6th
Raleigh ranks as the sixth best place to live in the United States.
Source: 2024 US News & World Report
Church Planting Residency
More Churches Needed
72% of the 1.2 million in Wake County do not attend a religious service at least once a month. If 100% showed up for church this Sunday, there would only be enough seats for 1% or around 118,000.
Source: US Census Bureau, Synergos Technologies Inc., Experian, The American Beliefs Study
Why Church Planting?
Since our founding in 2007, Southbridge Fellowship has been passionate about connecting people to Jesus for life change in the Raleigh-Durham area. Our story has many chapters, and as we sought God’s direction for our future, He gave us a vision to impact our city. We aim to lead a movement dedicated to personal spiritual transformation, ultimately saturating the city with the gospel.
To achieve this, we recognize the need for more churches in the Raleigh-Durham area committed to following Jesus and making disciples. Our Church Planting Residency meets this need by empowering and equipping men to plant strong and vibrant churches.
2nd
Raleigh has the second hottest housing market in the United States.
Source: 2024 US News & World Report
2nd
The Raleigh-Durham area named the second fastest growing metro areas in the United States.
Source: 2010-2024 US Census Data
We Are Looking For Someone Who:
ENJOYS GOD FULLY...
- by having a vibrant walk with Jesus and a deep understanding of scripture.
- by having experienced challenges and loss in life and having seen God work in them through it.
- by being fully authentic in their walk with God.
LIVES AS FAMILY...
- by building trusted teams to do ministry alongside them.
- by holding others accountable and being willing to be held accountable.
- by seeing other churches as teammates in the vision to saturate the Raleigh-Durham area with the gospel.
TAKES RADICAL RISKS...
- by being driven and entrepreneurial.
- by being able to devise innovative solutions that lead to impactful and sustainable ministry.
- by not quitting when it’s hard.
MAKES DISCIPLES...
- by boldly sharing the gospel and pursuing the lost in the Raleigh-Durham area.
- by walking people along their spiritual journey and empowering them to be who God called them to be.
FAQs
Our residency program is custom-built for each resident, focusing specifically on the Raleigh-Durham area. It’s a finishing school designed to walk closely with church planters until they launch their churches and to support them afterward. We target entrepreneurial leaders, aiming to impact our city and equip them to be healthy leaders.
The residency is in person, and residents are expected to move to the area. From day one, residents will begin connecting with and evangelizing their plant location.
The residency lasts until the new church has been planted. It is divided into three phases, each with different tasks and training for the resident. Depending on the resident and the context, we expect the residency to last 9-15 months.
While we support church planting everywhere, God has called us to focus on planting churches in the Raleigh-Durham area. Within the Raleigh area, there is a diverse set of locations that need churches. Planters pick their target locations.
No, the Raleigh area needs many different types of churches. We only ask that residents align with our statement of beliefs.
We currently partner with Send Network and Fellowship Associates. Residents are not required to partner with them.
The residency is a salaried position until the new church is launched. We want to remove any barriers for the church planter so they can focus on developing a healthy church plant.
While working is not necessarily a deal-breaker, it is not recommended and is a factor in the selection process. We ask that you refrain from beginning any new jobs after the residency begins.