The Position
Note: Act Five is preparing to launch as an independent organization as of May 2023. This role will be for the new organization, “Act Five Initiatives”. Through April 2023, Act Five is held and operated out of Redeemer University.
Act Five facilitates the Christian discipleship of young people toward living our days as rooted & engaged followers of Jesus. We are committed to the Christian formation that happens through intentional communities of learning & embodied practice, and we are excited by how young people have been shaped through this community over our first few years of operations.
Based out of Hamilton, ON, Act Five is moving toward its fifth program year and first as an independent charitable organization as of May 2023. Act Five’s primary operations are carried out of a large home in a lower Hamilton neighbourhood, and include both a gap year program and a residency program. For more information on Act Five’s mission, vision & goals, visit www.actfive.ca/about/mission.
The Resident Leader (RL) position works specifically with our 8-month gap year program, which is geared toward rooting young adults (17-20 year olds) in a Hamilton community home, while leading them into new places and new experiences that are facilitated to deepen their walk with Christ, grow their imagination for and practice of the Christian life, and grow in who they are and what their next steps might be. Students and resident leaders live together in a community home (alongside other young adult residents), while students work through courses, complete field placement hours, engage missionally in the city, go on several trips, and benefit from intentional mentorship and community.
The Act Five Resident Leader (RL) role is a unique live-in position for someone looking for an opportunity to disciple young adults aged 17-20 in a community living environment, to grow in leadership skills and ministry experience, and to gain experience in program leadership, pastoral care, and a wide range of other experiences. This role is carried out as part of Resident Leading Team consisting of 3-4 staff, and it begins as a “ministry of presence” in walking alongside Act Five students through the ordinary days of living in community and engaging in our neighbourhood, while also experiencing – and facilitating elements of – all that the Act Five program offers. Included in the RL experience is spiritual direction, formative learning opportunities and participation in the benefits and commitments of being part of the Act Five community.
When does this take place?
The Act Five resident leader role begins in the following ways:
- A preferred (not required) move-in date for May 2023 so as to
- (a) make 75 Blake St home,
- (b) become slowly immersed in Act Five’s way of living and learning, and
- (c) participate in the planning of the Act Five year.
- A required participation in a staff orientation retreat from May 11-13, 2023 (Location TBD).
- Required move-in date by the weekend of August 19, 2023 at the latest so as to begin two weeks of full-time staff training on August 21, 2023.
- The minimum commitment for this position is from August 21, 2023 through to April 30, 2024. After the first term, RLs may be invited to consider staying in this role for a second program year. For RLs who stay beyond their first year,
there are many personal and professional benefits.
Additionally, compensation benefits include:
- Access to Health & Dental benefits
- Free housing benefit during Act Five “offseason” from May through August, 2024.
- Increased stipend for year two of program
Responsibilities
Beyond what a resident leader does, the resident leader role is about being a disciple of Jesus as a member of the Act Five community, coming alongside gap year students on their own walks with Jesus.
As a team, RLs assist in the implementation of the Act Five program through the following:
- Living with the gap year students, building/modeling healthy relationships with students, attending to critical situations (with senior staff support), and facilitating/modeling rhythms of the Christian life in order to encourage spiritual formation, personal growth, discernment, and personal and community wellness.
- Participating and leading elements of program: Eg. fun events, body care, worship & bible study nights, hospitality activities, family meal groups, groceries and chores, house meetings, creative projects in the home
- Attending to critical situations, supporting student wellness and maintaining community expectations. In this, RLs encourage students’ personal, vocational, and spiritual growth.
- Residence at the Act Five home is required for the position, as is shared overnight and (a few) weekend on-call responsibilities, and travel on various trips, including:
- 2-week canoe trip in September with Coldwater Canada
- Weeklong trip to Manitoulin Island in November.
- 3-week service trip (likely in January) to a location TBD (2023 trips included south Texas and Central America).
- 4-day winter camping trip with Coldwater Canada
- Weekend trip in February to a US urban centre.
- 5-6 day backpacking trip in April with Coldwater Canada (location TBD)
- Other 2-3 day program trips and retreats.
(Within the resident leading team, some trips (eg. Manitoulin, Weekend February Trip) are not required for participation by all resident leaders)
- RLs should have a full Ontario G Licence and be comfortable driving rental vehicles with groups of students.
RLs work in coordination with the rest of the Act Five staff team and receive support in their role both from other resident leaders as well as Act Five leadership. The role is an essential part of who Act Five is and how we lead our gap year program, and it is filled with both unique challenges, opportunities, and gifts.
Finally, if RLs come with gifts and experience in one or more of the following administrative areas (though this is not required), some of the following responsibilities can be considered:
- (1) communications; Responsibilities related to Act Five social media, photography/videography and the blog
- (2) worship & the arts; Responsibilities related to facilitation of engagement in arts, worship and bible study.
- (3) various program administrative tasks; Responsibilities related to reimbursement and expense tracking, calendar administration, file organization, tech support, booking rental vehicles, coordinating city events,
and/or coordinating student placements
(When submitting an application, please make a special note as to whether you have interest/skills in one of the above areas.)
Brief Description of Formation Outcomes for Resident Leaders:
- Opportunities range through commitments to a rhythm of life that involves prayer, scripture, community, solitude, church attendance, regular retreat, limitations on tech use and spiritual direction.
- Participate as an active member of both the Act Five staff team and the Act Five Residency community.
- Participate in opportunities for vocational discernment, staff retreats, and learning through Act Five’s model of discipleship.
