A ministry residency is a two to three-year season of accredited ministry training and practice in a local church. The term "ministry" refers to various types of local-church oriented ministry; and the residency can be custom fit to equip for a specific ministry calling, be it the pastorate, associate pastoral roles, church planting, or global missions. A residency is intended to train those whom God has called to focus on the vocational, bi-vocational, or co-vocational local church ministry. The outcome of a ministry residency will be the successful completion of a robust ordination process and commissioning by the local church with the assistance of the Converge Heartland District.