Church Planter Training

Held at the the Vintage Training Center in Gilbert, Arizona as a five-month cohort, our planter training equips godly, gifted men to become effective church planters, leaders, and fruitful lead pastors. We aim to launch healthy, multiplying churches and train up qualified men to lead them.

Core Curriculum

Healthy Church

To be a successful VM planter, one needs to thoroughly understand our distinctives, DNA, and philosophy. Planters are immersed into the life and culture of a thriving church and receive hands-on training in everything needed to execute a high-impact service with assimilation, kids, and worship ministries, and to build the teams required for launch.

Healthy Leader

Lead pastors are called not only to preach, but to lead as well. In addition to learning VM’s leadership culture of clarity, simplicity, and urgency, planters are trained on leading as a shepherd, as a builder, and as a manager, along with how to lead well in key relationships.

Healthy Preacher

Unapologetic preaching is a rock-solid non-negotiable at VM and we believe a lifelong pursuit of excellent preaching and teaching is a must for any lead pastor. Planters both learn and apply the most important aspects of preaching, with the opportunity to preach and receive feedback several times during their training.

Healthy Start

Gathering a core team, identifying and developing leaders, and transitioning the core team into a launch team are all vital skills for a successful VM planter. They must be able to move individuals into a group and move a group from vision to mission, plus build teams, manage projects, and raise funds. They will learn and demonstrate ability in all of these skills and more before completion of training.

Factors in Training

  • Planters who meet the high profile standards for training and planting.

  • A systematic program of instruction and practice.

  • A learning environment where knowledge is both “taught” and “caught,” as core convictions, commitments, and conduct are modeled.

  • Hand-on, practical experiences in both classroom and internship settings.

  • Instructors and mentors who bring specific education and expertise to the training context.

Desired Outcomes

  • Clarity in understanding the church planting task.

  • A high level of commitment to leading a doxological, missional, and intentional church.

  • A disciplined pursuit of sharpening preaching and strengthening leadership.

  • Success in launching a new church.

  • An increased level of involvement with VM post-launch, growing through the stages of church advancement.