A program of South Street Ministries
In the heart of Summit Lake, an extraordinary journey awaits. The Discipleship House Fellowship is calling all young adults, aged 18 to 30, who are eager to grow in their faith and impact their community. Dive into the Discipleship House Fellowship (DHF), a 9-month adventure that weaves together community living, heartfelt service, and transformative learning.
What Makes DHF Stand Out?
- Embrace Discipleship: Step into a life modeled after Jesus, mentored to bring light and love into every space you enter.
- Community as Family: Live the essence of discipleship by sharing life—its highs, lows, and everything in between.
- Leadership Through Learning: Gain leadership skills with the Kingdom Leadership Alliance, complemented by a certificate in Urban Leadership.
- Wisdom in Action: Engage with Applied Theology Sessions and the comprehensive Immerse Course by CCDA, broadening your understanding and application of faith.
- Nurture Your Growth: Discover and develop your spiritual gifts within a nurturing environment, designed to foster personal and spiritual maturity.
- Build Lasting Connections: Create enduring bonds with fellow ministry leaders in Greater Akron, contributing your unique gifts to the Summit Lake neighborhood.
Your Path to Growth and Service Begins Here
The 2024-2025 DHF cycle is an invitation to not just witness but actively participate in the transformation of your life and those around you. Applications are open, and we’re looking for individuals ready to join this vibrant, life-changing fellowship.
Ready to be challenged, changed, and charged for life’s mission? Apply today.
Let’s grow, serve, and lead together at the Discipleship House. Your community awaits.
We are currently taking applications and interviewing for our Fall 2024 iteration of the DHF. The 2024-2025 Fellowship begins August 19, 2024 and goes through May 16, 2025.
For Questions, Word/Docs versions, and Completed Applications contact David at dshahata@southstreetministries.org
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main benefits for participants who complete the fellowship? How does the fellowship contribute to personal, spiritual, and professional development?
Participants will receive nine months of intentional life-on-life Christian discipleship individually molded to each of the participants. Training and equipping participants to continue in this type of life-on-life Christian community work beyond the DHF is part of the program’s heartbeat.
Participants will participate in the Kingdom Leadership Alliance – School of Urban Leadership, receiving a nine-month certificate in Urban Leadership.
Participants will complete the Immerse Course offered through the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). Gaining valuable wisdom on how to enact Christian Community Development.
Participants will grow in their faith and have the opportunity to take ownership of their giftings and servant leadership ability.
Participants will have opportunities to build relationships with many of the ministry leaders within the greater Akron community.
Who is the ideal candidate for the Discipleship House Fellowship?
The ideal candidate for the Discipleship House Fellowship (DHF) is one who is curious and hungry to grow in relationship with Jesus and open to an experience fostering growth through life-on-life discipleship, enacted in a community setting through moving into the Discipleship House. We believe Jesus has something to say and do right in our own neighborhoods, so we are looking for individuals who have a heart to love their neighbors and see the neighborhood transformed from the inside out.
The DHF is geared towards young adults, for those between the ages of 18 to 30.
What are the unique aspects of the Discipleship House Fellowship that differentiate it from other programs?
The DHF is built to come alongside “real life”. In essence, the DHF is intentionally designed to train up young adults in a setting that feels similar to everyday life. The intent is to mentor disciples to embody the radical ways of Jesus no matter where they are sent or what they are doing. We aim to avoid the DHF feeling like a 9-month experience that simulates a mountain high, but rather trains up within the everyday.
Another unique aspect of the DHF is that our leaders live in the Discipleship House. We believe Jesus discipled through teaching, but also through living life alongside his disciples day by day. This we believe is missed when we declare discipleship as simply a weekly meetup. This approach misses the opportunities to speak into many of the real realities, joys, and struggles of life that discipleship enacted within community can approach and come alongside in tangible and powerful ways.
What can participants expect from the community living experience?
Participants can expect to be fully immersed in the community. Participants will move into a home in Akron, Ohio in the Summit Lake neighborhood. Participants will not only move in, but we ask participants to truly invest themselves into the community, making the church fellowship that we are neighboring their own. Participants will learn to cultivate relationships with neighbors and make this place truly homebase, where they are grounded.
How are the service areas and learning opportunities within the fellowship structured?
The DHF has daily rhythms of learning ranging from bible study, devotionals, CCDA’s Immerse course, Kingdom Leadership Alliance’s School of Urban Leadership, an in-depth dive into the overall story the Bible is conveying, alongside all of this also gearing the experience to the participants in the house and their questions and areas they aspire to learn and grow.
The DHF also has daily rhythms of service, serving within a variety of ministries within South Street Ministries, as well as within the community. The opportunities to serve range from an elementary after school program, a middle school & high school basketball program, a bike shop program, reentry and recovery work, non-profit administrative work, serving within the local church in different capacities, and community development work. With the wide variety of places to serve, we desire to give participants a wholistic learning experience, allowing them to experience and learn from all of these different places of ministry, while also gearing their experience towards their passions and talents.
What impact does the fellowship aim to have on the Summit Lake neighborhood and the broader community?
The DHF hopes to truly live out Jesus’ call to love our neighbors. We believe relationships are such a powerful way to truly see whole neighborhoods transformed. Ultimately, we enter into any work of ministry knowing that we cannot change hearts for that is the work of the LORD, but our role is to plant seeds and water the seeds that have already been planted, in our neighborhoods and people’s hearts. Thus, we come with presence and intentionality seeking to love our neighbors and be a light in the midst of any darkness, inviting Jesus to move in us and our neighborhood.
How does the fellowship prepare participants for future leadership roles or service opportunities?
The DHF program introduces participants to a variety of service opportunities within the greater Akron area, allowing for networking with other leaders and organizations that model the CCD lifestyle. In addition, the KLA cohort opens doors to other opportunities in the Northeast Ohio region, while attending the CCDA Conference expands those opportunities on a national level. All of the learning and networking opens avenues for participants to explore and find their niche within leadership and service.
