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Our Mission
Helping Future Christian Ministry Leaders Stay In Ministry And Flourish.
The Problem
- The pipeline of Christian Ministry Leaders is at its weakest point in generations. Seminary enrollment has been fairly steady for decades, suggesting that future Christian Ministry leaders aren’t “sticking” in the ministry.
Current age demographic of pastors:
The Solution
- 222 Foundation bridges the gap between seminary education and successful long-term ministry to help leaders, who will make more leaders, thrive.
Scholarships
222 Foundation provides substantial scholarships to alleviate the financial burden of seminary education and the resulting debt.
Mentorship
222 Foundation provides one-on-one, personalized mentorship by an experienced leader. Our approach is based upon a few core principles that have translated into highly impactful relationships.
• Authenticity
• Confidentiality
• Guidance Not Teaching
• Guidance Without Judgement
• Board of Advisors
Partnerships
The depleting roster of ministry leaders is a significant problem that can only be fully addressed by a broad coalition of people and organizations. 222 partners with churches, ministries, seminaries, denominations, church planters, leadership experts and many others to deliver the best possible solutions.
What you need to know
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
The 222 Foundation is a 501(c)3 public charity that exists to help future Christian ministry leaders:
1. Stay in the Ministry
2. Flourish in the Ministry
3. Ultimately, become leaders of leaders by instilling a culture of mentorship throughout the Ministry.
No. 222Foundationis anon-denominational,Christ-centerednonprofitorganizationthatworksincollaborationwith many different denominations.
222 Foundation does subscribe to the National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith and expect our student partners and seminaries to be in alignment with that Statement.
As a newer organization, we initially identified prospective mentors based upon the people that our staff and board knew directly.
Our second stage was to partner with churches to develop an ‘ecosystem’. In this case, the church provided an opportunity for the student to serve while one of the pastors or elders played the role of mentor; and 222 provided guidance and coaching to the mentor.
In our third stage we have discovered that our current mentors have such a passion for the role that they proactively ‘nominate’ others they believe would be qualified and passionate. In our fourth stage, we’ve found that many of our loyal investors apply to be mentors.
As we grow larger, we welcome you to consider becoming a mentor. If you’re interested in learning more or applying, please send us your contact information.
222 Foundation partners with students who are:
1. Followers of Jesus Christ
2. Accepted into a graduate- or doctoral-level program at one of 222 Foundation’s partner seminaries
3. Called to long-term vocational ministry
4. In need of financial assistance
The minimum criteria for acceptance and continued participation in the 222 program are:
• At least 6 credit hours per semester
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
Scholarships are in the range of $3,000 – $10,000 per year. Scholarships will typically begin at the lower end of that range and escalate each year as the student demonstrates personal investment and progress in the mentorship program.
The 222 Foundation currently partners with students enrolled at:
1. Moody Theological Seminary
2. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
3. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
222 Foundation plans to expand its program beyond Chicago and Louisville. We are prayerfully considering opportunities to partner with churches, mentors and seminaries in several metropolitan areas in the United States.
If you have questions or would like to submit a school for consideration, please email us at info@222foundation.org.
The 222 Foundation currently partners with students enrolled at:
1. Dallas Theological Seminary
2. Moody Theological Seminary
3. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
4. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
The role of a mentor is both biblical and foundational to the raising up of leaders within the church and the advancement of the Kingdom of God. 222 Foundation’s Mentorship Program is aimed at coming alongside those pursuing theological studies and building a relationship with them that will be focused on helping the student apply the truth of Scripture to all of life and ministry.
Mentorship is not only about intentionally investing in the spiritual growth of the student, but also an effective means for imparting essential skills for ministry. In these ways, 222 Foundation mentors provide the practical guidelines and training through a highly personalized relationship with each student. As the President of Wheaton College, Dr. Phil Ryken observed, “Seminary can teach you about half the things you need to learn for ministry and the other has to be learned through experience and the church.” Mentors will provide biblical resources and guidance to better equip each student for fruitful vocational ministry.
The mentorship will typically include:
• Twice a month meetings between the mentor and mentee.
• Prayer time and encouragement between each mentor and mentee.
The 222 Foundation is accepting applications for volunteer mentors! Upon submission of your application, the application will be reviewed by our Board and you’ll be contacted for a face-to-face interview, if appropriate.
222 Mentors are experienced leaders – business, professions, academia, ministry, nonprofit – with a deep love for Kingdom work.
• Have led people, teams, organizations
• Faithful follower of Christ
• Personal characteristics that align with 222’s “listen and nudge” mentoring approach. These typically include humility, active listening and high emotional intelligence.
Mentor is an inherently “fuzzy” word; it means different things to different people. A man with teenage sons will talk about mentoring them into adulthood. A mature believer discipling a new believer will talk about mentoring them spiritually. A business professional working with a more junior staff member will talk about mentoring their career advancement. A football coach mentors his staff in his philosophy.
222 Mentorship is at once all of those things and none of them. Here’s 222’s definition of mentorship:
• We work with future Christian ministry leaders so that they can:Avoid the predictable pitfalls of ministry life
• Sustain a healthy and successful ministry for the long term, and
• Become leaders of leaders as they mentor other future leaders over time
222 Mentorship is a gift to our student partners.
However, the value of 222 mentorship can be measured by comparable programs, which typically charge over $100/hour. We estimate that our mentors will volunteer over $70,000 of their own time over the coming academic year. Thanks to our mentors and generous donors, we are able to offer this personalized mentorship to our student partners at no charge.
Many of our student partners report that this mentorship was the gift they didn’t know they needed.