Renovaré is a community of Christians seeking continual spiritual renewal in Christ. We are convinced that all people can enjoy a closer walk with Jesus, leading to a more vibrant and fulfilling Christlike life. Founded by spiritual formation author Richard J. Foster, Renovaré is Christian in commitment, international in scope, and ecumenical in breadth. Learn more here.

Richard J. Foster first drew up a proposal for a spiritual formation academy/institute in 1991. That initial dream came to fruition when the RI was launched in 2010 by a team that included Gary Moon, Richard Foster, and Dallas Willard. Since that time, there has been an explosion of interest in spiritual formation, with the majority of seminaries offering ​“something” related to spiritual formation. However, even with the burgeoning interest, it is rare to find programs that maintain what Renovaré champions — high Christology, balanced vision, practical strategies, a breadth of historical and ecumenical engagement, and a superior quality in ideas and written materials.

Renovaré’s Director of Education, Carolyn Arends, has overseen the Renovaree Institute in collaboration with a large team of faculty and advisors since 2015.

The ideal individuals to benefit from the Renovaré Institute’s offerings are those within various local congregations who are deeply committed to Christian spiritual formation. Their common desire is to know and live the ​“with-God life.” Their common strength is the ability to influence others and invite them into living well.

The certificate for the Renovaré Institute is in Christian Spiritual Formation. While there is certainly much synergy between spiritual formation and spiritual direction, and we do ask our students to be in spiritual direction during the last 18 months of the program, this is NOT a program for training in spiritual direction.

Yes, many of our graduates go on to pursue additional graduate work and receive advanced standing credits for the RI certificate. Typically, graduate schools grant RI graduates 6 – 12 units toward master’s and doctoral degrees in spiritual formation or spiritual direction. We’ve listed some of our key grad school partnerships here. Beyond this list, we’ve never had a student be denied at least some credit towards a graduate degree in a related field at any institution.

For the Seattle Cohort (2027−29): The cost for each year of the two-year Seattle Cohort will be $6,000. This includes all meals, lodging, and teaching at the residencies as well as the online courses themselves. This does not include books, travel, or any costs associated with finding and seeing a spiritual director during the last 18 months of the program.

Tuition fees cover approximately 80% of the RI’s actual expenses (with the majority of funds going towards the retreat facility costs for the 4 week-long residencies.) The remaining 20% is covered by donor contributions to Renovaré’s General Fund.

The first year’s payment is due by July 1^st of the startup year once a student is accepted. Payment plans are available.

If you anticipate that finances will be a barrier to your participation in the Renovaré Institute, please complete the Financial Aid Query Form, which is designed to facilitate mutual discernment about financial needs and possible resources. (Note that you should fill out this form after you have submitted a complete application.)

In alignment with (a) Renovaré’s conviction that the most transformative learning cohorts are composed of students from a rich variety of backgrounds, and (b) Renovaré’s overall mission to make the riches of Christian spiritual formation available to all communities, scholarship funds are prioritized for applicants from underrepresented age and ethnic demographics, as well as for those in full-time ministry.

Once you have completed your application, you can find the form at: renovare.org/rifa.

Most of the work is done online, but for two separate weeks each year, students gather in person for a total of four residencies. All four residencies are held in a retreat center near the host city, which changes with each two-year cohort of students.

You don’t have to live in the host city to apply, and Renovaré students come from all over the globe. We simply change locations to make the program as accessible to as many people as possible.

While the school is academically challenging, there are no formal prerequisites.

Most students indicate they average 9 – 12 hours/week in the program, not including the residency weeks. The normal rhythm involves reading approximately one book/month and one article/week. Keeping good reading notes and exercise journals is key to the process (and foundational to the papers due at the end of each semester). We use a web-based learning platform called Moodle for online discussion and interactions with teachers and fellow students.

At the end of each six-month semester, there are two papers (2000−3000 words each) due. By the third semester, you will also begin working on how you intend to share what you’ve learned through a significant final project at the end. The final project will be the culmination of your experience and is due two months after the completion of the two-year program. You can view a list of previous final projects here.

We meet twice a year for a week (four times in total over the two-year period). The weeklong intensives include teaching, formational exercises, worship, and retreat. Students and faculty stay together at a retreat center for each residency; each attendee typically has their own room and bathroom.

The residencies are a mandatory part of the program. 

Unfortunately, no. We are not able to allow anyone who is not enrolled in the RI at residencies for three reasons. 1. There are almost always space constraints at our retreat facilities. 2. The RI residency experiences are built on the trust students establish with each other as they undergo all the aspects of the program together. 3. Residencies offer RI students the gift of giving their undistracted attention to these four-week intensives.

Note one exception: Each student is welcome to invite a family member or friend to the celebration gathering that takes place the last night of each residency. If the visitor is not local, we can occasionally work it out to have them stay with the student for that final evening only.

Yes. At the first residency, you will be placed into a small group of 5 students. You will be asked to arrange a time (usually during the third week of each month) when you can meet via video conferencing. You will be in a total of three different small groups throughout the two years of the program.

Email Wendy Dean at wendy@renovare.org or schedule a time for her to call you.