Colossians 2:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ROOTED and BUILT UP in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over flowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ROOTED and BUILT UP in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over flowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ROOTED and BUILT UP in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over flowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ROOTED and BUILT UP in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over flowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ROOTED and BUILT UP in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over flowing with thankfulness.”
What is Rooted?
Rooted is a 9 month long discipleship adventure designed to help young adults dig down deep into the soil of God’s love and to trust the Holy Spirit to blossom them into Christ-honoring leaders. As a student in the Rooted program you will be in the classroom studying, in the outdoors adventuring and in the inner city serving. All of these different components are opportunities to learn, serve, grow and belong, and are specifically designated to work together for the spiritual maturity of everyone involved.
Learn
The study of God’s Word will be at the center of what we do. Instead of semester long classes we will be utilizing week long intensive classes which allow us to bring in a wide variety of instructors to teach on topics that they are passionate about. The Rooted Director, current and retired pastors and seminary professors will be used as instructors throughout the year. Besides studying through different books of the Bible we will also be studying theology, evangelism, apologetics, and a number of practical classes on topics such as Biblical stewardship, Godly understanding of identity, worldview, and reconciliation, just to name a few.
Rooted key components – serve
Serve
One of the best ways to grow healthy as a person is to learn to serve others. As a part of Rooted we will both serve each other as well as the guest that come to Tuscarora in areas such as food service, house keeping and audio/visual/worship arts. We will also serve people in the rural areas around the campus and in the major cities of New York and Philly, which are just over an hour away, as well as taking trips to work with Samaritan’s Purse when different disasters hit.
Grow
Like the name Rooted implies, the intended goal of the year is for participants to grow deep roots in their assurance of who they are in Christ, in a deeper understanding of the Bible, as well as growing out the Fruit of the Spirit as we together learn to allow the Holy Spirit to shape us into the people He desires us to be. In this, we will be spending the year working through the different spiritual disciplines of daily Bible reading, prayer & fasting, and journaling, just to name a few.
Belong
At the heart of all that we do at Rooted is the fact that we do it together in community. By living together, participants will learn how to practice patience, grace, and forgiveness, as well as encouragement and support. When one person struggles the community will learn how to love one another and show Christian encouragement or correction. It is in this area of the program that participants will ultimately experience the most growth, as Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We are able to take 12-14 students, a number that provides enough intimacy to get to know each other deeply as well as enough of a critical mass to both be impactful in mission and refreshing in community.
Adventure & Travel
If you are up for adventure, then rooted is definitely for you. Each week we will be outdoors hiking, canoeing or caving. We believe strongly that stretching ourselves physically actually helps to refresh us for the other components of the program.
But outdoor adventure isn’t the only adventuring we will do. Living this close to two major cities offers so many opportunities to explore and experience all of the cultural diversity.that they offer.
On top of that, every 6 to 8 weeks we will also be out on travel weeks including a trip to Florida, a week in New York City, a trip up to the Adirondack Mountains, a trip to help with disaster relief, just to name a few.
What does it cost?
Total Program Cost = $13,150
Work Study Credit = $4,300
This is half of the room & board cost. This credit is given to all Rooted students. At Rooted we value learning and believe that much learning comes from working. As a way to keep the cost of tuition down and also provide opportunities to serve and grow as leaders, participants will be partnering with different service teams at Tuscarora (i.e. Food service, operations, programming, office and facilities, housekeeping…)
Total Payment (including a $1000 non-refundable deposit) = $8,850
Be the first
Any time that something new is starting there can be hesitation to be the first one to join. On the flip side, there is also something great about being a part of something new and being a part of shaping it into what it will be for years to come. We are looking for some brave and adventures people to be the first and go down as the Rooted OG’s.
Pastor Roger & Jenny Viksnes
About The Director
Roger and his wife Jenny have 5 children ranging from 10-19 years old. He has pastored churches for 20 years in Minnesota, Brooklyn, NY, and most recently in his home town in Connecticut.
Our partners
“The Rooted Gap Year program is a partnership between Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center and the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.”
The Rooted campus
The Rooted campus lies in the beautiful Delaware Water Gap section of Eastern Pennsylvania, with New Jersey just on the other side of the river. It sits on a 26 acre apple orchard with three ponds. There is a former carriage house that serves both as the classroom and housing for the ladies, a large house on one of the ponds that will be the housing for the men, and a 19th century giant cottage straight out of stories of King Arthur and The Lord of the Rings (from which the nickname of the Hobbit House comes from) that will serve as the kitchen, dining room and living room for everyone. The Rooted campus is a little over a mile from the main Tuscarora campus, so close enough to get to all the activities there and far enough away to be independent.
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FAQS
How hard will the academic rigor be?
We will be having a good amount of time in the classroom learning and there will be both group and individual projects/assignments to complete but Rooted is not like high school with grades and report cards. That being said, each student is still called to do their best and to be ready for discussions and to complete all of the assignments. As Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord…”
How much work will I have to do?
One thing that we are very conscious of is not to have the Rooted students to feel like slaves being called to work all the time. However, we also feel that work offers a lot of opportunity to learn and grow. Instead of each week having the same amount of work there will instead be work weeks (4-6 throughout the year) where we will be working more hours in order to help during larger weekly events at Tuscarora. In those weeks we will not have an intensive class but will still have reading assignments and discussions. There will also be some work that we will do each week and opportunities for people who are interested to learn in specific areas of ministry if they would be interested in pursuing that in the future.
Will there be any time for fun?
There will be fun! There will be time to just hang out together but all sorts of adventures that we have planned in the area and in the big cities around us. There are all sorts of towns with everything you would want to do within 30/40 minutes and New York and Philly just 1 1/2 hours away.
How many people will be involved in the program?
We can fit up to 16 people in our current housing but are looking at hosting between 8-14 in our first year.
Will I have a roommate?
The desire is for each person to have a roommate, but there are some single occupancy rooms if we need to use them. Each person will also be in an apartment within the dorm which each have their own bathroom, lounge/living room and kitchenette. These efficiencies have one or two bedrooms and will be for 2,3, or 4 students each.
What will each week look like?
The year will roughly be split between work weeks, learning weeks and travel/missions weeks, broken down to 60% learning weeks, 20% travel weeks, and 20% work weeks.
