Core Identities

Friendship
For church leaders to flourish for the long haul they need friends. We want to help form deep and long-lasting friendships among our apprentices that carry over into their churches and support them through the ups and downs of ministry.

Mentoring
Apprentices need more than information transfer from professors in a classroom. They need mentors who will invest in their character, competencies, and theological comprehension. We practice a mentoring model that is:

• Intentional: apprentices learn under seasoned church leaders who prioritize time, observation, and feedback.

• Inductive: apprentices learn “on the job” as they practice applying the truths of the Scriptures in the midst of everyday life in the church.

• Integrative: apprentices learn within the thick webs of relationships and responsibilities in their church community.

Craftsmanship
We teach our apprentices to think of their ministerial vocation as a craft with skills and techniques that they can consistently hone. From preaching to soul care, and everything in between, we want our apprentices to enter into a life of craftsmanship that involves consistent growth in character, competency, and comprehension.

Faithfulness
We aim to form leaders committed to faithfulness over fame and recognition. We want to send out apprentices who are prepared for a lifetime of faithfulness to Christ and the truth of His Word, and to the church and place to which He calls them.

Humility
Churches need humble leaders. We want to form apprentices in habits of self-forgetfulness, in which they learn to serve Christ and His church in hidden ways that model the “gentle and lowly” posture of their King.