Residency Labs > Early Years Lab
Navigate the challenges of early church planting.
The Early Years Lab provides church planters with hands-on coaching, peer support, and practical guidance to navigate the critical early years of establishing a healthy, sustainable church.
Community
Church planting is sacred, gritty, and often lonely work.
Church planting is sacred, gritty, and often lonely work. In the early days, it can feel like you're blazing a trail with no map. But what if you didn’t have to go it alone?
Unlike other vocations, ministry work has no formal arrangement for ongoing learning and development, no requirements for continuing education, and no structured place for peer collaboration and assessment.
-Bob Burns, Resilient Ministry
What if you were not alone?
Joining a cohort gives you more than training — it gives you a trusted circle. A place to process real challenges, share hard-won wisdom, and be reminded you're not crazy (or alone). Learn alongside others who are just beginning, guided by seasoned planters who’ve walked the path ahead.
Overview
Start with clarity. Grow with support. Plant with confidence.
Join a cohort — because every church planter needs a team.
01
Retreats
The Lab begins and concludes with retreats, providing participants with opportunities for renewal, vision setting, and deepening relationships with peers. These retreats are integral for establishing a strong foundation and concluding the journey with reflection and celebration.
02
Gatherings
Monthly gatherings serve as a platform for ongoing learning and peer support. Led by experienced coaches, these sessions address vital principles of church planting, encouraging collaboration and shared wisdom among participants.
03
Assignments
Participants engage in self-directed assignments, including readings, reflections, and practical applications, totaling approximately 2 hours per month. These tasks are designed to integrate theoretical knowledge with real-world ministry experiences, enhancing both personal and professional development.
WHat is a monthly Gathering?
Monthly gatherings are in-person sessions. Each session involves a mix of peer learning, Q&A, and exhortation/advice around that month’s principle with seasoned planters and trainers Ben Connelly (Founder of The Equipping Group) and Kaynenn Parker (Pastor of Pillar Church).
These gatherings are generally in the mornings and include lunch. One of these months, we’ll move to an evening and dinner, where spouses join for a unified conversation.
Included Things
Get a taste of the topics covered.
Every year is a little different, given the specific needs of each planter and that year’s cohort together. But throughout the year, our early years content is split fairly evenly between “personal” focus (on the planter’s heart, soul, family, etc.) and “ministry” focus (on your plant, plans, roadblocks, etc.), all through the lenses of prayerful Spirit-ledness; fruitful multiplication; and gospel-centered disciple-making, for the kingdom of God.
- Common planting mistakes and myths
- Leadership and team
- Vision and culture-drip
- Decision-making and hard conversations
- Conflict and discipline
- Leader development and appreciation
- Funding realities
- Scalable systems
- Community and kingdom engagement
- Time management & priorities
- Prayer and dependence
- Rhythms of rest
Pricing
Participants are also asked to invest in monthly mentoring of someone a few steps behind you in their process, such as a current resident or someone earlier in planting: simply answer questions, share your experience, pray, etc.
Pay-What-You-Can
We adopt a "pay-what-you-can" approach to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder access to our gospel-infused training and resources. This policy is rooted in our commitment to accessibility over exclusivity, following the Apostle Paul's example of raising financial support to remove barriers to gospel work.
Early Years Lab
$1,800
One-time payment or split the total into three separate payments
That Includes
✓ Online and print materials
✓ Administrative and coaching costs
✓ 7 Monthly Gatherings
✓ Retreats (lodging & meals included)
✓ 2 one-on-one coaching sessions + availability as needed
✓ Lifetime access to recorded sessions & resources