October 2, 2026
MADISON, Ga. — Intentionally training future ministers in a grace-rich environment is the goal of a residency program Fusion Church in Madison will be launching in 2026.
On Nov. 23, Fusion announced a two-year residency program geared at raising well-trained, equipped Godly pastors to become faithful shepherds, teachers, leaders, and servants not only to the Lord but to the Bride of Christ, said Fusion Associate Pastor of Students and Teaching Pastor Jake McMillian. He is excited to be a partner to these residents as they learn. “It is an opportunity for someone to get their feet wet and get their hands to the plow and take part in the work of the ministry.”
Fusion will seek out individuals who have completed their undergraduate work, are considering full-time vocational ministry, and will commit to two years of work as a member of the staff of Fusion.
The residents will go through fundraising support training. They would need to raise $24,000 per year. Fusion would contribute to this, but it will be the residents' responsibility to raise most of the funds. The resident will reside locally in Madison with Fusion church members who have housing they can provide free.
“Across those two years, we would help them close the disparity gaps that pastors struggle with when getting started in the ministry. Often when pastors go to apply at a church, all their application fields require at least two years or five years of experience in a Southern Baptist church, and it is like, ‘I can never get experience if I can’t get in anywhere where I can get experience. ’ And, they want to see someone with a seminary education,” said McMillian. “A lot of pastors also suffer when they start vocational ministry in getting that contextual understanding of ministry life. We’re hoping to provide those things through this program to help raise up and equip leaders.”
Residents will have a hands-on role working alongside the Fusion staff approximately 20 to 30 hours per week for the church. The church work includes staff meetings, event planning, small groups, and discipleship.
Learning expository preaching, how to rightly handle the word of God, and preaching opportunities will be one of the hallmarks of the program.
“When people start in the ministry, they are thrown right to the wolves. Our residency program will provide our residents with an environment of grace where they can learn, and they specifically have an opportunity through which they can learn, be coached, be helped when they make mistakes, and then respond to that with grace. Having that two-year opportunity to learn and to grow and mature before starting that first ministry opportunity on their own from a personal level is what I’m excited about,” McMillian emphasized.
Residents will have a weekly meeting where they will alternate weeks between required semester readings that will help develop their spiritual formation, and residency-specific meetings that will discuss specific areas of ministry that all ministers should know. Those include handling church finances, handling rebuke and church conflict, “and everything in between,” McMillian said. They are getting their theological training, their spiritual formation, and ministry formation so that by the time they get through that two-year cycle, they’ve got plenty of practice.
Within those two years, Fusion would help fund the residents ' master's degree in a seminary of their choice. Some of the ministry work residents will be doing will count towards their graduate-level work.
Fusion, which launched as a church plant in 2011 has a missional DNA. “Our ministry focus has always been about reproducing that DNA and seeing the gospel go forth in our community, across the state and across the world,” McMillian remarked.
Since its beginnings, the church has emphasized raising the next generation and helping them step out in faith to their calling to work the harvest field. “As we were dream casting over the past year, this is something that really excited us because we want to be a place where other churches can turn to and say we need someone to step in and serve here.” The church wants its program to be a place where people are equipped and ready to serve and do that.
“This is something that we have ideologically been pursuing for years, but now, having this opportunity is something we are really excited about and leaning a lot of energy into not only this year, but Lord willing, if the program grows and advances, over the coming years.”
For information on the residency program, you can visit: https://www.fusionchurchmadison.org/residency-program
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