While many planters have theological education and ministry experience, church planting requires navigating complex challenges: building and leading a launch team, securing finances, creating a sustainable vision and ministry strategy, and understanding the unique cultural context.

A residency provides space, coaching, and structured preparation to answer these critical questions and avoid common pitfalls that lead to unhealthy or unsustainable church plants.

Every resident must go through a formal church planting assessment by Reach Australia before entering the program. This ensures they have the character, theological clarity, and leadership capacity for planting.

The training/sending church is also assessed to confirm readiness to train and send them out. Throughout the residency, both the resident and the church receive ongoing coaching and check-ins to ensure progress towards planting.

Yes. Less than 4% of Australians have a living faith in Jesus, and many areas are significantly underserved by gospel-centred churches. New churches are consistently shown to be one of the most effective ways to reach new people and foster gospel growth in changing communities.

While local churches contribute significantly—both financially and through mentorship—carrying the full financial cost of a residency can overstretch their resources. They also need to care for their existing congregation and local mission.

External financial partnerships allow churches to train planters without sacrificing other essential ministries.

Residents receive hands-on ministry experience in a local church, one-on-one coaching, cohort-based training, and structured development across four key phases: assimilation, planning, gathering, and transitioning.

The curriculum covers theological foundations, leadership health, cultural contextualisation, team building, evangelism strategy, and launch readiness.