Our Lead Pastor Residency immerses emerging pastors in the life of Trinity so they can grow in character, deepen their gifts, and experience a healthy ministry culture firsthand. We call this gospel culture, where the truths of the gospel are not only proclaimed but practiced and embodied within the community. Residents learn by worshiping with us, leading among us, and walking closely with pastors and leaders who model humility, integrity, and spiritual maturity. This immersive environment forms pastors who know how to cultivate gospel culture in the churches they will one day lead.

God’s vision for a healthy church is clear. In Ephesians 4:11–13, unity and maturity in Christ grow as gifted leaders equip the saints for the work of ministry. Healthy churches flourish when pastors lead with wisdom, teach with clarity, shepherd with compassion, and empower the body to serve. At Trinity, we are committed to this biblical vision and desire to see healthy leaders raised up for healthy churches throughout the Puget Sound and beyond. Our residency develops these leaders through comprehensive equipping in preaching, leadership, shepherding, discipleship, and mission.

Pastoral ministry is not learned at a distance but up close. Because discipleship touches every sphere of life, pastoral formation must be relational, practical, and lived. Through life-on-life apprenticeship, residents enter into real ministry, real conversations, real joys, and real challenges. They learn not only how to lead programs or preach sermons, but how to shepherd people, cultivate wisdom, navigate conflict, and embody the love of Jesus in everyday life.

Trinity’s story uniquely shapes our approach. We gather in a historic building at Seattle’s highest elevation, a place where faithful churches have worshiped for more than a century. As a replant birthed out of the ashes of Mars Hill Church, God has used our history to teach us what creates toxic culture and what nurtures gospel culture. We carry lessons of humility, resilience, and hope, and we long to equip pastors who lead with integrity, clarity, and Christlike love. We believe God is not finished with His Church and are eager to invest in leaders who will help shape its future.

West Seattle offers one of the most unique ministry contexts in the region. Home to one-fifth of Seattle’s population, our peninsula is rich with cultural diversity, neighborhood connection, and a small-town feel within an urban center. It is close to the city’s energy while set apart from its pace, creating a distinctive environment for pastoral work where presence, relationship, and resilience matter deeply.

Urban ministry is vital for the renewal of the Church in America. Cities concentrate beauty and brokenness, opportunity and struggle, diversity and need. As Tim Keller notes, cities hold more diversity, more skepticism, more suffering, and more image bearers per square mile than anywhere else. Seattle embodies this complexity, filled with creativity and spiritual hunger, yet often distant from the God who gives life. We love Seattle for its culture and humanity, but we are here most of all because we long to see the kingdom of Jesus break into this place as it is in heaven.