Riverside Church

Riverside Church in Fort Myers, FL searching for 3 residents in these areas of ministry: Students, Kids, Worship, Adults/Missions or Communication

Expected Work Hours: 20-30 hours per week
Expected Pay: Up to $1,000 reimbursed expenses per month

What are your greatest hopes and dreams for the next couple of years for your church?

Our mission is simple: to make and send disciples who love and live like Jesus.

Our greatest hope is that Riverside becomes known as a church that develops disciples—not just attendees. We want every ministry, every staff member, every leader, and every environment to help people take intentional next steps with Jesus.

We're in the middle of a once-in-a-generation campus renovation that will better serve both our church family and our community. We aren't renovating simply to have a nicer building; we're creating spaces that remove barriers to the gospel and better disciple the next generation, equip families, and reach our city.

Long-term, we want Riverside to become a church that consistently develops and sends leaders, pastors, church planters, missionaries, and disciple-makers throughout Southwest Florida and beyond.

Why did you choose to do a residency & what are you hopeful will happen through this process?

We believe leadership multiplication is one of the greatest responsibilities of the local church.

A residency isn't simply another internship where someone fills ministry gaps. It's an intentional investment in someone's calling.

Our desire is to give young leaders meaningful ministry responsibility while surrounding them with coaching, feedback, theological development, leadership experiences, and real-life ministry challenges.

Success isn't simply that someone works here well for a year. Success is that they leave more like Jesus, more capable as a leader, more confident in their calling, and better equipped to faithfully shepherd people wherever God sends them next.

What is it like to work on staff there?

Our staff culture is highly relational, collaborative, and rooted in trust. We laugh together, challenge one another, celebrate wins together, and care deeply about each other as people—not just coworkers.

We care as much about who you are becoming as what you're producing. We prioritize spiritual formation, honest conversations, coaching, feedback, and continual growth. We value initiative, humility, teamwork, and a willingness to keep learning.

Does your church’s website state the mission, vision, values and key distinctives of your church? Please paste the link:

https://riversidechurch.org/our-mission

Please describe the current staff structure.

Riverside is an elder-governed, staff-led church.

Our Lead Pastor provides vision, preaching, and spiritual leadership while our Executive Pastor provides organizational leadership, strategic execution, and staff development. Together they work closely with the Elder Team.

Our ministry leaders oversee the major ministry areas of the church while working collaboratively across departments rather than operating in silos. Residents receive coaching from their ministry leader while also gaining exposure to the broader leadership of the church.

What qualities does it take to “win” on staff at your church?  

Character always comes before competency.

We look for leaders who are deeply committed to following Jesus, humble enough to receive coaching, hungry enough to take initiative, emotionally intelligent, dependable, team-first, solution-oriented, and excited to keep growing.

At Riverside, leadership is stewardship. Readiness—not tenure—creates opportunity.

Who will the resident report to?  Will there be a different person acting as coach?

Next Gen residents (Students and Kids) would report to Janet-Lynn Yeomans. The other resident would report to Matt Nation for now, but that may depend on the specific area of focus.

Are there particular assessment tools that you prefer when exploring potential staff people?

Working Genius is our primary leadership assessment and has become common language across our staff. We use it to better understand how God has wired people, build healthy teams, and coach leaders into roles where they can thrive.

Are you affiliated with a particular denomination or tribes/association of churches? If so, what websites could one investigate to gain further understanding?

No affiliation.

What are the key doctrinal and theological issues where alignment is essential?

We are committed to historic, orthodox Christian doctrine centered on the authority of Scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Particular areas of importance include salvation by grace through faith, eternal security, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, the centrality of disciple-making, biblical elder leadership, and a high view of the local church.

We don't expect identical views on every secondary issue, but we do expect humility, teachability, and unity around our essential convictions.

What is your average weekend attendance?

Approximately 1,200+ across two Sunday services (9:00 AM and 11:00 AM).

In general, what is your church demographic?

We have a good mix of young families and recent or close to retirement age.

Is there more than one site or venue? If so, please describe.

One location.

How many conversions has your church had in the past 12 months? (however you define this and whatever you count)

This past year we had 30 baptisms. 

What percentage of people are involved in a small group?

52%

What is your church known for in the community? 

We hope Riverside is known as a church that genuinely loves people.

Whether through local partnerships, serving schools, caring for families, missions, or meeting practical needs, we want our community to experience the love of Jesus long before they attend a worship service.

How much are you planning on financially compensating your resident?  Is it set or is it flexible?

$1,000/month plus housing. This is flexible.

What does a typical work week look like for this resident?

Residents typically serve 20–30 hours per week depending on ministry responsibilities.

Every week includes ministry planning, team meetings, one-on-one coaching, leadership development, hands-on ministry, Sunday responsibilities, reading, and regular feedback. This isn't primarily a shadowing experience; residents receive real responsibility with intentional coaching.

What else would you say to a resident considering joining your team?

If you're simply looking for ministry experience, there are plenty of churches that can provide that.

If you're looking to become the kind of leader God can trust with people, we'd love to invest in you.

You'll make mistakes here—and that's okay. We believe mistakes are opportunities to grow when you're willing to learn. Our hope is that you'll leave more like Jesus, more equipped to lead, and more prepared for wherever God calls you next.

How else would you describe leadership development at your organization?

Leadership development is woven into the rhythm of our church rather than treated as a separate program.

Residents receive regular coaching, meaningful ministry responsibility, consistent feedback, leadership reading, ministry debriefs, and opportunities to observe how decisions are made at every level of the organization.

Our goal isn't simply to help someone perform a ministry role well. Our goal is to develop leaders with the character, wisdom, and competency to faithfully lead wherever God calls them.