We believe two things deeply.
That living “all of life, all for Jesus” is the whole point. And that Christian spiritual formation — the slow, communal, practice-shaped work of becoming more like Christ — is leadership development. Not a precursor to it. Not a complement to it. The thing itself. That conviction is what inVocation Fellows is built on.
Why Fellows. Why Congregations. Why now.
For Fellows —
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Because emerging adults are looking for community.
Faithful, fruitful living doesn't happen alone. -
Because navigating faith, life, and the weight of a thousand decisions isn't easy.
We need caring guides and intentional practices — not just more information. -
Because your twenties are more formative than our culture lets on.
The habits, relationships, and convictions you build now will shape the rest of your life. -
Because gaining vocational clarity means inviting other Christ-followers into your life.
We all need peers—and disciples with more life mileage—to help us listen to God and our desires as we seek to discern how our gifts can contribute to others’ flourishing.
For Congregations —
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Because young adults are leaving the Church — and not always for the reasons we think.
Retaining them means knowing them, not just programming for them. -
Because the generation searching for their place in the church and the generation wondering if the church still has a place for them need each other.
When young adults and empty nesters find each other inside a congregation, spiritual vitality renews for both of them. -
Because vibrant, missional congregations don't happen by accident.
They happen when generations invest in each other — and when young adults are invited to contribute, not just attend.
About inVocation Fellows & Congregations Program
The inVocation Fellows & Congregations Program is a transformative 10-month leadership formation initiative, rooted in the mission of Hope College’s Center for Ministry Studies. Funded by the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative, this program nurtures young adults to become leaders who follow hard after Jesus, are anchored in their faith community, and possess a deep sense of vocation and purpose.
Spiritual formation IS leadership development.
Most leadership development programs add spiritual elements to a secular framework. We start somewhere different.
Regardless of whether we hold specific titles, we’re all leaders whenever we’re faithfully stewarding our gifts and influence. We believe the most important part of leadership is character — and that character is formed through practices, relationships, and honest attention to what God is doing in us and around us. Mature disciples who know who they are in Christ, listen well to others, and can discern God’s invitation in complex situations — these are the leaders the Church needs.
inVocation Fellows doesn’t train leaders. It forms them. There’s a difference — and it matters.
Listening for God in three places at once.
At the heart of the inVocation curriculum is a simple but profound framework. We invite Fellows to pay attention to three stories simultaneously — and to learn how to live faithfully at their intersection.
God's Story
The overarching narrative of Scripture — what God has done, is doing, and promises to complete. The fixed point from which everything else is read.
Your Story
The particular life you've been given — your gifts, your history, your wounds, your longings. God is already at work here, whether you've noticed or not.
Your Congregation's Story
The local church you belong to has a history, a calling, and a mission. Fellows don't just attend their congregation — they learn to listen to it, and to ask where they're being invited to contribute.
Vocational discernment isn’t just about finding the right job. It’s about learning to read all three stories at once — and responding faithfully to what you find.
The people behind the program.
Hahna Kimbrough | Program Director
The product of several fellowship programs herself, Hahna brings versatile leadership experience spanning business, higher education, and nonprofit startups to her role as Program Director. She loves guiding emerging adults in applying faith to all dimensions of life.
Her career has taken her from managing operations at a three-generation farm, to helping grow Arrabon, a ministry equipping Christians to be agents of reconciliation, to leading strategic initiatives at the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, and directing global health programs across multiple continents. That breadth — across sectors, cultures, and kinds of work — gives Fellows a living example of what it looks like to follow God’s call through unexpected places.
Hahna is drawn to the work of inVocation because she believes the questions Fellows are asking — about faith, calling, and how to live well — are among the most important ones anyone can ask. She and her husband Wendell are students at Western Theological Seminary and raising two girls in Holland, MI.
Dr. Amy L. Sherman | Curriculum Co-Pilot & Lead Faculty
Amy is a Senior Fellow at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, where she directs the Center on Faith in Communities. She is the author of seven books and 125+ articles in publications including Christianity Today, First Things, and Books & Culture. Her book Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good has shaped a generation of marketplace Christians seeking to live missionally. Her most recent book (2022), Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society, reflects her deep commitment to faith lived out in the world. Amy has served as Lead Faculty for inVocation since its founding in 2022.
inVocation Fellows is a program of Hope College’s Center for Ministry Studies, made possible by the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative.
We don’t do this alone.
inVocation Fellows is shaped by partnerships with organizations who share our conviction that formation, community, and faithful leadership belong together.
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Hope College Center for Ministry Studies
InVocation Fellows is housed within Hope College's Center for Ministry Studies in Holland, Michigan — and we're grateful for that home. Eight years of relationships with congregations across West Michigan, built through Hope's Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative, laid the groundwork for everything inVocation is today. That history of trust with local churches isn't something you can build overnight, and we don't take it for granted. - Sagamore Institute — Center on Faith in Communities Sagamore's Center on Faith in Communities, directed by Amy Sherman, provides research, curriculum development, and strategic guidance that runs through the entire inVocation program. Their work sits at the intersection of theology, policy, and on-the-ground ministry — exactly where we live.
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Fuller Seminary's De Pree Center
The De Pree Center exists to equip leaders to respond faithfully to God's callings in all seasons of life and leadership. Executive Director Dr. Michaela O'Donnell serves as program faculty, bringing her expertise in vocational discernment to Fellows each year. The De Pree Center has also provided training resources for our mentoring relationships.
Ready to be part of it?
Whether you’re a young adult ready to go deeper, or a church ready to invest in the next generation — there’s a place for you here.