TREK

The foremost requirement of a Christian leader is that they are radically following Christ--seeking to live His transforming grace and truth in every arena of life and living in such a way as to invite, encourage, and equip others to follow along. In this regard, a Christian leader is a lead-follower that is, they are following Christ out front and leading others to follow Christ.

This emphasis can be summarized by saying: I am following hard after Christ; Come with me.

As leaders, we need to be heading in the right direction ourselves. For that reason the first concern of the Call is to train young men and women toward spiritual depth and Christ-likeness. This is accomplished through shared accountability, study of scripture, and pursuit of holiness.

Training occurs primarily within the Cohort through personal spiritual disciplines, small group discipleship, retreats, and mentorships.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”  John 15:12

If we are radically following Christ and inviting others to join us, there is a relationship inherently present in the very fact of two people journeying the same path. It is impossible to follow Christ and not be in relationship with others. When we are called into Christ, we are called into His body, the Church.

It is in the community of faith that we are formed and found-out, where we learn to truly live the life of Christ that lives in us. We are called to love—and the Call seeks to gather participants into genuine relationships where Jesus’ command is expressed in thought, word and deed.

The Call participants share meals, do road trips, miss sleep, share ideas, explore, disagree, make up, grow, and love one another with the love of the Father for the Son in the Spirit. Now that’s relationship.

The transforming power of God’s word is unleashed by His Spirit when it is understood, internalized, and taught effectively. The Call seeks to equip its participants with the tools needed to be life-long students of the Bible, “handling accurately the word of truth.”

For instruction, reflection, illumination, or practice, the Bible is the Spirit’s primary mode of God’s self-revelation. Therefore the Call works in conjunction with Ashland University’s Religion Department to engage the minds of participants to think biblically and theologically about all matters of life, and to communicate the truth of God in relevant ways to others.