Welcome to the Pursuit, a series documenting the experiences of a Colson Fellow-in-Training as they seek to walk wisely in this time and place. Each segment will provide an insider’s look at what a prospective participant can actually expect should they choose to embark on the journey themselves.
In this segment, we sat down with Alison Hodges, a mom, middle school teacher, and pastor's wife, and asked her to share her experience with the Colson Fellows program. The Colson Fellows program is designed for busy men and women from all walks of life in mind. Here's a glimpse inside. Enjoy!
The Pursuit: Alison Hodges
How a Middle School Theater Teacher and Mom of Three Does the Colson Fellows Program
As told to the Colson Center Communications Staff
Where are you from? Orlando, Florida.
What is your occupation? I’m a few different things (as lots of teachers are!). I’m the middle school theater teacher at The First Academy, so I direct shows and teach a theater class. I also teach a discipleship class and lead middle school chapel.
What season of life are you in? I’m a mom of three kids in middle and high school. I’ve been married for 20 years to my husband, who’s a pastor.
When did you become a follower of Christ? I haven't known a time without Christ. I genuinely don’t remember a time when I didn’t pray or talk to Him. I grew up in a Christian home, and from early on in my childhood, my parents regularly had open dialogues with us about Christ. I never experienced a crisis of faith, which is part of the reason why I initially wondered if the Colson Fellows would be helpful to me. My faith has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but before the program I realized I wasn’t getting very far with other people by encouraging them to “just believe” like I did.
What led to your interest in the Colson Fellows program? I have held biblical beliefs for as long as I can remember—but I struggled to articulate what I believed. In my first year of teaching at The First Academy, I was immersed in the language of biblical worldview, which is so ingrained in the culture here. While I knew I had the same beliefs as my fellow teachers, I didn’t know how to convey my Christian worldview as clearly as they did, especially since I’d been out of full-time ministry for a while. But I knew it was important to learn, especially in light of my job.
As someone who works in the theater space, I knew I needed to be able to articulate the truth about gender ideology and sexual identity. So, I got in touch with our school’s apologetics teacher, and he directed me to one of the Colson Fellows curriculum books, Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers. It was incredible. Later that year, the Assistant Head of School encouraged me to do the Colson Fellows program. I knew I had to consider the time commitment alongside all my other responsibilities and our family’s schedule. But we committed as a family to me doing the program—and it’s been one of the best things for my personal walk with Christ. I’ve loved Jesus my whole life, but being able to study in this way was a game changer.
What Colson Fellows cohort are you in? I was in the Orlando, Florida cohort, class of 2024.
How many CFITs are in your class? We had a large cohort of about 25-30 participants, including five other teachers from my school. We all came in with a similar worldview, but with different ways of expressing it. We had to learn to dialogue well across our differences. Our personalities were all different, but that was a beautiful part of the program—it was a representation of the real world around us, and even our own homes. In our world, you’re going to interact with different personalities, so learning to love others and articulate your view is really important.
How did you approach the workload for the Colson Fellows program? Do you have advice for other participants? I was always reading! Someone who’d already done the program told me to just read a little bit every day. I fit the devotionals into my mornings and loved them—they were wonderfully written. At the beginning of every month, I would write down all the discussion questions and put them on a card inside the book for that month. I would mark the pages I needed to read and jot down the answers as I read. Then, when it came time to type in the answers and submit them, they were all there in one place. I used evenings and weekends to keep up with the reading. I also loved the checklist provided in Pathwright! It made me so happy to check off assignments and see my progress increase throughout the year.
What was your favorite book or topic to study? I loved Alisa Childers’ Another Gospel?, Rebecca McLaughlin’s The Secular Creed, and Nabeel Qureshi’s Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. I also loved the Holy Sexuality video series by Christopher Yuan.
Most challenging moment? I was most nervous about the intellectual aspect of the program. Satan has been a jerk my whole life trying to convince me that I’m not smart. But of course, he is a liar. I was really transparent with my cohort about my insecurity, and everyone was so encouraging. I never thought I could do something this academic—but my experience in the Colson Fellows has been so healing. I finally learned how to articulate the things that I have always believed deep down in my core. I learned how to understand hard issues and stand my ground in a gracious way.
I would often find myself asking the Lord, “Help me understand what I’m reading,” or “What if I don’t remember all this stuff?” But the Lord has been faithful to bring what I need to remembrance when I need it. That’s exactly what He promised to do! It was a sweet and precious experience. It was a lot, and it was hard, but I experienced a sense of accomplishment and achievement of personal growth in doing this hard thing. My faith has grown exponentially. I would recommend this program to just about anyone who asks.
Where has the Colson Fellows program most impacted you? What transformation did it bring about in your life? I would say the greatest impact has come from learning the overarching story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. I’ve known these ideas my whole life but haven’t had words to articulate them until now. Understanding the concept of image bearers was another huge thing. It’s helped me in how I view everyone—from family to students to friends. To be able to look at my students and colleagues and say, “You are an image bearer,” has been transformative.
The concept of restoration has been especially helpful. There’s a reason the world is still so hard sometimes. We’ve been redeemed, but the full restoration hasn’t finished yet. We’re in the process of restoration. I think the Church focuses so heavily on the Fall and Redemption that we miss Creation and Restoration, and we forget that the Kingdom of God has come. We’re not waiting for it still. Jesus said it has come.
What did you do for your personal mission plan as a commissioned Colson Fellow? God burdened my heart to do something for family and marriage. I have such a heart for the family, specifically marriage. Marriage is good and I don’t think it’s celebrated enough these days. One of the downfalls of the sexual revolution was its effect on the family. So, my husband and I decided to invite young married couples to our home for four different gatherings. We discussed healthy communication, finances, purity and protecting your relationship, and celebrating marriage.
For the last gathering, everyone brought wedding photos. We told stories from our weddings and early years of marriage, and everyone shared their takeaways from the previous gatherings. I thought these meetings would be pretty structured gatherings from 6-8, but the couples ended up staying until 10:30 or 11 to talk and ask questions. Culture thinks marriage is just a stop on the road, but it’s a great thing and we want to celebrate it.
What would you say to someone considering the program? Do it! Obviously, you have to consider whether or not you can commit to it. But just because something is hard or takes time doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. This program will be a game changer in your walk with the Lord—so do the hard thing.