BJC Fellows marks 10 years and 100 alumni

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty this year celebrates a decade of developing faith freedom advocates through its BJC Fellows Program.

The total number of fellows to come through the program since 2015 reached 100 with induction of the 14-member class of 2025.

“As we mark the 10th anniversary of the BJC Fellows program, these young professionals are a powerful reminder of what can happen when we invest in emerging leaders who are committed to justice,” said Sabrina Dent, director of the BJC Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation, which oversees the program.

BJC is a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending religious freedom and advocating for church-state separation as a historic Baptist distinctive.

“The 2025 BJC Fellows represent the future of faith freedom advocacy. Their unique voices and experiences will help shape a more inclusive and equitable conversation around religious freedom,” Dent said.

The intensive program is designed to equip emerging leaders with the historical, legal and theological knowledge and hands-on experience to advocate for religious freedoms in their communities.

Mehmet Saracoglu, a 2023 fellow, said the knowledge he gained from his time in the program helped him see religious freedom advocacy as a shared civic responsibility.

“The experience also reinforced the idea that religious freedom requires active partnerships across faiths, communities and political divides,” said Saracoglu, director of the Center for Faith, Identity and Globalization in Washington, D.C. “I continue to draw on lessons and relationships from the program in my current work, integrating BJC’s values of education, advocacy and collaboration to promote dialogue and understanding in public life.”

Especially helpful, he said, was the “unique combination” of spiritual reflection, academic study and practical advocacy with an emphasis on understanding how early struggles for faith freedom in the U.S. continue to arise in contemporary times.

BJC Fellows begin their work with an intensive five-day seminar in Colonial Williamsburg where they explore the roots of religious liberty in Virginia and across the U.S. Those discussions include the role of faith in democracy, the dangers of religious nationalism and the importance of interfaith advocacy.

After the retreat, BJC Fellows engage with seminars, follow-up initiatives and collaborations in their own communities. “I was eager to learn from BJC’s nearly nine decades of legacy in this field and to connect with peers who share a commitment to pluralism and justice,” Saracoglu said.

Participation is personally challenging, said Corey Mitchell, a 2017 BJC Fellow: “I was encouraged to step outside my comfort zone and engage in advocacy work and the promotion of religious liberty for all Americans; not just the Black Baptists in my local congregation, but every denomination represented in these great United States, including the nonbeliever.”

The time in Williamsburg is a helpful start to the program, said Alexis Engelbrecht-Villafane of Claremore, Okla. “Before my time in Colonial Williamsburg, I understood religious liberty as a noun — a concept. I now understand it as dynamic movement. It is the freedom to move and be moved while providing space for others to do the same, without coercion or conformity,” she said.

She serves as minister of online faith formation for First Christian Church in Jefferson City, Mo., and small-group online learning facilitator for Gobin Church in Greencastle, Ind.

Christine Krieger said the time at Colonial Williamsburg impressed on her the importance of including multiple perspectives on religious freedom, including the voices of marginalized people.

“We wrestled with the ways history, practice  and the legal system work, sometimes in tandem and other times in opposition, to allow for people to express themselves freely,” said Krieger, program director for congregations at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, Md. “Since then, I have been reflecting on these ideas of balance and duality and what it means for us to live in a religiously pluralistic democracy. How do we hold two or more ideas simultaneously?”

The application period for the 2026 class will open Dec. 1. The program is open to individuals between the ages of 25 and 45 with diverse educational, cultural and professional experience. There is no religious requirement — people from any or no religious background are welcome. Applicants must commit to advocating for religious liberty in their local communities and nationally.