Residency | Lake Forest Church

Why This Residency Program?

Bridging the Gap

Are you finishing seminary and find yourself at a precipice? Do you feel God calling you to a new path on your vocational journey? The reality of stepping into a lead pastor role or planting a church can be daunting. You may still have questions. What kind of pastor will I become? How do I plant a church? Who will plant with me?

We’ve crafted our residency program for you—to walk alongside you and bridge the gap. Whether it’s between classroom and congregation or from one ministry vocation to another, we don’t want you to merely survive your first pastoral role, but thrive in it. This isn’t just theoretical knowledge, but practical experience, spiritual coaching, and a chance to cultivate the leadership your church community needs.

Who Are We?

Meet Our Mentors

MaryRobin and Aron first met in Los Angeles, California, serving together on a church plant team. At that time, MaryRobin worked on staff with Young Life, but felt called to vocational pastoring. Aron also felt called to pastoring and they quickly developed a shared vision: to start a new kind of church that would reach their peers and engage the social needs of the city. This experience ignited a lasting passion for church planting.

While completing coursework at Fuller Seminary, they were invited to launch a new young adult ministry at an established church in the area. Under their leadership, the ministry grew into a vibrant community of 500-600 young adults gathering for worship every Sunday night.

In 2013, sensing God’s call, they once again stepped out in faith. They accepted an invitation from the elders of Lake Forest Church-Huntersville, to plant a new congregation in Denver, NC. In 2014, Lake Forest Church-Westlake launched and has grown into a thriving ministry, serving the community and welcoming more than 1,200 people each Sunday.

For over a decade, MaryRobin and Aron have mentored and coached church planters—both within the Lake Forest family of churches and across other traditions. This church planting residency is the fullest expression of what they’ve been cultivating from the beginning: dedicating themselves to the flourishing and empowerment of the next generation of church leaders.

Duke Divinity (MDiv)

MaryRobin deLeon-Gibson

Residency Director; Senior Mentor

Fuller Theological Seminary (MDiv)

Aron Gibson

Lead Pastor; Senior Mentor

Our Community

At Lake Forest We:

Form community that’s both deep and wide
Dedicate ourselves to deep discipleship—practicing the way of Jesus
Welcome skeptics, spiritual explorers, and followers of Jesus
Embrace people who’ve given up on church, but not on God
Love people as they live out their story

Attendance:

Approximately 1,200 people gather between three services on Sunday mornings
Weekly ministries with over 300 children and youth
We’re a truly multigenerational church, with all ages engaging in various ministries

We’re part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church network in the Lake Forest Family of Churches.

Local Outreaches:

Kids Hope—mentorship program (in public schools)
Kairos—prison ministries
Room in the Inn—providing shelter and food to the unhoused (seasonally)
Foster care support
Annual Love People community service weekend
Lake Forest Shares—weekly fresh food distribution
Regular food distribution in public schools
Appalachia service project (making homes safe and comfortable)

International Partnerships In:

Bahamas
Haiti
Guatemala
India
Spain

Givings:

10% of all giving is set aside as the Missio Dei budget, for outreaches, missions, trips, and support of missionaries.
3% of all giving goes toward planting the next church in the Lake Forest Family of Churches.

What We Offer You

The Residency: 8 Thematic Movements

Our two-year residency program walks alongside you through eight thematic movements. These movements focus on pastoral development (emotional health, spiritual formation, and vocational clarity) and the essentials of church planting (forming a coherent vision of church, mission, and making disciples). By the end of year two, we will help you develop a posture of curiosity over judgement, clarify doctrine without rigidity, and cultivate your unique gift set, so you can lead with authenticity and discernment.

Year One: Formation & Foundations
Who are you - What do you believe - How do you live on mission
Movement One: Identity, Calling & Self-Awareness
- Theme: “Who am I, before I plant?”
- Aims: To cultivate the resident’s emotional health, spiritual formation, and vocational clarity.
Movement Two: Theology of Church & Planting
- Theme: “What am I building and why?”
- Aims: To build a bible-rooted and theologically coherent vision of church, mission, and making disciples.
Movement Three: Missional Church Philosophy
- Theme: “How does the gospel take root in a place?”
- Aims: To shift residents away from a program attendance mindset to a missional reality.
Movement Four: Understanding Your Ministry Context
- Theme: “How do we exegete the place we’re sent into?”
- Aims: To equip residents to plant churches that are both faithful and fitting, by interpreting, engaging, and responding to their specific context.
Year Two: Mission, Leadership & Launch
What are you building - Who do you build with - How are you sent
Movement Five: Essential Pastoral Skills
- Theme: “How do we live out daily shepherding?”
- Aims: To equip residents with foundational pastoral competencies necessary from day one of planting.
Movement Six: Leadership, Systems & Organizational Health
- Theme: “How do I build for growth?”
- Aims: To develop leaders who build healthy systems without losing a relational and missional soul.
Movement Seven: Launch Team Formation & Equipping
- Theme: “You don’t plant alone.”
- Aims: To form and prepare a spiritually mature and missionally-aligned launch team.
Movement Eight: Launch Strategy Evaluation & Sending
- Theme: “Faithful launch and long obedience.”
- Aims: To transition residents from training into faithful, adaptable church planters and lead pastors.

Practicing Healthy Rhythms

Coaching (weekly): You’ll receive personalized guidance from the senior mentors dedicated to sustaining your growth.
Peer Cohort Retreats: Form spiritually mature and missionally aligned friendships that will encourage you as you navigate this journey together.
Regular Spiritual Direction (monthly): Nurture your faith and clarify your calling through monthly meetings with a Spiritual Director.
Supervised Ministry: You’ll take on a supervised and very real pastoral role within our church community.
Annual Retreats: Take time away to reflect, renew, and refocus on your mission. (We have two church planter retreats: one in the late winter in Kansas and one in mid-October in Black Mountain, NC)
Regular reading, reflection, and writing exercises: These include case studies, journaling, reading scripture, ethnographic observations, etc.
Spouse & Family Support Pathways (where applicable)

Resident Benefits

A two-year, full-time paid residency position including:

Opportunities to participate in diverse ministries
A real pastoral role
One-on-one mentoring from our Lead Pastor
Participation in a peer cohort
Regular meetings with a Spiritual Director
Assistance with pastoral placement after program completion

Our goal is for our residents to either step into a lead pastor role or plant a new church in the region. There’s a real opportunity for consideration as a Lake Forest Church planter if it’s mutually agreeable.

What You’ll Receive:

Full-time salary for two years ($60k per year)
Health benefits included for residents (optional: additional dental and vision plans as well as family/spouse plans at residents additional expense)
3 weeks of PTO + 9 regular federal holidays
Spouse & Family counseling (where applicable)

Who We’re Looking For

Our Residents Are

People Who:

Posses a deep love for Jesus and the local church
Have strong and proven leadership gifts
Have a track record of starting or growing ministries
Demonstrate a tested sense of calling toward church planting or a lead pastor role
Are open to, or have experience with, the EPC family of churches
Have graduated seminary (or nearing completion)

Lake Forest Church is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and organizational needs. Lake Forest Church does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

As a faith-based organization, Lake Forest Church reserves the right to employ individuals who share and live out our Christian faith, in accordance with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Essentials of our Faith.