What is it all about?

The Residential Fellowship is an eight-month full-time study programme for people who desire a deeper understanding of God, the world, and themselves, and who want to serve and lead in their communities with vibrant faith and wisdom.

Guided by a world-class team, Fellows are given an opportunity to explore the question: How do I live wisely in 21st-century Aotearoa, New Zealand? The Residential Fellowship provides a unique context to wrestle with this question and discover answers.

Living together, Fellows form a learning community around the table and in the classroom. Rhythms of prayer and worship are central to their life together. The Fellowship cultivates personal formation and, for many, deep and long-lasting friendships.

The Fellowship is for young adults (20-30 years old) who are committed to deepening their faith, who have a capacity for leadership and service, and who have demonstrated academic ability. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, communities, and churches, who are committed to learning alongside others, knowing and loving God, and asking how their lives can serve Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Modular structure

The Fellowship is organised into four modules, which hold together different curriculum elements. These include residential life, classroom teaching, Venn Summer Conference, field trips and haerenga, work placements, and time for rest and reflection.

In Module I, incoming Fellows are introduced to the goals and big questions of the programme, welcomed into the rhythms of residential life, and inducted into the learning context. New friendships are formed around the dinner table and in the classroom as the new learning community is established. In these early weeks, the four initial teaching streams address the Christian faith, historic understandings of personhood and community, Aotearoa’s story, and Christian rhythms and practices. These work together to unearth key questions and concerns in pursuit of the wise life.

Beginning with Venn Summer Conference, Module II builds on the learning of Module I by considering the person and work of Jesus Christ, the nature and wellbeing of the political community, and further reflection on the rhythms and practices of the Christian life. In addition, Fellows continue to grow their understanding of Aotearoa’s story by visiting significant sites and considering what this means for our future.

During Module III, each Fellow spends nine weeks on a work placement, either on a project or within an organisation. This module provides Fellows with an opportunity to reflect on their learning from Modules I and II, develop an area of interest or explore a particular field, and develop their capacity for service. Once a week, Fellows gather in the classroom to explore a theology of work and what it means for their lives.

In Module IV, Fellows return to the classroom to grapple with what it means to live wisely within their families, workplaces, churches, and communities. Fellows are encouraged to reflect on the whole learning journey, how they have grown, and what this means for serving and leading in life beyond the Residential Fellowship.

The classroom

The classroom teaching consists of different streams within the four modules. In these streams, Fellows engage with the disciplines of theology, biblical studies, history, political philosophy, public policy, literature, and the arts.

The teaching programme is nested within the wider setting of residential life and the rhythms and practices of the Venn community. Learning and personal formation  happens within a highly relational context. The small classes of up to twelve Fellows allow for free enquiry, discussion, and creative expression. Learning is active. Fellows are encouraged to interact with teaching staff and with one another to form their own views.

The various curriculum elements help Fellows develop their own answer to the big question: How do I live wisely in twenty-first century Aotearoa, New Zealand?

Practical details

The next Residential Fellowship intake will begin on Sunday, 17 November 2024 and will run through to 26 June 2025.

The programme is full-time and fully residential—Fellows live together, participating wholly in the day-to-day running of the homes. The programme consists of four modules plus Venn Summer Conference. Classes run from 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. In addition, Monday and Thursday nights at the residences are reserved for hosting and evening discussions.

Several trips are also built into the Fellowship, including a retreat at the start of the programme, Summer Conference in early January, a haerenga to Waitangi, and a weekend retreat during Module III.

Our modular approach allows for some flexibility. While we strongly encourage applicants to do the full Fellowship—and we give preference to those who apply for the full eight-month programme—candidates who are unable to commit to the complete programme can apply to do Modules I and II only.

Please note, Module III placements are decided through a process of discussion between staff, Fellows, and placement providers.

Application Timeline

The application process has three stages:

1. Written Application

Submitted online. The application form is the first step in the application process. Upon submission, a member of the Venn team will be in touch to let you know your application has been received.

2. Interview

Selected applicants will be invited for an interview. This is a good time for you to ask any questions you might have in person, and for us to find out more about you.

3. Formal Offer

Successful applicants will be offered a place on the Fellowship.

Application Rounds

We recognise that some applicants require early notice of their acceptance in order to apply for leave from work or study. To meet this need, we have a two-round application deadline and a rolling admission. Applications for the 2024/25 fellowship open Friday 1 March 2024.

Round 1: Apply by Sunday 14 April

We will notify you by 3 May

Round 2: Apply by Sunday 4 August

We will notify you by 30 August

Apply 5 August onwards

(If space permits) Rolling

A Fellow’s Reflection

Dr. Amy Wright and her husband Chris live in Te Whanganui-a-tara, Wellington. Amy works as a Medical Registrar at Wellington Regional Hospital and she is deeply interested in living a life that cares for and serves others wisely. In 2021, Amy graduated from the Residential Fellowship. Here, she shares some of her reflections from the seven months.

I first heard about Venn Foundation when I moved back to Te Whanganui-a-tara from Dunedin, having completed my medical degree at Otago University. I moved into a flat with several others who had completed the Fellowship and who spoke highly of the impact of the programme. I started attending Space evenings and got to know the Venn staff. I was struck by the depth of thought, heart, and authenticity of the organisation and so decided to attend Venn Summer Conference in 2020. Once again, I was struck by the team and the teaching. They offered a style of theology and learning that I wanted to emulate, one where God was clearly at work.

When I made the decision to do the Fellowship myself, I was several years into work at Wellington Hospital. As someone who acutely felt the weight of my work and held high-standards for myself, I was well on my way to burn-out. I was emotionally loaded and wound up with the daily stress of relentless shifts and drawing from increasingly low reserves. Moving to Tāmaki Makaurau to do the Fellowship fell into place in easy and clear ways.

On the Fellowship, I expected to learn and grow intellectually in lots of ways, to make new friends, to have some fun along the way, and to have a break from my day-to-day life in Wellington. I was hit by quite a surprise—although maybe not so surprising in retrospect.

My time on the Fellowship was a frequently painful walk of prayer, which I likened to walking a prayer labyrinth. As a doctor, I’m often walking alongside those who are suffering—an experience that often seems fruitless and painful. Through the Fellowship, I was given space to sit with the wounded healer, Jesus Christ, and see in the gospels a new narrative for my daily work experience.

I was given a broadened and deepened view of God, the world, and my role in it. I was called to a gentler and slower pace with myself and with my growth; it was a reorientation and attunement to God’s purposes and world. One particular gift was the opportunity to do a placement at Ihumātao with Whenua Warrior, an organisation devoted to helping people understand the land, grow their own gardens, and help feed local communities. During my placement, I was able to attend to creation and history in new ways and saw God’s heart in it all.

There are two scriptures that encompass some of my Fellowship journey. The first, from 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, talks about the “treasure we have in jars of clay” and the second, from Isaiah, prophesied about Jesus bringing joy instead of mourning and praise instead of despair. Joy and celebration are able to happen alongside the hardest things, sometimes simultaneously. This realisation also hit home quite practically during the Fellowship, when I lost two of my grandparents and also got engaged over the seven months!

Returning to hospital work on the other side of the Fellowship has meant the return of many of the previous challenges and tiredness, especially with a pandemic continuing to play out. But I know that God is continuing to build upon the deep work and formation that was started on the Fellowship. I feel God’s call to live a wise life and I know it comes with promises and hope, so much more full when surrendered to his purposes.

I continue to learn to trust, rely on, and obey God in my everyday workplace, trusting that he will use this “jar of clay” for his purposes. Sanctity is not sublime. I know that God, in his faithfulness, will continue to provide those special spaces of growth and life in the difficult things.