Are you considering how to spend your next year? The Emerging Leader's Program might be a good fit for you.
Emerging leaders is a nine-month discipleship program designed to help young adults transition from college to the lay world and answer questions such as, “What does it look like to walk with God and make disciples for a lifetime, regardless of the context?” The Emerging Leaders program is an immersive, holistic experience designed for young adults from 22-28. Every year roughly 40-50 young adults from all over the United States (and the world) move to Memphis to go through the program. The program consists of seven components:
Classroom - Students partake in the Downline Institute receiving teaching from some of the best local and national Bible teachers. Students gain an understanding of the Bible’s grand narrative while also walking through 60% of the books of the Bible. In addition to the Institute, emerging leaders have an additional class each week to cover systematic theology, biblical theology, basic stewardship principles, and biblical worldview topics.
Each emerging leader has the option of one of three mission tracks to receive individualized curriculum based on their interest or calling. The goal behind each of these mission tracks is to teach and equip students regardless of their desired vocation:
Marketplace Track provides students with opportunities to gain a healthy theology of work and calling. It covers topics such as stewardship, the divide between sacred and secular, work and faith integration, passion and calling, and discipleship in the marketplace.
Urban Ministry Track equips students to make disciples in an urban ministry environment. It covers topics such as vision and strategy of urban ministry, how to engage a community, theology and foundational doctrine of neighborhood congregations, and discipleship in an urban context.
Global Missions Track teaches students basic missiology. Students have the opportunity to hear from full-time overseas missionaries and experts on the topic of world missions.
Work -Emerging leaders work at least 30 hours per week and are encouraged to work full-time jobs in the city. The goal is not to delay careers, but to grow professionally and take financial responsibility. Beyond simply working, the goal is to gain a healthy theology of work and understand what it looks like to advance the kingdom of God in the workplace.
Service - We want emerging leaders to not simply digest information and consume in the city, but be conduits of justice, healing, and good. All emerging leaders serve at least four hours per week in the city. Because Memphis is full of need, emerging leaders are able to serve in areas they are passionate in.
Church - We firmly believe the local church is God’s chosen medium for Kingdom advance and the primary source for discipleship, growth, community, and authority. Emerging leaders pursue membership at local churches to serve and grow within that context.
Discipleship - Each emerging leader is paired with a discipler from their local church or community. Disciplers are seasons ahead in life of the emerging leaders and invest life and truth in them over the course of the nine months. We firmly believe that life-on-life relationships are essential catalysts to a believer’s growth and that discipleship does not happen in the classroom.
This opportunity to be mentored by an older man or woman of faith here in Memphis provides the tangible life-on-life experience crucial to any discipleship relationship. It allows each student a chance to witness how to live out his or her faith in all areas of life. We also ask emerging leaders to disciple and teach others what they are learning throughout the year.
Community - The Emerging Leaders Program provides a gospel-centered community of roughly 40-50 like-minded young adults who encourage and challenge each other toward Christlikeness. Beyond the Emerging Leader Program, Memphis provides a vast community of Downline alumni and local church members to incorporate generational and racial diversity into everyday life. Although many emerging leaders move to Memphis not knowing anyone, they are quickly welcomed into a supportive family of Christ-followers in which they are challenged and equipped to impact the world for Christ.
Global Trip - Students have the opportunity to participate in a global trip with Downline. While the trips are not required, they are highly encouraged and most emerging leaders seize this opportunity to build relationships and teach discipleship overseas. The trips provide students with opportunities to see a culmination of everything they are learning throughout the program. Many emerging leaders consider it to be the highlight of their year.
There is no better way to spend your year than learning the Bible and being trained to make disciples among such a rich community of Christ-followers. We believe a year spent in the Emerging Leader Program will be the most formative and foundational year of your life.
You can learn more about the program and apply here:
You can inquire more about the program by emailing the Emerging Leaders Directors:
