By Brigette Nelson
Over the past eight months, I’ve been able to gain invaluable insights into navigating life as a Christian in the world. As I prepare to depart from the safety and support of the Capital Fellows program, I recognize that despite all I've learned, there's still much left unknown. In some ways, the outcomes of the relationships I've invested nine months in remain uncertain. Adjusting to a different pace of life will be bittersweet, especially without the weekly presence of my fourteen, cherished companions. While I don’t know what will become of my fellows group after we say goodbye in May, I've come to understand how this uncertainty is actually beneficial & by design for all of us.
Over the last month, I’ve been reading through 1 Corinthians again and have recently paused to meditate and study 1 Corinthians 13. One of my favorite parts of this chapter is when Paul illustrates the limitations of our understanding of life and faith by relating it to peering through a dim mirror or a fogged-up window. This imagery highlights the challenge of fully grasping the depth of who Jesus is and how we don’t fully know or see everything in one’s walk of life. Yet at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul underscores the enduring importance of faith, hope, and love, with love reigning supreme.
While pondering the greatness of love, I ended up reading a remarkable interview with Richard Pratt that brought some new insights on love. Pratt gets asked the question of why love is the greatest. In the interview, he says, “One day faith will pass away because it will be sight. Hope will pass away because when Jesus comes our hope will be fully realized. The one thing, the one ethical moral and standard and reality that makes an impact now, in the continuation, and will continue after Jesus returns is love.” In that moment, the commandment to “love God and love others” took on a richer and deeper meaning for me. Love is not fleeting, but eternal and never-ending.
For anyone, myself included, who worries about the impact of present actions on the future, there's a comfort in knowing that loving those around us is an action that can be free from such stress. Love is a guiding principle that impacts our lives now, shapes our future, and even extends beyond Christ's return. As I near the end of my time in Capital Fellows and grapple with the anxiety typical of transitions, I find comfort in this: that despite where the fellows go, the consistency of when I see them, or as life moves on and we potentially lose contact, the things that we’ll never lose are the ways that we lived and built each other up with love this year; it’s something that we can actually bring with us as we pass from this life to the next. From what I’ve learned during my time in Fellows, the love shared among my class will endure. Love will be something we carry with us beyond this life—an eternal bond that will transcend time itself.
Brigette Nelson is a member of the Capital Fellows class of 2023-24. She is from Sioux Falls, SD and is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University. This year, she is working at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, DC.
Pictures From The Week
Fellows' Easter brunch at the Balch’s!
Fellows' Easter brunch at the Balch’s! (Continued)
Fellows after touring the Pentagon
Last Life and Leadership with Capital Pres pastors: Terence Little, Rob Yancey, and Ryan Laughlin
Know a Potential Capital Fellow?
If you know a college senior or recent graduate who should consider joining the Capital Fellows program in 2024-25, 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!
As jobs and graduate school opportunities come to fruition for some fellows, the pressure of comparison can rise in those that are still looking. Please pray for both, that they might see the Lord at work in their lives. For those that are still seeking post-Fellows employment or graduate school opportunities, please pray that God would provide for them and enable them to be diligent in their search.
Want to pray for the current Capital Fellows in an ongoing way? Download this handy prayer guide for your phone or tablet.
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 3,000 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.
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