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Courses

Christian Discernment Practices for Young Adults

What’s Next? Christian Discernment Practices for Young Adults is a six-week, fully digital, cohort-based program where you gain a spiritually grounded reflection toolkit from Princeton Theological Seminary leaders.  

This experience includes videos, recommended readings, discussions, and live group reflection to facilitate communal, story-based vocational discernment. Join other like-minded spiritually curious young adults to explore your questions about God’s call while practicing gratitude, curiosity, listening, story-sharing, and prayer. Your estimated time investment is between 1.5 and 4 hours each week, varying based on the time you allocate for personal journaling and prayer. 

Grounded in Kathleen Cahalan’s framework for Christian vocation outlined in The Stories We Live: Finding God’s Calling All Around Us, this experience explores your personal call story. You’ll receive a copy of this book upon registration as recommended but not required reading. 

PROGRAM FEATURES:

  • Educational videos on Christian calling and discernment 
  • Personal reflection through journal prompts
  • Daily embodied prayer practices  
  • Group reflection through online discussion  
  • Live facilitated small groups on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm Eastern Time 

Discover God’s call and clarify next steps in this pivotal season of your life. 

Enroll now for one of our upcoming cohorts:

  • April 3 – May 8, 2025
  • July 7 – August 15, 2025
  • October 20 – November 28, 2025
  • January 12 – February 20, 2026

REGISTER

An infographic displaying the weekly themes: 1) welcome 2) called by 3) called toward 4) called away from 5) called with 6) what's next?
PROGRAM COST

This six-week experience costs $249, which is due in full before the course starts. Partial scholarships are available through this application (completion of this form does not guarantee a scholarship will be awarded, though we hope to make this affordable and accessible).  

 

PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
Shari
Oosting
Instructor
Project Director, Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network

Shari Oosting

Shari leads the Polaris team and develops the network’s research and program offerings. A lifelong Christian, her call was clarified in her early 20s when she was invited to lead in campus ministry. She is insatiably curious about God’s unfolding story and loves hearing how people join God’s work in diverse and imaginative ways. She has experience discerning vocational next steps with seminary students and ministry professionals, leading teams, preaching, teaching, and designing educational programs and resources. She holds a BA from Grand Valley State University and an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary. As the host of Princeton Seminary’s podcast The Distillery, Shari delights in exploring book and research projects. An intuitive networker, she helps people connect so that they can learn together, form friendships, and generate new ideas. She resides in Holland, Michigan, with her spouse Jason and their four children Asher, Ezra, Elia, and Ada. They worship together at Second Reformed Church in Zeeland, Michigan.

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Brooke
Foster
Facilitator
Program Coordinator, Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network

Brooke Foster

A young adult herself, Brooke supports catalytic leaders by creating and kindling opportunities for connection and learning. She is enthusiastic about cultivating welcoming, safe, and encouraging spaces of community for folks of all ages and is eager to begin serving alongside and connecting with the many young adults already at work in their own neighborhoods. Brooke holds a BA from Lipscomb University and an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary with certificates in Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation, and Women, Theology, and Gender. In her free time, you can find her curled up on her porch with a good book, a hot cup of coffee, and her corgi, Friday.

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Miriam
Perkins
Prayer Guide
Professor of Theology & Society, Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College

Miriam Y. Perkins

Miriam Y. Perkins is Professor of Theology and Society in the area of Christian Theology and teaches graduate courses in Christology, ethics, feminist theology, and spiritual writing in residence and online. Dr. Perkins is interested in teaching, research, and writing that brings the Christian tradition to bear on the contemporary realities of religious difference, human dignity, and civic engagement for a global world. Her vocation is to imagine and inspire prophetic voice shaped by a gracious God, compassion in the name of Jesus, and conviction set aflame by the Spirit.

Her recent and forthcoming publications include “The Politics of Voice: Reflections on Prophetic Speech as Voices from the Margins” in Enemies and Friends of the State: Ancient Prophecy in Context, (Eisenbrauns, 2018), and “The Praxis of Prophetic Voice: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Strategies for Resistance” in Black Theology (17.3, 2019). She also enjoys reflection on the vocation of teaching and is author of “Greenscreen Teaching: Institutional Instability & Classroom Innovation” in Teaching Theology and Religion (20.4, 2017).

Dr. Perkins is an ordained minister (Christian Churches/Churches of Christ), yoga instructor, fine arts devotee (especially modern dance), and lover of all things outdoors.

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Azucena “Ceni”
De La Torre
Prayer Guide
Program Coordinator, Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network

Azucena “Ceni” De La Torre

Ceni works closely to implement the Polaris Fellowship, supporting cohorts through a year-long leadership acceleration program. She has worked in parish and university ministries, directed retreats, and lived as a residential rector. She presented a TEDx Talk, “The Unexpected Gift of Death”, an exploration of the ways grief grants us the blessing of sameness. She holds a BA from DePaul University and earned her MTS at Duke Divinity School. She is a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science. Ceni is a community-builder, steadfast encourager, an advocate for young adults navigating life in ministry, and a Catholic laywoman intentionally dedicated to ecumenical collaboration. She lives and writes in Chicago.

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Interested in joining? Learn more and register here.

Sabbath Practices for Leadership (coming soon)

  • This four-week course invites young adults to slow down and integrate healthy Sabbath practices into their daily lives.  Upon completion, participants will have a greater understanding of spiritual and emotional wholeness, burnout and burnout prevention strategies, and how to routinely incorporate sabbath practices into their daily and weekly rhythms.
Princeton Theological Seminary

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Princeton, NJ 08542-0803
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polaris@ptsem.edu

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Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network

The network connects young adults who are leaders across the United States to cultivate community, build up their leadership, and amplify their stories.

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