Nine emerging leaders begin a year of exploring vocation, justice, and their place in the world
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (09/02/2026)—Steve Jackson, a computer science student entering his junior year at Stanford University, knows injustice bothers him. What he has been less certain about is how to address it.
Jackson’s desire to move beyond his uncertainty and the frustration it breeds led him to apply to American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) 2026-27 Emerging Leaders Cohort (ELC). He hopes to gain the confidence to act and to meet people who can challenge him, teach him, and become friends along the way.
Jackson is one of nine young adults in the latest ELC, a 12-month leadership development experience that gives participants space to explore questions of vocation, faith, and justice while developing the skills and relationships to put their convictions into practice.
The cohort gathered in person for the first time Aug. 7-9 at ABHMS’ Leadership and Mission Building in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and includes students pursuing computer science, engineering, nursing, education, chemistry, and sports management, as well as young adults drawn to ministry, photography, health care, and community work.
Although the nine arrived with different interests and ideas about their futures, they share a willingness to consider where their abilities, faith, and concern for others might lead them.
“During our August orientation, watching these nine leaders show up for one another, build authentic connections, and push each other to grow laid a powerful foundation,” said Alexzandria Sanchez, the director of Scholarships, Ministerial Grants & Emerging Leaders Initiatives with ABHMS. “They are highly intelligent, kind, and very insightful. Their passion and commitment give me confidence in the lasting impact this cohort will have.”
For some members, faith is already closely connected to how they imagine their working lives.
Avery Thomas, a nursing student entering her junior year at Widener University, hopes to become a pediatric nurse while remaining involved in community work. She sees caring for people at their most vulnerable as more than a professional choice. In introducing herself to the cohort, Thomas described giving back as integral to Christian life and said her faith has led her toward a career of service.
Orlando Pinilla, born in Panama and now living in Connecticut, brings a passion for preaching, serving God, and growing in his faith. Rebecca Tilus is pursuing elementary education while running a photography business and serving in several ministries at her church. Tara McKinnon, a chemistry and pre-pharmacy student at Kean University, is particularly interested in health care, mental health, and social justice.
The cohort also includes James Stewart, an electrical engineering student at Penn State University, and Jonathan Harris, who is studying the same field at George Mason University and has served as a junior deacon at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Spring House, Pennsylvania. Anaya Onwubuariri studies sports management at North Carolina State University, with minors in data science and economics. Chloé Ciel Romero Ramos, from Puerto Rico, arrived eager for a new experience that would allow her to learn and deepen her faith.
Together with Jackson, their interests illustrate a premise underlying the Emerging Leaders Cohort: Leadership and Christian vocation can take shape through many kinds of work.
The program is designed to give young adults space to explore those possibilities rather than steer them toward a specific profession.
During their first weekend together, cohort members participated in sessions on vocational discernment, faith-rooted organizing and values mapping, networking, and intercultural competency. They also began brainstorming ideas for projects they will develop together over the academic year.
There was time for relationships to form outside the formal sessions. They shared meals and evening devotionals, tackled an escape room, and spent their final morning exploring Philadelphia before reconvening for lunch at Reading Terminal Market.
Those experiences began a process that will largely continue across distances. The nine will meet virtually for six facilitated sessions as they develop collaborative projects addressing justice and social concerns. Their work will examine what meaningful advocacy looks like, how to engage communities, how to amplify others' voices, and how partnerships can strengthen their efforts.
The program seeks to foster collaboration among young adults from different regions while providing them with experiences that can inform their developing sense of life’s calling and help them build deeper relationships with people facing difficult circumstances.
“Building on the strengths of our emerging leaders directly fuels our ability to pursue meaningful justice work,” Sanchez said.
The cohort will later gather for a retreat, where members will present their projects and learn about the culture of the place they visit. Summer internships with ABHMS-approved mission partners will provide sustained, hands-on experience and an opportunity to test what they have begun to discern about vocation.
The program reaches participants at a formative point in their lives. Career decisions are part of that journey, but the questions go further: What kind of people will they become as they enter their professions? How will faith inform their choices? What responsibilities will they assume in their churches and communities? For the cohort, the August orientation marked the start of a mission to seek answers.
The weekend closed with a commissioning prayer for the nine young adults, asking that they be guided as they explore their callings and become agents of healing, transformation, and hope. They left King of Prussia for different schools and communities, carrying different ambitions and questions.
Over the next year, the Emerging Leaders Cohort will provide a place for them to explore both.
To learn more about the Emerging Leaders Cohort, visit ABHMS online at abhms.org.
About ABHMS
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.