The Kansas City Fellows (KCF) program is a nine-month Christian leadership program designed to help recent college graduates explore the intersection of Faith, Work, and Community.
With a goal of laying a firm foundation, this leadership program equips Fellows to have a faithful presence for Christ in their community and world.
The Kansas City Fellows are part of The Fellows Initiative (TFI), a national organization. The following video explains what the Fellows’ programs are all about.
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Whenever I read stories in the Old Testament, I find myself being pretty hard on the Israelites. I read their stories of unfaithfulness, ingratitude, and disobedience and think ‘You silly people, three pages ago God made you some pretty awesome promises. He brought you out of exile, and made food literally rain down. How could you forget?’ And yet. As I walk through my time in the KC Fellows, I find I have more in common with the Israelites than I want to admit. In the time leading up to my arrival, I became aware that I lack sufficient grace…
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The KC Fellows has been a whirlwind. It feels like the busyness of college and career mashed their heads together. Both seem to exist within the other. I have thrived in an environment that is probably unique to my strengths; I have struggled to continue in that strength with small bits of frustration or tiredness and the want to go on a week-long vacation. I want to highlight some awesome things that are hopefully encouraging to anyone’s situation and also dive into the realness of living in the “real world”. The intertwining of everything in life is exciting and fascinating.…
Our Program
Directors
Today's experienced leaders training leaders of tomorrow.
Kevin and Carol Rauckman
Executive Directors / Founders
Kevin recently retired as CFO and Treasurer at Garmin after a 16-year career there. His primary accomplishments at Garmin included an IPO, serving during a period of high growth, working with analysts and shareholders on Wall Street, building a global finance team, and managing a treasury function with billions in assets.
Carol has a 30-year nursing career with the majority of her experience as a Medical Case Manager and Certified Life Care Planner. Over the past five years, Carol has volunteered with Heart-to-Heart International, organizing trips distributing medical supplies to Eastern Europe, and with Cristo Rey High School, an inner-city Kansas City school.
Kris Fernhout
Director
Kris began serving at Christ Community in January 2011. He has 20+ years of youth ministry experience in a variety of locations and contexts all over the world but now calls Kansas City home (but that doesn’t make him a Chiefs fan).
He has been married to Heather for over 20 years and has two daughters: Emma and Grace. Kris completed his MA in Youth and Family Ministry at Denver Seminary in 1996 and completed his Doctor of Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA in 2014 where he studied the impact of materialism on the identity and spiritual formation of adolescents and the transition young people make from college into emerging adulthood.
Contact Kris >
What’s in
a Week
learn.
Continuing Education
In addition to work opportunities with local businesses and industry, the Kansas City Fellows program includes curriculum-based coursework, biblical study, and active mentoring.
The fellows will participate in weekly spiritual formation and leadership development classes.
The “Lunch and Learn” series will continue every week, featuring business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs from some of the key Kansas City companies. They will share their experience with the fellows, engage them in rich dialogue, and provide networking opportunities for future employment.
Fellows will also attend three leadership retreats—including one local, one regional, and one national retreat.
work.
Marketplace Fellowship
The Kansas City Fellows program will provide Fellows with paid work experience (in their field of interest whenever possible), working four days a week (Monday — Thursday) for the ultimate purpose of furthering God’s redemptive story in our community.
These opportunities will involve a wide range of occupational callings via strategic partnerships within the local business community. Regardless of their chosen field, Fellows will have the opportunity to learn, grow, network, and live out their faith in a seamless fashion.
Notable Companies
in Kansas City
Take a look at the companies currently offering fellowships.
Take a look at some of the industry-leading companies that have offered
jobs to our fellows in the past.
- AB May
- Agrithority
- Bardavon Health Innovations
- Black & Veatch
- Convergence Design
- Corbion
- Cremalab
- Crux Marketing
- Demdaco
- DVS Group
- Global Orphan Project
- Heart to Heart International
- JE Dunn Construction
- McCown Gordon
- Pivotal Health Care
- Scovell Wolfe and Associates
- Straub Construction
- Suneisis Advisors
- Tech Accel
- Wyandot Center
Here is a look at a few more of the companies based in the Kansas City area.
- AMC Entertainment
- American Century
- Burns & McDonnell
- Cerner
- DST Systems
- Garmin
- H&R Block
- Kauffman Foundation
- Lockton
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- VML Advertising Agency
serve.
Giving Back
Members of the Kansas City Fellows program will have the opportunity to experience life as God designed it by giving themselves away through the local church.
Fellows will be assigned service projects in conjunction with Christ Community Church, including opportunities to serve across the five-campus Christ Community ministry as well as engaging in service opportunities within the local community.
The program will seek to place individual Fellows in areas of service aligned with their personal gifts, in addition to providing group service opportunities designed to strengthen the bond between Fellows that comes from living out shared faith in an authentic fashion.
Apply for
Our Program
Tuition for the Kansas City Fellows program is $4,000 (paid monthly during the program), plus $500/month for housing. Tuition covers all expenses related to coursework, study materials, retreats, conferences, and program administration. There is no fee to apply for the program.
Kansas City Fellows applicants should meet the following criteria:
Follower of Christ
High integrity and Christian character
Undergraduate degree
with leading GPA
Responsible student with
proven accountability
High Potential for leadership
in vocational field
Humble and teachable
Desire to excel and make a difference in life