Announcing Act Five
REDEEMER AND FIVE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOLS ARE TOGETHER LAUNCHING ACT FIVE, AN EIGHT-MONTH CHRISTIAN GAP YEAR PROGRAM, IN SEPTEMBER 2019.
THE PRESSURE TO gure out what’s next is intense as high school comes to a close. A lot of young adults have a nagging uncertainty, worrying about falling behind or wasting a year while not yet ready to jump into a three or fouryear program.
What if these students had the chance to breathe, explore future pathways and learn more about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?
Act Five, an eight-month Christian gap year program, is Redeemer and
ve area Christian high schools’ response to this need. Act Five oers the time and space for young adults to explore who they are, where they’re going and how their faith into a rapidly changing world. ts
The rst Act Five cohort is starting the program this September. Each participant will encounter new experiences and interpret them with the support of a community that learns, travels, works and worships together. The students, along with program sta, are living in a Hamilton neighbourhood. The Act Five home will be the central base for meals, classes, events and fellowship.
By creating regular rhythms of study, worship and prayer, the program will provide a year that is deeply transformative for students who are transitioning into adulthood and making choices that will shape them for years to come. Research shows that students who complete a gap year program are better prepared for post-secondary education, for the workplace and for engaged lives in our cities and churches.
Throughout the year, Act Five students will travel to a variety of settings and communities. Students will take on three outdoor canoeing and camping trips with Coldwater Canada, attend the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburg, work with EduDeo Ministries in Zambia and, with the guidance of Ohsweken Baptist Church, learn from communities within the Six Nations reserve.
From January to April, Act Five participants will live and serve in Hamilton. Students will participate in two eld placements with not-forpro t organizations, local businesses and tradespersons in the city. In their placements, students will experience Christian vocation rst-hand, under the supervision and guidance of mature Christians who are living out their faith in diverse contexts in Hamilton.
Overall, Act Five is helping young adults to nd their place in God’s story. The gap year program calls students to live out their faith, rooted in the biblical story and looking forward to what God is doing next.