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Excel Life
Gap Year

Live in community. Grow in Christ. Step into purpose.

Take an intentional gap year as you discover your purpose and build a foundation for your life.
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SCHEDULE A CALL
Our

What is Gap Year?

Excel Gap Year is an intentionally crafted, 9-month program where participants will gain hands-on work experience, live in a Christian community, embark on adventure, and develop practical and professional skills. Participants will live amongst like-minded peers while gaining clarity on what the Lord has for their lives, building the skills to live it out, and developing the confidence to do so.

Calling

Discover and pursue your personal kingdom calling through hands on experience in one of our gap year tracks.

01

Community

Live in intentional Christian community centered on shared life, biblical formation, and learning to live faithfully together.

02

Adventure

Strengthen your character through shared outdoor experiences that cultivate courage, curiosity, and resiliency.

03

Throughout your time, you will...

Excel Gap Year is built on the conviction that formation happens best through purposeful, lived experience. Over nine months, participants immerse themselves in an intentional Christian community while engaging in real-world experience within the field that interests them.

Deepen your Faith in Like-Minded Community

Discover more about who you are in Christ and build a strong foundation for the rest of your life.

Discover your Calling & Direction

Receive mentorship and coaching as you spend time diving deep into your faith and discovering the direction the Lord has for your life.

Develop Marketplace Skills & Connection

Participants will work 25+ hours a week in the industry or field of their chosen track, gaining hands-on experience in the workplace.

Build Strong Character

Challenge yourself in various ways as you embark on outdoor adventures, build relationships with peers, and learn how to function as a mature adult.

Grow your Leadership & Personal Capacity

Stretch your capacity and develop strong leadership skills as you step into opportunities to lead yourself and others in various areas of life.

Learn Valuable Life Skills

Cooking, cleaning, how to maintain a home, how to work with your hands, how to balance a budget, and how to invest in lifelong friendships - these are all skills that will be learned and developed throughout your time.

Earn College Credit

Time spent developing your character and your marketplace skills during your Gap Year will count as college credits for Excel College.

Learn in the Classroom

As Christians, it can be incredibly difficult to navigate our noisy technological age. We are always bombarded with more influences and ideas than we can even consciously recognize – today “Influencer” is considered an occupation. This leaves those without a reliable filter of knowing how to think well, are susceptible to a conflicting culture that constantly demands what we ought to think. In the classroom, we guide campers through fundamental lessons in discernment – shaping a lens of Critical Thinking. From a bedrock of God’s truth we learn to ask better questions, blessing our lifelong journey of learning and discerning.

Critical Thinking

Discover the Critical Thinking skills necessary for you to filter through the noise, discern truth, and act wisely in the world.

WFA & CPR Certifications

Up your skill level by earning certifications through immersive hands-on training in both Wilderness First Aid and CPR.

College Scholarship

Invest in your future by receiving a $500 scholarship towards Excel College tuition when you go through the camp.

College Credit

Receive college credit from Excel College in Critical Thinking by completing the Summer Leadership Camp.

Grow in community

With a maximum of 20 campers per session, you will find the camp to be a fun and inviting atmosphere conducive to building lifelong friendships. You’ll be surrounded by leaders and peers pursuing God and His Wisdom for their lives. After twelve days, you’ll be equipped to ask great questions, seek wisdom, and become a servant leader who gives your gifts to the world around you.

What to expect with Gap Year...

25+ hours working in the construction trades

Shared community housing & shared meals

Weekly gatherings with worship, teaching, & fellowship

Coaching & mentorship connections

Monthly leadership development workshops

Opportunities to serve, take initiative, & grow in responsibility

Choose Your Track

Take a purposeful gap year that helps you build a foundation for the rest of your life by deepening your faith in community, developing marketplace skills and connections, and growing your leadership capacity. Choose your gap-year track from trades and industries that are relevant and meaningful in today's society.

LEARN MORE

Construction
Trades

AVAILABLE SEPTEMER 2026

The trades are becoming an increasingly valuable and rare skill. Learn to create and build with your hands through relevant and necessary trades.

COMING SOON

The Creative
Arts

COMING SOON

As image-bearers of the Creator, our goal is to cultivate and call out the creative in people, unlocking and bringing revelation to identity.

COMING SOON

Food Production & Agriculture

COMING SOON

Tap into your design as a steward of the earth. Learn to tend to gardens and cultivate land that will produce food to sustain families and communities.

When?

Fall & Winter of 2026

A nine-month journey, Gap Year begins in late-August and/or January, and goes until September or May of the following year.‍

SCHEDULE A CALL

Where?

Black Mountain, NC

The program is hosted by Excel Life, located in the small town of Black Mountain, NC. During their time here, participants get to spend their free days exploring the mountains of Western North Carolina, as well as downtown Black Mountain.

Who?

Young Adults

This program is for graduates ages 18-25 years old. Gap year was designed for young adults searching for clarity in their calling and deeper Christian community—those asking the question of what's next for them.

Cost?

Affordable & Worthwhile

9 months for $1,200 a month, the cost covers housing, most food, and adventure expenses.

Students will earn more than the cost of the program, and many finish the year ahead—not behind—financially and personally.
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*Travel to and from the program not included.

Interested in Applying?

CONTACT US