The Fellows Initiative | Become a Fellow

Start Well

Find Your Place in a Fellows Program!

Launch Your Career with a Strong Foundation

The college years are amazing…full of new ideas and friendships, new learning and opportunities. And yet, the transition from college life to post-college life can be hard. Sometimes it seems easier, even normal, to heed the call of the world and lose sight of God’s call to serve, love, and promote flourishing.

A fellows program will help you start well, which means entering this next phase of life with Jesus as your focus. He is the one through whom all things were made, who sustains all things, and who is making all things new…including you. By joining a TFI fellows program, you can launch your career with a strong foundation: rooted in Christ, settled in a church community and cohort of fellows, and growing in your faith.

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What is a Fellows Program?

A TFI fellows program is a practical, 9-10 month spiritual and vocational leadership program that prepares a recent graduate to live a seamless life of faith in Christ. The program includes a professional job in your field of interest (yes, we help you get a job!), graduate coursework and biblical studies, personalized mentoring, service in the church and city, and more. All of this takes place in a coeducational, cohort community.

For decades and with thousands of alumni, TFI's unique approach has proven to be an outstanding way for recent graduates to successfully launch their careers, establish Christian community in a new city, and form the habits that lead to flourishing.

Fellows programs equip emerging leaders to have a thoughtful impact in the world. Through the various elements of the program, fellows discern how their story fits into God's story. A fellows program enables a recent graduate to start their post-college life with a strong foundation for a cohesive life of faith in Christ — a full life that seamlessly weaves together career, church life, and personal life. Fellows have the opportunity to address some of life's most important questions: How do you think "Christianly" about work, culture, friendships, and the other real experiences of life?

In addition to working and serving, fellows also take graduate courses in theology, leadership, and culture. Although they involve coursework, TFI fellows programs are not just about reading and listening to lectures. They are designed to be balanced head + heart + hands programs that involve postgraduate training in the classroom, real work in real jobs, hands-on leadership and service experiences in the church and city, intentional community with a cohort of peers, and personal and individualized mentoring for each fellow.

The Core Elements of a Fellows Program

A fellows program is a comprehensive and multi-faceted personal, professional, and spiritual growth experience. Under the leadership of the local program leaders and faculty, you will have the opportunity to grow in many areas and establish patterns for the rest of your life.

WORK

Fellows grow as professionals by spending 3-4 days a week working a paid job in a field of their interest.

SERVICE

Fellows cultivate healthy rhythms and habits by consistently serving in the church and city.

LEARNING

Fellows develop a spiritual foundation by taking graduate level leadership and theology courses.

WORSHIP

Fellows explore how to be more than just a consumer of church by connecting deeply with a local church body.

COMMUNITY

Fellows form intentional relationships with peers and mentors to create a model of post-college Christian community.

About the Job

Fellows work in a wide variety of jobs — in the fields of law, education, medicine, banking, the art, journalism, engineering, entrepreneurship, ministry, etc. All positions offer opportunities to learn and grow, to gain transferable skills, to build a network of contacts, and to serve as Christ would.

We desire to prepare and equip the emerging generation of leaders to engage God's world in all expressions of God-given work. So, members of the local church use their personal and professional networks to place fellows in jobs that are aligned with their vocational interests.

While most fellows work in the marketplace, some fellows programs also offer jobs in the local church. Depending on the church, these roles may be in youth ministry, worship arts, missions, or other areas. These unique positions offer a fellow who is discerning a call to vocational ministry an excellent opportunity to experience work in the church context .

Regardless of the type of job, every fellow has the unique opportunity to learn while launching their career. In a fellows program, recent graduates will discern how their stories fit into God's story, and will begin to discern how they can participate in God's redemptive plan in all areas of life, including the workplace.

Fellows Housing

There are two housing options in TFI fellows programs. In most fellows programs, fellows live with host families from the local church or churches. A few programs offer community housing instead.

Both options are great. Living in a host home gives you the opportunity to be loved and enfolded by a family in the church. Room and board are provided by the host family. Community housing gives you the opportunity to explore close Christian community under one roof. Details of community housing vary by program, so please check the the individual programs for details.

Who Are Fellows?

Fellows are recent college graduates, typically 21-25 that want to go deep in their walk with God. When building each fellows class, we look for young leaders that want to explore God's callings and purposes for their lives and that have a heart for serving others.

FELLOWS ARE DIVERSE

Fellows come from many cultural and geographic backgrounds, with varied educational and vocational interests, passions, and traditions. Some are life-long followers of Christ— some are new Christians. Some attended public colleges, some private. Fellows are interested in all sorts of career paths — business, medicine, law, politics, technology, science, education, and more.

FELLOWS GROW IN CHRIST

Fellows are eager to pursue seamless lives of Christian faith. A seamless life in Christ is one marked by an overt commitment to Christ in all areas of life – work, home, church, society. In so many ways, we're apt to live "double lives" with a Christian part and a worldly part. Fellows are eager to stitch this together into a single fabric of faith.

FELLOWS ARE IN A COHORT

Fellows programs operate on a cohort model. A fellow is not just doing a job and taking classes on their own. They are part of an authentic learning community that encourages and challenges one another. They serve together in the church and city and grow together through rich conversation and mutual care.

FELLOWS DIVE IN

Fellows are committed to being teachable, humble, and service-minded. We encourage fellows to come with questions and a willingness to take some risks. We look for fellows that will be excited to step into leadership. Across the TFI network of fellows programs, we encourage fellows to step deeply into the responsibilities of adulthood with a readiness to grow in grace as they learn.

About The Fellows Initiative

he Fellows Initiative is the original network of church-based, postgraduate Christian fellowship programs. As a network, we are working together to inspire and equip the rising generation of leaders for the marketplace, church, and society for three decades.

TFI has been developing and applying our proven model of vocational discipleship and leadership development in churches and cities across the country. Hundreds of recent graduates join fellows programs each year. The TFI network includes thousands of alumni living, working, and serving around the world.

Every program in the TFI network shares the same core elements listed above. And yet, every program is unique – unique location and church community, unique leadership, and program structure. Click here to explore all of the fellows programs in the TFI network.

Costs of a Fellows Program

Program fees vary across the network of fellows, from $4,500 to $7,500. Fellows are encouraged to fundraise to help with the costs of the program and many programs have scholarships available. Please check with the individual fellows programs to learn more about costs, fundraising, scholarships.

Apply to Be a Fellow

The process of becoming a fellow is simple - just fill out the TFI Common Application. There are no application fees and you can apply to three programs at once. We accept applications from September through July. All programs start in August or September. We strongly encourage you to APPLY EARLY because many of the programs fill up quickly. Rolling admissions begins after March 15th.

Application Deadlines

Early Deadline - November 30th

Winter Deadline - January 15th

Spring Deadline - March 15th