged in ministry within Mercyview (participating in worship services, teaching classes, offering workshops, leading projects for the congregation, etc.) They will most beneficially receive a welcome environment in which to pursue their own work and take risks, all within a loving Christian community. If you are interested in applying for the artist residency program, contact us at info@mercyview.com.

Interested in a Residency Program?

Fill out this form and one of our elders will be in touch with more information and to connect about the residency process.