Four individuals have completed the inaugural residency program at Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas. This nine-month training program is part of the church’s newly launched Leadership Academy, which also includes summer internships for students.
The goal, according to Pastor of Equipping and Multiplication Andy Owen, is to offer a tangible method for mentoring leaders in the context of church ministry.
Residencies, especially, are for adults sensing a call to vocational ministry.
“We want all of our residents to come out with a better understanding of their calling and their best contribution to the church and the kingdom,” Owen says.
As Ridgepoint begins a new round of residencies in 2025, church leaders are moving forward with open hands and optimism.
Coming alongside
The Leadership Academy, launched in Fall 2024, grew from a strategic planning process when Owen joined the Ridgepoint staff in 2022.
Owen and NextGen Pastor Kyle Goings share a passion for leadership development, and the two put their heads together to dream of possibilities.
Most churches focus their efforts on crafting a weekend experience where people can worship and be equipped—and rightly so, Owen says. But Jesus used a different model for leadership development.
“Jesus developed leaders (by coming) alongside and walking with them,” Owen says. “That’s the heart behind what we want to see happen with our residents and with developing leaders.”
Residencies offer that kind of opportunity.
Each resident has a job description and a supervisor with whom to work. The paid, part-time positions require 15 hours a week, including 10 hours of ministry time and five hours of training.
“The model is easily accessible but still challenges people and gives them experience to confirm their calling,” Goings says.
Owen and Goings wrote the curriculum, which dives deeper into USMB’s Leadership Pipeline training material philosophy of knowing, being and doing.
“We planned out the whole year on the topics we think you need to know about if you’re considering a call into vocational ministry,” Goings says. “That’s spiritual disciplines, spiritual gifts, but also personality, conflict resolution, how to craft a message (and) how to lead a Bible study.”
Multiplied ministry
Each of Ridgepoint’s first four residents had a unique ministry track, including evangelism and outreach, missions, adult ministries and discipleship, and 20s and 30s ministry.
While Ridgepoint targeted residents in their mid- to late-20s, people in their 30s and 40s applied.
“The call to keep developing as a leader is a lifetime call,” Owen says. “So it shouldn’t have been surprising that there are people at various age ranges that want to grow and develop in their leadership.”
Looking back on the first year, Goings says the program was an asset.
“It benefited the individual and the church more than I can ever imagine,” he says. “The ministry multiplied because you could do programs that you can’t necessarily do with just a volunteer.”
For example, resident Luke Zimmerman worked with Owen to launch Alpha, a free, 12-week course exploring life, faith and purpose in which participants gather for weekly meals, inspirational videos and small group discussions.
Zimmerman has since started a new ministry as assistant director of admissions at a local university.
“In addition to drawing closer to Jesus and experiencing meaningful healing in my soul, one of the most significant areas of personal growth for me has been in leadership and public speaking,” Zimmerman says on his post-residency evaluation. “Throughout the Leadership Academy, I’ve developed greater confidence in guiding others and communicating effectively in front of groups. Where I once felt uncertain or intimidated, I now feel equipped and empowered to lead with clarity and purpose.”
Open hands
As Ridgepoint begins Year 2, Owen says leaders have open hands.
“Moving forward, I want to stay in step with the Holy Spirit in terms of how he wants us to keep partnering with him to develop leaders and not be so married to a specific model that we might miss opportunities,” Owen says, adding that Ridgepoint leaders also anticipate mentoring a handful of students joining Tabor College’s Graduate Studies in Ministry initiative. “We’re always open to change and flex as we feel the Spirit’s leading us to.”
Ellen Nikkel, a resident at Ridgepoint starting in Fall 2025, is serving as a liaison between the church and local ministries. Nikkel’s supervisors are Cynthia Young, kids ministry director, and Owen.
“Since I started, my posture has been one of openness to how God wants to equip me through this program,” Nikkel says via email. “I’m praying for discernment and clarity about whether ministry is the path God is calling me to, and I’m also excited to grow in my understanding of how ministry operates behind the scenes. This staff is full of people who serve God wholeheartedly in the work he has set before them, and I’m looking forward to continuing to learn from them throughout the next year.”
A future hope is to make the residency program available for other churches to use, Goings says.
“We’re still learning what works and what doesn’t work, but our hidden passion behind this is we would love to resource other churches,” he says.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor and joined the CL staff in 2017. Shafer is an award-winning writer, receiving multiple awards from the Kansas Press Association and Evangelical Press Association. A Tabor graduate with a degree in communications and religious studies, she and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
