Churches, Christian businesses, and individuals who want to develop confident, purpose-driven leaders often lack the structure, mentorship, and tools to do it well. Cultivate Leadership Institute (CLI) is a faith-based leadership development program that fills those gaps — combining biblical teaching, emotional intelligence training, group dynamics, and character formation into a structured two-year curriculum delivered digitally through their custom platform, Develop.Me.^1
Founded in 2018 by Dr. Eric Freeman at Definition Church in Greensboro, NC, CLI started as a small in-house leadership training program and expanded in 2020 to include multiple tracks: Leadership, Ministry, Gap Year, and Essentials. Each track pairs monthly courses with cohort-based learning, peer-reviewed assignments, and personalized engagement from CLI's staff and instructors — a team that includes scholars like Dr. Rodney Cooper and Dr. Reggie McNeal.^2 CLI is a registered nonprofit and offers both synchronous and asynchronous learning, so participants can engage live or work through material on their own schedule.^3
What sets CLI apart is its academic partnerships. Graduates who complete a full two-year track can earn transfer credits at Southeastern University, Manna University, and receive tuition discounts at Colorado Christian University — making it a meaningful stepping stone for those pursuing formal higher education alongside practical leadership development.^4
Why Christians Love It"The thing that makes CLI different from other leadership programs, or even going to seminary, is the intent is to fill in the gaps; with what I wished I had learned." — Matt and Martha Fry, Lead Pastors, Hopefront Church^1
"I always thought leadership was what you do, it's what you did; but after going through CLI, I have learned it is not about what you do, it is who you are. Before I can lead others I need to know who I am." — Taylor Hayes, Administrative Director, Mended Fly Fishing^1
"CLI is scaleable to any amount of people in your organization because it's on-demand and works with your schedule." — Nick Matthews, Chick-fil-A^1
Notable- Founded by Dr. Eric Freeman, a Christian bishop, policy and ethics consultant, and PhD holder in Social Ethics from Anderson University^5
- Guided by Ephesians 4:11-13; core values include "Jesus is our focus" and "People are our priority"^2
- Academic partnerships with Southeastern University, Manna University, and Colorado Christian University for transfer credits and tuition discounts^4
- Partners with Reliant Mission for next-generation ministry leader development^4
- Curriculum covers 46+ courses across leadership and ministry tracks, using well-known resources like Atomic Habits, Crucial Conversations, and Lead Like Jesus^6
- Delivered through Develop.Me, CLI's custom learning management platform with cohort features and on-demand access^3
