C.S. Lewis Institute

The application period for the 2019-20 Fellows Program is Open

Year One Applications: You may complete the application using the web form (preferred) or the downloadable PDF (fill out by hand). If using the PDF, please print, then mail or fax the completed form to the Institute via the information listed below. Once your application has been submitted, please have your pastor and one non-related person who knows you well submit a Fellows Program Recommendation Form and return it directly to the Institute either via the web form or the information provided below.

YEAR ONE APPLICATION	YEAR ONE RECOMMENDATION

Year Two Applicants: Along with your Year Two application, please submit a copy of your original Year One application by mail, email, or fax using the information listed below. If you did not retain a copy, you may contact the Institute to check if we have it on file. If original application is not available, please complete a new one. Once your application has been submitted, please have your pastor or other ministry leader submit a Fellows Program Recommendation Form and return it directly to the Institute either via the web form or the information provided below.

YEAR TWO APPLICATION	YEAR TWO RECOMMENDATION

C.S. Lewis Insitute - Northeast Ohio
30 West Front St., Suite 400
Youngstown, OH 44503
Beth Valantine, Fellows Program Coordinator
Email: b.valantine@cslewisinstitute.org
ph: 330-717-6979

The Fellows Program in Northeast Ohio is devoted to developing disciples who can articulate, defend, share and live faith in Christ in public and personal life. The Fellows Program in Northeast Ohio is an extension of the C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows Program in Washington D.C. which began in 1976 and stresses discipleship of mind and the heart. The Institute works in partnership with local churches to help believers glorify God by becoming mature disciples of Jesus Christ who impact the spheres of influence to which God has called them. This discipleship occurs through:

The C.S. Lewis Fellows Program, an intensive mentoring/discipleship program that focuses on spiritual and theological growth.
Apologetics and Discipleship Seminars, through which world respected authors and speakers instruct and encourage participants about important aspects of life in the Kingdom of God.
Knowing & Doing, a quarterly publication with challenging articles, interviews, and reviews designed to nurture discipleship of heart and mind.
Pastors Network - The Pastors’ Fellowship Program through C.S. Lewis Institute-Northeast Ohio exists to care for those who have been given charge over the churches represented in our area and through our Fellows Program. As these shepherds engage the difficult task of pastoring their congregations, it is our desire to give moments where care is given to them. As such, we will engage these individuals through the following events and activities. More
Informal gatherings, where the important issues of the day and of personal life can be explored from the perspective of biblical orthodoxy.

Bruce J. Beard, Area Director
Email / ph. 330-727-7883

Bruce Beard is the founding director of the C. S. Lewis Institute for Northeast Ohio. For the past thirty years, he has been active in outreach and ministry particularly to the market place. As an entrepreneur, Bruce is active in the management of several companies in the financial service industry as well as manufacturing. As a recent graduate of the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics, his passion is for Christians to go deeper and to become all that God intended them to be. His partner in all these ventures is his wife Phyllis, along with his son Evan, daughter-in-law Anya, granddaughter Aurora and daughter Elizabeth.

Daniel E. Osborn, City Director
Email / ph. 330-207-8196

Daniel Osborn joins the Northeast Ohio branch of the C.S. Lewis Institute after serving for fifteen years as a director for student ministries as well as a director of discipleship. Throughout this time, Dan sensed a direction for the local body of intentional discipleship and a true focused response to Christ's call on our lives. It is his passion to challenge followers of Christ to respond to Christ's call to "take up their cross" and in doing so realize the freedom that our Savior offers. One of Dan's favorite authors, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, states it well; "...only through discipline may a man learn to be free." Dan is married to Brandi, and God has blessed them with three beautiful children. Dan graduated in 1999 with his Bachelors in Theology from Cedarville University and just recently completed a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Geneva College.

Bethann Valantine, Fellows Program Coordinator
Email / ph. 330-881-0235

Bethann Valantine joined the team in Northeast Ohio after serving 13 years at Pregnancy Help Center as Development & Events Director, and more recently, as a volunteer staff member in Frontline Development with Mentor Leaders, a non-profit, humanitarian organization. Mentoring and discipleship has always been a passion, with the intention of equipping future generations to aspire to reach the abundant life promised to us. Another passion is her family, as well as the people in a village in West Africa where she served with Mentor Leaders. Beth is married to Walter, and has a daughter, Sarah, a son-in-law, Daniel, a granddaughter, Audrey, a son, Jon Michael, a daughter-in-law Gabrielle, and a son Mazema. Bethann’s desire to intentionally go deeper with God brought her to the C.S. Lewis Institute as a Fellow and a mentor, and currently is overjoyed to hold the position as Fellows Program Coordinator.

Bryan C. Hollon, Ph.D.

Bryan C. Hollon, Ph.D. In addition to serving as Resident Theologian at the C.S. Lewis Institute of Northeast Ohio, Dr. Hollon is Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Christian Faith & Culture at Malone University. As a scholar, he specializes in ressourcement theology, which is best exemplified in the work of Henri de Lubac. As an Anglican Priest serving at St. John's in Canton, Ohio, he is always interested in the ways that Christians and Christian churches engage contemporary culture and struggle to remain faithful to the gospel in different contexts. Dr. Hollon is a proponent of the great consensual tradition that C.S. Lewis referred to as “Mere Christianity,” and his various activities tend to focus on different aspects of this tradition. He and his wife Suzanne met at Baylor University and were married in 1993. They have three children in their teens and twenties.

Daniel B. Semelsberger, BA, MA

Daniel Semelsberger serves as the Resident Apologist for the Northeast Ohio branch of the C.S. Lewis Institute. With a background in modern historical studies and a lifelong affinity for the works of C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, G.K. Chesterton, and others, Daniel’s passion is learning to communicate the essential truths of the Christian faith in meaningful and effective ways. As a graduate of the Fellows Program, he has become convinced that the burden of apologetics must be taken up first and foremost by the Church, as it grows and makes disciples of Christ. Therefore, his work focuses on equipping and encouraging those within the Church to articulate the faith with wisdom, grace, and clarity. His prior earned degrees are both in history (B.A. from Mount Vernon Nazarene University; M.A. from Miami University), and he is currently earning a Master of Arts in Apologetics at Houston Baptist University.