We are just under two weeks away from your arrival on campus!! We are super excited!

If you didn’t read the previous email about your online orientation, you can read it here.

As you make your final plans to arrive, I want to share four thoughts with you…

1. Be intentional

It is super easy to be passive in these days—”I’ll just coast and maybe I’ll eventually end up somewhere.”

But spiritually, we are called to be intentional, to diligently seek, to lean and press in … all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are reminded in Hebrews 11:6 that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I want to encourage you to start leaning in and be intentional (purposeful), not just when you are at Ellerslie, but starting now.

Pray that the Lord will give you a passionate heart to pursue Him.

2. Remove distractions

One way to be intentional with your spiritual life is to remove distractions. In a world filled with beeps and buzzes, it is far easier to be distracted than it is to be focused.

That is one of the reasons we love Ellerslie—it offers you five weeks to be intentional and remove distractions. 

While we ask that you don’t bring your phones/devices to our sessions in the chapel or meals in the cafeteria, we encourage you to consider taking these five weeks and be extra guarded with your time on devices—consider limiting or pausing all social media engagement, limit phone calls and texts to one time a day or a couple times a week, and only check email a few times a week. While it may sound drastic, you will find greater peace and focus the more you limit time on devices.

3. Relationships

We love romance and relationships … but that is not what your time at Ellerslie is for. We desire to keep the Ellerslie environment a place of spiritual focus on Christ and His Word—the reason you said you wanted to come to Ellerslie. As such, we want Jesus to be the focus, not you. Therefore, we ask that you avoid any flirting or pursuit of another student. 

For those in existing relationships, here are some guidelines:

• If you are in an existing relationship (with someone off-campus), we ask that you to be purposeful about keeping your relationship with Christ the central focus during the training and limit your communication throughout the week in order to maintain a focused pursuit of Christ. We have found that students who intentionally “pause” their relationship, or greatly limit their interaction, have been better able to focus, thrive, and use their short time at Ellerslie to fully pursue Jesus Christ—in short, by focusing on spiritual growth and their relationship with Jesus Christ, they return to their relationships in a healthier, stronger, and Christ-honoring way.
• If you are in an existing relationship with a fellow student, please inform the staff of this relationship prior to the program so we can be aware. We ask that you both be mindful about keeping your relationship with Christ the central focus during the training and not causing a distraction to others. We strongly encourage you to consider “pausing” the relationship (or greatly limiting interaction) for the short season you are at Ellerslie so you both may fully focus on Jesus Christ and your spiritual growth. We have found that students who do so cause less distraction to other students and are better able to focus, thrive, and return to their relationships in a healthier, stronger, and Christ-honoring way.
• Married Couples—Please enjoy being married while setting an example of the purity and sacredness of the marriage covenant.

4. A few other reminders

• If you have family or friends who would like to visit you during your time at Ellerslie, they are welcome to join you in a session and during free time. We kindly ask that you seek permission first as there are certain days (especially a couple weekends) where it will be difficult to accommodate guests due to our student activities. Please note that any guests who visit will need to check-in and get a visitors badge and will need to arrange their own housing and meals off-campus. 
• Please do not bring candles,  weapons (including knives), or pull-up bars with you.
• If you haven’t gone through our online orientation (which includes a packing list, things to know, and a couple forms you need to fill out), please do so before you arrive on campus. If you can’t find your invite from “Circle” to the Ellerslie Community, please email our team and we can resend it to you.

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If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our admissions team ([email protected]).

We will be sending you another email the middle of next week with information regarding check-in and last minute details.

Know our entire team and church has been praying for you and are excited to have you here on Saturday June 21st!

Cheering you ever deeper, 
Nathan Johnson
(on behalf of the Ellerslie Staff)