With myriad options around timelines for church residencies, why does Mercy Hill Church offer a fixed two-year experience? In a nutshell, we believe that the two-year residency gives young leaders the best possible experience, and we believe it most aligns with our sending strategies.
First, we place a high value on theological education. We want residents to gain a firm grasp of theology, history, hermeneutics, and other disciplines found within higher theological education so that they are prepared to lead at a much higher level than they would otherwise. Consequently, Mercy Hill’s residency is coupled with an accredited, rigorous 2-year-long Masters degree where all classes are taught on site by credentialed professors who also align with Mercy Hill Church’s philosophy of ministry. The degree takes a full two years to complete (including summer sessions), and it pairs beautifully with the two-year-long residency. Residents even count their seminary time as part of their workweek! So, in short, the fixed two-year model allows residents to complete a full graduate degree dovetailed into the entire experience.
Secondly, while other timelines are available through other churches, we believe the two-year process is the most complete. Shorter residencies like six or twelve-month options, we believe, do not give adequate time and space to maximize development. People can shade the shadow-side of their character or their lack of ministry competency for a short time, but the longer timeframe creates ample time for those things not only to be discovered but to be worked through and mastered under the care of an experienced ministry director. As a matter of fact, most residents make a lot of mistakes their first year. Not only is it understandable because everything is so new to them, we actually expect it! As a matter of policy, our church’s leadership does not even begin evaluating residents for future possibilities until their second year. This is because people need time to develop, and we’d rather be able to make suggestions for future pathways based upon what we’ve witnessed and seen developed than by making guesses about peoples’ futures based simply on a hunch.
Thirdly, the two-year timeline fits perfectly with our sending strategy. I once asked JD Greear, pastor of The Summit Church, where he got the idea for what has become known as “The Two-Year Ask.” His answer: “The Mormons!” It makes sense. One-third of every person Mercy Hill has ever sent to the nations or on a church plant first came to us via the college campus. The stat fits because college graduates are the most sendable demographic on planet earth. Many of our college students will go serve overseas as missionaries for two years through the IMB’s Journeymen Program where they serve alongside career missionaries tackling the great missionary task. Additionally, when people join a launch team for a church plant, they make a two-year commitment to help get the new church started. So, it makes sense that after we’ve asked college students to give one summer of their college career to the mission that we would ask college graduates to give a first fruits offering of their careers by giving their first two years beyond graduation to serving in the local church. While the residency certainly isn’t limited to recent college graduates, we do ask every single college student upon graduation to consider the two-year ask: Two years in residency, two years overseas, or two years with a church plant. Two years makes a big difference. Yes, it makes a difference in whatever ministry context a person finds him/herself. But two years often makes an even bigger difference in the once who is giving it.
– Jonathan Yarboro, Executive Pastor of Sending