Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. – Matthew 7:24
And that is exactly our hope; to come alongside recent college graduates and help them build a solid foundation in the Lord that will equip and serve them for the rest of their lives. Based on the model set forth by the Falls Church Fellows Program, and then adopted by the The Fellows Initiative (www.thefellowsinitiative.com), the Kinston Fellows Program will provide its participants with an in-depth, all encompassing buffet of experiences that will ultimately prepare them for what lies ahead. The program can be broken down into several different components.
Work-place Internship
One goal of our program is to help our fellows figure out what it looks like to glorify the Lord at work. Each fellow will work five days a week, for at least 25 hours per week, in a paid internship that best matches their giftedness and future goals. We believe that the five-day work week is an essential part of our program because it imitates real life.
At work, fellows will work closely with their work-place mentor. The last thing we want is for someone to come to Kinston and end up pushing papers. Our fellows will be apprentices rather than interns, learning the tricks of the trade and ultimately gaining greater information that can better inform their decisions as to whether they want to pursue a career in that field.
The strengths of the Kinston program are specifically in law, ministry, medicine, real estate and business. Because of our established relationship in the community, some fellows are even able to participate in multiple internships or switch halfway through the year if they become interested in another field.
Roundtable Discussions
One of the realities of life is that we often aren’t taught many of the things we need to know in order to survive. One of the best aspects of the Kinston Fellows Program is that we are able to pool the resources of one of America’s most unique communities and pour them into our fellows. The result, is our weekly roundtable discussion.
Meeting once a week at the home of a different church family, the fellows will enjoy amazing food and then a lively presentation from that week’s guest speaker. Afterward, the fellows will then be able to discuss the topic with the presenter and seek to gain a greater understanding of issues that they may not have previously encountered. Our curriculum for roundtable discussions can be broken down into several categories
Spiritual Formation: In our opinion, one of the greatest gifts we can give to our fellows is the ability to know themselves well, especially in light of their relationship with God. In this area of the curriculum, we seek to equip our fellows by helping them to discover their spiritual gifts, their strengths and weaknesses, and their calling. We also want to further arm them by teaching them to effectively practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer, reading the Bible, and fasting. As a result, the fellows will hear from different speakers who relate their own experiences in these various areas and in turn process these issues in their own life with their mentors.
Finances: The fellows will participate in the Crown Ministries Class (www.crown.org), where they will learn about budgets, credit cards, tax returns, investing, and Roth IRAs among other things. Fellows will also hear “important things to consider” when buying a house, a car, or an insurance plan. Finally, the fellows will get individual attention and accountability from the program about their own personal finances and be given the tools to lay a foundation for years to come, especially if they are bringing student debt into the program.
Life Issues: Talk to anyone who has been around for a while, and the chances that they know someone who has struggled with addiction, lost their own life or the life of a loved one unexpectedly, dealt with job loss, served in the military, or struggled with homosexuality is extremely high. We desire for our fellows to be able to come alongside their friends and family, both now and in the future, and support them in any one of these areas they may have encountered. Fortunately, Kinston has some amazing resources who can speak to these issues, and in turn provide our fellows with some first-hand insight.
Relationships: While we haven’t yet had a fellow who was already married, who’s to say it can’t happen? If this is not you, then this is probably an area of interest. In these discussions, we desire for our fellows to candidly discuss their hopes and expectations for singleness or marriage and then figure out together how we are called by the Lord to view this aspect of our lives.
Seminary Course (for more info, see the “Our Leaders” link above)
Each fellow will take three credit hours of seminary course per semester, taught by Dr. Randy Outland and our own, Jason McKnight (clink the “Our Leaders” link above to find out more about Randy and Jason and to hear their thoughts on the courses) and receive six total credit hours from Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
The first semester course centers on the topic of worldview. In this class, the fellows will read about and discuss the Christian worldview as well as other worldviews, including those of the Muslim and Atheist. In the midst of this broader topic, the fellows will talk a lot about apologetics and culture-making.
During the second semester, the Fellows will discuss what it means to be a “Christian leader.” This aligns well with one of the main goals of our program to produce leaders who will go forth and change their communities. Conversations will touch on the areas spiritual discipline and formation as well as Jesus as the model for leadership.
Trips and Retreats (for more info, see the “Fellows Blog” link above)
Yes, Kinston may be a small town in the middle of rural eastern North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean we won’t travel to the ends of the Earth (or the East Coast in reality) to provide our fellows with the best experience possible. Our trips include but are not limited to:
Opening Retreat: Cape Lookout, NC – a weekend on a yacht to kick off the year and grow as a group
Regional Retreat: Charlottesville, VA - a weekend to encounter other fellows from other programs in the Southeast and hear discussions on the rise of Social Capital, Justice, and Mercy within and outside the Church
The National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C. – an amazing week of sight-seeing and bumping shoulders with some of D.C.’s Christian leaders, capped off by hearing President Obama speak at the breakfast.
International Arts Movement Conference, New York, New York – a five-day excursion to America’s largest city to hear about how Christians are working to glorify the Lord through the Arts and enjoy city-life.
National Fellows Conference, Washington, D.C. - the national gathering of all the Fellows Programs to cap off the year that has been.
Closing Retreat, Morehead City, N.C. – taking time to bring closure to a great year and evaluate our experiences
The Fellows will also have the liberty to design a trip of their own. An additional retreat to hear prominent Christian leaders speak is also in the works.
Community Service
We believe it is vital to help students learn to be a part of a community while simultaneously making it a better place. We have a passion to not only grow in our walks with Jesus but also to be a part of helping those with little hope. As a a result, our fellows will spend time in the community each week in an area of service that best fits their giftedness and goals. Past examples of community service have included coaching at the local high school, teaching music lessons at the local recreation center, being a mentor at the local elementary school, and helping out with YoungLife.
Home-Stay
One of the best parts of moving to a 2010 All-American city is getting to live with the great families that make up that community. We carefully pair up fellows and families based on the personalities, desires, and goals of each fellow and family. Our hope is for our fellows to learn even more than they already have from their own parents by interacting with mature Christian parents and their families. Additionally, we want our fellows to be able to save some money this year as well, so our families are able to provide room and food for each fellow, free of charge.
Youth Group Participation
Whether with their own kids one day, or kids they come across on a daily basis, we desire for our fellows to be able to relate to youth of all ages. As a result, we ask our fellows to help in some capacity with the youth of our church. This can take various forms; from leading a small group or Bible Study to playing in the worship band to helping out in Sunday school.