Convergence Gifts · 16 min read
Christian Residency Reflection Guide for Hosts and Residents
A complete reflection framework for evaluating welcome, shared life, work, spiritual formation, boundaries, fruit, and next steps after a Christian residency.
Why host and resident reflect separately
Separate reflection gives each person freedom to name the week from her own position. The resident can describe welcome, access, nourishment, independence, work support, spiritual experiences, rest, nature, relationships, and return. The host can examine preparation, communication, energy, boundaries, household impact, formation, and program learning.
Begin with the lived experience
Record the sequence of arrival, settling, workdays, meals, gatherings, recreation, quiet time, conversations, and departure. Concrete details preserve what occurred before interpretation expands. Note which moments carried ease, surprise, joy, effort, confusion, or particular meaning.
Evaluate prepared hospitality
Consider whether the resident could locate what she needed, nourish herself, work independently, rest, enter and leave appropriately, understand household systems, and communicate needs. The host can identify which preparation created spaciousness and which details deserve greater clarity.
Examine formation and agency
Reflect upon teaching, prayer, worship, activation, conversation, and spiritual insight. Ask whether participation felt informed, voluntary, proportionate, Scripture-grounded, and open to testing. Name fruit, questions, uncertainty, and any experience requiring follow-up.
Name relationship and repair
Consider communication, companionship, independent time, one-to-one integration, misunderstood expectations, and moments of repair. Mature reflection can hold gratitude and needed refinement together, allowing the relationship and program to grow.
Translate reflection into revision
Gather themes from both perspectives. Preserve successful practices, revise unclear language, strengthen safeguards, improve application questions, and document host responsibilities. Choose a date to review whether next steps and collaborations remain aligned.