Please Support This Important Work

Many young adults find the church to be irrelevant, judgmental, and out-of-touch rather than a place filled with love, grace, and hope in Christ. In addition, many young Christians have trouble connecting their faith in Christ with their day-to-day work and friendships.

The good news is that churches in The Fellows Initiative network are experiencing the exact opposite. In fact, many of the churches that host TFI Fellows programs report that Millennials are among their fastest growing age groups!

Through our commitment to Christ-centered, church-based, whole-life discipleship of recent college graduates, TFI fellows programs are a bright spot in an otherwise difficult story. TFI Fellows programs are training the emerging generation of servant leaders for the church, workplace, and society. With your financial support and partnership, TFI can continue to grow and impact more churches, cities, and fellows every year.

Highlights from 2021

In spite of the global pandemic, Fellows and Fellows programs have thrived. Yes, this year has been very difficult at times. The Fellows program directors across the TFI network have felt the weight of the challenge. And, to a large degree, the Fellows have done exceptionally well during this time.

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Here are a few highlights from the Fellows year

• Growing Participation. There are 33 Fellows programs in 30 cities. That’s a high watermark for the TFI network. There are roughly 230 Fellows in the current program year, and roughly than 3,000 alumni.

• New Programs. COVID has slowed our growth somewhat, but God has richly blessed the TFI network with new programs:

• Cave Spring Fellows in Roanoke, Virginia (launched in 2021)

• Zacchaeus Fellows in Atlanta, Georgia (launched in 2021)

• Roaring Fork Fellows on the Western Slope of Colorado (launching in 2022)

• Space Coast Fellows in Satellite Beach, Florida (launching in 2023)

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• Training More Churches. In 2021, we trained more than 25 people from 14 churches that are exploring new Fellows programs! Our successful New Director Training program has also had a busy year with many new staff members in our network.

• TFI Common Application. This application allows applicants to apply to three programs at once. Our goal is to give broad reach to our Fellows programs, many of which have limited ability to recruit nationally.

Looking Forward

The Lord has richly blessed The Fellows Initiative for many years. We are confident that he will continue to bless and grow this work, even if our growth is a bit slower during the pandemic.

Here are a few things we are working toward

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• More Fellows Programs. During the pandemic, we have been actively training dozens of leaders across the country. Several church leaders are now in the discernment phase or early preparation phase in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

• Expanded Campus Recruitment. Reaching college seniors is a strategic initiative for TFI and each of our participating fellows programs. Our goal is to help as many emerging leaders as possible to find their place in a Fellows program. TFI is hosting frequent informational webinars as well as getting onto college campuses as much as we can.

• New Curriculum Project. While most local Fellows programs have built their own educational programs, TFI gets a lot of requests from new Fellows program leaders for a modular curriculum. We are planning to create the first elements of this curriculum that will not only serve Fellows, but will make it easier for new Fellows programs to launch.

• Continuation of Our Successful Conference Program. In the spring, we were forced to have a virtual National Fellows conference. Even so, it was a terrific event anchored by three incredible speakers: Dr. Gray Sutanto of Reformed Theological Seminary, Dr. Hannah Stolze of Wheaton College, and Dr. Walter Kim, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Thankfully, we were able to return to in-person events for our annual Micah 6:8 Conference. Ambassador John Richmond, Dr. Michael Rhodes, and Rev. Dr. Bill Fullilove were our keynote speakers focusing on God's call for us to be people of justice, mercy and humility.