Truett and Jeanette Cathy launched the WinShape College Program in 1984 as a way for young men and women working at Chick-fil-A to be able to earn a quality education at Berry College. In the years since, the College Program has evolved to impact nearly 1,000 college-aged adults each year, launching confident leaders into the world for God’s glory. Now, during a season of transition, the College Program will be moving back to the original vision laid out by Truett & Jeanette all those years before: to partner with Berry College to shape winners of young men and women.
With these changes, WinShape College Program will no longer offer a Residential Community at Belmont University, North Carolina State University, or the University of Central Florida. Additionally, the College Program will no longer offer Discipleship Intensives. While we understand this is a difficult change for our students, parents, and ministry partners, we believe that this approach will help sustain WinShape College Program’s impact in the years and decades ahead.
WinShape College Program began on the campus of Berry College, and in 2019, launched to three other campuses: Belmont University in Nashville, Tennesee; North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina; and the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Through these newly formed ministries, college students were impacted by WinShape’s proven programming designed to develop disciples, create community, and launch leaders. In Spring 2022, these campuses graduated their first students out of the program and saw many other students sent out by May 2024. While the future of the College Program does not include a presence at these sites, a lasting legacy was made by the staff and students who were a part of these young, purposeful ministries. The WinShape College Program is thankful to parents and students who trusted WinShape staff to guide young adults on a path to flourish through these Residential Communities.
Around the same time these expansion sites were launched, the WinShape College Program developed a second offering of the ministry originally named LifeCast, now known as Discipleship Intensives. These 3- and 5-day experiences were designed to be an intensive format of the Residential Community experience – making disciples who will make disciples through small groups. The first LifeCast experience served nine individuals at WinShape Retreat, and in 2023 over 200 students were served across multiple states through 12 experiences. Since 2017, Discipleship Intensives have impacted thousands of young adults through small group leader development by partnering with ministries and churches who desire to see college-aged adults flourish. The WinShape College Program is grateful for the ministry leaders, churches, and those surrounding them for trusting WinShape to equip, empower, and mobilize their young adults to make disciples.
In summer 2024, this reimagined WinShape College Program will begin to take shape. WinShape Foundation, including the Cathy Family and the board of WinShape, are excited about what’s to come for future college students.
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Read more about WinShape College Program’s full history here.
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