So, you've hit real life.
You’re out of college, navigating work, trying to stay close to Christ. Looking for people who get it. Wondering if there’s someone further along who actually has time for your questions — and if the church you attend has any idea who you are.
There’s a community for you.
Fellows is for you if you're looking for…
- Authentic community with other Christ-followers in their twenties who are asking the same questions you are.
- A mentor from your own church — someone further along in life and faith who will actually listen, not just advise
- Spiritual practices that help you slow down, pay attention, and build a life with intention behind it.
- Space to wrestle with the big questions: Who am I? What am I for? To what work and relationships might God be calling me? What does faithfulness actually look like in my life right now?
Who Can Join?
Professing Christians ages 22–29 in the Holland/Grand Rapids region who are connected to a local church. Each cohort is limited to 30 Fellows.
5 Key Program Elements
Monthly Saturday Sessions
9am–2pm, hosted at a different partner church each month. Nationally recognized Christian thinkers. Worship. Small group conversation. Something to actually chew on.
Two Retreats
An opening retreat in August to build community and set the tone — and a closing retreat in May to celebrate what God has done.
Peer Cohort
Up to 30 young adults from different churches, backgrounds, and vocations — all navigating the same decade of life. The relationships you build here often last well beyond the program year.
One-on-One Mentoring
Monthly meetings with a mentor from your own congregation throughout the year. You set the agenda. They show up.
A Church-Based Leadership Contribution
Working with a small team from your church, you'll discern and develop a project that puts your gifts to work for your congregation. Subgrant funding available.
Three-Story Framework
God's Story
The overarching narrative of Scripture — where everything begins and everything is headed. The fixed point from which you read everything else.
Your Story
The particular life you've been given — your gifts, your history, your longings, your wounds. God is already at work here. Fellows learn to see it.
Your Congregation's Story
The local church you belong to has a calling and a history. You're not just attending it — you're part of it. Fellows learn to listen to it, and to find their place within it.
Testimonials
Here's what the year looks like.
We ask Fellows to be present for every session. Life happens — but if you already know you’ll miss more than two sessions this year, this probably isn’t your year. There will be another one, and we’d love to have you then.
| Date | Session | Typical Past Focus |
|---|---|---|
| August 21–23 | Kickoff Retreat | Opening weekend — Psalms, spiritual formation, community-building |
| September 19 | Session 1 | Liturgy & Formation — how habits shape our hearts |
| October 17 | Session 2 | Project Launch — learning your congregation's story |
| November 14 | Session 3 | Finitude & Friendship - Interdependence isn't flaw. |
| December 5 | Session 4 | Christmas Party |
| January 16 | Session 5 | Rule of Life — building sustainable spiritual rhythms |
| February 13 | Session 6 | Vocation & Gifts — understanding how God has wired you |
| March 20 | Session 7 | Leadership in Change - navigating uncertainty faithfully |
| April 17 | Session 8 | Emotional Leadership — stewarding the inner life |
| May — TBC | Closing Retreat | Celebrating growth and launching forward. Est. May 15 — date to be confirmed. |
You’re not getting B-rate speakers.
Monthly sessions feature nationally recognized Christian thinkers who bring serious intellectual and spiritual depth — and who stay to talk with you afterward. Past and current faculty include:
Dr. Michaela O'Donnell
Executive Director, Fuller Seminary's De Pree Center; author of Make Work Matter and co-author of Life in Flux
As the lead professor for Fuller's Doctor of Global Leadership, Michaela works with business leaders, healthcare executives, venture capitalists, and educators navigating calling in complex, changing environments. She brings that same practical, research-grounded approach to inVocation Fellows — meeting young adults exactly where they are in the new world of work.
Dr. Tod Bolsinger
Associate Professor of Leadership Formation, Fuller Seminary; author of Canoeing the Mountains and Tempered Resilience
A former pastor of 27 years who now coaches and consults church, non-profit, and marketplace leaders, Tod brings something rare to a room of young adults: the hard-won wisdom of someone who has led real change in real congregations and survived it. His work goes into the difficult territory of the leader's own inner life — the forces that are often the undoing of leaders, and how they can instead become the forces that make us.
Dr. Amy Sherman
Senior Fellow, Sagamore Institute; author of Kingdom Calling and Agents of Flourishing
Named by Christianity Today as one of the fifty most influential Evangelical women in America, Amy has spent her career at the intersection of theology, policy, and on-the-ground ministry. Her deep concern — and one that drives her work with inVocation — is that many church leaders are inadequately equipping their congregations to connect Sunday worship with Monday work.
Ready to take the next step?
Applications for the 2026–27 cohort are open. Cohort size is limited to 30 Fellows — if you’re ready, don’t wait.
Questions? Reach out to Hahna Kimbrough directly at kimbrough@hope.edu.