FALL 2024 - SPRING 2025

The deadline to apply is May 1st, 2024. Applicants will hear back by May 31st.

A young adult gap year for discipleship investment and missionary training in living the ways of Jesus.

FAQs

WHAT IS 3DM’S DISCIPLESHIP SCHOOL?

This is a 10-month intensive gap year program (Sept-June) where you will get immersed into 4 very different contexts across 3DM North and South America.  It will be a year of spiritual growth, discipleship investment, and missional engagement that will help you live the ways of Jesus in any context.  Participants will get folded into the missional families in each location, receive investment and input from key leaders in each location, develop community with other participants, and engage in hands-on ministry/mission experience.  

WHO SHOULD APPLY? 

Young adults aged 18-29 who are looking to be discipled and learn how to live the ways of Jesus.  The nature of this program will not allow you to work during the year. It could be possible to complete some online college courses on your own time.

WHY THESE 4 LOCATIONS?  

The 4 sites are 3DM hubs, or “red hot centers,” that are growing a missional discipleship movement locally in their households and communities, as well as across their region.  You will be getting access to some of the key leaders of 3DM North America. These 4 locations are each very different contexts, but share the same spiritual DNA of living the ways of Jesus.  After learning how each context applies the 3DM tools and framework, you’ll be able to apply them anywhere.  

• Portland, Maine: 35 minutes outside of the city, you’ll be with Gina Mueller and her family in a town called Alfred.  Here, you’ll get to experience planting house churches amongst non-believers in New England - the most post-Christian region of the US. 

• Fort Wayne, Indiana: immersed in a multi-site established church context focused on city-wide unity, you’ll experience a deep focus on prayer and personal identity as well as discipleship culture. You’ll have access to quite a few 3DM leaders and their families, including Chris Norman, Paul Maconochie, Grace Maconochie, and others.  

• Compton, California: joining Pat and Julie Dirkse and their family in an urban community on mission together to transform a diverse neighborhood both spiritually and economically.  

• Lima, Peru: joining Mark and Anna Burgess and their family as they work in three distinct areas - their church community reaching new believers in inner-city Lima, an after-school homework help club in a poor shantytown, and working with an indigenous jungle tribal church in the Amazon jungle.  

WHAT DOES IT COST? WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THAT COST?

Similar to other gap year programs of this nature, this program will cost 13K per person or about $1300 per month.  This includes investment from key leaders of 3DM, being in a discipleship huddle for the duration of the program, all training, teaching, and missional projects, housing and utilities at all 4 locations, and 2 community/family meals per week.  

What is not included: food/groceries above the 2 meals per week, travel to/from/between locations, travel home for holidays if you choose to do that, passport fees, and books we will read throughout the year.  

We do recommend fundraising! All donations are tax-deductible.  We recommend fundraising an additional $500-$700 per month for groceries/living expenses plus travel expenses.  We will give you more information about receiving donations for each participant.  You will be able to receive donations throughout the duration of the program (for example, if a donor would like to give a monthly donation rather than a large sum all at once.) There will be a deposit required, and you will need to be current on payments before moving to the next location.  

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WEEK LOOK LIKE?

You will spend 10 weeks in each location.  Because ministry at each site looks very different, your schedule will look different as well.  You will have 3 days of learning directly from the local missional practitioners and will be in a discipleship huddle for the year.  You will fold into the local families with missional communities/house churches, missional experiments and rhythms, worship, family or community dinners together, serving the wider community, and other rhythms unique to each site.  There will be reading/learning outside of the teaching times together, as well as missional observations, experiments, and activities you will be doing to contextualize discipleship and mission at each unique location.

WHERE WILL WE BE STAYING IN EACH LOCATION?

In Maine, you’ll be in camp housing at a local Christian camp a few minutes from the Mueller house.  In Fort Wayne, you’ll be staying with local families who are connected to Grace Gathering Church.  In Compton, you’ll be staying with the Dirkse’s or other families in their church who live in the same neighborhood.  In Peru, you will be staying with the Burgess family.  

HOW WILL WE GET AROUND?

We promise not to leave you stranded!  It depends on who does the program in a given year.  Some participants may choose to have their car for the duration of the US portion.  If no participants bring a car, we will figure out a car-sharing situation where needed.  In Peru, taxis are an inexpensive option where walking is not feasible.  

HOW WILL WE TRAVEL FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION?

Travel between locations is NOT included in the cost of the internship.  We will help with the details.  If participants bring cars, there may be options for carpooling and driving from site to site in the US.  If not, flights will need to be arranged and leaders will be available to pick you up on the other end.  You will need to get yourself to Maine at the start.  There will need to be a flight to Peru, and for visa purposes, you will need to have a return flight booked.  You may wish to extend your trip beyond the internship as there are beautiful things to see in Peru!!  We have built-in 3-4 days of flex time to get from one site to the next.  

ARE THERE HOLIDAY BREAKS?

There is a 2+ week break at Christmas.  You are responsible for your own travel if you wish to go home during that time.  If you stay on-site, arrangements will be made to fold you into family!  

WHAT DO I NEED TO PREPARE?

If accepted, we will walk you through the next steps.  There will be a deposit due to hold your spot.  You will want to ensure you have a passport that expires more than 6 months AFTER the end of the program/your return flight from Peru.  We will also send you a list of books to order that you will be reading throughout the year.