Round Table

cover art by Jordan Alexander

I had this idea of how fun it would be if there were a mag azine that told the story of Orlando Fellows. I texted Bret, “I have an idea.” He immedi ately called, loving the sound of it. After sharing, we set up a meeting. About a year later, we were two thumbs up for put ting together this publication, dubbed RoundTable. Not much gets me more excited than us ing art and design to tell a story. Especially one that I personally hold so dear and includes so many of the people who have impacted my own story. So here it is! May God use these words and pictures to remind or share with you of his con stant faithfulness! -

PUBLISHED October, 2022

MARY GRACE

CONTRIBUTORS

DESIGN

Mary Grace Burkett

EDITING

Lindsay Alexander Grace Brown

Meredith Carpenter

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tanner Fox Donovan McClosky Nathan Shinn Zoey Swift

ARTWORK

Bailey Adair Jordan Alexander Mackenzie Hawkins

WRITING

Alumni

Catherine Payne Lexie Sutter Zoe Swift

Brockman

& Darrell Carpenter Michelle Cash

Gregg Ickes Tori Johnson Jen Kaiser

& Susanne Uncapher

Swanson

Thorp

a note from our director

Dear Orlando Heart of the City Fellows Community,

Wow, where do I begin!! First, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Bret Allen and I am the Program Director of Orlando Heart of the City Fellows at First Presbyterian Church of Orlan do. Over the past five years, I have had the amazing privilege and blessing of leading the program in Orlando. When I think of Orlan do Fellows, I do think about the “program,” but I think more of the 55 young adults who came to share “Life Together,” the title of a book by Deitrich Bonhoeffer we all read.

One of the gifts of life together is watching God work in the lives of these young adults over the nine months. We encourage all the Fellows to begin the year with open hands. We may have hopes, dreams, and de sires of what our Fellows experience will be like, but what we really want is what He wants for us. The truth is that we don’t know what that is beforehand. Over the years as a community of fellows, we have been with and for each other in that unknown: the death of a parent or family member, engagements, acceptance into medical school, marriages, serious injuries, breakups, COVID. We have gone through these life experiences together and have grown because of it.

At the very beginning of the Orlando Fellows in 2017, the church envisioned this as a great way to invest in the lives of young Christian leaders who would go into the world and live seamless lives of faith. And it has been that! But also much more! We could not have imagined that it would have such a huge impact on so many. The fellows have received a blessing but have also been a blessing to the church, their host families, the student ministry, their places of employment, the 20’s community, and the city of Orlando. It’s not an overstatement to say that God has used the Orlando Fellows to transform our church. Little did we know when it all started that the impact would be what it is. Thanks be to God!

Who we are as Orlando Fellows has crystallized over the years. God has helped us identify ourselves and what distinguishes us among the other 32 fellows programs. We have attracted fellows who are looking for a program that emphasizes com munity, spiritual formation, and the abundant life (FUN). When you look at Orlando Fellows, you will see how we prioritize these three elements by the amount of time we spend with each other learning how to love one another well, by the licensed Christian counseling we offer, and by our Fellows Fun Fridays, just to name a few. Community, spiritual formation, and fun are our niche in The Fellows Initiative and the testimony of all Orlando Fellows alumni.

I believe as you read this magazine, you will see why Orlando Fellows is what it is. It’s the people!! It’s our 55 alumni, and those to come, the host families, the employ ers, the church, the 20’s ministry, the volunteers, and the people of Orlando.

TABLE

FORMATION

WHY ORLANDO

HIGHLIGHT STORIES

& Josiah Martin

Ratovosan

FELLOWS BENEDICTION

The Orlando Heart of the City Fellows is a christ-centered, character formation program for recent college graduates based in First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (EPC) in Orlando, Florida. Our mission is to prepare Fellows to live seamless lives of faith and ‘start well.’

We are committed to helping shape and prepare Fellows to become Kingdom-minded in dividuals of character, grounded in the rhythms of a healthy Christian life and intimate re lationship with Jesus. Our focus on spiritual formation and understanding the connection between our faith and work life will help participants practice integrating their experiences and circumstances, to learn to live a more seamless life of faith.

typography by Lexie Sutter

EPHESIANS 3:20-21

DAVID SWANSON, FPCO Senior Pastor

As a pastor entering my 32nd year of ministry, I have seen God do some unexpected, amazing things from time to time, things that are undeni ably for His greater glory and for the growth of His family, the Church. Without question, the Or lando Fellows has been one of those things at First Presbyterian Church. To say God has done “immeasurably more” than anyone expected, in cluding me, would be a vast understatement. In fact, truth be told, I was not a proponent in the beginning. I didn’t think we had the funds or the capacity to minister to such a small group of peo ple. Little did I know that that small group, each year, would be the ones ministering to me, to our church, and to the larger community of Orlando.

Initially, they brought life and energy to their host families, to their places of employment, and to the ministries they served at the church, but then the impact widened. Over a period of years, they not only served as interns, but they got permanently hired by those companies or non-profit organizations. Well-versed in faith and work theology, their employers began to take note of the way their presence was impacting corporate culture. Word spread, and not surpris ingly, the same thing happened at First Presby terian Church.

When we had job openings, we hired former Fellows. In turn, their presence, their wisdom, and their understanding of what genuine Chris tian community looks like began to shape and

change the culture of our church staff, our stu dent ministry and our 20’s ministry. They became a leaven in so many ways as the vast majority stayed in Orlando, became Covenant Partners, took full-time jobs, formed new relationships, and brought those people to church. As a result, our 20’s ministry grew, a new attitude of service and love for discipleship took hold, small groups formed, and a vibrant new energy became quite visible to all. They even got me playing pickleball on Sunday af ternoons!!

When I think about the Orlando Fellows, I feel an immense gratitude to God. One of our core values is “generational faithfulness,” and the Fellows program has helped to invigorate the younger generations of our church, maturing them in Christ and deploying them in both church and community for meaningful service to God.

It has become a regular occurrence to have someone in our community stop me to share their experience with a young adult in our church. I am then able to say, “Oh yes, they’re a gradu ate of our Fellows program. God is doing great things through them!” For that reason, I have great confidence in the ministry of our church as we move into the challenges of our future.

NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS.

How Did This All Get Started?

JEN KAISER

When asked about the origin of Orlando Fellows, I like to smile and say that it all started in a pool in the Dominican Republic. That’s true, but those details are for a different page. As First Pres was seeking to build out the newly launched Collaborative for Cultural and Economic Renewal in 2016, we became aware of The Fel lows Initiative (TFI), which was equipping recent college gradu ates around the country to build their lives intentionally, integrating their faith into all aspects of their lives — especially their vocation.

A small team from First Pres, including representatives from The Heart of the City Foundation, took an exploratory trip to Washing ton, D.C. to attend the national TFI conference and meet with TFI leaders to learn what it would take to launch a Fellows program in Orlando. We came back both excited and humbled. The model had more potential than we imagined, and it would take way more work than we thought!

Ultimately, we realized we would have to identify a leader with ca pacity to focus almost exclusively on this new program. Fast-for ward a few months, and the Lord led us to Bret Allen who had some added capacity and a hunger to find a new avenue for min istry. It took under 30 seconds for the exploratory team to agree that he would be the perfect leader! After a little more research and prayer of his own, Bret agreed to become the director of the Orlando Heart of the City Fellows, and I agreed to help manage the administrative and logistical aspects of the program. The Founda tion agreed to financially sponsor the program, which would also bear its name. We were going to do this.

We were officially approved as a program of The Fellows Initia tive in January of 2017, and we were encouraged to take a year to build the program, then start recruiting for a launch in fall of 2018. However, we were pretty eager to get things rolling, so we took

a leap of faith and rolled up our sleeves. Just eight months later, in August of 2017, we welcomed the first class of Orlando Heart of the City Fellows!

I’m still not sure who showed more faith that year, those of us building the program from the ground up, the host families who agreed to welcome strangers into their homes with no real idea of what “fellows” were, or the first twelve fellows who trusted us with a year of their lives, even though we had no track record of suc cess. It didn’t take long to realize that God was doing something special in the life of our church and our community. We knew from the start that a Fellows program would have a lasting impact on those who participated in it, but the ways in which God has used Fellows to bless the church is beyond what we ever hoped or imagined.

oil painting by Catherine Payne

WHY

As a part of the rhythm of the Fellows program, Monday nights are held sacred for a time of hos pitality, fellowship, and worship. Other pieces of the program have shifted from year to year, but the most consistent and perhaps one of the most impactful things has been Round Table. As fellows get off of work on Mondays, they are invited to head to the Allen’s house and make themselves at home. On a weekly rotation, two fellows take charge of setting the table, two cook dinner, two lead worship, and everyone pitches in to clean up. This time encourages hospitality in practicing what it looks like to host a meal, it creates space for the fellows to discuss what they’re learning and walking through, and it allows for a time of prayer and song to remember the point of it all: to worship and draw near to the Lord. This magazine has been titled RoundTable to capture this commonplace that all Orlando Fellows have experienced and hold dear, and to emphasize the coming together of community. Whether fellows, host families, employers, or members of FPCO, each person has played a significant role in setting, preparing, providing, feasting at, and cleaning the table.

DENNIS BROCKMAN, director of HOCF

Five years ago, we at the Heart of the City Foundation heard about this intriguing and inspiring initiative to provide a fellowship for newly graduated students — the Orlando Fellows. We were excited about how it could impact our community and beyond. We felt God move us to invest in it, and we’ve done so every year since. It’s been thrilling to watch how each wave of Fellows has chosen to engage with their spiritual, emotional, intellectual, relational, and professional lives in this special way to become more of who God designed them to be, becoming leaders in our church, city, and world.

We’ve greatly enjoyed their presence at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando and within local missions, and it’s always a joy and an honor to hear their stories of transformation and growth. It’s also been an unexpected delight to see how many of them have stayed in Orlando, some as a part of church staff and others working for local missions. In part because of these Orlando Fellows alumni, FPCO has a vi brant 20s ministry, and it’s beautiful to see. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of these young people’s journeys, as well as the overall mission of the Orlando Fellows.

CASE THORP, Collaborative leadership

The Collaborative helps people connect the dots between faith and work. We are First Presbyterian Church of Orlando’s arm of missional living in vocation. Collabo rative content, programs, and initiatives seek the common good of our community through whole-life, Christ-centered discipleship of its citizens.

The Orlando Fellows was the second fellowship of The Collaborative’s three, also including The Gotham Fellowship and Arts Fellowship Orlando. What began as a simple conversation in a pool in the Dominican Republic between myself and an other TFI director quickly blossomed into a dynamic and generational ministry. My vision for what could be, the partnership of the Heart of the City Foundation, and the beautiful heart and leadership of Bret Allen took off!

Why the fellowship model? In today’s world, Sunday School and small groups rarely achieve both the intellectual and spiritual formation needed to advance God’s work of redemption and restoration. But fellows, whether recent college grads, or others, choose a longer, deeper, and more challenging journey. That journey turns inward to the sin-sick soul, as well as upward to the Lord’s heart. The result? Generations of fruit for decades to come.

What a joy it is five years and 55 Orlando Fellows later!

GREGG ICKES, advisory board

Albert Einstein famously stated, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” It is proven that in order to build lasting financial wealth, one needs to harness the power of compound interest. Simply, it is the interest earned on interest. For us visual folks, picture the overwhelm ing power of an avalanche plummeting down a mountain. Every great force in our world didn’t always begin that way; the avalanche started with a small piece of snow becoming a snowball. The initial energy and force to create that snowball must have been great, but as it began accumulating momentum, the snowball naturally created more energy on its own until one day it became an unstoppable force.

When I first heard Bret Allen share about the launching of an Orlando Fellows Program, the concept of compounding flashed in my mind and has never really gone away. I remember thinking if our church can provide some of that initial energy, then Fellows may become an unstoppable force to positively adjust the trajectory of our church and our city for generations to come. It wasn’t too long after that meeting that I connected with Bret to see if I could be a helpful sounding board and to make employer connec tions for the first class of Fellows. And that is how my story collided with the Orlando Heart of the City Fellows Program nearly six years ago.

Since that initial conversation, my family has been blessed in many different ways through the Fellows Program. I was part of forming an initial Advisory Board; my com pany, Foundry Commercial, has been able to employ four Fellows (and we will host a fifth this Fall); we hosted Catherine Payne, who has been grafted into our family, from Austin, TX during 2019-2020; my parents hosted Sam Alford during that same year in their home; and I have been able to share with the Fellow classes my personal story on the intersection of faith and work. Greater than all of those things has been the opportunity to build new relationships with this rising generation over long meals together, backyard movie nights, bumping into them at youth group events with our children, and watching careers grow in so many great organizations around the City Beautiful.

Back to the concept of compounding. After just five short years, can you start to feel the compounding effect of the Fellows Program? If you need tangible proof, I encourage you to look around the sanctu ary on Sunday mornings or stop by to see who is volunteering time with the youth in our community. Talk to countless business owners who have hired a Fellow or swing by the local pickleball courts to chal lenge a past Fellow to a match at one of their massive 20s gatherings.

I will forever be grateful to Bret Allen and many others for pouring their hearts into getting the Fellows program started. I am thankful that our church strongly supports such a wonderful effort; I am inspired by the 55 Fel lows that have committed to the program during the initial five years, and I can’t wait to witness the next five+ years as these Fellows become an unstoppable force positively impacting the hearts and minds within our city.

& THANKS TO OUR ADIVISORY BOARD!

BRET ALLEN

SCARLETT BROUGHTON

GRACE BROWN

MEREDITH CARPENTER

JEN KAISER

GREGG ICKES

TREY & CARRIE VICK GORDY WILHITE

ANNA WILSON

Gregg, Nikki, Grant, and Madison Ickes hosted Catherine Payne during her Fellows year, 2019-2020.

The Inaugural Year

LINDSAY ALEXANDERperspective,

For reasons only God knows, I had the unique pleasure of being the first Orlando fellow. I’m an Orlando native and a First Pres lifer, and when I heard about the program, it just felt right.

The program influenced my post college life more than any other single thing, and I’ve watched it do similar things for our inaugural class. What I didn’t know at the time was that the fruit it brought us would continue growing in our city and our community for years to come.

When I think back on my time in fellows, I think of coffee shops and Florida heat. I think of trips to Washington D.C. and the Domini can Republic, where we discussed topics like justice, faith, work, and economics. I think of classroom learning with Case Thorp and girls’ discipleship in the First Pres prayer room with Scarlett Broughton. I think of hanging out with high schoolers on the third floor of Allen Hall, and a multigenerational church body that wel comed us with their homes, and their refrigerators.

I always felt like the 12 of us had somehow achieved VIP status. Our new community greeted us with every step we took: jobs, homes, friends, mentees, mentors. To experi ence this whole-life hospitality, “stranger love” in Greek, felt like life to the full. We didn’t all have perfect years; we didn’t all love every part of the experience, but it was deeply good, intensely practical, and very fun.

Those nine months directly influenced the future of our church family and our city. The vibrant community I now know, that is living to serve and love their neighbor, is strongly attached to that first, intentional, incubator-esque nine months. All sides and angles of the Orlando Fellows program: bosses, host families, students, fellow pew-sitters, they shaped us. They showed us how we could live a seamless life of faith and work.

Maybe surprisingly, one of the best parts of fel lows is that it ends. You are not a fellow forever. Like any true discipleship, you graduate from it. Eventually, you are no longer a student or a recip ient of the deep, daily investment. Instead, you get to live it. You get to give hospitality, in one of its many forms, to someone else in return, culti vating and continuing the way of Jesus as you go. What a gift.

jordan abby ana jeff stanford lechon alex lexi fa lindsay sam aubrey

TO EXPERIENCE THIS WHOLE-LIFE HOSPITALITY, ‘STRANGER LOVE’ IN GREEK, FELT LIKE LIFE TO THE FULL.

IF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE IS TRULY A DANCE, THE FELLOWS PROGRAM LET ME KNOW MY DANCING PARTNER MORE DEEPLY AND GAVE ME THE RHYTHM TO DANCE IT WELL.

Imagine sitting in a cozy beach-side condo, shar ing all of your exciting expectations for a ninemonth program of deeper discipleship, theolog ical learning, and living in community with 11 of your new best friends. Your program director is writing down everyone’s awesome ideas and hopes of what we will learn, how the Lord will act, and how we might grow individually and col lectively over the upcoming year… and then your program director literally tears it up in front of your eyes. Whether we knew it at the time or not, this was the perfect precedent for how I would come to view my time in the Orlando Heart of the City Fellows program.

In the nine months that followed that opening retreat, my life and my perspective of what the Christian way of life is would change as dramati cally as that shredded sheet of paper on that condo floor. The perspectives I had dogmatically defended for over a decade would be challenged. The habits I held dear and the practices I embraced would be pulled and pivoted onto new paths of discipleship. The relationships that were forged, tested, broken and reconciled would be some of the most shaping ex periences I would have with fellow young believers in my adult life.

One aspect of my time with the Fellows that I am forever grateful for is a blueprint for a lifetime of intentional community. As I imagine most any one who has participated in the program can attest to, sharing your heart and mind with elev en Fellows, most of whom you met a short time ago, can bring about some relational challenges. We did our fair share of laughing together, crying together, arguing together, singing together, and learning together. While each of those experi ences run the gamut of human interaction, the key principle at the heart of them all is “togeth er.” For nine months, no matter the challenge, the triumph, the heartbreak, or joy, I was in it to gether with my Fellows. I had the honor of being comforted by my Fellows when my father passed unexpectedly during the program as well as the privilege of comforting others during their own moments of homesickness and relational bro kenness. Being with and for one another in an intentional community saw 12 Fellows begin the program and twelve Fellows end the program together.

“

A BLUEPRINT FOR A LIFETIME OF INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY

It is difficult to measure all of the lasting impacts that the Fellows program has had. You can see it in the thriving communi ty of 20-somethings who are now living life togeth er in Orlando, with many Fellows in its midst. I can feel it every time I sit down to eat, remembering our time in silent reflection at Mepkin Abbey, truly thankful and present for a warm meal enjoyed on unhurried time. I see its impact when I ask intentional questions and engage in more meaningful conversations after seeing such practices turn complete strangers into lifelong friends. One visual aid may describe it best. During our weekly roundtable we always had a candle holder depicting three persons engaged in dance, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, dancing together in relationship.

If the spiritual life is truly a dance, the Fellows program let me know my dancing partner more deeply and gave me the rhythm to dance it well.

JEFF GUETZLOEperspective,

Take Two

When I think of the 2019 class of Orlando Fellows, I like to compare these two pic tures. They have many similarities. In fact, they are nearly identical. They have the same 13 people, the same parking garage, the same van, yet distinct differences. Nine months of growth, celebrations, hardships, laughter, and pranks separate these two photos.

When asked to describe the beginning of Fellows, I often say, “We thought we loved each other then,” because really we had no clue how the Lord would draw us closer to Him and closer to each other. When reflecting on my time as a fellow, it’s impossi ble to deny the Lord’s sovereignty. He took 13 individuals and uniquely called them to Orlando. For myself, I needed time to discern the Lord’s direction professionally. For others, it was a desire for community, or an act of obedience, knowing with certainty the Lord was calling them to participate in Fellows.

As a group, we adopted Colossians 3:12-17 as our covenant, stating our desire to be unified in our efforts to become more Christlike and coming alongside each other

TAYLOR BOUTELLEperspective,

evan kevin robert luke ryan antonio ben taylor fran zoey hailey abbey rova

in that endeavor. In our own words, we extended high invitation and high challenge to one another. This concept of high invitation, high challenge, meant that we wanted to create a space where we could each be ourselves — confident we were loved — while also being pushed out of our comfort zone. This high invitation, high challenge language has stuck with me beyond my time as a fel low and has revolutionized how I view community and approach friendships. I saw this concept create a space of belonging for all 13 of us, and I dare to say fellows from other classes would say the same.

There’s a security that comes from knowing you are stuck with each other for nine months, a humility that comes from learning perhaps your expectations or view of community was too narrow minded, and a treasured invitation to be known and to know each other deeply. Within this space of belonging, the Lord showed up and showed up BIG! Many of my favorite memories from Fellows

involved celebrations. In our nine months, there were two wed dings (yes TWO!), two engagements, Bret found out he was go ing to be a grandpa, fellows accepted jobs, and were accepted to graduate schools.

The Lord also ministered to us individually. For myself, the big gest lesson learned (that the Lord has continued to reveal even after the nine months) is an increased appreciation for how He purposefully created me. He kindly showed me I was denying the giftings He had graciously given to me, and through my Fellows friends, invited me to lean into those and to recognize their worth. I wholeheartedly believe the Orlando Heart of the City Fellows Program is being used by God to soften hearts, redirect lives, in fluence community, and shape the culture of First Pres and Orlan do. It’s changed my life and I’ve seen it change countless others. Thanks be to God!

WE ADOPTED COLOSSIANS 3:12-17 AS OUR COVENANT, STATING OUR DESIRE TO BE UNIFIED IN OUR EFFORTS TO BECOME MORE CHRISTLIKE AND TO COME ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER IN THAT ENDEAVOR.

As I was finishing up my last year of college, I was strongly considering going into full-time ministry. As I was praying and listening to see if this is what The Lord truly wanted for me, Fel lows fell in my lap. I did not know much about Fellows at the time but was connected to Bret Allen to learn more about the program. Af ter about an hour or hour and a half with him, I knew that I wanted to spend the nine months fol lowing graduation with this man and under his leader ship to learn more about myself and about my faith as I deciphered if full-time ministry was something I truly felt called to.

One of the biggest takeaways from my year, be cause it still impacts my life today, was getting to experience relent less generosity firsthand. From the Brockman’s opening up their home and letting me be a part of their family, to church families opening up their homes and rental properties for free to let us go on retreats as a class to experi ence life together, many people gifted us with ex periences so that we could grow closer to each other in community.

I would not trade my fellows experience for any thing, and I would tell anyone interested to do it! It’s as simple as that. It is such a unique oppor tunity to learn, grow, and be challenged in ways post college that you otherwise would not. I think that I am a better follower of Jesus, church mem ber, community member, and overall a better person because of my time as an Orlando fellow, and I think that everyone should have that same experience as they enter adulthood.

Entering adulthood, I was blessed to learn healthy rhythms and rest. In college it is easy to go, go, go, all the time and fill every moment

with peers or some sort of media, eventually leading to burn out and exhaustion. . In fellows I learned the importance of rest, days of solitude, and spending time with Jesus in the silence. Post fellows, I continue to put days of solitude in my calendar so I can come to the Lord and rest in his presence. I have learned that a healthy rhythm of this type of rest is so beneficial.

I remember halfway through my fellows year having the realization that these 12 other people probably would not have been my friends in col lege, yet I still love them so deep ly. I think that choosing to love my fellows class made that love so much deeper. I was not loving all of them because we share similar interests or because they were all super funny, I was choosing to love them because they are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is what we are called to do. I realized that loving those that do not look, act, or think the same as you can be difficult, but ultimately, this is a picture of the church and of Heaven. Not everyone looks, acts, or thinks the same, but we are united by something far greater than interest and hobbies. We are united under Christ.

RYAN CAMPBELLperspective,

ULTIMATELY THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE CHURCH AND OF HEAVEN, NOT EVERYONE LOOKS, ACTS, OR THINKS THE SAME BUT WE ARE UNITED BY SOMETHING FAR GREATER THAN INTEREST AND HOBBIES, WE ARE UNITED UNDER CHRIST.

“

illustration by Zoë Swift

3rd Time’s the Charm

anna bri annalea wes timothy sam tim hannah cole catherine mackenzie mary grace

Living “life together” definitely looked unique for our class. We immersed ourselves in life together enthusiastically and right away. We got to know each other on deep levels through sharing openly and vulnerably, and we spent so much time together that we knew each person’s quirks to the point of being able to impersonate one another (very accurately). I remember when we got back from our week long trip to the Dominican Republic, the first thing we said was “What’s the plan tonight?” We truly enjoyed each oth er’s company and our friendships extended outside the regular scheduled fellows programming. I think the Lord was intentional with who he brought into this class, and the relationships built along the way, because our year ended abruptly with the start of Covid. In March, this idea of “life together” switched to “Zoom together.” Everything was virtual. We went from seeing each other at all hours of the day to going weeks without truly being with one another. But, the relation ships we developed through sharing our fence posts, cooking dinner for round table, doing homework together, discipleship, going on walks, and just being in the same room and doing noth ing, were sustained through quarantine. We found ways to stay connected like socially distanced walks, TikTok dance videos, and Zoom dinners. We walked alongside each other while we went through something unfamiliar and uncomfortable, which is the beauty of living in a close community. Though we missed a lot of opportunities in our fellows year due to Covid, we were still able to come together for the final retreat. I think this was the most special moment of our whole fellows year. We were reunited, living together. It was the best feeling to go back to being in community with people who saw me, knew me, and loved me, all because of the intentionality of the fellows program to create a life of living together.

FENCE POST STORIES

Every year, the first semester of Roundtable discussions are for each fellow to share his/her life story in the format of fence posts. Fence posts are defining times in life. They are impactful moments, seasons, or people, that shaped who you are today.

ANNALEA KRUMMperspective,

As I reflect on the program three years in retro spect, learning about work and friendship were the most important part of my year in the fellows program.

Above all else, I applied for the fellows program to learn about the theology of work. As a busi ness student who is currently a full time auditor (whoof), I wanted to be able to understand how to enter my career with a practical theology that would make “ver ifying financial statements” have eternal meaning… a tall order.

Through our classes led by Dr. Thorp and applying what we were learning in our respective internships, I left Fellows with an under standing that through my work, I am creating culture and paving the way for the New Jerusalem, despite the brokenness of work that came with the fall. Tim Keller writes that with out God, work is fruitless. It becomes selfish, and it reveals our idols. Through God, work brings dignity, work cultivates the world around us, and work becomes an act of service. Without these lessons, the last few years of my career would not feel, accomplish, or mean what they have.

I learned a lot about friendship with Jesus. On our first day, I was tasked with the assignment of de scribing who Jesus was to me… as I reflected on my answer at the end of the year, I recognized I grew meaningfully in my ability to recognize the voice of Jesus and respond in obedience. I also learned a lot about friendship with others in the body of Christ. We spent countless hours together as Fellows, which led to some vulnerable and challenging inter actions with each other. I had heard the expression “have strong shoulders and a soft heart” prior to the year, but never truly had a

chance to apply this until my fellows year. This led to a richness of friendship that I had previously been unfamiliar with. The ten der-heartedness each fellow carried made our time together so much more meaningful. Now, I long for Monday evening Round table at the Allen’s house, or Wednesday nights ministering to students. However, as a result of the time spent building these friendships, I’ve learned how to emulate this kind of depth & authenticity with my new community. Our year was cut short by Covid-19, which led to a 1.5 year hiatus in my service to the local church. I didn’t realize it until later, but I was missing something in my walk with God. Fellows showed me that we are always meant to be laying our lives down & sacrificing some combination of our time, treasure and talents through the local church in order to partner with the work God is doing in our communities… without looking out side of myself, my relationship with Jesus becomes inherently con sumeristic.

As a result of my decision to apply for the Orlando Fellows, I’ve been equipped with the skills & frameworks to live incarnationally in my industry, relationships and congregation.

WES HARPERperspective, I’VE BEEN EQUIPPED WITH THE SKILLS AND FRAMEWORKS TO LIVE INCARNATIONALLY IN MY INDUSTRY, RELATIONSHIPS, AND CONGREGATION.

“

illustration by Mary Grace Burkett

Post-fellows meetups look like this: IHOP at 6 a.m., with the Denny’s mugs that Bret bought.

Class over Zoom with Chuck Bosworth, and Timothy providing a good laugh.

The Fourth Class

kathryn katie ben bailey lexie torres kerri payton

BEN WILLSEYperspective,

My Fellows experience was more unique than that of the typical fellow. This is true for many reasons, but most prominently because I was the only guy fellow along side seven ladies. A typical Fellows Class is much more even in its guy to girl ratio. Because of this, my Fellows year looked quite different from what I expected when I first applied and interviewed. I sometimes question what a more typical Fellows experience would have been like, but, God used the friendships I formed with those seven girls to teach me incredible lessons, some of them hard ones. I would not trade it for any other experience, nor ask for a do-over.

In reflecting back on my Fellows year and the uniqueness that characterized it, a few specific themes stick out to me. On the front end of our Fellows year, Bret em phasized the importance of entering the year open to whatever God has in store, surrendering all the things I hoped to draw from the program. God had to soften my heart throughout the year to actually trust Him with that. This idea of surrender and trust, not just an overall general faith, but a day-in, day-out, nitty gritty, trust-God-with-all-the-details kind of faith, was something God continued to challenge me to step into throughout the year. It was painful at times, and meant some hard lessons learned. The experience of the Fellows program draws each Fellow into a place where they are reminded to trust the Lord.

Over the course of nine months, I got to learn and experience what it is like to have Jesus become the center of every aspect of my life. God can make a lot of things happen in life during Fel lows, but the thing that really mattered for me was how God trans formed my heart nine months. Career development, community, and all of the others things fellows offers are valuable, but heart transformation was more significant for me than anything else.

THE THING THAT REALLY MATTERED FOR ME WAS HOW GOD TRANSFORMED MY HEART IN NINE MONTHS.

“

TORRES KEARNEYperspective,

The years 2020 and 2021 looked different for everyone, everywhere, and this was especially true for our Fellows’ class. And though the changes in housing, travel, and serving resulted in an atypical year as an Orlando Fellow , they also gave us an unique perspective on “life to gether”. We became each other’s household, committing to each other in a way that meant not only feasting, worshiping, learning, and laughing together, but that also meant grocery shopping, dish washing, and quarantining together. Living with each other meant doing life together in a way that demanded humility and grace, wel comed vulnerability, and ensured that we deeply knew one another. The reality of this meant that we saw each other at our best and our worst, for gave each other and had to ask for forgiveness often, celebrated and cried with each other, and everything in between. It was messy and hard, and yet it was still beautiful; and it taught me so much about what Christ-centered community looks like in our fallen world.

One of the most valuable takeaways I have from this unique season of life together is learning what it means to truly, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). During my time as a Fellow, the world was mourning a lot of things: a pandemic, tragic

injustice in our communities, natural disasters, and life looking nothing like it had the year be fore. And as the Fellows’ year progressed, each of us had things occur in our lives that caused us to mourn as well. Doing life in such close proxim ity to each other means that you have a choice as hard circumstances arise: retreat and disen gage, or lean in and learn to carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Over our nine months together, the latter is what I saw each Fellow do time and time again. We mourned illness, broken relationships, the death of loved ones, inequity, and the hurt that sin causes. We met each other in the tears, the anger, the heartbreak, and the confusion. I was amazed to watch the people around me be willing to lay aside their own com fort for the sake of others: sitting in long silenc es, staying up long past bedtimes, asking hard questions, and being willing to change plans to love the person in pain. It was not always done perfectly, but with an empathy and gentleness that drew us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Getting the opportunity to both grow in this area and be met in my own grief was a privi lege that I will never forget and a lesson I will take with me through the rest of life. I am so thank ful for the ways the Lord met each of us in our Apopka home, and for each of the Fellows who showed me glimpses of Jesus as we journeyed through those nine months alongside each other.

Because of the timing of COVID, this class didn’t live with host families, instead the girls lived together in Apopka, and Ben lived nearby with the Vick family.

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THE WAYS THE LORD MET EACH OF US IN OUR APOPKA HOME, AND FOR EACH OF THE FELLOWS WHO SHOWED ME GLIMPSES OF JESUS AS WE JOURNEYED THROUGH THOSE NINE MONTHS ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER.

Class Five!

bailey hartley dylan emily jack abby meredith matt emily nathan

Fellows was the greatest decision and expe rience of my life. I do often speak in hyperbole, but I genuinely believe participating in the Orlan do Fellows program has equipped me to better serve the Lord in the workplace and in every area of my life. The fellows program fully invests in recent grads and young adults as individuals, and also expects them to full invest in their community.

I believe every single person on the planet would benefit from being an Orlando Fellow. It provides an incredible opportunity to learn what it looks

like to deeply love the Lord, honor your career, and pursue peo ple and community. There seems to be an unlimited amount of people to get to know, to learn from, and to be poured into. Also, it is so much FUN! While, yes, we do learn and work, we also go to Universal and see the joy and benefit of shared experiences!

My biggest takeaway from Fellows is the implementation of Jesus being a part of every element of our life. As a fellow, I was taught about how the Lord cares about every detail of our lives. I began seeking out and seeing the kindness of the Lord even in the small est things.

I find it really hard to regret even an ounce of my Fellows year, be cause I was given a year to learn more about Jesus, His Word, His people, His work, and I did it alongside friends who were seeking the same things.

EMILY GASKINSperspective,

BAILEY BARNHILLperspective,

When I reflect on my Fellows year, I think about a moment during the closing retreat when I was talking to Meredith on the deck. She said she didn’t want our Fellows year to end, and that she was going to look back on our experience as the best year of her life. That has stuck with me because I think a lot of the people in our class would say the same.

A part of me decided to participate in Fellows because I didn’t re ally want to grow up. I also knew some past Orlando Fellows from working at Eagle Rock who thought the world of the program, so I decided to apply.

Before becoming an Orlando Fellow, we were asked to read Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I think the title of that book is the perfect encapsulation of the Orlando Fellows experience.

In the simplest terms, it is a group of post-grad believers trying to

figure out how to live life together, through the good and the bad, and how to live it well. To do this, we learned about the importance of the local church, how to integrate our faith and work, and how other members of the church, older and wiser, are seeking to ac complish this goal themselves.

Despite my initial thoughts on not growing up, I did. The Fellows schedule can be exhausting at times but there was always the re minder that my nine closest friends were going to be there with me, living the same life, going through the same motions. One thing that was spoken about our class consistently throughout our year was just how well we got along with each other. There was rarely any conflict. Over time, there was this comforting sense of familiarity with the group, not that I knew these people but also that I was known by them. We were intentional, we were vulner able, and now I consider them some of the best friends I’ve ever had. If you’re thinking about being an Orlando Fellow: do it. It might just be the best year of your life.

WE WERE INTENTIONAL, WE WERE VULNERABLE, AND NOW I CONSIDER THEM SOME OF THE BEST FRIENDS I’VE EVER HAD.

A Week in the life of a Fellow...

MONDAY TUESDAY

Internship Round Table

Internship Free (host family dinner)

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

Internship Student Ministry

Discipleship Faith & Work Lunch Class

Counseling, or Silence & Solitude, or Fun Days

Occasional Retreats or Sabbath

Worship/Sabbath

THE

Areas of Impact

Hospitality radical

COLE BUTLER, fellows 2019-2020

THE HOST FAMILY CONCEPT

Fellows live with a host family, learning to live day-to-day with a Christ-centered family who chooses to share life with them - the good times and the hard, from the excitement of birthdays to the drudgery of dish washing.

Host families to me, are one of the more special and unique aspects of Orlando Fellows. The opportunity to be a part of and watch the daily life of a family in the community who chooses the Lord and chooses the people around them is an ex perience most people don’t get the chance to have. I don’t think I truly understood that until I lived with the Wilhite family.

Moving in, I was excited but also aware that it can be a strange feeling to live with a family you don’t know, but even more so to have a young 22-year-old in your home that you don’t know. Instantly they accepted me, cared for me, and looked out for me like I was a member of the family. Those next several months are some of the best memories I have. Whether it was being included on trips, having family dinners, birthday parties thrown for me, staying up late and watching movies, or simply sit ting there and watching how they operate within a day, it felt like the Lord specifical ly placed the Wilhite family into my life because He knew that was exactly what I needed.

Those 9 months with the Wilhites modeled what truly putting the Lord first means, gave me an example of how to give abundantly, showed me how an incredible father and mother love one another and love their kids, and gave me a group of people that I can call family for the rest of my life. I feel incredibly blessed and thankful to be able to be a part of a program that included the host family aspect and more specifically be placed with the Wilhite family.

KEN & SUSANNE UNCAPHER, host parents

Our Fellows journey began with Fanoela, or Fa. God laid out a plan, and Bret closed the deal. Bret knew of Ken’s involvement in FPCO’s mission work in Madagascar, so he approached us about hosting a fellow from Madagascar. We questioned whether we would be good hosts, since, as empty nesters, we hoped not to be around much. Every practical issue we raised with Bret was met with a simple “Well, we can pray about that.” God provided a strong nudge when we learned Fa was the son of Malala. Su sanne had met Malala in Orlando on the same day Ken was visit ing Malala’s furniture factory in Madagascar. We were on board for Fellow one.

Fa, a stranger in a new city with no car, was going to be challenged. Bret felt it would be good if a fellow raised in Orlando could shep herd and transport Fa while they both lived with us.

Jefferson was elected. It was easier to say “yes” to Bret the second time, since our daughters had left us with two spare bed rooms. The fact that it was Jefferson seemed like another nudge from God. Jefferson’s parents had lived a few blocks from us. We knew him as an infant, and we now had fellow two.

Life with Fa and Jefferson was enjoyable, when we got to see them. The Fellows’ schedule kept them busy. We had less time to gether than anticipated, but we still managed to have some good conversations prompted by the Fellows curriculum. We all looked forward to Jefferson’s movie reviews and to Fa’s singing. That first year with the fellows was a learning experience, such as discov ering that Fa’s understanding of “ready to go” was different from everyone else’s. But, adapting to life with two Fellows was easy.

A couple years later, Bret, affectionately dubbed “the used car salesman,” approached us again when he learned Timoteo would be coming from El Salvador, flattering us about our ability to host foreign nationals. There would be other fellows in close proximity to help with transportation, and Timoteo was accli mated to American culture from his family’s travels here. So, we would only be hosting one Fellow. Timoteo’s visa was delayed for weeks, but he arrived to a hearty welcome from the other Fellows. Fellow number three.

Tim accompanied Bret and the other Fellows to our home to wel come Timoteo. Tim bonded instantly with us. Bret mentioned that Tim’s original host situation was not working as well as planned. We both had an immediate feeling that Tim belonged with us. We told Bret the next day, and Tim moved in a few hours later. Fellow four.

Life with Timoteo and Tim was interesting. Timoteo entertained us with Spanish gospel music and Salvadoran cuisine, while forming an eternal bond with our dog, Tana. Tim was open and unfiltered, which led to interesting and insightful conversations. Our senses of humor overlapped nicely, leading to a steady diet of laughter.

When the pandemic hit and the Fellows program went virtual, the household dynamics changed. Tim decided to move back home to his family, completing the program from there. Simultaneously, Sam’s host family had some COVID-related issues, so Sam was seeking alternative housing. We knew and liked Sam, so it made sense to have him move in with us. Sam’s easy-going and self-suf ficient attitude made the transition easy. Fellow five.

We are thankful for our time with each of our Fellows. We consider them part of our family, each in a different way.

Timothy Ayala introduced the Uncaphers and the Sterchis to his favorite El Salvadorian food, papusas.

MACKENZIE

I found an old journal entry from the day I moved to Orlando to start fellows. On September 5, 2019, I wrote, “Lord, I pray for my relationship with my host family – that it is healthy and redeeming. I pray that I grow and am blessed from knowing and living with them. I pray they are blessed by my presence in their home, too.”

Healthy and redeeming – the two words I prayed over my time with my host family before it even began. The Lord has taken that prayer and answered it more abundantly than I could have ever imagined. If you’ve ever asked me about my host family, I’ve likely already told you this and it is a joy to proclaim again: the Cash’s have redeemed family for me.

Sid, my incredible host dad, has loved me with the strength and purity of a father’s love. There was not a single night during my fellows year where I did not come home to find Sid still sitting on the couch waiting up for me, just to make sure I got home safe. I know that he is here for me, no matter what. Any time, any place, he is always my first call.

Michelle, my lovely host mom, wrote me a letter when it was finally time for me to move out. She wrote, “I am going to miss you being a part of our daily lives, however, you will always be a part of our family. I love you deeply and passionately. No different than I love my own children. We are always going to be here for you. You are the child of my heart.” Her words have struck my heart. I know that I will be a different friend, daughter, nurse, wife, and mother one day for the time I spent learning from and being loved by Michelle.

In the face of what has been broken and splintered in my own fam ily, the Lord has tenderly allowed me to be a part of something different – a family that is not perfect, but one that loves each oth er deeply. The Cash’s made me feel like a kid again. They took care of me like they take care of all their kids, and welcomed me to be a part of their family in every way. Family holidays, trips to the grocery store, hours spent at cheer competitions, time at home spent watching silly game shows, or starting TV series we’d never finish – all of it was precious to me. Every moment, big and small, mattered so much to me.

The bond that formed over the nine months I lived with the Cash’s is often difficult to explain, but I believe in what the Lord has done in our hearts. He has redeemed, he has restored, and he has given us great joy in simply be ing together and loving each other as family.

When we heard about the fellow’s host families, I just felt God nudging at my heart. I felt a calling. I knew that we had the re sources, and I felt that God was calling us to share those. And, Bret kept asking!

Mackenzie fit perfectly into our family from the very beginning. We have four children and the three oldest were away at college. She perfectly filled a space in our lives that we did not know was empty. We loved caring for her in every way, and we loved the time with the other “Fellow Families.” We have lots of wonderful memories of grocery trips, family dinners, walks, watching shows as a family, heart-to-heart talks, trips, laughter and tears, but my most precious memories of Mackenzie were watching her seek her Heavenly Father faithfully, earnestly, and diligently.

COVID hit hard in March 2020, and we went from four people in our 2,200 square-foot house to eight. Our son brought an ex change student home with him from West Point. Emmanuel was supposed to be with us for one week, and he stayed for three months. During those three months, God provided for our family in amazing ways. One of the best gifts God gave us was watching Mackenzie bond with our three oldest children, and Emmanuel!

Hosting a fellow showed us that we have a lot of love to give, more than we realized. That is what God calls us to do — share His love. We were incredibly blessed by the love that Mackenzie so freely gave back to us. Mackenzie set a beautiful example of seeking Christ and, in doing so, encouraged all of us to walk closer with the Lord.

We are still very close with Mackenzie, even though we don’t get to see her as much as we would like. We have stayed in touch and she will always be very, very special to us. She may not be our biological child, but she is a “daughter of our hearts,” and we love her like we love our own children.

thank you to our

HOST FAMILIES

Vince & Julie Albachiaro

Bob & Erin Alderman

Joe & Cheryl Alexander

Dan & Suzanne Barr

Chuck & Candy Bosworth Dennis & Lisa Brockman

Scott & Scarlett Broughton Jeff & Grace Brown Curt & Anne Brownlee Greg & Beth Anne Burden

Darrell & Ritsy Carpenter Sid & Michelle Cash Chuck & Tam Costar Reid & Jan Cox

Ben & Rebecca Davis Russ & Janice Divine Lance & Karen Fair

Scott & Meredith Gaylord Davis & Val Hale

Joel & Anna Hall

Marvin & Carla Hardy

Jim & Peen Hardy

Zane & Jess Henderson

Chuck & Carol Ickes

Gregg & Nikki Ickes

Brad & Katherine Johnson Jim & Tami Kaiser

Josh & Emily Luker Jeff & Avery Marlett Brian & Nicole Millard Doug & Tammy Miller

Will & Amy Mims

Trip & Rhissa Parker

Peter & Terri Partlow Ron & Beth Rossi

Jeff & Shelley Shafer

Mark & Robin Simpson Jon & Karen Thigpen

Ken & Susanne Uncapher Trey & Carrie Vick Gordy & Kate Wilhite

Tony & Missy Wilson

Tim & Christina Wombles

Kurt & Karin Wood

Jeff Stone & Cindy Zimmeran Mike & Kelle Zizmer

Work

KEVIN WILL, fellows 2018-2019

The summer before I graduated college was filled with fun, but also anxiety. I knew I wanted to be in the business world, and I had a sales internship at the time, but I could not get excited about selling my product: copy paper, office supplies, etc. I kept having anxious thoughts about what my life would look if I took this as a full-time job.

At the end of my internship, I received a full-time job offer that would start upon my December grad uation from the University of Tennessee. The job would not be the most fun, but the easy road was directly in front of me. I could have made good money, stayed close to my best friends and girlfriend (Spoiler alert – she’s my wife now), and continued living in a town that was familiar. When I decided to commit to the Orlando Fellows, I felt like I was making a huge leap of faith, but I knew God was leading me to do it; and I knew he would be by my side.

After several rounds of interviews, I landed an internship with Foundry Commercial. Foundry is a ful ly integrated commercial real estate firm based in Orlando with over 400 employees. I had virtually no real estate experience, but Foundry gave me an opportunity. They took a chance on a recent college graduate – not based off prior deal experience or a real estate degree, but based off my potential and Bret’s recommendation. I like to say that great coaching elevates a players’ talent, and that’s exactly what I received from day one at Foundry. I will forever be indebted to my colleagues for the mentor ship and coaching they provided over the nine months of my fellows internship. Foundry did not just give me a desk and phone on my first day. They invested their time, energy, and knowledge in me.

What we were learning in our RTS classes on Thursdays was equally impactful to me, and I was able to integrate what I learned into my internship. We learned about the Cultural Mandate and how God did not create us to lounge around and seek fun things to do all day. He made us to work in his image. Genesis 1:27-28 states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them,“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

This teaching was paired with our career assessment retreat. I learned that it is impossible for us to love every part of our job. In fact, if you like 55-70 percent of your job, then you are in a really great spot! That wisdom was paramount to me and has been a nugget to go back to when I’m doing the harder things at my job. If I had never learned this during fellows, my personality and natural bent would have set me up to switch jobs every 1-2 years, trying to find the “perfect job” and my “passion.”

After a great nine-month internship, I was offered a full-time po sition at Foundry selling and leasing office space throughout Central Florida with the office team. My friends joke that I am a spokesperson for Orlando because I love living here, enjoy finding new, cool spots, and always tell my out-of-town friends that “I live where they vacation.”

I have really enjoyed the last few years and truly believe the Fel lows set me up perfectly by having an internship opportunity, be ing ingrained into the church, and providing an awesome group of friends in their 20’s. I am excited for what God has in store for the next several years, and I’m thankful for following the spirit’s lead to take the best next step with the Orlando Fellows.

INTERNSHIPS

3 days per week, Fellows learn the value of work while exploring vocation and call. Fellows’ interests are matched with an appropriate internship and business partnerships are formed through the greater Christian community in Orlando

ANA MONTOYA, fellows 2017-2018

My internship was at Grace Medical Home, a non-profit medical ministry for the low-income, uninsured in Orlando. Going into my Fellows year, I was torn between pursuing a career as a physician or a career in vocational ministry. I was looking for an opportunity where I could see Christ followers practice medicine. Grace Medi cal Home exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and I learned way more than I could have ever thought or imagined.

The biggest thing I learned during my time at Grace Medical Home is that you can do relation al ministry in any career you choose. I learned the importance of building relationships with patients. Relationships would not only help heal them medically, but also spiritually. Working at Grace Medical Home allowed me to see how we can work as believers to bring restoration to God’s people and His world, while also being sanctified individually along the way. God used my time at Grace to mold me, challenge me, and teach me a lot about patients and His prov idence.

It was so beautiful to see relational ministry through medicine, and it became evident that this was the career I wanted to pursue.

My internship came to an end, and I needed a full-time job for the following year while I applied to medical school. However, there were no job

openings at Grace. The last day of work, I walked out knowing I would be back. I did not know how, but I knew God would make a way. A month later, I received a call from Stephanie Garris that they wanted to hire me for a year, full-time, while I ap plied to school! I could not believe I would return to Grace and how God provided a job for me.

Fellows internships are so valuable because you get to live out what you are learning in class by applying it in the real world. It was very transfor mative for me to learn that we were created to work, but because of the fall, work has also been marred by sin. Therefore, work is toil and there are things about work that make it difficult. How ever, God has invited us to co-labor with Him and bring forth His kingdom as He restores all things.

I am so thankful for my time at Grace Medical Home because it allowed me to see how I could bring the light and the gospel into my work with patients. I know that I will be, and am, a different healthcare provider because of my experience in Fellows and at Grace Medical Home.

Now, as a fourth year medical stu dent, I get to approach each day with an opportunity to do relational minis try through medicine. I get to see God show up in some of the darkest situ ations, and it is such a gift to have a kingdom perspective when I practice medicine and in all I do.

“WE ARE CONTINUING GOD’S WORK OF FORMING, FILLING, AND SUBDUING. WHENEVER WE BRING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS, WHENEVER WE DRAW OUT CREATIVE POTENTIAL, WHENEVER WE ELABORATE AND “UNFOLD” CREATION BEYOND WHERE IT WAS WHEN WE FOUND IT, WE ARE FOLLOWING GOD’S PATTERN OF CREATIVE CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.” -TIM KELLER, EVERY GOOD ENDEAVOR

thank you to our

EMPLOYERS

Alair Homes

Becoming, Inc.

Boosterthon Camaraderie Foundation Coalition of Campus Outreach CNL

Common Good Capital Crosstown Ministeries

Elevation Scholars Program

Foundry Commercial FPCO

FPCO Shine Ministry

Generous Giving Grace Medical Home Greater Orlando Sports Commission IDignity

Keiron Partners Middleton Pediatrics One Purse Orlando Economic Partnership Orlando Reperatory Theatre Polis Institute Price Concrete Studio

Raymond James Rebuild Globally Rugby Cleaning Co

Samaritan Village

Second Harvest Food Bank Star Asset Security

Tavistock

The Geneva School

Thirdmill

VaxCare

VB Metal Solutions

Wild Goose Farms Young Life College

College Park

Maitland

West Colonial

Orlando

Winter Park

South Orange

Baldwin Park

Conway

Studying the Theology of Faith & Work

AUBREY PENNINGTON, fellows 2017-2018

When I walked into the atrium at Regent College in 2019, it finally dawned on me that I had just moved to another country to attend theology school. But I had already followed Jesus to a new town once, and thanks to my time in the Orlando Fellows Program, I knew I could do it again.

I showed up to the FPCO parking garage in August of 2017 as an exhausted 22 year old. I was disillusioned with church life and with my work as a grant writer for an ever-evolving community center.

As I stuck out my hand to greet my fellow Fellows, I remember just how high my defenses were raised. Many experiences, whether mosquito-filled adventures or silent retreats, began to soften my edges. Theological education beyond the Fellows Program was nowhere on my radar. As the folding tables and smudgy white board of our classroom became the mundane backdrop for some of my most inspiring moments, my longings began to change.

There were 11 of us in the Inaugural year. We took two courses from Case, the first was an overview of the Biblical narrative and the second was on economics and Biblical ethics. Case incorpo rated several guest lecturers each term. Between his engaging

lecture style and comprehensive knowledge, and each guest’s contribution, the two courses felt dynamic. I came to the Fellows program with so many questions about what the Bible actually says and what that should mean to us as we make decisions, as we envision shalom for the everyday. While the specifics may have faded over the past five years, my enthusiasm remains. Discussing what the Bible has to say about economy, I realized just how much it has to say about human flourishing and mercy and social equity. We cannot serve both God and money. As Case guided our read ing through the Pentateuch and histories and Jesus’ ministry, this statement went from being a pithy reminder to a substantial frame work for interpretation. Scripture has a lot to say about a lot of tan gible things, but I felt the weight and compassion of its teachings so strongly in these courses. God cares about the flourishing of human life and the cultivation of abundance. God cares about his community’s desire to build societies that are likewise designed for people’s flourishing. The concept that God cares for our spir itual and tangible experiences, that he cares about our work and our rest, sparked my curiosity.

Somewhere in the year, the Fellows were assigned Visions of Vo cation by Steve Garber. I immediately resonated with the central

REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Fellows complete graduate-level course work focused on the biblical narrative, Christian worldview, faith & work, and spiritual formation accredited through Reformed Theological Seminary.

question of the book: how can we know the world and still love it? Garber suggests that we are implicated. What happens to others should matter to us, and peace for us is only possible when we aim at peace for all. At the end of year conference in Washington D.C, Steve Garber was our keynote speaker. I asked him a ques tion about hope, and his response was that it would require a long walk in the woods near his institution to talk more and puzzle it out together. Something clicked. I thought, “I would like to learn from this man.”

And it turns out, I was able to do just that. I have had many walks in Pacific Spirit Park, the deciduous rain forest near Regent College, some with colleagues, but mostly on my own. I have continued to contemplate hope. I came to Regent to meditate on the Word, and just like in Orlando, I have found that meditation looks a lot like laughing… or crying… or anger… or softness. I have leaned ever deeper into the idea that hope and justice are formed in the smallness of our decisions. The principles that guide our everyday decision-making are the ones we will turn to in our life-changing moments and our ethically grey dilemmas. Wisdom is about per severing in the face of small, but tough, decisions. If I have walked away from Orlando and my wonderful mentors there, and Regent

College and my professors and classmates, with that in sight alone then it was well worth it.

But God is an abundant, loving Creator God, so I’ve walked away with much more. In May 2022 I walked across the stage as an exhausted 28-year old graduate. All because the Orlando Fellows Program and the many, many supporters involved at FPCO created an environment where my intel lectual curiosity was valued. My fellow Fellows and I were offered a place for trustworthy instruction and compassionate discourse. A place where I dared to dream.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Fellows have group discipleship every week, practice silence and solitude throughout the year, meet with a counselor on a regular basis, are involved in their local church, and attend retreats and conferences that further challenge and encourage their relationship with God and the world.

SPIRITUAL

illustration by Lexie Sutter

ALL OF LIFE IS SPIRITUAL, AND ALL OF LIFE FORMS US.

FRANCES GRAY,

During my nine months as an Orlando Fellow, I was in the midst of a lot of uncertainty. I was living in a new city, working at a new job, and spending almost all of my time with new friends. I deeply desired to be close to the Father. Throughout our jam packed days, Bret would often say, “Pray first.” Before anything we did, we were encouraged to thank the Lord and be in His presence. I prayed boldly for my heart to be transformed by God, to know Him more deeply than I did the day before. Immanuel, “God with me,” became so evident over the course of those nine months.

Our Silence and Solitude retreat was a highlight. All 13 fellows, with Bret and Jen, piled into our 15 passenger van. We were given the unique oppor tunity of spending three days in solitude, distraction free, with a Bible and a journal. It is fascinating that this was something Jesus spent so much time doing, yet it was a foreign concept to me. As I thought about being silent and alone for this amount of time, I became overwhelmed with how I had never before given time to sit and be with the One who puts breath in my lungs for as long as I was about to do. The comfort and grace of God assured me He had me exactly where I needed to be. This wasn’t a circumstan tial peace, but a peace and an assurance from God that reminded me that being with Him, wherever that may be, is the best place to be. For the first time since following Jesus, I had surrendered everything I had to Him and allowed myself to be fully known by Him. Minutes, hours, and days passed.

God’s voice became louder as I read back through my journal. “Frances, in me you are free. You are free from striving, free from seeking approval, free from comparison, free from the need to be something, because I have rescued you from darkness and brought you into glorious light.” All along, God has been wooing me and inviting me into this abundant life with Him. His voice became personal to me that day, a voice filled with compassion and tenderness.

God slowly began to iron out the rough edges of my heart as I chose to immerse myself fully in what he had for me alongside the other 12 fellows. He showed me what it could be like to be fully known and fully loved, even by strangers in a new place. He showed me that holding space for grieving and rejoicing, at the same time, is good. He showed me what it means to live a seamless life of faith, one that makes Him preem inent in all things. He showed me that strangers can become family, life together is a gift, generosity and humility are the way of Jesus, and that as His beloved, and nothing else, He is well pleased with me.

I PRAYED BOLDLY FOR MY HEART TO BE TRANSFORMED BY GOD, TO KNOW HIM MORE DEEPLY THAN I DID THE DAY BEFORE.

“

fellows 2018-2019

Discipleship

MEREDITH & DARRELL CARPENTER,

discipleship

As newlyweds, Darrell and I were handed down the following advice: find a place to serve to gether. Now sixteen years into our marriage, it has been a privilege, as well as incredibly fun and unifying, to follow that advice and serve the Orlando Fellows together the past four years.

For us, serving has mainly looked like assisting in the weekly discipleship hour on Thursday mornings. I (Meredith) have led discipleship with my dear friend Grace Brown, whereas Darrell has led on and off alongside our fearless leader, Bret Allen. The discipleship time simply consists of gathering and encouraging the Fellows in their daily walk with Jesus. Darrell and I share this love for discipling young 20’s straight out of college, as we both feel immense gratitude for having participated in a similar program where older mentors came alongside us and encouraged us in our walks with Jesus, in life, and in marriage.

Though participating in the weekly discipleship time has been incredibly meaningful, perhaps the most memorable times are in the friendships forged in the aftermath of the program, or really, as a result of the program. For example, one day, a recent graduate of the Fellows program was hang ing out at our house. She bemoaned the fact that her job had fallen through and expressed worry that she wouldn’t be able to find another one in a time ly manner. After hearing her discouragement, Darrell suddenly presented her with a challenge. A bet, in fact. Knowing how fantastic and dedicated this woman was, Darrell said he bet she could find a job in the next two weeks. Perhaps not the best job, but a job. “Deal,” she said and took the challenge.

Two weeks down the road, she called to happily report she had secured a job and was ready to schedule the steak dinner. See, the other half of the bet was that if she won, Darrell and I offered that we would cook her, and all the other girls in her Fellow class, a steak dinner! In addition, Darrell had to wear his opposing football teams jersey at the dinner. We had the best time at that dinner celebrating each of those women, and hearing about their lives, and their hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Once the girls had all left (much later than Darrell and I normally stay up by the way - ha!), we honestly talked about how impressed we were with each of these woman. Serving the Fellows together has given us a front seat to experience the goodness of God in each of these Fellows lives. We are so grateful.

As a last word, if Bret ever calls you and asks if you want to serve the Orlan do Fellows, whether by hosting or being a job mentor, I’d encourage you (and even better your spouse too) to say yes! Of course serving is never all easy or convenient, but the benefit far outweighs the cost.

FELLOWS GATHER WEEKLY FOR DISCIPLESHIP BY MENTORS IN THE CHURCH.

Retreats & Conferences

EACH CLASS OF FELLOWS ATTENDS A UNIQUE SET OF RETREATS THAT EXPAND THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF FAITH.

START WELL RETREAT

Fellows begin their year on a retreat getting to know one another and creating a vision for the year.

MICAH 6:8

Near Raleigh, NC, Fellows from the southeast region come together to learn and discuss the topics of Justice and Mercy.

TFI NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The larger Fellows Initiative gathered all Fellows programs in Washington D.C. for a weekend.

WINTER RETREAT

Getting away for a few days, the Orlando Fellows take time to be thoughtful about their year so far and spend time with each other.

ENNEAGRAM WORKSHOP

Hosted by different leaders, Fellows learned about the Enneagram personality test.

CAREER & CALLING

This conference explores the fellows’ giftings in work and provides mentorship in seeking their vocation.

SILENCE & SOLITUDE

Weekly rhythms of silence and solitude build up to spending 4 days on a silence and solitude retreat.

END WELL RETREAT

Fellows end the program together, on a retreat reflecting on their time together and creating vision for what their time after Fellows will look like.

Learning to Live Missionally

DYLAN KEARNEY, fellows 2021-2022

One of the hidden joys of the Fellows Program is the ability to give back at the local and inter national level. After receiving so much and con stantly being built up, the program is designed for you to take what you have learned and ener getically give it back to those around you. This is most commonly found during our Wednesday nights and time spent at Grow Groups. Wednes day night allows for us to serve both middle school and high school students at Tribe and Peak! These nights are modeled after Young Life, with a whole slew of games and laughter

before a presentation of the Gospel and the person of Jesus to wrap up the night. Grow groups consist of small groups with those same students you saw earlier in the week! Divided up into gender and grade, you get the chance to dive into scrip ture, wrestle with pressing topics and ultimately encourage your kids with the Word of God.

Two other standout trips are the Serve Orlando and DR trip. Serve Orlando partners the Fellows with local non-profit groups and gives them the opportunity to learn their mission and briefly serve alongside them. My group fondly remembers this trip because of being unaware of difficulties that certain citizens face that we all took for granted. We were equipped with names of organizations to give to those in need.

International travel always catches the eye, yet, the sustained partnership from First Pres and incessant work of the Lord in Mission Emmanuel left me in awe. We had the chance to visit the compound and all its medical and educational benefits that it reaps for the locals of Cielo. From healthcare providers to fun, hardworking bricklay ers, we were surrounded by upbeat people on mission to serve others.

The ability to serve others is a privilege in the Fellows year. It provides you with a moment to take the focus off of yourself and to devote yourself to others, just like Our Savior does for us on a moment by moment basis. It only seemed natural that I would give myself unto others considering the great investment that the Program was for me. It was an absolute joy to live this out!

Fellows volunteer and learn from several Orlando organizations such as IDignity, One Purse, and Heart of Mercy church.

MISSION EMMANUEL

Mission Emanuel is a partnership ministry located in the Dominican Republic focused on transforming the communities of Cielo and Nazaret through the power of Jesus Christ. Fellows help work on various construction projects, build relationships, and gain a new perspective on God, another culture, and the developing world.

STUDENT MINISTRY

Fellows learn to disciple others through service in the church’s student ministry, helping lead either middle or high school students during weekly program events and small groups, as well as serving as leaders on two retreats.

Wes Harper led programs at the middle school retreat, Southwind in 2019.

Weekly grow groups provide time for relational ministry with students.

FPCO Student Ministry

TORI JOHNSON, FPCO student ministry

As part of their Fellows experience, each fellow serves in Student Ministry on either the middle or high school team. Serving with us allows fellows to deeply connect to the life of the church. They spend a year alongside staff + other volunteers going all in– loving and pursuing students for the sake of the Gospel. They partici pate in our weekly large group gatherings on Wednesday nights and also our weekly Grow Groups. It’s such a gift to have them!

As the Middle School Girls Coordinator, I love having fellows join our team each year as they bring such a welcomed newness and energy.

As a Student Ministry family, our favorite Scripture is John 1, a pas sage that speaks to God’s deep love for us. A love so deep that He sent His son Jesus to live with and among His beloved people. To serve them. To reveal God’s love to them. As the fellows serve in Student Ministry, they are doing just that. Partnering with Je sus. Being His hands and feet in the lives of students. Being with and among students. And as they do so, I’d be willing to bet that throughout their year they experience the love of Christ in a new and transformational way.

A majority of our current team is made up of past fellows who, after their fellows year, felt called to continue leading their middle and high school friends. I think that is such a testament to what can develop throughout their first year serving with us – deep relationships with students, greater understanding of the heart of Jesus for His people, and community amongst the teams. It’s im possible not to be drawn in.

FELLOWS ALUMNI ON THE FPCO STUDENT MINISTRY STAFF:

FRANCES GRAY

Student Ministry Coordinator

BEN WILLSEY

RYAN CAMPBELL

Middle School Coordinator High School Coordinator

FUN DAYS!

Every few weeks, the fellows take off for a day of FUN. With the beach and theme parks in our back yard, it’s not hard to find!

THERE’S A SWEET INNOCENCE TO FUN , LETTING GO, AND EXPERIENCING FREEDOM; THE FREEDOM TO DELIGHT IN HIM AND WHO HE HAS CREATED YOU AND ME TO BE!

“

ANNA WILSON, fellows 2019-2020

There is an unofficial requirement that in order to be an Orlando Fellow, you MUST have fun. If you know me, you would know that I love to have fun. Bret refers to me as “Party Girl”. While I do believe that there are times to be serious and allow space for heavier, harder emotions, we are not fully di mensional beings without joy. Allow me to redefine your perspective on fun.

Fun goes beyond a shallow attempt to avoid deep connection – it is a tool that is utilized to create vulnerability. In fun, trust is built through camaraderie and shared experiences. As Image Bearers (meaning we are uniquely crafted in God’s image), it is safe to say that fun is a part of God’s character. We were created to experience life to the fullest (John 10:10). I cannot speak for every Fellows class, but amongst mine, there was an unspoken agreement that whatever we did together, we made the most of it. We ran around together at Universal, rode four wheelers, had lake days, attended the infamous Boone vs. Edgewater basketball game, explored new cities and restaurants, took horse carriage rides, ate ice cream, spent time in the Dominican Republic, kayaked with manatees, hosted movie nights and home hangouts (thank you Mike & Kelle!!!), cheered each other on in races, celebrated birthdays, ate alligator (what!), and that is not even half of it!! Living life abundantly is not merely taking advantage of obviously exciting scenarios, it also means creating fun out of mundane and tough times.

During our regular Roundtable dinners, one of the guys from my Fellows class spiced things up with a clothespin dubbed the “sneaky stick.” Every week we agreed to a punishment if we lost the game. (I think Sam had it the worst, ask him or Bret about it.) We liked to get overly excited about everyday stuff: new sweatshirts, what was going to be on the menu for dinner, bus rides, etc. These are some of many examples of bringing life to the ordinary.

That year, my birthday was during quarantine, and I was bummed that I would not be able to spend it the way I envisioned. To my delight, the fel lows came together and surprised me with a day of gifts, activities, and a surprise prom party. I received an invitation to my own party, walked down the street, and found all the Fellows dressed up outside for dancing and cul-de-sac karaoke. It was a kind act of love and reminder that it is import ant to find joy in hardships. During that season we had “essential business meetings” (bike rides), solitude time together, and I’ll never forget walking a half-marathon around Orlando, just for fun.

Our abundance of time playing and laughing together did a beautiful thing, we were able to be silly with one another, and it broke down walls. I believe that silliness welcomes a deeper level of vulnerability. It breaks down even the sturdiest walls, so you are finally able to take a deep breath, laugh, and feel the freedom Christ offers to each of us. I believe that vulnerability and silliness go hand in hand. There’s a sweet innocence to fun, letting go, and experiencing freedom; the freedom to delight in Him and who He has created you and me to be!!!

Why Orlando

A world-wide pandemic, a lost job, an unresolved conversation about suffering in the world, and a love for marine biology were a few of the strategic acts of God that shoved me in the direction of Orlando Fellows. Yes, shoved. Just a few months be fore Fellows started, all of my planning had led me to Belize to start a career study ing marine life. Before fellows, the city of Orlando was nothing more than a place with a Fellows program where I knew I would learn about Jesus, and hopefully learn answers to those questions about things like suffering. Its proximity to the ocean and a potential, environmental internship were my main attractions to Orlando.

Fast forward a few weeks into the program and I knew Orlando would be hard to say goodbye to in nine months. Aside from the special community of believers that First Pres offers, there is something uniquely different and refreshing about the city. A conglomeration of people, ideas, and experiences, Orlando offers unbound po tential for learning and fun.

During a fellows’ Orlando Experience week, we visited nonprofits around town. The stories we heard drew back the veil covering Orlando’s struggles and the faithful diligence of its citizens to overcome them. Good people utilizing their gifts to help their city flourish is not unique to Orlando, but witnessing it while learning about faith and work bent my heart toward this place. My Fellows year was also a rich time of lively get-togethers with like-minded friends from our church who made living in this community incredibly fun. From cookouts to lake days, volleyball after class on Thursdays, and dinners with host parents, life together during the Fellows year was only a sweet taste of what sticking around these people longer is like.

“People, place, and vocation. Few people have the luxury of liking all three in the place they end up.” An officemate from my hometown of Birmingham said this to me during my internship, and it proved influential when deciding to stay. For all nine months, my plan was to leave Orlando to pursue marine biology, which would likely have me moving to an island. I thought vocation was the most important of those three things my officemate told me about. Not pursuing it would be under-steward ing the gifts, passions, and education I had.

I heard the Lord call me to Orlando at the end of fellows. It was rather conflicting. I chose to listen to God and stay with the people he was calling me to, which meant parting with my marine biology dreams. But, my year after fellows has taught me that God has a plan for my life that is even bigger than my biggest dreams.

He is faithful where he leads, and I’m so glad he led me to this community and place. It has been more fulfilling than anything I had hoped to find in a career. A year later, God has broadened my outlook on vocation and given me new hopes for what it could look like to use my skills and gifts to serve my city. I think there’s a positive feedback loop that occurs when you choose to love something. For me, choosing Orlando makes me want to contribute to its flourishing. The more flourishing, or potential for flourishing, that I see, the more I want to be here and see it multiply. The more time I spend doing life with people here, the more I love this place, the more I want to be here, and the more I can’t stop talking about it.

BAILEY’S BEST ORLANDO PITCH

You can be outside 365 days of the year without a jacket. Someone’s bound to throw a randomly themed party for no reason on a Saturday night. Finding peo ple to train with you for a race is a cinch. Checking restaurants off an ever-growing must-try list is easily done with friends or your pastor’s family. You’re bound to find your people whether you like to surf or computer code. (I like both.) You can go to the beach at a moment’s notice. The sunsets are killer, but the sunrises on your morning, I-4 commute are even better. It’s green everywhere. You can picnic by any one of the hundred lakes. You can walk to your friend’s house, to dinner, to Publix. There’s a farmer’s market, live outdoor music, or an arts show in your local park on any given night. Every restaurant is a “hole in the wall spot.” You can convene a group of 15 people in 15 minutes at Kelly’s Ice Cream on a week night. There’s a pool, beach, or lake day almost every weekend. And all of these things can be enjoyed year-round with varying degrees of sweat because you live in Orlando, where you experience the greatest climate on earth.

God’s Best

HANNAH MARTIN, fellows 2019-2020

Three weeks before I left for Orlando to start my Fellows year, my boyfriend, Josiah, asked me to marry him. We did some quick, general planning and thought we had it figured out perfectly. In mid-May, Josiah would finish his MBA program at the University of Florida and I would finish Fellows. We’d move back to Richmond, Virginia, have a few weeks to prepare for our wedding, and get married June 6, 2020. Then, we’d start our life together.

It’s almost humorous looking back on how we envisioned things would go, seeing as how 2020 actually played out: a global pan demic sent us both home to subsequently finish via Zoom, and Jo siah and I threw a wedding together in four days and were married less than a week after getting home.

When we arrived back in Richmond Friday, March 20 – thinking we’d return to Florida after just a few weeks – my parents seemed concerned about our June 6 date. After a conversation with them, I had a hard time sleeping that night. I began to feel very strongly that Josiah and I should just get married. The last thing I wanted was to get locked down in my parents’ house and not be able to see Josiah for months…

By Sunday night, we had decided that we would try to get married that coming Thursday, but our prayer was that it would only hap pen if it was God’s best. By this time in Virginia, gatherings were restricted to 10 people, and things were shutting down rapidly, so there was a lot of uncertainty that we could pull this off. Thankfully, we were able to get to the courthouse for our marriage license just before all government offices closed down.

Then, once we had our new plans solidified, I was so nervous to call Bret. The eternal optimist that he is, he thought soon enough we would all come back to finish our Fellows year like normal, and me finishing Fellows married would change the dynamic. Plus, my wedding day would be the day we were having our online Journey of Generosity retreat, a fellows requirement! However, as soon as I told him, he was ecstatic. He laughed that I was trying to figure

out how I could still make it on the Zoom call.

Bret’s encouragement to just do it – just get married – meant so much to me. He is the biggest champion of marriage that I know, and it has made a huge impact on me. He even had Josiah and I go to the FPCO Marriage Retreat while we were only engaged.

We were concerned that everything would go back to normal, and we would miss out on the opportunity to have a “normal” wedding, but on Thursday, March 26, Josiah and I got married. We had a ten-person ceremony, Josiah’s dad (an ordained pastor) officiat ed, and we bought a cake from the grocery store. We had a live stream, and so many friends and family dressed up to watch. I love looking back at the pictures people took in their formal clothes with their laptops out. While it was not what we had originally planned, it was the best, and we believe it was God’s best.

Josiah and I then lived in an AirBnb in Richmond for a month be fore moving down to Atlanta. However, just before our move, Bret managed to pull off a final beach retreat, and he invited Josiah to come along with me. While we were there, he and the Fellows put together a “reception” for us that included a cake cutting, a Backstreet Boys performance by Josiah and the male Fellows (his “groomsmen”), and a wild karaoke/dance floor time. We felt su per celebrated by everyone. It was a reminder to me that, from the beginning, my Fellows class and the greater FPCO young adults welcomed Josiah in just as if he was a Fellow, too.

We loved our time in Orlando and believe that Orlando Fellows and FPCO are true gems that are hard to come by. God is doing something special there, and we are grateful we could be a part!

FA RATOVASON, fellows 2017-2018

My name is Fanoela Manantsoa, also known as Fa. I am from, and currently live in, Madagascar.

Several years ago, my family hosted a dinner with Pastor Case Thorp and missionaries from First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. That evening, I had to translate for my mother, and Case told me about the up coming Orlando Fellows pro gram. As someone from Mad agascar, I saw that as a unique opportunity of a lifetime to visit America and to learn a lot from its people. After a few months of emailing Case and preparing all of the necessary paperwork, I got to commit to the program. I was in shock! I would have never thought of being part of some thing that amazing.

In the meantime, I was graduating from college and I was thinking about competing in a singing contest. In Madagascar during summer break, TV channels often launch several singing con tests, and at that time I was very active in the college music class. I decided to participate in one of them. In this particular contest, the win ners form a boy band. I was able to pass through the auditions and made it to live shows. Things started to become tricky because I was selected as one of the five winners to form the band, but I had also committed myself to be a fellow first.

“

When I knew that I had to choose between fel lows and the music career, I knew deep in my heart that I had to put God first. Even though I remember Bret saying you can still apply next year for fellows, I had this conviction in my heart that I had to do fellows, and I chose it first over the singing contest. When I had to tell the producer that I have to quit be cause I will be part of fellows, I was really scared that everyone around me would insult me. But instead I received a lot of beautiful and cheerful messag es to encourage me in my choice. All those reac tions proved to me that I made the right decision.

I HAD THIS CONVICTION IN MY HEART THAT I HAD TO DO FELLOWS, AND I CHOSE IT FIRST OVER THE SINGING CONTEST.

CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IS NOT AN IDEAL WHICH WE MUST REALIZE; WE MAY PARTICIPATE. THE MORE CLEARLY WE LEARN TO RECOGNIZE FELLOWSHIP IS IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE, THE MORE SERENELY SHALL - LIFE TOGETHER, DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

IT IS RATHER A REALITY CREATED BY GOD IN CHRIST IN WHICH THAT THE GROUND AND STRENGTH AND PROMISE OF ALL OUR SHALL WE THINK OF OUR FELLOWSHIP AND PRAY AND HOPE FOR IT.

postfellows

ALEX ALDERMAN, fellows 2017-2018

Jumping into Fellows was jumping into the unknown. I felt like I was gearing up for another adventure after coming from a year of raft guiding and skiing out west. The unknown was familiar. What was new was the feeling of the Lord drawing me back home to Orlando, and into a season of stillness with Him. Spending nine months learning what a life of doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with my God was like was both new and challeng ing, but ultimately led me much closer to Jesus.

During fellows I learned what it was like to truly study God’s word. In a world that seems to be more like quick sand and grasping at straws, I developed a firm foundation in the Gospel and that the immutable truth of scripture is where our true peace comes from. A prayer that the Lord laid on my heart during fellows was, “May the truth of the Gospel be more real to me than my present circumstances or reality.”

Now as a Fellows alumni, that prayer continues daily. I feel we can have a Christ tinted lens on our vision, which affects how we see our occupation, and the world around us. My occupation has shift

ed several times. Post fellows, I turned down a job in finance and labored alongside a friend helping run a local concrete business. Then, that tint led me to follow the Lord’s call to Atlanta, Georgia, where I worked in high school ministry. I had the opportunity to live life with students, teaching them the Gospel and who Jesus truly is. Almost five years later, I’m working in medical sales, and even now this Jesus-centric lens shapes my daily interactions. Working in a hospital setting can be difficult at times, faced with brokenness and real pain on a daily basis. It’s the life of Jesus that gives us hope for redemption in this brokenness and pain. This is why my job is not simply selling spinal products, but rather praying earnestly for every patient I see and being the active hands and feet of Christ in the hospital setting.

Our work was never meant to be an end in itself. When we under stand that it is all for the Glory of God, every interaction you have and the work you do has a new weight to it, regardless of what the work is. For this understanding, I give thanks to Orlando Fellows, and how it’s shaped my life and pointed me to Christ.

MY JOB IS NOT SIMPLY SELLING SPINAL PRODUCTS, BUT RATHER PRAYING EARNESTLY FOR EVERY PATIENT I SEE AND BEING THE ACTIVE HANDS AND FEET OF CHRIST IN THE HOSPITAL SETTING.

I had decided to not look into doing a Fellows program after grad uating college. While the little I knew of it sounded like something I would be interested in, I was against doing another Christian pro gram. Growing up in a Christian home and attending a Christian school and college had led to me doing many Christian programs such as summer camps as both a camper and counselor, youth group, Young Life. I loved all of these, but was determined to break away from my Christian bubble in post grad. I wanted to work, nav igate life, and form community on my own.

In the Lord’s unexpected but clear guidance, Orlando Fellows be came the open door for my year after college. Since I was nev er sure what I wanted to do vocationally, I was hopeful that my Fellow’s year would help me understand my vocational calling, provide me with good friends, and give me a fun experience in a new state. The other elements: taking theology courses, getting involved with church, and growing in my faith were all great perks, of course, but I had been there, done that.

Fast forward three years, and to my surprise, the latter aspects im pacted and are continuing to impact my life the most. Before Fel lows, the term “spiritual formation” was foreign to me. Spiritual for mation focuses on deepening one’s relationship with God through spiritual practices. Through aspects of the Fellows program and Bret’s guidance, we “practiced” our faith through weekly corpo rate worship, liturgical prayers, and slowing down and quieting our lives. Our days of silence and solitude were a practice that started out really difficult for me. But as practices go, the more I did it, the more natural, growing, and fruitful it became. Participating in these contemplative and liturgical practices has formed my faith in a deeper and stronger way than being a camp counselor or going on a Christian retreat. The long-term, slow, ancient, and often diffi cult practices of faith that were incorporated into the Fellow’s pro gram have proven to be the lasting and propelling aspects. They taught me the importance and power of practicing approaching God, repeating prayers to him, and coming to him faithfully. In coming to the Lord in a practiced faith, I have experienced his nearness, learned of his heart, and heard him speak to me.

I’m still forming a career and faithfully seeking God in the job I have and work I do, but spiritual formation clearly stands out to me as the most impactful part of my Fellows experience. Years go by and many things change, including our work and our friends, but coming to our Lord in the quiet and repetition is the long-lasting, unwavering and special place where my relationship with God is strengthened and deepened.

It was God’s house from day one. Actually, it was his before that. Several of the girls in my fellows class had been discussing find ing a house and living together as roommates since as early as January. We imagined starting our lives as young professionals surrounded by Christian community, and mused that new classes of fellows might inherit this imagined house when we moved on. As the inaugural fellows year wrapped up, the musings turned to action steps as Ana Montoya, Lexi Saddler, Lindsay Alexander, and I did our best not to be intimidated by the daunting process and steep prices of renting a house in Orlando. We all wanted to stay in this city where we’d just spent a year feeling loved and sup ported by the community of First Pres, but our proverbial pockets were pretty empty and at that point only one of us had a full-time job lined up. Landlords tend to prefer the stability of renting to fam ilies, and when they do rent to groups of individuals they definite ly prefer individuals with steady incomes. I remember saying out loud in prayer that God already knew the house he had for us, and he would show it to us at just the right time.

That house turned out to be 1021 Delaney Park Drive. It wouldn’t normally have been on the market, but the previous tenant had broken their lease. Lindsay and I tried and failed not to get our

JORDAN ALEXANDER, fellows class 2017-2018ten twenty one

A STORY OF GIRLS LIVING TOGETHER AFTER THEIR FELLOWS YEAR AND CHOOSING TO BE GENEROUS WITH THE MUCH THAT THEY WERE GIVEN.

hopes up as we toured the little 1920’s tudor with its warm wood floors, big windows, working fireplace, and antique doorbell. De spite our best efforts to be practical, when I returned to the Park ers’ (my host home, just a few blocks away), I started a Pinterest board of furnishing and hosting ideas for the four of us. I titled it “1021” in a half joking gesture of faith.

The idea of hosting was a priority for us from the beginning. We’d all felt so showered with generosity during our fellows year, and had felt so welcomed by the community of 20-somethings at First Pres that Scarlett Broughton, our discipler in fellows, had been nurturing. We were eager to do some welcoming in return.

I’m still not sure why, but the landlord did indeed approve our ap plication a month before our Fellows year ended. In an extra wink of the Lord’s kindness, the day after we received keys and per mission to move things in, my host sister Ellis spotted almost a whole living-room worth of nice furniture on the side of the road, and with the help of her dad’s truck we were able to move it inside. Lindsay, Lexi, Ana, and I had our first “house meeting” sitting in bright green armchairs in an otherwise empty house, and the pri mary topics of discussion were rent al location and vision casting. How could we love each other and our community well in the nitty-gritty of monthly bud gets? What practical steps would we take to respond to the generosity we’d been shown? We prayed that the Lord would use us and use the house as he saw fit.

As a result of that prayer, the small upstairs office space became our guest room, and though it wasn’t the most glamorous space (no door, and a bathroom shared with three of us), we made it known that we had an open bed for anyone who needed one. We also committed to host a gathering of some sort once a month — that way when we and our friends met new people, we’d have something to invite them to, and newcomers to the community would have an opportunity to meet people and get plugged in.

We launched with a housewarming party. It’s easy to be nostalgic about it - I bought champagne glasses at a thrift store, and over a couple of hours more than 60 co-workers, host-family members, friends, and friends-to-be trickled in and out of our 1,400 square foot home. In the years that followed, the guest room was occu pied frequently with friends, friends-of-friends, friends’ visiting fiancees, and even friends-of-friends-of-friends who found them selves in need of temporary housing between living arrangements.

Our monthly gatherings ensured that we were regularly meeting someone-who-knew someone, and it was so fun to have a front row seat to sweet times of fellowship and divine appointments.

1021 hosted Tacky Prom, bonfire nights, a pumpkin-carving contest, a Christmas party, a New-Year’s party, after-church 20’s brunches, “For the Culture” art night, “Ain’t Patty’s Day,” which oc curred on March 19, and a Seder meal. We also hosted student ministry bible studies and quiet reading nights. Thankfully, God was prompting other friends to do what we were doing, too. New friends formed houses of their own, and a proclivity to open-invite events and good clean fun continue to be hallmarks of our 20’s community. First Pres 20’s grew from Scarlett’s-Bible-study-plus12-fellows into a network of 300ish friends-of-friends and friendsto-be.

It’s been a little over four years since the four of us moved in to gether, and there has been lots of transition, including a change of location. Turns out our landlord was a believer, and he teared up as he told us he had to sell. As he sat on one of the bright green armchairs we had the privilege of telling him how God had used his house as a place of shelter and joy and fellowship and connection.

The names on the lease changed, too. Over four years, we’ve hosted many welcome par ties, engagement parties, and going-away parties as friends followed jobs or significant others into or out of our Orlando community. Eventually some of those parties were for us: Ana went to medical school, Lexi got mar ried, and we sent Lindsay to Greenville by hosting Tacky Prom 2.

I’m the longest standing resident of 1021, which we now jokingly call 1022. Our idea that this could be a house for future fellows, too, proved a good one! The house that began as 1021 has includ ed nine Fellows alumni.

Our first neighbor, affectionately known as Jungle Bob because of his tropical front yard, called us “Delta Pi Delta,” or “DPD” for the Delaney Park Drive sorority sisters. I never expected the sweet ness it has been to spend this season of my life living with my sis ters in Christ. I knew it would be fun, but the lessons of generosity and hospitality we learned in Fellows yielded a crop much bigger than that which was sown, and turned out to be one of the rich est blessings of my life. I shouldn’t be surprised, as he delights to show time and time again, it’s pretty typical of God to be generous.

Where are

they now?

ABBY MCDONALD Madison, Wisconson Academic Program Specialist, University of Wisconsin Married to Caleb

ABBY NELSEN Orlando, FL Assistant Property Manager, V3 Capital group

ABBY PRATHER Orlando, FL Shine Ministry, FPCO

ALEX ALDERMAN Atlanta, GA Medical Sales Rep.

ANA MONTOYA Charleston, SC Medical Student, MUSC

ANNA WILSON Orlando, FL Fellows Coordinator, FPCO

ANNALEA KRUMM Orlando, FL Counseling School, RTS Married to Kyle

ANTONIO BUTLER Durham, NC Student, Duke Divinity School

BAILEY BARNHILL Orlando, FL Business Administration

BEN SANDERS Orlando, FL PepsiCo Married to Lauren

BEN WILLSEY Orlando, FL Middle School Coordinator, FPCO

BRI DIERKSEN Asheville, NC Windy Gap, YoungLife

CATHERINE PAYNE Orlando, FL Counseling School, PBA

COLE BUTLER Orlando, FL Accounts Receivable, Star Asset Security

DYLAN KEARNEY Columbus, OH Security Officer

EMILY DOTSON Orlando, FL Administrative Coordinator, Samaritan Village

painting by Bailey Adair

AUBREY PENNINGTON Vancouver, Canada Seminary, Regent College

BAILEY ADAIR Orlando, FL Impact Anlayst, Generous Giving

EMILY GASKINS Orlando, FL Coalition of Campus Outreach

EVAN HOLSENBACK Tallahassee, FL Med School, FSU Married to Rachel

FA RATOVASON

Madagascar Manager, Menuiserie Kanto

FRANCES GRAY Orlando, FL Student Ministry Coordinator, FPCO

HAILEY NICHOLS Orlando, FL Marketing, Generous Giving Married to Nate

HANNAH MARTIN Richmond, VA Married to Josiah, with baby Eli

HARTLEY ALLEN Birmingham, AL PA School, Samford Married to David

JACK DURNIL Orlando, FL Operations Coordinator, RTS

JEFF GUETZLOE Orlando, FL Sponsor Coordinator, InspireCIO Married to Jen

JORDAN ALEXANDER Orlando, FL

After-school Coordinator, The Christ School

KATHRYN EINIG Ellijay, GA Administrator, The Joy House Married to Jake

KATIE BRUGGERMAN Kansas City, MO Adoption Accelerator, Cornerstones of Care

KERRI SHOOK Orlando, FL Assistant Real Estate Manager, Foundry Commercial

KEVIN WILL Orlando, FL Broker, Foundry Commercial Married to Emily

LECHON COLE Orlando, FL

Elevation Scholars Program

LEXI URY Orlando, FL Coordinator, Serve Orlando Married to Seth, with baby Foster

LEXIE SUTTER Orlando, FL

Southern Homes Bakery

LINDSAY ALEXANDER Greenville, SC

Project Manager Engaged to Johnny

LUKE SMITH Orlando, FL

Partner Success Manager, Vax Care

MACKENZIE HAWKINS Orlando, FL Nursing School, UCF Middleton Pediatrics

MARY GRACE BURKETT Orlando, FL Graphic Design, 321 Agency

MATT BARR Orlando, FL Graphic Design, Generous Giving

MEREDITH BATSON Ocala, FL YoungLife

NATHAN SHINN Orlando, FL Staff Engineer, Terracon Consulting

PAYTON GRISSOM Virginia Beach, VA Registered Behavior Technician

ROBERT TURK Chicago, IL Counseling School

ROVA RANDRIANARIVO Madagascar

RYAN CAMPBELL Orlando, FL High School Coordinator, FPCO

SAM ALFORD Orlando, FL Electrician

SAM FISHER Orlando, FL Mental Health Counselor Married to Carter

STANFORD HORNSBY Birmingham, AL Deputy Sheriff

TAYLOR BOUTELLE Orlando, FL SHINE Ministry, FPCO

TIM WALL Miami, FL

TIMOTHY AYALA El Salvador Human Resources, Cognizant

TORRES KEARNEY Orlando, FL

Missions & Discipleship Coordinator, FPCO

WESLEY HARPER Denver, CO

Audit Senior, Deloitte Married to Susanne

ZOË SWIFT Portland, OR Supervisor, Anthropologie

calligraphy by Mackenzie Hawkins

Frances Gray, p.46