Building the
Relational
Foundations
of Awakening

After more than a decade of fellowship in conferences, events, and discipleship bands, we at New Room are convinced that awakening moves at the pace of relationship.

With that in mind, we’ve designed a new Cohort experience that will build a collaborative community of awakening-hearted leaders seeking deep wholeness in people, the renewal of the church, the evangelization of a generation, and the transformation of society.

Each cohort will focus on sowing for awakening in your local church or ministry, bridging the gap between annual gatherings and the realities of ministry at home. Structured to be both practical and transformative, these cohorts will be spaces where leaders can discuss their experiences, challenges, hopes, and insights. 

Participants can expect a vibrant environment for learning, collaboration, renewal, and encouragement, with the aim of developing a rich theology of awakening and leadership.

Join us, as we lock arms in pursuit of awakening.

Program Summary

COHORT groups

Worship leaders

intended for:

• Worship leaders who are
actively leading in churches
• Directors of worship ministry programs

Pastors

intended for:

• Senior & Associate Pastors
• Church Planters
• Pastors in the early-to-mid stages of their ministry

ya/college pastors

intended for:

• Leaders working with college students,
young professionals, or emerging adult ministries
in a campus ministry or local church setting.

COHORT GUIDES

Anna Grace Legband

New Room

Pastor track

Brenna Bullock

Bristol House

Worship track

David Thomas

New Room

Pastor track

Helen Musick

Arise Church

Pastor track

Jessica Avery

Awakening Project

Ya/College track

Jonathan Tremaine Thomas

Speaker, Advocate

Pastor track

Josh Lavender

Indiana Wesleyan University

Worship track

Mark Benjamin

New Room

Cohort leader

Tom Tanner

RiverStone Church

Ya/College track

TIMELINE

January 28–30, 2025

In-person meeting in New York, NY

June 3–5, 2025

In-person meeting in San Francisco, CA

October 21–23, 2025

In-person meeting in Lexington, KY

Participants should aim to attend at least 2 of our 3 in-person meetings.

APPLICATIONS

Program cost: $1999 + travel expenses

Scholarships of $1000 and $500
are available based on need.

NOTE: Applications must be submitted by November 15.

Deposit of $500 due Dec. 8 with full tuition due on January 15.

Cohorts aren’t a new concept—just look at Jesus choosing twelve disciples to join him in his ministry. The relational foundation built in that group went on to establish the church and carry a Spirit-empowered movement into the entire world.

FAQs

The Cohorts are designed for pastors, worship leaders, and young adult leaders who desire to grow deeper in their leadership and ministry, particularly with a focus on Awakening. Each cohort will have a limited number of participants. Our ideal candidates are those who:

  • Are actively engaged in ministry in a pastoral, worship, or young adult leadership role
  • Have a desire to grow in their personal spiritual life and leadership
  • Are ready to embrace the challenges of leading in and building an Awakening culture
  • 7 online zoom sessions with guest practitioners
  • 3 in-person experiences anchored in a local church (a community of encounter, formation and mission)
  • Monthly zoom sessions for coaching and peer feedback
  • A monthly band meeting in a group of 4-5

Accommodations, travel, and some meals will be covered by the participants. We will cover 2 meals, snacks and refreshments for our in-person experiences.

We’ll be meeting online for 2.5 hours every other Thursday, from 1:30 ET – 4:00 ET.

  • 2.5 hours per month in coaching zoom call with banding follow-up
  • 2.5 hours per month on training zoom calls (on the months we’re not meeting in person)
  • Several hours per month in personal formation practices of prayer and reading scripture (time will vary)
  • Travel to at least 2 out of the 3 in person meet-ups (these run from Tuesday to Thursday)

There are three basic criteria in order of importance:

  • Application received by deadline
  • Articulation of Financial need
  • If those two criteria are met, then the applicant’s age and stage of life will be considered

Due to high demand and limited space, we will base acceptance on the following criteria:

  • Application by November 15, 2025
  • Length of time in ministry
  • Demonstrated spiritual readiness for this season of growth
  • Current ministry role and context

Pastor Track: Preference given to senior pastors, church planters, or pastors in the early stages of their ministry.
Worship Leader Track: Preference given to worship leaders actively leading in churches and directors of worship ministry programs.
Young Adult Leader Track: Preference given to leaders working with college students, young professionals, or emerging adult ministries in a campus ministry or local church setting.

Yes, your spouse is welcome to apply for admission in the cohort program, however we cannot guarantee their acceptance.

For spouses who will not be fully participating in the cohort, but wish to travel with and accompany you to the in-person gatherings, they are welcome to join us for shared meal times and evening sessions.

Contact

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Mark Benjamin, our Cohorts Director via the form below.

New Room is an ecosystem of relationships,
founded and supported by Seedbed.

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Preconferences

Convergence: Spiritual Gifts

Led by Jon Thompson
Through the convergence of spiritual disciplines, gifts, and experiences, Jesus demonstrates how we and our local churches can hear from the Father, carry out our ministry, and lead people into revival. Although always God, Jesus deliberately chose to limit His divine attributes and power to show us not only who God is, but also what the normal Christian life should look like. This will be a time to receive tools and be equipped to bring these insights into your local church and communities.
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Preconferences

Modifying our Myths about Love

Led by Joseph Dongell
We commonly make unexamined claims about love involving our beliefs about love’s origin, its nature as “unconditional,” its relationship to action, to our emotions and feelings, to truth, and to certain Greek and Hebrew words supposedly offering precise definitional guidance. Many features of these claims end up being inconsistent with each other, and (more importantly) at odds with much Scriptural teaching. Come to learn of 5 key revisions likely needed in our teaching and preaching about the central calling of the Christian life, and of Wesley’s vision for the recovery of the original gospel.
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Preconferences

Disappearing Church, Reappearing Church

Led by Mark Sayers

In light of an increasingly secularizing, post-Christian culture, many churches have pursued a strategy of relevance over the last few decades. Yet, this approach has yielded limited results for the gospel. However, both the scriptures and the church’s history present an alternative approach, one that speaks of God’s ability to revive his people and awaken them to the power available in Him.

Could we be on the cusp of such a cycle of renewal, where the empty promises of secularism are proving insufficient, prompting many to seek something more? How might we align ourselves with God’s work in our time?

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Preconferences

The Epic of Eden: Deborah, Unlikely Heroes and the Book of Judges

Led by Sandra Richter

The newest Epic study is here! The hero? Judge and prophetess, Deborah, and her courageous commander, Barak.

In this pre-conference gathering, Sandy Richter will run us through the core of her new curriculum, asking the questions: “What is the territory that you can see from where you’re standing that you know belongs to the Kingdom of God, but is not yet in the hands of the people of God? Is it worth fighting for? And what are we going to do about it? Sandy will walk us through the real time and space of the era of Israel’s settlement, the structure of the book of Judges, and the profile of our heroine.

Be encouraged and strengthened by this story of courage and conquest that stands as a critical turning point for God’s people then and can serve as a critical turning point for God’s people now. The cast of characters is full of unlikely leaders. The crisis is insurmountable. The odds are impossible. And, yet, God shows up! This is a moment when the very real past of the people of God collides with the very needy present of the people of God, and forces us to ask ourselves the same question Yahweh asked of the Israelites: Is this territory worth fighting for? Or is it easier to just give up … and assimilate?”

Note: Session members will receive a free copy of Sandy’s new curriculum.