Elevator Pitch
From the time I signed my contract to today, I have constantly been asked, “What even is the Fellows program?” This is an understandable question, seeing as it’s how I’ve dedicated my first year post-college. My typical response is a cluster of phrases and sound bites like “discipleship program,” “church assignment,” and “host family.” Every time I muster up a 30-second explanation of the Fellows Program, I feel as though it always falls short of my true experience. People nod along and ask clarifying questions (which causes me to ramble more), but the elevator pitch cannot encompass the vibrance of Fellows. Alas, there are simply too many layers of community and giftings to convey during the socially acceptable time to blab!
While my other friends hobble into grad school or accept jobs across the country, I have chosen to move to Nashville with little to no detail and accept what comes my way. Those who know me comprehend that I am an exceptionally organized person. I desperately crave knowing the who, when, why, and how of it all. Google Calendar and I are well acquainted. However, I knew the Lord’s hand was opening the Fellows’s door during my interview process because I felt peace not knowing. There were lots of unknowns, like who I would live with and where I would work. And to my utter shock, I did not feel the tug to discover all the answers. I heard the elevator pitch from each director, and by December of my senior year, I had signed the dotted line to be a Nashville Fellow.
In the previous paragraph, I sound like a very calm and laissez-faire person. That is not the whole story. Between signing my contract and arriving in August, I stalked the heck out of the Nashville Fellows. I dissected every Instagram post. I requested to follow every current Fellow. I read every blog they uploaded (if you’re reading this and thinking, “Sigh, she is just like me!” I see you and get it). I wanted to know know know.
The harsh truth of the program is that you cannot anticipate the impact it will have on your life until you’re in it. Speaking as someone with two months left, I have been challenged, encouraged, and pushed more than I’d ever foreseen. It’s for this reason that I’ve started to change my Fellows elevator pitch, bypassing the bare bones of the structure and illustrating my real experience. I may not know how to describe the Fellows Initiative at large, but if you asked me to describe Nashville Fellows today, this is what I’d say -
Nashville Fellows is watching college football on the screened-in porch of Brooks’ host home, playing board games, and ordering pizza
Nashville Fellows is coloring pictures of Disney princesses at the kitchen counter with Faith and Mary Spencer
Nashville Fellows is cold-plunging in the ocean and biking six miles to Seaside when we’re supposed to be pondering our vocation.
Nashville Fellows is teaching my host parents Gen Z slang while consuming our nightly sweet treat.
Nashville Fellows is Wilder being a rambunctious teenage boy while John is giving serious announcements.
Nashville Fellows is making snow cones from the first snow of the season with Sarah Beth.
Nashville Fellows is Joe loudly singing worship lyrics anyplace/anytime.
Nashville Fellows is drinking tea and watching Saturday Night Live with Lynn, my beloved mentor.
Nashville Fellows is Stephen playing baseball in the hallway with a Taziki’s stress ball during class breaks
Nashville Fellows is everyone jumping in to save me from crumbling the day I got a flat tire (lots of dramatic crying on my part)
Nashville Fellows is cheering for Parker as he plays guitar at Fox & Locke
Nashville Fellows is Carpenter doing a little jig on Broadway.
Nashville Fellows is Emily asking middle schoolers at a Preds game if the kids still do the dab these days.
Nashville Fellows is Ari quoting scripture or a theologian in a deeper-than-normal voice.
Nashville Fellows is getting shushed by a nun because you’re supposed to be abiding in Christ, but you make eye contact with a friend and cannot stop giggling.
Nashville Fellows is John blurting out, “And that’s fellows!!!” when a teacher describes a life of stewardship and openhandedness with God.
Nashville Fellows is ending the evening by singing the doxology in a huddle formation, which concludes with an enthusiastic and offkey AMEN.
Fellows is a unique mosaic of moments and people for which I’m so grateful. In each class, church service, workday, gathering, and debrief -- I’ve seen God move in powerful ways. I’ve witnessed his steadfast, joyful heart in each of my fellow fellows and friends of fellows (FOFs). His hand is on our journey through every mundane email at work and every clink of a celebratory Miller Lite. And to me, that’s the Nashville Fellows.
“Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” - Proverbs 19:21 (sticky note on my desk)
Abby Ivester, Class 12
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
Auburn University Graduate
