About

Our Mission

The Project Burning Bush summer program is for high school youth who have gifts for ministry. It is a place to imagine and explore how their talents can be used for God’s purposes, alongside others their own age who are experiencing the same type of call.

Project Burning Bush is a program of vocational discernment for high school students who are considering ministry as a vocation or who have a passion for ministry and show leadership potential. We are funded by gifts from donors and initially by grants from the Lilly Endowment, and we are located on the campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA.

All participants receive a full scholarship that covers tuition, room, and board.

The Program

Now in its tenth year, Project Burning Bush is a yearlong program with three phases:

Phase One: Institute

Students are challenged to consider God’s call to ministry by spending two weeks with faculty, staff, and peers at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.  They live together on campus and use their gifts in areas such as worship, drama, art, dance, recreation, mission and music as they take classes like Bible, Church Leadership, Theology, Spiritual Practices, and Contemporary Ethics, among others.  It is a taste of what seminary is like. Dates for the next Institute are June 26-July 9, 2011.

Phase Two: Mentored Projects

After our students leave the Institute, they create and lead a mentored project with a church leader at their home church or college. They use the skills they learned here to give back to the community and explore what it means to practice ministry.

Phase Three: Vocational Retreat

The following summer, students are invited back to campus where they spend a three-day weekend at Union Presbyterian Seminary. They reconnect with friends, share the results of their Mentored Projects, and learn how to achieve their vocational goals once they leave the program.

After students exit the program, Project Burning Bush stays in touch with them as they make choices for college and careers.