Grace Church Residency is a year-long program for recent graduates that provides opportunities for them to be discipled by Grace Church staff while gaining hands-on experience in various ministries of the local church. Residency is designed for young men and women interested in vocational ministry, and it creates pathways for participants to carry real responsibilities and offers feedback for growth and development. Apply now to begin conversations and see if this could be a fit for you.
Residency is a one-year program where you will work with campuses and alongside ministry leaders to gain first hand ministry experience. In addition you will go through a class or two each week with other residents and staff that covers everything from gender, spiritual leadership, practical skills and much more.
Residency is a full-time paid position with a full range of benefits where residents have the opportunity to learn how the local church operates. This also includes no-cost educational classes, hands-on training, and intentional ministry responsibility.
Each internship provides the opportunity to experience practical ministry in one of the following ministry areas:
Grace Church Kids residents will experience the daily work that makes programming possible for children across each of the Grace Church campuses. This includes work in lesson planning, curriculum writing, and creative projects on a weekly basis. Residents will have the opportunity to serve on multiple Grace Church campuses in the areas of nursery, preschool, and elementary.
Grace Church has programs each weekend for more than 800 students over our ten campuses from sixth grade through high school. Residents will have relational time to connect with and disciple students. They will help brainstorm, plan, and lead Grace Church Students programs, events, retreats, and mission trips.
Worship residents will participate in leading worship across each of our venues (adult, student, children’s) across our ten campuses as an instrumentalist or vocalist. They will participate in weekly worship staff meetings and troubleshoot projects related to creating successful worship services for the weekend.
AV residents will gain hands-on experience operating the soundboard and other various AV equipment (light board, video switcher, video camera, ProPresenter, etc.) at each of our campuses. Residents will have the opportunity to see how campuses of different sizes and different venues utilize technology during the worship services.
In any large organization, communication is always a challenging but a critical part of the daily operation. Residents will use various forms of communication, graphic design, social media, web development, video, animation, writing and photography to effectively communicate important information.
An Outreach resident helps execute our local and regional short-term student mission trips. Residents will plan, coordinate, implement, and support local student serving opportunities. At Grace Church, outreach and missions are centered on our core value of being culturally engaged. Locally, we invest significant resources in foster & adopt support, ministry to the elderly, and strategic partnerships with local organizations addressing issues such as prison ministry, human trafficking, addiction recovery, autism, and affordable housing.
Mosaic Ministry residents can expect to gain exposure and insight into why disability ministry is important to the Church. They will have the opportunity to serve and experience the impact of the Mosaic ministry across children, youth, and adults. Most of their time will be spent working to adapt curriculum, work on creative projects, and create accommodations to accompany the Children’s Ministry curriculum.
Margaret Middleton / 2021-2022
Residency was one of the most challenging but also formative seasons of my life up to this point. I was initially very hesitant about the opportunity because it had nothing to do with what I studied in college and I did not feel a strong desire to work in ministry full-time, but the Lord used my very small step of faithfulness to change my heart. My sin was exposed in so many ways, and I was slowly able to recognize my idols of perfectionism and desiring other people’s approval. I have to continually remind myself to turn to the Lord for acceptance and approval, and I have a church body here who has cared for me as I’ve navigated this. God is moving and faithful, even when I fail and when I am unfaithful.
Taylor Sorenson / 2021-2022
Residency was exactly what I needed for my first year of post-grad life. It was a gift to work in a space where I was valued for more than just the work I could produce, where the people I worked alongside were willing to have formative conversations and tell me hard things, and to get to learn from, and be surrounded by men and women who have been pursuing Jesus for longer than I’ve been alive. Residency was a growth incubator. I grew to love Jesus and his church more, wrestled with questions in community, and tried, failed, and succeeded at different responsibilities within my role. I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of a local church that so clearly wants to invest in the next generation.
Whitney Maness / 2020-2021
The season after graduating college can be challenging to navigate, but residency was a perfect stepping stone as I began my career. It provided clarity and guidance about my strengths and weaknesses and how I should steward them well. My fellow residents and I explored a variety of topics together from local church and working in ministry to leadership values and theology. We were also given access to leaders in our organization who shared incredible wisdom from their experiences. I have continued to work in ministry, but residency established a strong framework for how I relate to my God and my church that I can build on regardless of my job or season.
Jake Wilson / 2021-2022
Residency was a great experience for me from start to finish. The best part of residency is that while you do have a role in contributing to whatever area of ministry you’re working in; you are also given many opportunities to learn and grow. An aspect of residency that I really enjoyed was being able to work with and learn from my ministry supervisor. Having a ministry supervisor that I reported to and worked with allowed me to be able to learn from someone with more experience and to be able to have a safe space to fail. Through residency, I was able to grow personally and professionally.
Shawn Piedrahita / 2020-2021
I stepped into residency right out of college, and it was a great experience that helped me better understand myself, who God is, and how I fit into the local church. I learned what it meant to be self-aware, how not to find my identity in a position, and gained a better understanding of how God designed the local church to work. I was surrounded by adults and fellow residents who challenged me in what I thought about work, ministry, and living as a believer and cared for me in a way I had never been cared for before. I am grateful for the lessons I learned and the people I met during that time, and out of the experiences in my life, residency will be remembered as one of the best and most formative.