Emerging young leaders who have a clear call to ministry, a passion for Jesus, a burden for the lost, and a hunger to build the Church.

These are the essential qualifications for all proteges:

• Expresses a clear call to ministry

• College graduate (or clearly on their way) **this is preferred but is not required in certain circumstances.

• Clear and compelling leadership potential

• Demonstration of clear commitment to the entirety of the program.

• Some level of ministry experience

• Appropriate maturity and work ethic

• Appropriate level of spiritual maturity and an understanding of the Gospel.

• Aligns with our ministry philosophy, core doctrine, theology, culture and staff values.

• Has their own transportation

Participants (also called proteges) will be challenged personally and professionally in order to grow and lead like never before! Each participant will be part of a fun and exciting church staff culture. They will go on this journey with friends who will become family. They will have the opportunity to dream and imagine a ministry project to execute in the church. Overall, we don't want proteges to sit on the sidelines; we want them to lead from the front!

The program offers theological training and hands-on experience to sharpen, encourage, and strengthen each protege. Each week, proteges will be part of an intentional class time (called huddle) led by a pastoral team that have years of experience. Proteges will read books that valuable for someone interested in full- time ministry. They will have the chance to take part in incredible field trips and retreats, and have the opportunity to travel overseas.

Proteges will have a variety of ministry concentrations to choose from to tailor the program for their passions, strengths, and gifts. They will focus their efforts in a specific area, and receive specialized mentoring and training in order to become the best of the best!

• Students / Youth

• Kids / Children’s Ministry

• Worship / Music

• Church Planting

• Connections / Community

• Creative Arts

• Digital/Social Media

• Preaching / Teaching

• Missions

• Discipleship / Groups

• Communication / Marketing

• Outreach / Evangelism

1. Fill out the LDP application here.

2. You will be followed up with via email/phone via the Program Director for a brief-initial phone call interview.

3. If eligible, the applicant will go through a series of interviews with pastoral staff, the LDP Director, and other staff members to ensure that the program is a cultural fit for the applicant and the team.

4. Next steps will be discussed throughout the journey and our hope is to either onboard you into the program or help you discover a better next step.

We do our best to find a loving and healthy host family that is part of our church community to provide each Protege with their own room.

There will be an agreed-upon understanding between our church, the Host family, and the Protege to ensure clarification of expectations.

Proteges are not required to live in the provided Host home if the Resident chooses to arrange their own living arrangements.

Elevate City & Stonecreek Church is committed to investing in emerging leaders and provides the following for each Protege:

• A monthly stipend of $1,500 (Proteges), $1,250 (Summer Interns).

• Financial Aid in pursuing a Masters Degree through our partnership with Moody Bible Institute

• Optional housing (or housing support) for single residents

• All expenses paid for an annual LDP retreat

• Paid for lunch every Wednesday with Pastoral led Huddles

• An invitation to participate in our annual Elevate University Conference

• All expenses paid for our in-house student camps/retreats

• We will work with Proteges who need/desire to have additional PT jobs to help with supplemental income (this plan must be communicated and agreed upon before the start of the program and is subject to supervisor discretion).

Yes. In fact, we encourage it if needed as a way to make ends meet. However, as you arrange your schedule, you will need to prioritize the hours of your LDP and find part-time work that can accommodate that schedule. All our proteges have been able to make this arrangement work.

The Leadership Development Program starts the first Monday of August, and ends the last Sunday of July the following year.

In special circumstances we can on-board proteges in January.

Summer Internships (8 weeks) begin at the end of May and go through the last Sunday of July.

Yes, we have had married residents go through the program.