Adoption (Kind Of)

Capital Fellows
Oct 5
4 min read

By Quentin Maxwell

Coming out of college, one of my biggest hangups in joining the Capital Fellows program was the aspect of living with a host family. I love spending time with families as much as the next person, but living with one? I spent four years of college living in a dorm or a house with other people my age and spent the summers in various places. Four years of adjusting to becoming an adult. Coming from a home where “walking on eggshells” was a regular practice, I quite liked my new lifestyle. I wasn’t dependent on others, and my coming and going had a relatively low impact on the people I lived with.

That in mind, living with a host family was a tough pill to swallow, but one I had hoped would get easier as the program progressed. It was difficult to imagine that this circumstance would be a major blessing and one of the clearest demonstrations of the gospel in my time in NOVA. While there are varying host family experiences, I want to share a little bit about mine.

The first day I met my host family, I was immediately greeted with warm smiles and a stream of neighborhood kids unpacking my car for me. Then came introductions to the family, a house tour, followed by conversations over a warm meal. My new bedroom was decorated with memorabilia from my alma mater (Roll Tide), and my weekly Fellows schedule was posted on the fridge. In the following days and weeks, I would be introduced to the neighbors, receive debriefs on family history and quirks, participate in house chores, accompany them on family excursions, and be welcomed in without any indication of burden. It has been clear that I am not just a random person who moved into the home of a group of fellow strangers to live my own separate life. I am a brother being established into the daily rhythms and lifestyle of a family; I have been, for all intents and purposes, adopted into a family.

This is no accident. It’s a reflection of an even greater adoption that we have received in Christ:

“In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5-6 ESV).

Despite my initial reservations, my host family has shown me a glimpse of what true adoption looks like. Because of Jesus, we have all been adopted through faith into the family of God. This is not adoption executed out of obligation or done with grumbling, but rather with excitement. As believers, we are welcomed with open arms and awarded all the privileges of God’s children.

Quentin Maxwell is a member of the Capital Fellows class of 2025-26. He is from Houston, TX, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. This year, he is working at Everfox in Herndon, VA.

Pictures From The Week

Life and leadership featuring a Grizzly skin rug!

Know a Potential Capital Fellow?

If you know a college senior or recent graduate who should consider joining the Capital Fellows program in 2026-27, please encourage them to get in touch with us. The easiest way to express interest in the program is through our Contact Us Form. You can learn more about the program, including application deadlines, by visiting the Capital Fellows website.

About Capital Fellows. Capital Fellows is an advanced leadership and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Through graduate courses, a paid internship, one-on-one mentoring, and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in real-world situations while learning to integrate a Christian worldview into all areas of life. Capital Fellows is a unique opportunity to live and work in the Washington DC area and to be an active member of a supportive community that seeks to serve the city with the love of Christ. It is also a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the workplace while deeply exploring God’s design for us as workers and contributors to human flourishing.

Pray for the Capital Fellows

Thank you for praying for the Capital Fellows each week!

It's October already! This is the time of year that many fellows start to feel tired and a bit worn down. This is a key aspect of the transition from college to post-college life. In college, a student has a lot of freedom to spend time as they choose. Friends are almost always within close proximity. After college, whether someone is in a Fellows program or not, this dynamic changes. They now have to bend to the schedule of the working world, while maintaining friendships at longer distances, investing in important things like church life and serving others. Like the Capital Fellows before them, Season 19 will find their rhythm in all of this, but the transition is hard and keenly felt in October. So, please pray that they would make this transition well, embracing all that God has for them in this season of life.

Want to learn more about Season 19? Click the button below to read through their bios!

Meet the Fellows

About The Fellows Initiative

Capital Fellows is part of a network of similar programs across the country. This network is called The Fellows Initiative. There are 34 Fellows programs in TFI, roughly 3,200 alumni living around the world, and more Fellows programs on the way.

If you know a church in the US or Canada that would benefit from joining TFI by launching a new Fellows program. Please contact TFI by visiting their website.