The Joshua Program
Vocational Discernment for High School Graduates
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9
Work, Prayer, Adventure
The Joshua Program at St. Dunstan’s Academy offers twelve high school graduates (ages 17-20) an immersive nine months (September to June) of residential living with hands-on experiences and a curated reading curriculum.
“Our country calls not for the life of ease but for the life of strenuous endeavor.”
– Teddy Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life,” 1899
All men are called to serve their families faithfully, their communities productively, and the Church devotedly. The Joshua Program exists to equip young men to embrace and fulfill these vocations.
Rendering of the Joshua Program Dormitory (under construction)
Young men will learn how to:
Maintain a homestead
- Introduction to timber framing, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC.
- Gardening, animal husbandry, butchering, and culinary arts
The reason a young man should know how to build and maintain a house is not so that he can be independent but so that others can depend upon him.
Develop good character
- Growing into manhood through rites of passage
- Feats of strength inspired by the 1911 Boy Scouts’ Manual
Chart an alternative path to earning a living
- Seminars and shadowing with small-business owners, local tradesmen, and entrepreneurs.
Serve Christ in his Church
- Christian formation in the Anglican tradition: Holy Communion, Daily Office, personal devotion
- Study of Scripture following the pattern of the “Bible Collect” (Advent II): “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.”
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15