Introduction

In a passage that greatly informs the missionary prayers of the church, we read, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Luke 10:1–2). While many principles and precepts could be drawn from this passage, here are two points worthy of consideration. First, there is a need for the raising up of ministers to preach the gospel. Second, our Lord gave these men the company of another to help them in their work together. These twin truths undergird the Resident in Training program of the Home Missions Board (HMB).

The Resident in Training program pairs a (typically) young prospective church planter with a seasoned and experienced pastor with church planting experience. The program lasts for two years, during which the HMB provides a grant of $12,000 per year and then matches what the congregation pays the resident out of its own funds, up to a maximum of an additional $12,000 per year. The total grant from the HMB is thus up to $48,000 over the two years.

Sessions can submit their applications to be considered by the HMB at either their spring or fall stated meeting. Candidates for funding through this program must be licensed to receive a call but, in accord with each presbytery’s oversight, need not be ordained and installed as assistant pastors. Applications can be found by contacting your presbytery HMB representative, and requirements include providing a job description as well as stated goals for the time of the program. At the end of both the first and second year, the resident in training and pastor overseeing the program assess the progress of both the man and the ministry, which is helpful for the young man as well as for the HMB.

Benefits

Having served as resident in training from 2021–2023 at First (Durham, N.C.) RPC, during which time I led church-planting efforts in the southern portion of Wake County (the capital county of N.C.), I can attest to the various blessings this program was to our congregation and my family. I now offer these as reflections and encouragements from my own time in this program.

First, and most practically, this program provides congregations with the financial aid to develop not only a church plant, but also a church planter, particularly when those resources might not have otherwise been available locally. Another way of saying this is that the RPCNA puts its money where its mouth is. We care about domestic and foreign missions, advancing the kingdom of grace through the proclamation of the gospel and establishing of churches; and, where our treasure is, there our heart is also. This program affords congregations and the Synod to put forward sacrificially their own resources and thereby take responsibility over the work of church planting by having a man on site under the tutelage and care of an elder brother or father in the ministry.

Second, the Resident in Training program truly services the various needs of the body as a whole. From the perspective of a session, when the zeal (albeit, often impetuous) of a young church planter is met by the calm wisdom of older elders, it can be like a tempering of a sword moving from the fire to the forge, so strong and sharp is the result. But not only do the prospective church planter, the overseeing pastor, and the elders together benefit from this work, the whole congregation benefits. The constant prayers and efforts of church planting in a congregation stoke the membership’s zeal for evangelism and discipleship, and often there can be a renewed vigor in the life of the church.

Third, the Resident in Training program provides the opportunity to ground the young church planter in the culture of planting an RP congregation. There are many books on church planting that can be picked up at any Christian bookstore or bought at any conference. Few are confessional and Reformed, and fewer would help a young man, not only in theory but practice, apply the various distinctives of our small branch of the visible church. This is not only with reference to our theological commitments, such as the mediatorial kingship of Christ and consistent application of the regulative principle of worship, but also our practical emphases on matters such as pastoral visitation, hospitality, and the need for Christian fellowship within the congregation. In other words, the Resident in Training program helps not only to develop church planters, but, in particular, Reformed Presbyterian church planters.

Fourth, the Resident in Training program prepares potential church planters for, and gives them dear camaraderie in, spiritual war. The wickedness of our culture can be seen in its hatred of and desire to end the lives of children in the womb—yet they are just following their father the devil who would seek to eradicate young congregations. It is one thing to hear this in a seminary classroom, but another to experience it. What a blessing it is, then, to be able to go through the trials with another seasoned minister who is not ignorant of Satan’s devices. Our Lord sent out the heralds of His kingdom two-by-two. Indeed, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion” (Eccl. 4:9–10).

But Wait, There’s More!

The author of Hebrews wrote, “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell” (Heb. 11:32). In many ways, that is the sentiment regarding the variety and lengths of brotherly aid that RP elders and agencies alike provide for one another. The work of the Home Missions Board is a clear example of that. In addition to the Resident in Training program, the HMB hosts a retreat for church planters and their wives to provide a time of rest and fellowship. The retreat was hosted last year during a beautiful autumn weekend in Illinois, where we were able to rest, body and soul, in fellowship together, ready to go back to our fields of labor refreshed by the Lord of the harvest.

The Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) teaches an intensive course on church planting, which the HMB will subsidize for church planters. The course held this past summer, the week before the beginning of the fall term, was a profitable time of hearing lectures from the vast experiences of RP church planters and discussing together the material so that it can be implemented in our contexts.

With such a breadth of resources readily available and provided by the HMB, there is no reason not to take advantage of what gifts God has given to His church.

Encouragements and Considerations

Having provided an overview of the Resident in Training program and reflected on the benefits thereof, consider these concluding exhortations and encouragements.

First and foremost, pray! Pray that the Lord would raise up laborers to be sent into the harvest, for faithful churches to be planted, and for Christ’s kingdom of grace to advance. Prayer is a work all Christians—old and young, men and women, boys and girls—are called to do. Students under care, prayerfully consider whether the Lord would call you to church planting. Sessions, pray and ask the Lord if He would use you to help develop church planters through this program. And even if you are not called to this work of church planting, pray for others who are.

Second, develop a plan and follow through with faith and confidence in God to direct your paths. Talk to men who have gone through the Resident in Training program, those who have been the overseeing pastor of a resident in training, and members of the HMB.

The harvest is ripe, and there is a need for laborers in the harvest. Every Christian, as a member of Christ’s body, has a task in the discipling of the nations. May our congregations, sessions, and presbyteries be encouraged to make use of all the resources the Lord has generously afforded us in the bounty of His providence. Let us not bury our talent, but make some improvement upon it in the earnest interest of God’s glory. The Resident in Training program is one of these rich blessings, helping grow ministers who will go and plant churches.