The Colson Fellows
Register now for an in-depth Christian worldview training course for Christ Church parishioners, July 2024-May 2025.
Learn more about the Colson Fellows program at our upcoming informational meeting, May 26 @ 12:30 p.m. in the Adult Education Building, Room 200. Register here to attend this meeting.
For many, our study of the Bible focuses solely on understanding God and learning how to live in right relationship to Him, ourselves, and each other. Yet the Bible also teaches us to live in right relationship to every aspect of creation, which includes society, culture, art, economics, education, and politics. Christ leads his disciples to join him in his work of restoring all things, and we do so by discovering how to properly order (and re-order) our fallen world.
Ideas have consequences: for good and for ill. Ours is a world where "powers and principalities" are actively working to dis-order God’s good creation in areas such as marriage, family, human sexuality, and personhood, to name a few. To truly love our neighbors, we must gain proficiency with ideas, show understanding and compassion to those who have become victims of ideas, and share the gospel of Christ's love, freedom, and peace.
To this end, Christ Church is pleased to partner with the Colson Fellows, a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. The Colson Fellows program is a rigorous educational course that compresses years of Christian study into ten months. It lays a solid foundation for those new to the study of Christian worldview, and for those already well-versed in Christian apologetics, it provides fresh insights into today’s rapidly changing culture.
Program participants go beyond understanding worldview as mere arguments and facts. We help to develop critical thinking skills and the wisdom to discern what is true, good, and beautiful in every issue that arises today, so that together with Christ, we can understand the times, speak thoughtfully, and grow in grace.
The Colson Fellows program runs from July 2024 - May 2025.
Participants follow a carefully curated curriculum that helps them understand and identify worldviews and how they manifest in today’s ideas, philosophies, policies, and practice. You will learn how to analyze and understand culture and its influence. Additionally, we will examine current cultural flashpoints such as race relations, progressive sexuality, religious liberty, the role of government, economics, and sanctity of life. Finally, participants will examine the concept of calling and develop a Personal Ministry Plan that will help them discover their calling, identify their unique gifts and sphere of influence.
Program features include…
- 24/7/365 access to the Colson Fellows online learning platform;
- Monthly meetings facilitated by Alex Vargas, a commissioned Colson Fellow;
- Twice-monthly video webinars in which you will interact with authors from the reading list and other leading worldview scholars;
- Interactive daily devotionals that weave together all course components;
- Assistance developing a teaching practicum in which you will teach on a topic you’ve learned;
- StrengthsFinder assessment;
- Lifetime access to Colson Center resources and ongoing worldview education;
- Inclusion into a network of over 3,500 Colson Fellows working across the globe in various spheres of Christian ministry.
Tuition: Typically, participants in the Colson Fellows program pay $900. Through an exclusive licensing agreement with the Colson Center, Christ Church Plano members only pay $700 in tuition.
Online Access: The Colson Fellows program uses an online classroom called Pathwright. To participate, you must have access to a computer and be proficient with computer-based programs to access assignments.
In-person Meetings: The Colson Fellows program meets from July to April at Christ Church for monthly meetings, for a total of 10 meetings. To be commissioned in May, you must have no more than two unexcused absences.
Time Commitment: The Colson Fellows program is a rewarding but rigorous program that requires between 6-8 hours per week. Participation includes a daily devotional exercise and twice monthly online webinars.
Books: In addition to the $700 program fee, participants will need to purchase books on the reading list, which are available in the Christ Church Bookstore or the retailer of your choice. The estimated cost of books is $200.
- April 2024: Registration opens for the Colson Fellows program. Submit your registration here.
- May 12 and 19: Information table in the Fellowship Hall is available with curricular samples.
- May 26: Christ Church hosts an open informational meeting with the Dean of the Colson Fellows program. Register here to attend.
- July 1: Registration closes, and online access begins for course participants.
- July 13: First monthly meeting at Christ Church. Participants will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon on the 2nd Saturday of each month through April 2025. Breakfast, coffee, and refreshments are provided.
- August 15: Tuition payment is due in full.
- May 2025: Participants who complete the program are commissioned.