Application Process

Interest Form

The Church Planting Residency pre-assessment is the first step in the process of applying for

this residency. The purpose of this initial assessment is to determine a candidate’s overall fit

with the DNA of the church they are hoping to plant from including that church’s planting

vision/philosophy. This will be completed online.

Introductory Meeting/Interview

After the pre-assessment has been filled out, and it is determined that they are ready for next

steps, candidates will meet face to face with the P3 Collective Assessor. This will be to clarify

any questions that we may have about the answers provided in the Interest Form. This meeting

will also serve as an interview to get a better grasp on where the applicant is in their journey

toward church planting (Church Planter Evaluation Tool).

Privacy Agreement

Once it is determined by the pastoral team, P3 Collective, and the candidate to proceed, the

candidate will begin the application process, starting with the Privacy Agreement. This

agreement states that the candidate, church, and collective will be able to discuss openly the

findings from the assessment process.

Sending Church Assessment

The sending church will complete a pastor assessment of their candidate that will be submitted

to the P3 Collective after the initial P3 assessment. This will serve as a litmus test to determine

that the sending church and P3 are seeing the same things in the candidate.

Assessment

The assessment is a comprehensive document that will ask about the applicant’s personal

history, marriage, family, spiritual and ministerial history, overall health, education, church

history, work experience, financial readiness, theology, and call to church planting. In addition,

this will cover example scenarios of pastoral leadership where we want to hear how an

applicant might respond and shepherd people.

Background check

The P3 Collective will conduct a criminal background check on each applicant.

References

Applicants will need to provide full references from four separate sources. Two references

need to be ministry references (pastor, small group leader, etc.), one reference needs to be

professional (someone the applicant has worked with in the past or currently), and one

reference needs to be personal (someone who knows the applicant well). In addition, the

applicant will provide two micro-references (one from a neighbor and one from a non-believer

that they know).

Spouse Questionnaire

Church planting is not just about the planter, but also about his wife and family. This

questionnaire will give the applicant’s wife an opportunity to express her own desires/calling

surrounding church planting. We also want to hear any concerns that she might have going into

the process.

Marriage Health Survey

Applicants will fill out a marriage health survey through Prepare & Enrich. This will help the

applicant and the P3 assessment team identify areas of strength as well as areas of growth. We

want to elevate the applicant’s marriage to a level of utmost importance - and keep that sacred

in the process. Church planting is demanding and can take a serious toll on a marriage. To this

end, we want to dig into the applicant’s marriage and walk with them as they pursue

connection with their bride and health in their family.

Psychological Evaluation

The applicants and his wife will undergo a thorough psychological evaluation by a professional

psychology clinic/firm. The administer an industry standard evaluation that is measured against

a nationwide database of previous church planters. This will provide P3 Collective with a more

robust picture of the current state of the applicant’s heart and mind - as well as his wife.

Applicant Review Among Church Elders

Once all of the documentation has been filled out, turned in, and assessed by P3 Collective

leadership, the candidate will be presented to the elders for comprehensive review. During this

time, the elders will determine if there are any areas of clarity that they would like to get as well

as determine what questions need to be answered. During this stage, the elders will discuss

possible “conditions” to acceptance into their church’s residency. Examples might include

things like: enroll in seminary classes, work on a particular area of marriage, develop an aspect

of character, pay down consumer debt, etc.

Applicant Meeting with Elders

Once the applicant’s file has been reviewed among the elders and any points of clarification

have been settled, the applicant will be invited to spend time with the planting church elders.

This will be a time where they will become more acquainted with the applicant. This will also

be the point at which the applicant will be invited to officially begin the process of preparing to

plant from the church. Expectations for growth will be communicated at this point for the

Resident to begin processing. **A point of distinction is that throughout the duration of the

residency, there will be areas of growth that we will work on with residents. This is normal and

to be expected! We are going to do our best to help residents holistically sharpen and prepare

for planting a healthy, gospel-centered church.

Planter Spouse Connection with Elder’s Brides

As already stated, the Church Planter’s spouse is an integral part of this process. We want to

make sure that she feels welcomed and valued in this whole process. We also want her to have

a strong connection with the wives of the current elders at the planting church. This will be a

time of relationship building as well as a time for the Church Planter’s spouse to hear more

about what it is like being married to a pastor/planter (if he has not served as a pastor before).

Big Group Connection

This will be a group gathering of the Church Planting Resident, his wife, and the elders of the

planting church and their wives. This will be a celebratory time of what the Lord has initiated

and the journey that we are about to embark upon. This will be conducted over a dinner

together as a group.

Introduction to Planting Church

At this point, the Church Planter will have already been accepted into the process, however the

planting church will want to officially introduce the resident to their church body. This will be

for purposes of prayer for the planting church as well as beginning the connection to those in

the body - who may eventually go with the planter to start a new church! This will be a

celebratory time in the life of the Planter as well as the church!

Collective-wide Celebration

On the same Sunday that the Planter is introduced to the sending church, the rest of the

churches in the collective will celebrate with the Planter and sending church. Each church will

present a picture of the Planter and his family to their church and spend a time in prayer over

the Planter, his family, and the sending church.