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Applications available for
2010-2011 HELM Leadership Fellows Program

If you're heading to college in the fall and plan to be a leader in your church - as a pastor or as a layperson - you should consider applying for the HELM Leadership Fellows Program.

It could be a life-changing experience. Just ask Allison Enari, a HELM Leadership Fellow from Bloomington, Indiana, studying at Occidental University.

"Looking back on it, the Leadership Fellows Program has helped me build strong foundations for lasting relationships, encouraged me to cultivate my leadership skills, and gave me the tools to synthesize the world from an intellectual, faith-based perspective," said Enari, who only recently decided to answer a call to ordained ministry. "To put it bluntly, this program has been the most influential on my spiritual formation and my faith journey to date. This program has truly changed me in a very positive way, and I can't even imagine what my college experience would have been without it."

Students heading to a four-year university or college who want to experience the HELM Leadership Program can apply now for the program. Applications are available on HELM's web site.

The unique program provides several different ways to help students explore and strengthen their leadership potential:
  • Covenants: Students design their own covenant with HELM describing how they plan to work on developing their leadership abilities. Fellows craft their own leadership development project in cooperation with a campus chaplain, director of church relations, ecumenical campus minister or another appropriate mentor. Many participate in planning and leading campus ministry programs or similar activities, while others lead youth groups in local congregations or engage in outreach programs.

  • Leadership Conference: Fellows also attend annual leadership conferences, where they learn from Disciples leaders, pastors, and each other while building bonds to support each other as their leadership skills grow. The 2009 conference in Dallas focused on creativity in ministry and vocation.

  • Summer internships: HELM works with Leadership Fellows to identify internships that will expose students to the wide variety of ways Disciples minister.

  • Grant: Fellows receive a $2,000 scholarship at the beginning of each school year for educational use.

  • Intangibles: HELM connects students with mentors within the denomination, providing students with networking and insight beyond normal connections. Students maintain regular contact with HELM staff and other denominational leaders via e-mail, denominational meetings, and informal get-togethers. This network of Disciples has helped some find additional financial aid, make decisions about transferring to a new college, or discover God's call to ministry.
Entering its tenth year, the Leadership Fellows Program has drawn from all areas of church life. Seventy-two students have represented 24 regions of the church. They come from large congregations and small, from major cities and small towns. They attend Disciples colleges and universities, public institutions, and private institutions affiliated with other denominations. While many graduates have gone on to ordained ministry, a majority are laypeople. This diversity gives Fellows a new way to look at the church they have grown up in - the church they will serve in many different ways.

Current high school seniors and community college students planning to attend a regionally accredited American college or university as full-time students beginning in 2010 are eligible. Applicants must be members of a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation and express a commitment to serve the church as a clergy or lay leader. Participation in the program can be renewed up to three additional years.

The application requires an essay, three references, and official transcripts, and all materials must be postmarked no later than March 15, 2010. All complete applications are reviewed anonymously by a scholarship committee, and students will be notified by April 30 whether they have been named as fellows.

Guidelines and application forms can be downloaded free online at www.helmdisciples.org or may be requested by calling HELM at 314-991-3000.

HELM works to nurture transforming leadership for the church in partnership with Disciples congregations, higher education institutions, campus ministry programs, regions, general ministries, and other parts of the church.

Copyright © and permission to reprint 2010
Higher Education & Leadership Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
11477 Olde Cabin Road, Suite 310, St. Louis, Missouri, USA 63141
314-991-3000 — Fax 314-991-2957 — www.helmdisciples.org — helm@helmdisciples.org

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