CrossCreek Residency

What is CrossCreek Residency?

CrossCreek Residency (CCR) is an 11-month intensive training program (August - June) designed to equip and encourage young leaders through hands-on ministry coaching, world class disciple-making instruction, and real world church leadership experience.  You’ll functionally serve as a staff member at CrossCreek Church while you learn pastoral skills and grow in your relationship with the Lord.

CCR Ministry Tracks

  • Adult Ministry
  • Communications
  • Community Engagement / Outreach
  • Connections / Assimilation
  • Facilities Management
  • Kids
  • Students
  • Worship

Educational Partnerships

CCR is partnering with some local colleges and seminaries to help you begin your master’s degree during your residency! Depending on the institution, you may receive discounted (or free) tuition toward your Master of Arts in Christian Leadership, Master of Arts in Christian Education, Master of Divinity, and others, as well as additional credit hours at the institution for your work and study in the CCR. An agreement is currently in place with Dallas Baptist University (MACL), and partnerships are under development with B.H. Carrol Theological Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. More information on these partnerships will be available during the interview process.

 

FAQs

What Does a Resident’s Typical Schedule Look Like?

What Does a Resident’s Typical Schedule Look Like?

First and foremost, you’ll be guided in spiritual formation and disciple-making. Your entire ministry career will be founded on your relationship with the Lord and your fulfillment of the Great Commission (John 15:4-5; Matt. 28:18-20). Therefore, you’ll spend about 5 hours every week being mentored and discipled to go deeper in your relationship with Jesus Christ and learn to make disciples who make disciples.

The majority of your week will be invested working in the ministry specialty to which God has called you. Each resident will work approximately 30 hours a week in their ministry track. You’ll be assigned leadership responsibilities with unique opportunities to learn and grow in a healthy church environment. During this tenure, you’ll be coached by a seasoned pastor who will help you establish a ministry foundation based on the wisdom of best practices, gleaned from years of leading successful ministries.

With the remainder of your work week, you will have the opportunity to earn credit toward a Master’s Degree at a local seminary or graduate school like Dallas Baptist University, B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, or Southwestern Seminary.

Finally, each resident will travel on a mission trip to one of our our CrossCreek Network partner churches to gain experience in missions, serving the community, and sharing the gospel. This trip may be domestic (i.e. New York) or international (i.e. Madrid, Quebec, Zambia) and will be determined based on the opportunities available in the CrossCreek Network at the time.

Where Will I Live During the Residency?

Where Will I Live During the Residency?

Local housing will be provided either through an apartment complex or rental house. Single residents will be housed with one or two other CCR residents, depending on the size of the property. Houses will be partially furnished in the common living areas, but each resident will be responsible for providing their own bedroom furniture, linens, small appliances, etc. Married residents will receive an additional financial stipend (equivalent to the cost for a single resident) to be used for securing separate housing with their spouse.

What About Living Expenses?

What About Living Expenses?

Each CrossCreek Resident will receive a monthly stipend of $1,800 to use for living expenses, graduate work, etc.

What Happens When I Finish the Residency Program?

What Happens When I Finish the Residency Program?

As an added bonus, at the conclusion of your residency year CCR will offer assistance in finding your next ministry assignment. For some, that may be a full-time position on staff at CrossCreek Church or one of the CrossCreek Network churches. Also, the CrossCreek network has ministry contacts and partnerships all across the United States, and internationally as well. Of course, we cannot guarantee post-residency employment for you - that’s up to God’s sovereignty and His will for your life. But God often uses relationships among His people to accomplish His purposes, and we’ll use all the resources available to us to help open doors for you!

Who Should Apply?

Who Should Apply?

CrossCreek Residents must give evidence of experiencing a call by God to serve Him in full-time vocational ministry.

The ideal CrossCreek Residency candidate is a young adult leader, male or female, aged 21-26, who is graduating from college and desires to pursue expertise in one of CCR’s Ministry Tracks. Residents may be single or married, although housing arrangements and costs will be different for married students.

This ideal profile, though, is not absolute. If you feel that God is calling you to CCR but you do not fit all aspects of this profile, please reach out by phone or email. The only non-negotiable factor is a call by God to pursue vocational ministry. Prayer and consideration for a candidate with any other difference in life circumstances will be given!

Are There Any Additional Costs to Me?

Are There Any Additional Costs to Me?

Each resident will be responsible for providing the funds for the required mission trip,  which generally costs around $1,200. Residents are encouraged to fundraise within their network to cover these costs, but some may choose to pay for their trip outright using their monthly stipend, Christmas gifts, etc.

Additional Requirements

Additional Requirements

  • CrossCreek Residents will be required to have access to reliable transportation
  • CrossCreek Residents must have health insurance - either their own or their parents’ policy
  • CrossCreek Residents must agree to the foundational tenets of the faith espoused by CrossCreek Church. These are found on the website here.
  • CrossCreek Residents must abide by the CrossCreek Church staff Code of Conduct found below. Failure to do so will lead to dismissal from the program.

Code of Conduct

Apply

The application process for CCR is an opportunity for us to get to know you better (and for you to get to know us) as we mutually determine if CCR is a good fit. We encourage you to pray thoroughly about CCR, and if you sense the Lord leading you here, apply today! Please click the link and complete the Application below first. Once your application is submitted, then click on the Culture Index link and complete it. Once you are done with those two items, we will process your application and get back to you with the next step!

APPLICATION

culture index

 

Our commitment to you is that we will invest due diligence and focused prayer into your application. Inevitably, we will be unable to place some excellent candidates simply because we have limited space. CCR will seek the Lord’s guidance and place into each residency cohort those to whom we sense God is leading us. If we decline to place you this year, it does not necessarily reflect your quality as a candidate, nor does it necessarily mean no forever.