Who We Are

The Youth Theological Initiative (YTI) Summer Academy brings 40 rising high school juniors and seniors from across the world to Emory University for a three-week experience in Christian theological education. Our goal is to cultivate public theologians for the church and world. YTI is a residential learning community grounded particularly, but not exclusively, in the Christian faith tradition. We are an ecumenical academic community that promotes faith-seeking understanding.

We hope that scholars will fall in love with theology as a lifelong pursuit and find ways to live out their ethical and faith commitments as they move along their vocational paths. This passion for theology, community, and justice is fostered through the varied components of YTI, from courses such as Church and Empire, Envisioning the End of the World: The Book of Revelation and Popular Culture, and Sexuality and Christian Society: A Historical Perspective to scholar-led preaching and worship and contextual education experiences that partners with organizations in Atlanta to provide learning on justice issues around sex trafficking, homelessness, racism, and more.

Why Your Support Matters

The full three-week programmatic and personnel costs, transportation, room and board at Emory, teaching from world-renowned Emory faculty and graduate students, and the contextual experiences around Atlanta equals $6,000 per scholar. At YTI we are committed to making this program available to all youth regardless of their financial circumstances. This is not possible without significant support from generous supporters. During this campaign, our goal is to raise enough support to fund the equivalent of at least one scholar for the next academy. Thanks to the generous lead gifts from former YTI Staff members, Rebecca Storace and Dr. Carlton Mackey, we only need to raise $4,000 of that $6,000.