LIVING STONES APPRENTICESHIPS
If you are interested in becoming a church consultant, or if you are an independent consultant considering joining a team, this outlines the process for becoming part of our consulting team.
If your church is considering using the services of Living Stones, this gives you a window into our screening and training process for our consultants. So far as we know, we are the only church consulting team in North America that has such a comprehensive apprenticeship process for our consultants. We believe our approach to screening and training team members is at the heart of Living Stones' consistent effectiveness in equipping churches for healthy growth.
The Prospects
>> Living Stones receives frequent inquiries from people interested in working with our team. We take such inquiries seriously.
Only a small minority, though, lead to a working relationship with Living Stones.
>> Living Stones does not employ consultants. Our only employee is a part-time administrative assistant. Our consultants
contract on a project-by-project basis.
>> Except for our senior consultant, Eddy Hall, none of our consultants earn their primary livelihood through their work with Living
Stones. Some hope to go full-time and may eventually be able to do so as their consulting work load increases.
The Process
>> Living Stones does not offer employment to consultants. What we do offer is an intensive training process for church
consulting that is available to the few who qualify. Those considering an apprenticeship should think of it much like entering a
graduate degree program: it is not a job, but it can help you develop professional skills.
>> If you are interested in exploring a working relationship with Living Stones, first send us a resume with a letter or email
describing why you are interested in Living Stones and what skills and experience you would bring to church consulting. We
will then determine if there is a possible match between your skills and interests and the work Living Stones does.
>> If there seems to be a possible match, the next step is for you to read the two books we use most in our consulting work: The
More-with-Less Church and Natural Church Development. These are available in our bookstore.
>> If you are still interested after reading the two books, step three is either a phone visit or personal visit (when geography
makes that practical) to discuss your interest. This visit is with Eddy Hall and sometimes another team member.
>> If after the interview there is mutual interest in actively exploring an apprenticeship, step four is for you to go on an LSA
consultation as a guest consultant at your own expense. A guest consultant is primarily an observer, but may, at the lead
consultant's discretion, contribute to the consultation process.
>> About half of the people who have taken this first trip as an observer have been invited to continue the process. For the other
half, it has become clear to them and/or us during this first trip that there is not a good match between LSA’s work and the
interested person.
>> For those who continue, step five is to go on a second consultation as a guest consultant, again at your own expense.
Typically, a guest consultant takes a more active role in this second consultation.
>> After the two consultations, you will decide whether you wish to commit to a two- to five-year apprenticeship process, and
Living Stones will decide whether to invite you to become an apprentice.
>> If you become an apprentice, you will be invited to serve as an assistant consultant, gradually taking on increasing
responsibility during consultations to develop competence in all aspects of the process for which you will be responsible. An
apprenticeship can last from two to five years, depending on the skill level the apprentice brings into the training process, the
rate of learning, and the frequency with which the apprentice has opportunity to travel. An apprentice typically takes part in
somewhere between one and four consultations a year depending on how many consulting opportunities are a good match for
the apprentice’s areas of expertise. Apprentices usually receive a modest payment for their contributions depending on the
level of contribution. If opportunities for paid assignments are limited, you may be offered the option of additional guest
consultations to accelerate your training.
>> When LSA team members are leading seminars or other events, you may be invited to observe at your own expense as a part
of the apprenticeship process.
>> Apprentices agree to complete the Natural Church Development consultant training at their own expense.
>> Apprentices are also expected to take part in LSA’s annual team retreat for team-building, planning, and training, also at the
apprentice’s expense.
>> Apprentices who already have several years of church consulting experience before coming to LSA can be fast-tracked through
the training process. For them, the apprenticeship process consists primarily of learning the LSA way of doing things, learning
to use our tools, and testing to see if the consultant’s core values and those of LSA are a good match. Someone with significant
previous experience in church consulting can assume more responsibilities more quickly, including moving into a lead
consultant role more quickly if the consultant is well-suited for that role. Church consultants enrolled in the LSA
apprenticeship process are free to continue their own church consulting practice, with the support and encouragement of LSA.
>> Living Stones does not commit to providing any consulting contracts for those who complete an apprenticeship. We invest in
this training process much like a major league baseball franchise invests in player development in their farm system: we do it
because we believe this is the best way to equip people to become members of our consulting team, but we know that not
every apprentice will make it as a professional church consultant. Some of our apprentices end up using their training with
another organization serving churches. When that happens, we consider that a successful apprenticeship.
>> There is no clearly defined career track. Some apprentices will eventually become lead consultants with LSA; most will not. A
few Living Stones consultants may eventually have the opportunity to consult full-time, or at least as their primary line of work.
Most, however, will always earn most of their livelihood in other ways.
>> Our experience is that for most Living Stones consultants, working with Living Stones involves financial sacrifice. It often
means using vacation days or taking off work without pay to do consultations (and the income from the consultations may not
be enough to replace lost days of work). For those who do this as primary employment, the pay is generally less than the
person was receiving previously.
Why an apprenticeship approach to training? We believe that the skills of an effective church consultant cannot be learned in a classroom or in seminars; they can only be learned through apprenticeship and personal ministry experience. We believe that attending seminars or classes and reading books are important aspects of the apprenticeship, but only if they are components of the training that takes place in "real life." When an apprentice candidate comes to us with degrees in ministry-related fields, we regard that as an indicator of the person’s passion more than as a credential for the work. We do not assume that an advanced degree makes a person more qualified for this work.
Not only is this the approach we take to leadership development within LSA; this is also the approach to developing ministry leaders that we teach in the churches we work with. We are living out and exemplifying what we believe to be a biblical model for leadership development.
If, understanding all this, you are interested in exploring a relationship with Living Stones, send us your resume and a letter explaining why you are interested in Living Stones, and we’ll go from there.
If your church is considering using the services of Living Stones, this gives you a window into our screening and training process for our consultants. So far as we know, we are the only church consulting team in North America that has such a comprehensive apprenticeship process for our consultants. We believe our approach to screening and training team members is at the heart of Living Stones' consistent effectiveness in equipping churches for healthy growth.
The Prospects
>> Living Stones receives frequent inquiries from people interested in working with our team. We take such inquiries seriously.
Only a small minority, though, lead to a working relationship with Living Stones.
>> Living Stones does not employ consultants. Our only employee is a part-time administrative assistant. Our consultants
contract on a project-by-project basis.
>> Except for our senior consultant, Eddy Hall, none of our consultants earn their primary livelihood through their work with Living
Stones. Some hope to go full-time and may eventually be able to do so as their consulting work load increases.
The Process
>> Living Stones does not offer employment to consultants. What we do offer is an intensive training process for church
consulting that is available to the few who qualify. Those considering an apprenticeship should think of it much like entering a
graduate degree program: it is not a job, but it can help you develop professional skills.
>> If you are interested in exploring a working relationship with Living Stones, first send us a resume with a letter or email
describing why you are interested in Living Stones and what skills and experience you would bring to church consulting. We
will then determine if there is a possible match between your skills and interests and the work Living Stones does.
>> If there seems to be a possible match, the next step is for you to read the two books we use most in our consulting work: The
More-with-Less Church and Natural Church Development. These are available in our bookstore.
>> If you are still interested after reading the two books, step three is either a phone visit or personal visit (when geography
makes that practical) to discuss your interest. This visit is with Eddy Hall and sometimes another team member.
>> If after the interview there is mutual interest in actively exploring an apprenticeship, step four is for you to go on an LSA
consultation as a guest consultant at your own expense. A guest consultant is primarily an observer, but may, at the lead
consultant's discretion, contribute to the consultation process.
>> About half of the people who have taken this first trip as an observer have been invited to continue the process. For the other
half, it has become clear to them and/or us during this first trip that there is not a good match between LSA’s work and the
interested person.
>> For those who continue, step five is to go on a second consultation as a guest consultant, again at your own expense.
Typically, a guest consultant takes a more active role in this second consultation.
>> After the two consultations, you will decide whether you wish to commit to a two- to five-year apprenticeship process, and
Living Stones will decide whether to invite you to become an apprentice.
>> If you become an apprentice, you will be invited to serve as an assistant consultant, gradually taking on increasing
responsibility during consultations to develop competence in all aspects of the process for which you will be responsible. An
apprenticeship can last from two to five years, depending on the skill level the apprentice brings into the training process, the
rate of learning, and the frequency with which the apprentice has opportunity to travel. An apprentice typically takes part in
somewhere between one and four consultations a year depending on how many consulting opportunities are a good match for
the apprentice’s areas of expertise. Apprentices usually receive a modest payment for their contributions depending on the
level of contribution. If opportunities for paid assignments are limited, you may be offered the option of additional guest
consultations to accelerate your training.
>> When LSA team members are leading seminars or other events, you may be invited to observe at your own expense as a part
of the apprenticeship process.
>> Apprentices agree to complete the Natural Church Development consultant training at their own expense.
>> Apprentices are also expected to take part in LSA’s annual team retreat for team-building, planning, and training, also at the
apprentice’s expense.
>> Apprentices who already have several years of church consulting experience before coming to LSA can be fast-tracked through
the training process. For them, the apprenticeship process consists primarily of learning the LSA way of doing things, learning
to use our tools, and testing to see if the consultant’s core values and those of LSA are a good match. Someone with significant
previous experience in church consulting can assume more responsibilities more quickly, including moving into a lead
consultant role more quickly if the consultant is well-suited for that role. Church consultants enrolled in the LSA
apprenticeship process are free to continue their own church consulting practice, with the support and encouragement of LSA.
>> Living Stones does not commit to providing any consulting contracts for those who complete an apprenticeship. We invest in
this training process much like a major league baseball franchise invests in player development in their farm system: we do it
because we believe this is the best way to equip people to become members of our consulting team, but we know that not
every apprentice will make it as a professional church consultant. Some of our apprentices end up using their training with
another organization serving churches. When that happens, we consider that a successful apprenticeship.
>> There is no clearly defined career track. Some apprentices will eventually become lead consultants with LSA; most will not. A
few Living Stones consultants may eventually have the opportunity to consult full-time, or at least as their primary line of work.
Most, however, will always earn most of their livelihood in other ways.
>> Our experience is that for most Living Stones consultants, working with Living Stones involves financial sacrifice. It often
means using vacation days or taking off work without pay to do consultations (and the income from the consultations may not
be enough to replace lost days of work). For those who do this as primary employment, the pay is generally less than the
person was receiving previously.
Why an apprenticeship approach to training? We believe that the skills of an effective church consultant cannot be learned in a classroom or in seminars; they can only be learned through apprenticeship and personal ministry experience. We believe that attending seminars or classes and reading books are important aspects of the apprenticeship, but only if they are components of the training that takes place in "real life." When an apprentice candidate comes to us with degrees in ministry-related fields, we regard that as an indicator of the person’s passion more than as a credential for the work. We do not assume that an advanced degree makes a person more qualified for this work.
Not only is this the approach we take to leadership development within LSA; this is also the approach to developing ministry leaders that we teach in the churches we work with. We are living out and exemplifying what we believe to be a biblical model for leadership development.
If, understanding all this, you are interested in exploring a relationship with Living Stones, send us your resume and a letter explaining why you are interested in Living Stones, and we’ll go from there.