Live an integrated life and bring your whole self before God and to your work.
What is The Master’s Journey?
The Master’s Journey is a high-impact, holistic discipleship experience designed to inspire, equip, and empower you to cultivate a life-giving integration of your faith and work.
Through dynamic learning from expert resources, discipleship development, authentic community, and spiritual habits, The Master’s Journey enables you to:
DISCERN Your Calling
Why work? What purpose should your work fulfill? What kind of work should you do? What is the value of doing “secular” work that is often ignored or downplayed in communities of faith? How can you faithfully steward your skills, experiences, and opportunities at work?
DISCOVER God’s Vision for Your Work
How can you overcome a compartmentalized life where your professional and personal passions and values seem to be disconnected or even in conflict? How does your work fit into the greater story of the Bible and the renewing work God is doing in all things today? How can you shape culture and serve God, neighbor, company, city, and world though your work?
DETERMINE How You Will Work…and Live
How should you engage with all the priorities in your life – work, church, family, friends, personal – that seem to compete for your time? How can you cultivate greater intimacy with the Lord through work? How do you develop authentic, valuable relationships at work? How can you get relief from stress and overwork, and experience the true rest that you so long for?
“The theological material and structure has helped me engage intellectually and equipped me to equip others around faith + work…This relates to any marketplace leader/professional that wants greater understanding and to bring their faith into their workplace.”
“A lot of people don’t realize how faith and work intersect or how to integrate it and this course will teach you that and equip you with the tools in how to transform your workplace. It will also connect you to other people who have the same desire to learn and integrate faith and work well.”
The Faith & Work Journey curriculum is:
Gospel-centered ● Scripture-based ● Work-positive ● Action-oriented ● Community-inspired Designed to facilitate discipleship and promote spiritual formation
The Faith & Work training and experience topics include:
The gospel of work: Your work matters to God and God matters to your work
Generally speaking, there are two inappropriate, incorrect views of work – both are based on secular views of work. Either work is unimportant – work doesn’t matter to God, especially “non-ministry” work; or work is all important, and work actually becomes an idol, our “god.” To adopt the appropriate perspective on work, we will consult the Bible and learn the truths about work relative to the overarching Biblical narrative — creation, fall, redemption, and renewal. The good news about work — that your work matters to God and God matters to your work — is the foundation of your faith and work training.
The instrumental and inherent value of work
We all know that our work is more than just a way to make money and provide for our and our family’s needs. At work, we can be a light to others and share our faith. But work has even more value than that. It provides opportunities to meet the needs of this world, lay the foundation for the next, and participate in God’s ongoing renewing work — as well as to honor God, experience communion with Him, and grow in our understanding of our true identity. We will explore the instrumental and inherent value of work.
Ambition
Is it OK to be ambitious and achievement oriented? To be competitive and want to win? To have goals and push ourselves and others to achieve them? We’ll take a look at what God has to say about these questions in the Bible — and we’ll discuss the tensions we experience between confidence and humility, achievement and contentment, being called and being driven, etc. We will learn how to cultivate a God-honoring perspective on doing our work with excellence, confidence, and aspiration.
Six expressions of faith and work integration
The Bible teaches us to integrate our faith and work in six expressions – six roles to play/hats to wear and ways of living out the Gospel in our work life: Provider, Missionary, Artist, Community Servant, Image Bearer, and Renewer. As we study each, we will learn the fullness of the riches and blessings that work can produce in our lives, our work, and our world. This is the key differentiator of our faith and work training.
Calling and purpose
God calls each of us to specific vocations, including specific work assignments that we are uniquely designed for. But contrary to what we might have previously heard or believed, our calling is not so much found as it is formed. So we will learn how to discern the callings God is cultivating in us by looking outside at the world and inside at ourselves. As we develop individual Purpose At Work statements. we will consider what God is calling each of us to at this moment in time and learn how to use our statements to focus and guide how we think about and do our work.
Rest and Sabbath
We will consider how God’s design of rest and His commandment to honor the Sabbath actually equips and frees us to work. We will learn how sabbathing and physical rest facilitate the “rest beneath the rest” that we so desperately need as we consider how the gospel is the source of ultimate rest.
Theology of technology
Technology is not the root of all evil. Just like money, technology and the new ways to communicate, interact, and work that it facilitates are neither good nor bad in and of themselves. We must understand the biblical view of technology and how that shapes how we should view, use, develop and deploy it.
To supplement and support your experience with The Master’s Journey, participants are encouraged to explore 1:1 coaching. We provide a shortlist of pre-screened professional coaches for you to choose from.
Coaching is available at an additional cost and payable directly to the coach.
Tara Rumler
Tara Rumler is an Executive Coach and Leadership Development Specialist with over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has served as a trainer and coach, developing and specializing in Leadership Development and Volunteer Engagement for Generation Z, Millennials, and their leaders. Tara Rumler is a constantly curious certified coach who specializes in assessments and helping people get unstuck. Outside of her coaching practice, she is an avid hiker and adventure addict. She is one part listener, one part influencer, one part problem-solver, one part iced lavender latte with oat-milk, and half the syrup.
Tara can guide you towards finding your purpose, calling, and empower you to create a strategic plan for your life! Tara uses premium tools from her toolbox: LifePlan, Emotional Intelligence, and ICF resources for both 1:1 and group coaching. Tara thrives when coaching people in any type of life transition, whether it be a graduation, career changes, relational shifts, empty nest, retirement, etc!
Cammie Dunaway
Cammie Dunaway is an executive coach and board member of Planet Fitness, Red Robin, and Flo. She retired in July 2022 from her work as the Chief Marketing Officer for Duolingo, the world’s most popular language-learning app. Cammie previously served as the U.S. President and Global Chief Marketing Officer of KidZania, Executive Vice President for Nintendo, Chief Marketing Officer for Yahoo!, and in various leadership roles in sales and marketing for Frito-Lay. She is the author of the best-selling book Fit Matters: How to Love Your Job.
Cammie’s approach is a holistic one: Together, you will explore your professional landscape (goals, challenges, accelerators, and blockers) and will also spend time deepening your awareness of broader elements of yourself, including your faith.
You can count on Cammie to bring a blend of support and challenge – nurturing the best in you while constructively pushing you to move past what may be in your way. You will dream together, laugh together and pray together. Cammie takes your growth and development seriously and will be your cheerleader, advocate, and challenger.
Dave Chae
Dave Chae is the Founder, CEO, and Executive Coach at New Wine Next Generation, LLC, a Faith Driven Consulting/Coaching company. We “Raise Up Josephs and Deborahs in the Marketplace”. A former Lead Pastor (18 years) of several churches, Dave is passionate and committed to expanding God’s Kingdom in the Bay area and beyond. Currently, he is discipling 37 CEOs & Founders & C-Suite Business Executives. He is also the former Executive Director at Connect Silicon Valley. God used Dave to grow his first church, GrX (2001-2011), from 13 people in his living in Sunnyvale to 750 people in three years.
Dave helps faith-based entrepreneurs “Hear from God and Do what He says”. We start by exploring how you hear from God. Dave asks questions to help you self-discover a personal relationship with God, Holy Spirit insights, godly direction, and the next steps in your life & business. Invitation & Challenge are two words that describe Dave’s approach to coaching. Along the way, Dave offers challenges that will stretch and hone you to be the best version of yourself.
Capstone Project
At the conclusion of The Master’s Journey, you will identify a work-related challenge or opportunity to apply your takeaways from the program to advance renewal in your workplace, industry, or the SF Bay Area region.
Participants’ projects have included:
Becoming a more effective leader and cultural influencer at work
Starting up a new business or side hustle to serve the community
Discerning what job/career to pursue to better align with God’s calling to participate in His renewing work
Restoring shalom in your work environment or with a difficult co-worker or manager
Taking on a new, more missional role or responsibility at work
Participating in a professional organization to pursue industry reform
As part of your commissioning from The Master’s Journey, you will be asked to make a brief presentation about your Capstone Project and desired outcome and to make a commitment to pursuing it. You will also be encouraged to continue to meet with your small group and participate in the community platform to receive support and accountability for making progress on your project and share about your project with the Faith & Work Journey community.
The Master’s Journey is designed to be an instrument through which God transforms individuals, organizations, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the world.
Snapshots of Transformation
An experienced executive repairs strained relationships and finds relief from stress by learning to pray for the people she works with and engage with them from a place of peace.
A technology consultant initiates the development of a people-oriented curriculum to help people in his industry make the consulting experience more humane.
Managers at tech companies discover hope and their North Star at work in the invitation to work according to their design and to co-create with God.
A nursing student discovers a more organic way for the integration of his faith and work to have impact than fixating on sharing his faith with his colleagues.
An investment banker transforms the culture of her company by using her positional power in the recruiting process to promote diversity.
A pastor sees his congregants gain greater confidence and joy at work as they learn all that God intended their work to be.
We raise up renewed people to participate in God’s renewal of all things.
” I learned about the inherent value of work, which helps on the days where the instrumental value isn’t clear, or isn’t motivating enough. It helped remind me to keep a good balance with work, where I work with integrity but don’t make it my identity.”
Our Impact
Through your participation, you will cultivate greater awareness and insight into, an open heart toward, and the practices of faith and work integration.
Specific takeaways include:
New frameworks to inform how you think about and do your work — understand and apply how work is an integral part of the biblical narrative and a vital aspect of your identity as a Christian
Sustained motivation to work – discover the eternal significance and inherent value of your work and how to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world today
Greater intimacy with the Lord and progress in your spiritual formation — discover how God is personally engaged with you and your work, and adopt practices that increase your awareness of His presence at work
Specific ways to integrate your faith and work – make changes every day and over the long term
Inspiration from a gospel-centered worldview – learn how the gospel changes everything in your life, including your work
Clarity on which jobs, companies, industries fit with your work calling and enable you to engage missionally in the marketplace and work toward cultural renewal
Direction on how to navigate ethical and moral issues at work
Insight into how to unplug from work and experience true rest
Discernment into appropriate ways to identify as a Christian at work and share your faith with colleagues
Tools, resources, and content including key Scriptures and spiritual rhythms that enable you to grow professionally and spiritually
Connections to leaders, subject matter experts, and peers who share your passions, interests, and intentions
A broadened theology around the gospel, the church, and her mission
The Master’s Journey is for Christ-followers who want to stop experiencing a fragmented life and start engaging in holistic discipleship that leads to flourishing.
If you are searching for greater meaning and purpose from your work…wondering how to reconcile your professional ambitions with your Christian values…trying to figure out how to be a positive witness for Christ at work…seeking a God-honoring perspective on work…The Master’s Journey is for you.
Participants
We are a community of peers with diverse professional, personal, theological, and ethnic backgrounds who are committed to closing the gap between our faith and work so that we can participate in God’s renewal of all things.
Past participants have come from fields including finance, education, technology, life sciences, government, non-profit, design, and healthcare.
Read some of their stories on the Resources page or check out some profiles below (click to enlarge).
Is The Master’s Journey for you?
Take the Faith & Work Integration Assessment here.
“As someone who’s waited around for a ‘calling’, I now find peace where I work. I realized where God has sent me is where I can worship God and serve. ”
Specific Requirements for Participation
At least two years of post-college work experience (3+ years of work experience after high school)
Commitment to attend all sessions, complete the self-study, and adopt the spiritual practices (see Commitments)
Orientation toward learning and personal growth and submission to the Holy Spirit
Willingness to actively participate during sessions (no spectators, please)
Openness to fellowship, support, and accountability from facilitator and peers in diverse small groups from a range of professional and ethnic backgrounds
“I’ve been able to see how my work and bringing organization or even order to work and bringing something good into this world is part of God’s design for work and is a means of me bringing to reality the creativity and goodness God intends for the Earth. ”
The experience begins with an orientation session and concludes with a Commissioning Retreat. The dates are as follows:
Applications due
Appliations are now open
Invitations issued
Early August
Participation confirmed
Mid-August
Welcome & Orientation Session
Late-August
in-person
Opening Retreat
Early September
in-person
Workshop #1
Mid September
in-person
Small Group #1
Early October
in-person or virtual
Workshop #2
Mid October
in-person
Small Group #2
Late October
in-person or virtual
Workshop #3
Mid November
in-person
Small Group #3
Late November
in-person or virtual
Commissioning Retreat
Mid January
in-person
* You will be asked to indicate on your application a preferred meeting day/time and format (in-person or virtual) for small group meetings. We make every effort to accommodate applicants’ schedules.
To get the most out of the experience and to ensure an engaging experience for all participants, your attendance is expected at all workshops, small groups, and retreats. So, while we understand that last minute absences may be necessary due to illness, family emergency, work crisis etc., we ask that you please prayerfully consider — and check your calendars — to ensure you are available to commit to full participation now.
Location
All in-person gatherings will be in the Peninsula/South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Small groups may meet in-person or virtually – to be determined based on facilitator and participant preference and availability.
Cost
The tuition fee is $800.
This includes meals at all meetings and retreats, private overnight accommodations at the retreats, books, guest speakers, access to online learning platform, printed materials, and lifetime access to teaching videos and other resources. Tuition is payable upon acceptance of invitation to participate.
Tuition covers approximately 50% of the cost to run the program. The remainder of expenses are covered by our generous supporters. Tuition for comparable experiences can range from $1,000 for a professional development course to $3,500 for one 3-hour credit MBA class.
We offer a limited number of partial scholarships based on need. When you complete the application, you will be invited to apply for a scholarship.
We also encourage you to explore subsidies or grants offered by your employer for personal development. We can provide a letter/documentation to use for these purposes.
Commitments
The commitment to participate in The Master’s Journey is significant. Participants are required to:
Attend all sessions: We understand that emergencies may arise, but before accepting the program invitation, we ask that you commit to participating in all meetings, retreats, workshops, and small group sessions.
Complete all self-study: There will be content to read/watch/listen to and exercises/worksheets to complete — an average of approximately 1 hour per week.
Adopt spiritual practices: We will introduce some spiritual practices such as the Prayer of Examen for you to do regularly on a schedule that works for you.
Work on a Capstone Project: At the conclusion of The Master’s Journey, you will be asked to identify a work-related issue or project for you to apply your takeaways from the program. You will be encouraged to continue in the future to meet with your small group and participate in our online community platform to provide support and accountability to each other as you work on your projects.
Consider future participation: No specific commitment is required at this time, but we ask that all participants volunteer with or support F&WJ in the future. We are a non-profit start-up — your continued participation and/or financial support will help us scale and increase our impact and build a vibrant alumni community.
“God used this program to change my life. I know my work is commissioned by God to be life-giving and to serve others…my social, spiritual, and worklife are no longer separated.”
The Application Process
● Complete application ● Candidate interviews with Founder/Director or Board member — (as applications are received) ● Invitations issued ● Participation confirmed ● Orientation and Welcome session
We will take into account in acceptance decisions the order in which we receive applications, so you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
FAQ
How many applications do you accept and how is acceptance determined?
The Master’s Journey is an exclusive experience, designed only for those who desire deep learning and intimate community. We plan to accept only 12-15 participants for each program. Ideal candidates demonstrate on your application spiritual maturity, teachability, and commitment to the requirements of participation. We will take into account in acceptance decisions the order in which we receive applications, so you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
When are applications due?
Applications for the Fall 2023 program are now closed. Sign up for our Interest List to be notified about future opportunities.
What is the cost & what does it cover?
The tuition fee of $800 helps offset program expenses, including meals at all meetings, private overnight accommodations at the retreats, books, guest speakers, access to online learning platform, printed materials, lifetime access to teaching videos and other resources, and almost all other related costs. The Founder/Director receives no salary.
Tuition is due upon acceptance of the invitation to participate in the program. Financial aid is available for all applicants.
Tuition covers approximately 50% of the cost to run the program. The remainder of expenses are covered by our generous supporters. Tuition for comparable experiences can range from $1,000 for a professional development course to $3,500 for one 3-hour credit MBA class.
Do you offer financial aid?
Yes, thanks to the generosity of our financial supporters, we offer a limited number of partial scholarships based on need. When you complete the application, you will be invited to apply for a scholarship.
We also encourage you to explore subsidies or grants offered by your employer for personal development. We can provide a letter/documentation to use for these purposes.
What is the difference between The Master’s Journey and the programs you previously offered such as the Premiere Experience?
We are now in our fifth iteration of our intensive cohort experience. We continue to learn from the feedback we receive from participants and the approaches of other similar programs throughout the country. We’ve evolved the program to be relevant to what people are experiencing in this moment since work and life have changed dramatically in the past couple of years, and as best practices in churches/ministry as well as in learning and development have emerged.
As such, The Master’s Journey is now designed to facilitate even greater spiritual formation, more interaction among participants, and sustained growth after participation. We are particularly excited about including retreats this year, as we expect them to be restorative and life-giving in a time when people need to be refreshed more than ever.
Why is the experience called The Master’s Journey?
“The Master’s Journey” has two references. First, it acknowledges Almighty God as our Master as it says in Colossians 4:1. Second, the advanced level of learning and engagement involved in the program is on par with a Master’s degree course in graduate school.
If I am a F&WJ alum, how can I be involved?
We definitely want alumni to be involved in this and other Faith & Work Journey experiences. Given how much the program has changed – and how your work context may have changed as well — you might consider enrolling again. You will be able to build upon the foundation that has been laid through new insights, new topics, and new community.
Alums will also be invited to participate in the retreats of this program, so that you can continue your development and deepen and broaden your connections with other participants.
What are participation requirements?
The Master’s Journey is a very immersive experience and should not be considered lightly. To get the most out of the experience and to ensure an engaging experience for all participants, your attendance is expected at all workshops, small groups, and retreats, as is timely completion of the self-study. So, while we understand that last minute absences may be necessary due to illness, family emergency, work crisis etc., we ask that you please prayerfully consider — and check your calendars — to ensure you have the availability and bandwidth to commit to participation now.
What is the workload?
We understand the time pressures and work demands in a place like the Bay Area, so we do our best to cater to the busy schedules of full-time+ employment. The workload of The Master’s Journey is somewhat equivalent to a single college or grad school class. In addition to the meetings (monthly workshops, monthly small groups, and two retreats), you will be expected to:
– complete approximately 1 hour of self-study each week – participate in spiritual practices such as a morning prayer/devotional 2-3 times/week, an end-of-day ritual 2-3 times/week, and a regular Sabbath – initiate a Capstone Project in the final session that you will continue to work on after the program
What if I cannot complete the program?
We accept a very limited number of applicants, so your participation through to the completion of the experience is important. If you must drop out for any reason, you will not receive a refund for the tuition, but you may be eligible to apply the remaining value to the tuition of a future Faith & Work Journey program.
Should I apply if I’m currently unemployed and/or job searching?
Yes, our program is for participants in all stages of their vocational journeys and we encourage you to apply if you are committed to fulfilling the expectations of the program regardless of future changes in your job status.
What is your religious affiliation?
We are a Protestant Christian ministry that upholds the basic tenets of Christian belief as outlined in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. The bulk of our curriculum is reformed in nature, but we welcome participants from diverse theological backgrounds. We simply ask fellows to come with a posture of humility and willingness to learn.
Apply
Applications for the Fall 2023 Program are now closed. Applications for our next cohort will open next Spring.
Faith & Work Journey is about faith and work integration. We offer spiritual formation and professional development experiences that help Christian professionals cultivate a vital integration of their faith and work. We are a faith-based non-profit Christian ministry. We offer opportunities to learn how to integrate faith & work, what is the relationship between God & work, how to work as a Christian even if you don't work in a Christian workplace, what is the biblical view on employment, what are biblical principles for career success, how to make Christian career decisions, how to approach evangelism in the workplace in a way that honors God and respects your co-workers, and more. Inspired by Redeemer Church's Center for Faith and Work, Gotham Fellowship, Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Faith and Work Movement, and other organizations including faith-based employee resource groups, Faith & Work Journey is designed to equip and empower Christ-following businesspeople to steward faithfully their professional vocations.
