Announcing Cohort 3

11 new ventures selected for our accelerator program.

Hey friends,

We’re excited to announce the fellows and ventures for our fall accelerator program, which we redesigned coming into this year.

If you’ve been following along - we’ve been building our work on the hypothesis that (1) new models of mission and ministry are emerging locally and globally in the post-Covid era, and (2) that the wider church broadly lacks the critical innovation ecosystems necessary to support them.

Our main aim is to help these new mission structures survive, grow, and eventually shape the spiritual landscape of the next generation - to make disciples, bear witness to the Gospel, and renew the Church.

We also aim to build an ecosystem - a bridge that connects the leaders, wisdom, and capital of our existing networks and institutions, to the emerging projects and pioneers on the redemptive edge. We see this as a way of supporting meaningful renewal and innovation.

We think those are important goals, so we’ve designed our accelerator around them, as a high-level fellowship for new ventures that we think will make a difference, and whom we can disproportionately help.

We’ll gather our cohort 3 times in person - in New York City (September), in London (November), and San Francisco (March). In each city, we’ll have peer learning, direct coaching, 1:1 mentoring, times of prayer and ministry, and a mini-showcase in each city, to get more people engaged with the fellows and their work. We’re excited.

Cohort 3

We’ve named this group “Cohort 3,” as a nod to Cohort 1 and Cohort 2, who went through our pilot rounds last year, and laid the groundwork for the full program.

Each of these ventures went through our full application process, and were selected out of a competitive pool of projects. Each of them has a compelling thesis and model around a particular ministry frontier. We believe in them and what they are building, and think they’re each tackling something critical in a new way. Take a look.

See Cohort 3 and their full bios here.

10Ten Project / Tyler Reagin, Atlanta

A one year experience of adventure and renewal with other Christian leaders. As pastors and leaders, we get it. We believe that Christian leaders and pastors deserve the right to be fully alive, and yet many are struggling under the weight of unrealistic expectations, a lack of leadership training and isolation. This is why we started the 10Ten Project.

Bible.AI / Leio McLaren, Gold Coast (Aus)

Revolutionizing Discipleship through AI Technology. Bible.Ai is an innovative platform that leverages AI technology to provide a comprehensive discipleship experience for individuals at all stages of their faith journey. It aims to revolutionize evangelism and discipleship by offering a judgment-free, accessible, and personalized way to engage with, study, and understand the Bible. The goal of this is to ultimately lead people to deepening one's devotion to Christ.

Christians for Impact / JD Bauman, Washington D.C.

Helping ambitious, analytical Christians pursue meaningful and impactful careers. Christians for Impact is a nonprofit that helps analytically-minded Christians pursue vocations with real and radical impact.

Magnify / Ruth Yimika Afolabi, London

Magnify exists to change the narrative of the Christian faith through media. Magnify is a platform and global community focused on equipping ambitious women of faith to thrive in their various spheres of influence. Through media and creativity, we are leveraging the power of testimonies to reach an audience of women outside the four walls and open up conversations and change perceptions.

Mapping the Future (site coming soon) / Toby Kurth, San Francisco

Data and mapping platform to help denominations and church planting organizations plant smarter. Mapping the Future is a real-time, open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) research platform for church planters, church planting organizations, and other researchers.

Oaks + Crown Leadership / Dan Fang, San Francisco / Skye Herrick, Nairobi

Leadership development and discipleship community for emerging leaders in East Africa. Oaks + Crown aims to raise up local leaders in Kenya and Uganda who understand their identities in Christ, are connected into joyful and vulnerable community, and are equipped with the leadership skills they need to bring about redemptive work in all areas of society. Our mission is to build a community of leaders who bring Kingdom transformation to East Africa.

Parallel Society / Isaac Gay, San Diego

Beauty is the apologetic, artists are the evangelists. Parallel Society is a discipleship, production and resourcing ministry with a vision of equipping the church in order to empower artists so as to engage the world through creativity and artistry for the furthering of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Peacemakers Coalition / Kori Porter, Washington, D.C.

A peace movement by this generation. We live in dark times, people are more divided, more depressed, and more isolated than ever. Peacemaker Collective’s mission is to create a generation of spiritually grounded peacemakers who are able to pursue justice and peace to help heal our world.

Rise Collective / Laura Leigh Turner, NYC

Multiplying disciples of Jesus who are united in Christ, rooted in God’s Word and rising up for the glory of God. Rise Collective is a women’s ministry and non-profit organization that exists to raise up young women through discipleship, that they would be equipped to live full lives in the Spirit. We do this through gatherings and Bible study resources, with future vision for a NYC based residential discipleship program.

Salt + Light / Darren Allarde, San Jose / Amar Patel, Denver

Where authentic communities gather for transformative journeys. Salt + Light creates digital spaces for authentic communities to embark on shared journeys of transformation. We give people a fresh opportunity to encounter the awesomeness of Jesus’ love and wisdom.

The Way / Michael Yelland-Brown, London

Digital Youth Ministry that aims to share the gospel with every teenager. The Way is a collective of filmmakers that specialize in reaching teenagers with the gospel and stirring hunger for Jesus.

Getting Involved:

Innovation Sessions - If you’re in the New York, London, or San Francisco areas, we’d love you to consider coming to our mini-showcase events, which we’ve titled Innovation Sessions. This is designed as a workshop-style opportunity to connect our ventures to wider networks, to encourage, support, and advance their work, and to spark the imagination of existing leaders. This is limited-ticket event, designed for pastors and mission-minded leaders. Join us if you’re able.

Virtual Showcase, May 2 - At the end of the program, we’ll have a virtual showcase that is open for a wider network of people around the globe. Save the date - more info to come.

Fund our work:

We’re a fully-operating 501c3 organization in the US, with charity agreements in Canada and the UK. We’re looking for one-time seed gifts to fully launch our program and operations, as well as multi-year gifts from foundations, family offices, and major givers, to fuel our larger vision.

If you’re looking for a high-impact way to invest in the front edge of Gospel work around the world, we’d love you to partner with us. Email us for a further conversation, and you can give online here. Thanks for your support!

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Thanks for reading our journal. We write at the intersection of mission, culture, and innovation.

We run a 9-month venture accelerator for new mission and ministry projects, and have a design lab that helps churches and ministries reimagine the future. Say hello!