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Pastoral Residency
A two-year, full-time ministry residence within the congregational life of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, MA that encourages a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and prepares men for ministry in New England, whether pastoring an existing church or planting a new one.
The people and towns of New England need the gospel of Jesus Christ. To reach New England, we needs more faithful churches and pastors. But many men who sense a call to pastoral ministry in New England and have completed academic studies don’t feel ready to plant a church or fully equipped to step into a pastoral staff position without first gaining some practical experience in a New England church setting. And many New England churches aren’t ready to bring in new graduates who have not been prepared for the unique challenges of pastoral ministry in New England.
The Pepperell Christian Fellowship Pastoral Residency provides two years of full-time, on-the-ground preparation as men transition from formal theological training at seminary (or Bible college) into church planting or pastoral ministry in a New England church. We partner with the Village Green Collective to provide coaching and preparation for planting. The aim is to develop men whose treasuring of the glory and the sovereignty of God overflows in a passion to reach the people of New England with the gospel.
Pepperell Christian Fellowship is a vibrant small-town church that is centered on the gospel and committed to doing robust small-town ministry. We are committed to a long-term vision of planting churches in the towns of our region.
We partner with Small Town Summits, the Village Green Collective, and The Gospel Coalition New England. An important piece of our residency is connecting pastoral residents with these networks of churches and pastors during their two years with us.
The Pastoral Residency nurtures residents’ spiritual formation and competency through hands-on mentoring in three essential areas of pastoral ministry:
Residents will pursue personal, private and public ministry growth through partnering relationships, a pedagogical reading plan and lots of opportunities for practical ministry experience.
PARTNERING
Residents will be mentored by and work alongside PCF’s leadership, including a residency director. Residents will also interact regularly with the church staff to learn all the aspects of church life and administration. Residents will also have opportunities to partner with Christ Church Townsend, a church planted from PCF in 2023.
PEDAGOGY
Over 24 months, residents will follow a curated reading plan that incorporates 12 inter-related two-month components for deeper engagement with insights from pastors and theologians both past and present, including:
PRACTICE
Residents will experience and explore many different ministry opportunities while being immersed in the life of a small church in a small-town context, including:
The PCF pastoral residency program is designed to be a full-time position for a duration of two years.
PCF provides a full-time salary and health insurance for each pastoral resident. Some fund-raising may be required if anticipated living expenses exceed the salary package. PCF will provide coaching resources for fund-raising, as gathering a support team will be a great benefit for future New England ministry, whether that’s church planting or pastoring an existing church (many of which are small and lack resources).
For more information, please contact our pastoral residency director, Andy Sweet.
