The Rooted Gap Year program is a new endeavor that is coming about as a partnership between Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center and The Church of the Lutheran Brethren (CLBA), and is set to officially begin in September of 2024.
Both Tuscarora and the CLBA have been dreaming of and praying for this kind of ministry for young adults for some time. In fact, 20+ years ago, Tuscarora accepted a property that had previously housed a counseling ministry for pastors and missionaries, and have been praying ever since for how God would want to use that land. That property, called the Pines, is 26 acres with three ponds, a motel style building with 12 units, two duplex apartments, a “Carriage House” with a large classroom area, offices, a spacious lounge and two upstairs apartments, and also what is known as the Manor House, which is a large English country side mansion style house straight out of the pages of King Arthur. The Manor house will serve as the “kitchen, living room & dinning room” for Rooted, while the duplex apartments and Carriage house apartments will serve as the dormitories.
The main goal of Rooted is to provide an environment where young adults 18-25 can grow in their knowledge of who God is, grow deeper in love with Him and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus commissioned his 11 disciples to go and make disciples. This is not a quick process and it is not something that happens without intentionality.
The four core components of Rooted are to learn, serve, grow and belong.
LEARN – The study of God’s Word will be at the center of what we do. We believe that the Bible is the word of God and is the final authority for life, faith and conduct. There are four main comments to the classroom learning.
- Each semester there will be one class that runs through the 14/16 weeks. In the Fall we will work our way through the Old Testament and in the Spring we will work our way through the New Testament. We will spend Mondays class time dedicated to this semester focus.
- Each study week (as opposed to a work or travel week) – we will also have a different intensive class that will run from Tuesday – Friday. This gives the opportunity to both have a broader variety of topics as well as the chance to bring in a specific instructor for each topic that they are both we verses in and passionate about.
These intensive classes will fall into one of four categories.
- Books of the Bible
- Theology
- Training
- Practical Christian living
Here is a list of some of the topics:
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that will be addressed
3. A third classroom learning component will be the books that we will all read together throughout the year and the discussion times that we have about these books.
4. A fourth and final component of this classroom learning is an independent study. As students have a year to focus on growing in their faith and love for God we want to also provide time and space for each person to learn about a specific topic that they are passionate about and then to allow them to share with the rest of the program what it is that they have learned. This is less a research paper and more simply a learning experience and opportunity to pass on that learning to others.
SERVE – All learning does not happen in a classroom. In fact, one of the best ways to grow healthy as a person is to learn to serve others, and this happens when we are out in peoples lives. As a part of Rooted we will both serve each other as well as the guest that come to Tuscarora. 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 and a half away, as well as taking trips to work with Samaritan’s Purse when different disasters hit.
Working at Tuscarora – As a way to both keep the cost of Rooted down, as well as a way to grow as servants and leaders, the students in the Rooted program will be working at Tuscarora, which is a Christian Camp that hosts groups of people each week who are coming to grow in their own relationship with our awesome God. At Tuscarora, we firmly believe in the power of being on retreat as a way to grow and be refreshed to go back home ready to shine and share Christ. Working at Tuscarora will happen in four different ways.
1. Work that we will do each week for a few hours in the different core teams ( house keeping, maintenance, kitchen, dinning room…)
2. Work weeks – where we will be spending more extended time working at Tuscarora because larger groups using the camp and the need for more help. There will be roughly 4-5 work weeks throughout the year. We will not have an intensive class these weeks but will still have our Spiritual Formation hours and our book club readings and discussions.
3. Open shifts – each week there will be open shifts available in the dinning room, snack shop, audio visual, reception desk and if you would like to sign up for these you will be paid for that work.
4. Finally, if there is an area of work at Tuscarora that you would like to grow in more and explore as a future career then we want to provide you opportunities to focus on that as a apprentice to one of the many core team directors.
Travel weeks – Besides study weeks and work weeks we will also have travel weeks throughout the year as a way to put into practice what we have learned and also as a way to simply be in a different environment for learning an serving (and adventuring). Some of the different trips that are planned are…
1. A tip up to the Adirondack Mountain in upstate New York at the start of the year to get to know each other, to hike some of the high peaks, and to focus on how to be utilize the year to grow in love with God.
2. A trip with Samaritan’s Purse Crisis team to help people when natural disasters hit by both using our hands to help with clean up and also to use the care going training that we learn to come along side people to care and comfort them in their hurt.
3. A week long trip to New York City to work with a few different inner city ministries, to take an urban hike up Manhattan, join a prayer night at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and learn about the hardships and joy of different brothers and sisters in Christ from different nationalities.
4. A trip to Florida in February/March… as a way to just get out of the cold for a while. This will also be a teaching week with the instructor of that week meeting us in Florida. This will also most likely be a week where we will be able to put into practice some of the evangelistic skills we have been learning.
5. A short term mission trip to either Costa Rica or Mexico to work with churches both in their ministry to neighborhood children and in their care to those who are hurting and hungry.
6. A possible trip to an other gap year program in Canada. This would simply be a way to get to know other young adults in a similar setting and join them in their learning and fellowship.
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. One of the most important learning that will happen during the year will be for us to learn about ourselves, are insecurities, gifts, hangups, and identity in Christ.
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 12-16 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.
So 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 mentioned earlier, 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.
Total Payment (including a $1000 non-refundable deposit) = $8,850
Ways to bring the cost of Rooted down even further…
- We do not require it, but strongly encourage and recommend that all Rooted graduates stay on through the following summer to work in a leadership internship at Tuscarora. This is a paid position that will also help to bring down the overall cost of the program. Participants in this program will be in charge or the summer staff at Tuscarora and help lead one of the core teams. The program goes from the third week of June through the third week of August (will an opportunity to stay through Labor Day for those who are able). Participants in this internship will earn between $2,500-3,500 depending upon how long you are able to stay.
- Also, as stated earlier, there will be opportunities to work open shifts at Tuscarora during the week and especially on the weekends, which you can sign up for and will be paid for.
- Final, scholarships will be available to help offset the cost of Rooted for those who apply for them.
A Typical Day / Week
M,W,F
Breakfast – 7:45 – 8:15
Teaching Session 1 = 8:30 -10:00
Break = 10:00 – 10:15
Section 2 – 10:15 – 11:30
Lunch (down at Tuscarora with the staff) – 11:45-12:15 (leave by 11:35)
Session 2 – 12:30-1:30
T, TH
Breakfast – 7:45 – 8:15
Spiritual formation – 8:30-9:30
Stretch Break – 9:30-9:45
Teaching Session 1 – 9:45-11:30
Lunch (down at Tuscarora with the staff) – 11:45-12:15 (leave by 11:35)
Session 3 – 12:30-1:30
Afternoons
Monday – Work at Tuscarora
Tuesday – Outdoor adventure
Wednesday – Serve with the children’s program at a local church or at a local nursing home
Thursday – Free afternoon
Friday – Work at Tuscarora
Saturday/Sunday – The weekends are generally free on non travel weeks with the opportunity to complete reading assignments, work open shifts at Tuscarora, go to a worship service or join a team to travel to a church to help lead worship and share about the Rooted program.
Evenings
Dinners will be at Tuscarora in the dinning room on Friday & Saturdays, at the Manor House cooked by one of the teams of students on a rotating basis on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursdays, at the home of a family in the community of Mount Bethel Church on Mondays, and at Mount Bethel Church on Wednesdays.
Sunday nights = Worship and prayer evening
Tuesday nights = “Nights at the round Table” = Critical Issues discussion
Wednesday nights – Mountain House (an area wide young adult ministry) or helping to serve at a youth ministry with a church 1/2 hour away
Thursday nights – Opportunity to serve with a local youth program
Other things…
There will be a good amount of time in the classroom learning but unlike school, Rooted will not have grades. As Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord…” There will be reading assignments that students are expected to complete a head of the discussion so that everyone can be engaged. There will also at times be group projects, presentations, and or writing assignments.
Each week (typically Tuesday afternoons depending on the weather) the whole group will be outdoors on an adventure be it hiking on the Appalachian Trial or canoeing down the Delaware River (the famous river that George Washington crossed with his troops on Christmas during the Revolutionary Water for an important victory… in case you happen to also be a history buff). These outdoor adventures are specifically designed for community building but also serve as a way to be refreshed for the rest of the week of classroom learning.
One of the best things about Tuscarora and also about living so close to two major metropolitan areas is the vast diversity of ethnicity, culture, worship styles/traditions. We are going to take advantage of this by sending a good amount of time just be with, eating with, and worshipping with a wide variety of people and traditions.
At the end of Rooted we will have a graduation. This is not a completion of learning but rather a celebration of accomplishment and of what God has in store next for each graduate. Throughout the year we want to help each other explore and be prepared for their next steps in life, with the focus continuing to be on living out life in whatever direction the Lord leads as his faithful disciples, trusting Him for everything we need.
If you have any other questions at all please don’t hesitate to ask. You can reach out by phone or text by calling/texting Roger at 860-805-0760 or Jenny at 860-805-0730 or by going to the question section of the website. You can also email either of us at roger.viksnes@gmail.com or Jenny.viksnes@gmail.com. If you would like to have a zoom or FaceTime call to get more information, just let us know. If you haven’t done so already, follow us on Instagram or Facebook @rootedgapyear.
