Formation For
A Lifetime Of
Kingdom Impact.
La Ruta - Pastoral Residency Track
La Ruta is a one-year church planting residency
of the Global Methodist Church of Málaga, Spain.
Now accepting applications for the September 2027 cohort.
A Community That Forms
Church Planters
La Ruta brings together a small cohort of emerging ministry leaders who live, learn, worship, and serve together while preparing for a lifetime of church planting and disciple-making.
Deepen Your Calling & Strengthen Your Leadership
Your ministry will never outgrow your walk with Christ. Our primary goal is for you to grow in your love for Christ as you develop the character, convictions, and practical ministry skills needed for a lifetime of ministry. La Ruta will help you cultivate spiritual maturity, resilient leadership, and a heart for making disciples who make disciples.
Formation Beyond the Classroom
Learning extends far beyond the classroom. La Ruta Residents travel throughout the Andalucía region of Spain with seasoned ministry leaders, gaining firsthand insight into the country's history, culture, and spiritual landscape. A pilgrimage on part of the Camino de Santiago also provides dedicated time for prayer, reflection, and discerning God's call in community
Life-on-Life
Discipleship
Ministry is caught as much as it is taught. Learn alongside experienced disciple-makers who will invest in your spiritual formation, leadership development, and preparation for church planting and multiplication.
Cross-cultural
Ministry Training
Learn to faithfully share the Gospel, make disciples, and plant new faith communities in one of Europe's most strategic mission fields. Gain hands-on ministry experience among post-Christian Europeans and diverse immigrant communities.
Language Immersion
& Spiritual Formation
Develop practical Spanish language skills while deepening your missiological foundation and cultivating a Spirit-led life. As you grow in Christ, you'll be better equipped to faithfully engage people across cultures and contexts.
FAQs
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La Ruta is the one-year Church Planting Residency of the Global Methodist Church of Málaga. Designed for recent seminary graduates and emerging ministry leaders, the residency combines spiritual formation, missiological formation, intentional mentoring, and hands-on leadership within an active church planting team. Rather than simply observing ministry, residents help make disciples, develop leaders, and establish new faith communities while preparing for a lifetime of pastoral ministry, church planting, and global mission.
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La Ruta is designed for recent seminary graduates and emerging ministry leaders who sense God's call to pastoral ministry, church planting, disciple-making, or cross-cultural mission.
Applicants are typically 23–30 years old, hold or are completing an M.Div. or equivalent theological degree, and desire to grow through hands-on ministry, intentional mentoring, and life in Christian community.
Married couples are warmly encouraged to apply, with each spouse completing an individual application.
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The Church Planting Residency begins each September and runs through July. From the first weeks of the program, residents become active members of our church planting team while receiving ongoing mentoring, missiological formation, language learning, and spiritual formation. By the end of the residency, participants will have the experience, confidence, and practical ministry skills to help plant and lead new faith communities wherever God calls them.
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Unlike many ministry residencies, La Ruta places residents on an active church planting team from the very beginning. Rather than observing ministry, residents receive meaningful leadership responsibility while being formed through intentional mentoring, missiological training, spiritual formation, language immersion, and cross-cultural ministry within a multiplying Global Methodist congregation.
The residency is intentionally designed to bridge the gap between seminary education and pioneering ministry by helping leaders put their theological training into practice in real-life ministry settings.
About the Residency
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The residency is built around five core areas:
Spiritual Formation
Missiological Formation
Church Planting & Disciple-Making
Intentional Mentoring
Language & Cultural Immersion
Residents serve as active members of the Global Methodist Church of Málaga by leading Conexión groups, participating in evangelism, discipling emerging leaders, serving in monthly worship gatherings, and helping establish new faith communities.
Every resident shares in the mission of making disciples and planting churches while receiving individualized development based on their gifts and calling. Opportunities may include preaching, shepherding, discipleship, worship, administration, communications, technology, creative arts, leadership development, and small group ministry.
Throughout the year, residents also engage with churches and ministries across southern Spain, participate in weekend learning excursions to significant cultural, historical, and spiritual sites, and complete a pilgrimage on a portion of the Camino de Santiago focused on spiritual reflection and vocational formation.
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The residency is based in Málaga, Spain—a vibrant Mediterranean city at the crossroads of Europe and North Africa.
As one of Europe's least-evangelized regions, Málaga provides a unique context for church planting, disciple-making, and cross-cultural ministry among post-Christian Europeans and diverse immigrant communities.
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No. Spanish proficiency is not required before arriving.
Residents receive language instruction throughout the year while using Spanish in everyday life, ministry, and relationships, allowing them to grow in confidence and effectiveness in a cross-cultural setting.
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La Ruta assists residents in securing housing in Málaga before arrival.
Residents typically live with other members of the residency cohort, creating opportunities for intentional Christian community, hospitality, prayer, and everyday discipleship.
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Yes! Throughout the residency, participants visit churches and ministries across southern Spain while taking part in weekend learning excursions to significant cultural, historical, and spiritual sites.
The residency also includes a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, providing dedicated time for spiritual reflection, vocational discernment, and community formation.
Life and Ministry
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Begin by completing the La Ruta Interest Form on our website. From there, our team will contact you to begin the application and discernment process, which includes interviews, references, and conversations about your ministry experience, calling, and fit for the residency.
Because each cohort is intentionally small, we encourage prospective residents to begin the process early.
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La Ruta is intentionally designed for a small cohort of 3–4 residents each year.
We are looking for men and women who demonstrate spiritual maturity, humility, a teachable spirit, and a genuine desire to make disciples and plant churches. Because the residency is highly relational and immersive, we seek residents who are eager to grow through community, mentoring, and meaningful ministry responsibility.
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That's okay. Many residents arrive with a growing sense of God's call but are still discerning exactly where and how they will serve.
La Ruta provides a year of intentional formation, mentoring, and practical ministry experience to help clarify your gifts and prepare you for faithful leadership—whether God ultimately calls you to church planting, pastoral ministry, global missions, or another ministry context.
Application Process
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Residents are responsible for paying for all or part of the residency. They may also choose to raise financial support for their living expenses through our partnership with TMS Global or another sending organization of their choice. We can also work with their Annual Conference to help acquire funding.
La Ruta provides:
Help to acquire housing before arrival
Help enrolling in a Language learning program
Missional formation and leadership development
Ongoing mentoring and ministry coaching
La Ruta residents are responsible for airfare, residency visa expenses, health insurance, and personal living expenses.
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Yes. We provide coaching, practical tools, and encouragement throughout the support-raising process.
Residents may raise support through TMS Global, allowing donors in the United States to make tax-deductible contributions, or through another missions sending organization.
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Yes.
Residents are responsible for obtaining the appropriate Spanish residency visa before arriving. Our team will guide you through the application process, provide detailed instructions, and help you prepare the required documentation and timeline.
Visa requirements vary by country, but typically include:
A valid passport
An invitation letter from the Global Methodist Church of Málaga
Proof of Spanish health insurance
A criminal background check
An appointment at your regional Spanish Consulate
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Yes. As an official Global Methodist Church congregation, the Global Methodist Church of Málaga is committed to developing future pastors and church planters.
Residents discerning ordination within the GMC receive mentoring, practical ministry experience, and guidance throughout the candidacy process. We are pleased to partner with residents and their home conference as they pursue God's call to ordained ministry.