New Frontiers is a free, yearlong program that helps pastors thrive as they chart their vocational course.
Through new and diverse friendships, mentorship, retreat, and intellectual exploration, New Frontiers gives pastors practical tools for responding to God's call to creative ministry. Closely related to Westmont's liberal-arts mission and hosted by the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, New Frontiers will especially benefit professionals in their first years of ministry, or anyone seeking rejuvenation and refreshment as they imagine new possibilities for their own engagement in the church and the church's service in the world.
2025-26 Cohort Retreat Schedule
- August 4-7, 2025 (Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA)
- November 3-6, 2025 (St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista, CA)
- May 18-21, 2026 (Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA)
We accept applications to New Frontiers on a rolling basis; to receive full consideration, we recommend submitting your materials by Monday, March 31, 2025. We will accept applications after that date as space allows.
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My time at New Frontiers upended my expectations—of people, of God, and of the Church. Through this group and experience the Spirit opened my eyes to see and my ears to hear that I am not alone in this calling.
- Kallie Pitcock, Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nacogdoches, TX
Find space for new vision in your ministry.
A life in ministry is uniquely rewarding and uniquely challenging. New Frontiers supports pastors by connecting them with diverse peers who can understand and illumine the journey, with experienced pastoral mentors who can help them navigate the path, and with Christian scholars and nonprofit workers who can expand their horizons for ministry—all within the context of restorative and engaging retreats.
Develop Diverse Friendships
Pastors are surrounded by people from week to week, but can easily feel isolated in their work—isolated from others who understand the joys and struggles of ministry, isolated from the world beyond their own narrow church or denominational contexts, isolated from friends with whom they can share their work honestly and confidentially. New Frontiers combats isolation by promoting supportive friendship among a close cohort of diverse peers who experience the world of congregational ministry from many different perspectives.
Connect with Experienced Mentors
A career in ministry includes many challenges and changes—these shape a pastor’s sense of what the church is about, how it should do its work, and how individuals can be effective in its collective life. New Frontiers connects pastors to seasoned mentors who are further down the path, who’ve experienced transitions in the church and its ministry, and who can be wise conversation partners as the church confronts new challenges.
Find Intellectual Renewal
The Christian Gospel has relevance for every dimension of human life. Amidst the pressures of ministry, though, it takes real energy and imagination to continue to explore the broad implications of the good news we have in Christ. New Frontiers encourages pastors in intellectual renewal through faith-and-learning workshops, complimentary access to conferences and talks offered at Westmont, and more.
Be Refreshed through Retreat
We do much of the above during three multi-day retreats in California's Central Coast region, where you'll enjoy opportunities to reflect on your ministry, listen for God's promptings, and find rejuvenation in a glorious natural setting.
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It's very helpful to be around others in ministry—I've found myself energized and re-energized each time. There is movement of the Holy Spirit in my life, and I think part of that is what happens in this group.
- Brett Stuvland, Lead Pastor, Westside Journey United Methodist Church, Beaverton
Our Mentors
Amy is the co-senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of San Marcos, Texas, a role she shares with her husband, Joshua. In addition to her longtime work in congregational and family ministry, Amy’s diverse experience includes a stint as an inner-city schoolteacher, mission service in Malawi, and authorship of a PC(USA) study curriculum. Before being called to San Marcos in 2013, she served as an associate pastor in Huntington, West Virginia.
Doug has been in pastoral ministry at Free Methodist Church, Santa Barbara, since 1984, and currently serves as FMCSB’s Associate Pastor of Youth and Pastoral Care. He's brought his long experience in ministry to a number of other efforts, including church consulting for Ministry Architects, advising on youth and children’s ministry for the Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth, and a local support group for young pastors and leaders.
Leo brings to New Frontiers experience in congregational ministry, journalism, intercultural engagement, and public policy. As an associate pastor at Salem International Christian Centre in Ghana, Leo worked with International Justice Mission to connect with congregations and train them in justice ministries. He moved to the United States to study at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2022 and recently relocated to Indiana to continue his congregational work through IJM.
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Besides the content, I loved laughing my head off at dinner with new friends and connecting with peers and mentors. I also so appreciated the time to reflect from afar on my ministry, giving me new eyes to see when I get back home.
- Kelsey Guckenberger, Pastor, Christ Community Church, Des Moines
More Information
New Frontiers will be especially useful to those who seek new relationships and ideas as they extend the horizons of their ministry. This might especially describe congregational-ministry professionals in their first decade of service; however, professionals at every stage in their ministry careers, especially those re-envisioning the basic shape of their ministry, are welcome to apply.
In the firm belief that more and broader perspectives are necessary to perceive and respond to the movement of God's Spirit, New Frontiers intentionally assembles cohorts that are diverse across denominational, racial/ethnic, geographic, and gender lines. We welcome participants from all Christian backgrounds, all ordination statuses, and all pastoral ranks and specialties; participants should expect to learn and benefit from interaction with branches of the Christian family that are quite different from their own.
By the terms of our funding agreement, New Frontiers is open to congregational-ministry professionals who live and work in the United States, either temporarily or permanently.
New Frontiers participants gather in California for three multi-day retreats, meet monthly (online or in person, as opportunity allows) for individual and group mentoring conversations, and have complimentary access to optional academic and pastoral conferences at Westmont College. Retreats typically begin on Monday afternoon and end Thursday mid-morning; they include conversation, recreation, workshops, and prayer and worship opportunities.
- August 4-7, 2025 (Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA)
- November 3-6, 2025 (St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista, CA)
- May 18-21, 2026 (Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA)
Thanks to the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc., Westmont College is able to provide this program to ministry professionals at no cost. Travel, lodging, food, and all program activities are included for free with registration, and we offer support for caretaking expenses incurred by participants (for childcare, pet-sitting, house-sitting, etc.).
Applications for our 2025-2026 cohort are now open! Apply be emailing this application to newfrontiers@westmont.edu. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or if you would like to set up a short meeting to hear more about the program. We look forward to seeing your application!