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NEXT GEN LEADERS

About The Program

Crossroads Next Gen Ministry Leaders program has two phases to equip young leaders for high impact in the local church.

Program Offerings:

  • Scholars: Scholars is a spiritual and leadership development program that develops 20-25 year olds who want to explore ministry as a potential career path. Being a part of Scholars includes weekly training and development for either 1 or 2 semesters, along with the opportunity for an internship with Crossroads for a summer (with possible additional internships to follow).
    • Apply Now Learn More
  • Fellows: Fellows provides an extended Crossroads ministry development program for high potential young leaders, who have completed the Scholars program. Fellows is designed to equip young leaders with the skills and experience they need for maximum ministry impact. Through a combination of role readiness training, practical experience, and career coaching, graduates will confirm their call to ministry and be prepared to become leaders within a local church. This is a one year commitment in which both the fellow and Crossroads will explore the potential for permanent employment with Crossroads after completing the fellowship.
    • Apply Now Learn More

Program History:
In 2016, Kathy Beechum, a strong leader and advocate within Crossroads, felt convicted to establish a pipeline program... to develop diverse young leaders in ministry. Brian Wells, an original Crossroads founder and current Spiritual Board member, developed and launched the initial Scholars program in the Fall of 2017. Scholars has now graduated 200+ alumni since its inception. The three guiding principles of Scholars are:
• Teach leadership skills to young adults early in their career.
• Develop diverse young leaders.
• Introduce ministry as a viable career option early on.
These guiding principles have remained the same but each year the program has continued to evolve and try new things. Starting in Fall 2024, we are excited to expand the Fellows portion of the program and re-brand the entire program under the new name of "Next Gen Ministry Leaders".

What Our Alumni are saying about Next Gen Leaders

black and white photo of scholar Myles Edwards

Myles Edwards

"Scholars grew me both spiritually and professionally, allowing me to learn new ways of thinking and structuring my life to reflect Christ in all I do."

Meet the Team

Jai Haulk | Director

With a combination of strong leadership skills, lots of ministry experience, and just a deep love for people, Jai leads the overall Next Gen Ministry Leaders program. He has one goal — to see the next generation of leaders be healthy for themselves and those that they lead. Jai is the husband of Angela, father of Isaiah and Lucy, but don’t forget about their two golden doodles (Arlo and Dude) along with their hedgehog (Miss Pricklepants). No one walks away feeling like a stranger to Jai so don’t hesitate to say Hi 👋, and let him know what your favorite donut is!

Andrea Stiles | Program Leader

As a hard worker and a prayerful leader, Andrea is our glue as the Program Leader running our Mentorship program, Alumni Network, Volunteer Team Coordination, Internship and Fellowship Coordination, and much more. Andrea lives in Anderson with her husband, John and kiddos, Matt, Clare, Sammy and puppy Noble. Her family is all about sports, so in her free time there is a lot of football, cheerleading, lacrosse, tennis and baseball. Go Team!

Jamie Simms | Leader Academy Director

With a passion for developing future leaders, Jamie is leading the charge of the overall Crossroads' Leader Academy and Scholars might be her favorite part of Leader Academy (don't tell!). Jamie is a daughter, sister, aunt, pastor. Rocks some hair. Always ready to learn, push, and challenge, believing that Jesus can AND WILL set us all free. Bring on all the joy!

Abby Riegert | Small Group Leader

As a former Scholar, Abby knows what it takes to build the next generation of leaders. Cincinnati sports fanatic. Wordle warrior. Vegan, but cool about it. Future wife of Joe Burrow (even if he doesn’t know it yet).

Sydney Graff | Small Group Leader

With Jesus overflowing her cup, Sydney loves to pour out into kids, students, and the leaders of her generation! Sydney dedicates her time to taking care of little ones at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and being a part of the lives of high schoolers at Crossroads Students! She went through the Scholars program herself back in 2021/22 and is overjoyed to get to continue to learn, have great conversations, and make memories with her group! Whether it be running, thrifting, or going to a coffee shop, Sydney can't wait to do life with you!!

Myles Edwards | Small Group Leader

Myles is passionate about leading and developing young talent. His unique skills and experience allow him to connect with Students who have an interest in ministry AND who might pursue a career in the market. As a former Scholar, he has seen many iterations of the program and helped lead many small groups. Myles currently works at Procter & Gamble and also serves in High School Ministry as well.

Parker Graff | Small Group and Hospitality Leader

A guy with a heart for serving God and His people, Parker is someone you can count on. He is dependable and always offers a hand, everywhere he goes! He pours into many with his gifts of truth and how we can use it in our leadership. One of his favorite things to do is play Super Smash bros on Sunday afternoons in student ministry. Parker went to the University of Cincinnati, currently lives in Middletown, and works for the Department of Defense as a Software Engineer. He is married to Sydney Graff, and is excited for a life of ministry together!

Jordan Hopkins | Small Group Leader

Oh Jordan, is he a bible nerd, lab rat, poet, or a great friend? The answer is yes to all and so much more! His main mission in life is to be a role model of being a friend of Jesus. He always has a burning passion of staying curious and learning how to best serve those around him! #teamjesus

NEXT GEN LEADERS

DIVERSITY IN LEADERSHIP

Crossroads diversity is about more than percentages. It’s about having male and female voices from diverse backgrounds in positions of leadership. We believe we are called to be a multi-ethnic church and our pastors and leaders are living proof. Likewise, we want our Next Gen Leaders to represent the Kingdom with diversity of ethnicity, gender, and personality.

Check out our Crossroads Jobs Page for more about Staff Diversity, Diversity in Leadership, Foundational Beliefs, Culture, and I Promise.

NEXT GEN LEADERS

Scholars FAQs

What’s the timeline from when I apply through the rest of the program?

  • March: Applications for the next class go live.
  • April-July: Rolling applications and interviews for Fall semester.
  • August: Kickoff retreat, followed by our weekly meetings beginning.
  • August-November: First semester of content focused on identifying gifts & growing as a leader.
  • November-December: Rolling application.
  • January: GO Trip
  • February-May: Second semester content focused on developing skills to lead others, conclusion of the program with celebration.
  • June-August: First internship, optional additional internships can be extended throughout the following year.

Is everyone accepted into the program?
The short answer is no. Seriously, we use the admission process to discern which candidates would be a good fit for this program. This program requires maturity, discipline, availability, and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to identify people genuinely interested in exploring church ministry as a potential career.

What are the time commitments for internships?
The first round of internships will start in May/June, and work hours will vary (generally, internships are 10 to 25 hours per week).

What is the attendance policy for Scholars?
We work hard to support every Scholar and collaborate to achieve optimal time management. However, more than two unexcused absences are grounds for dismissal from the program.

Do you have to attend Crossroads to apply for Scholars?
Not to apply. All are welcome to apply, but we expect you to be an active participant in Crossroads Church. We ask folks new to Crossroads to explore who we are and check out the "Seven Hills We Die On" before applying. If you like what you see, great! Please apply and then during the interview, we will dig into the commitment to the program and your engagement with Crossroads during it.

Apply Now

NEXT GEN LEADERS

Fellows FAQs

What is the difference between Fellows and Scholars?
Fellows take top graduates from Scholars who are seriously considering ministry as a career. Fellows is an opportunity to confirm a calling to ministry. Scholars focus on the personal and leadership development of young adults and give them a chance to explore ministry as a potential career before being considered for Fellows.

Is everyone accepted into the program?
Acceptance into the Fellows program is based on ministry need and the right fit of each candidate. We will do our best to match candidates with the right ministry opportunity.

Do you have to attend Crossroads to apply for Fellows?
A part of the commitment to the program is being an active participant in Crossroads Church. We ask that you make Crossroads your home as you are equipped for ministry within our context.

Is this a paid or unpaid position?
A part of choosing a career in ministry is understanding financial sacrifice, that being said we try to offer competitive compensation vs. other church residency programs. In fact, it is a little above the norm because we don’t have housing associated. Don’t let housing deter you; we’ll try to help you secure housing if needed.

Apply Now

NEXT GEN LEADERS

CONTACT US

Please email us for questions or updates on future opportunities.
leaderscholars@crossroads.net