Cultivate Leadership Institute helps churches, Christian companies, and individuals form confident Christian leaders when time, structure, and mentoring are thin. Dr. Eric Freeman started CLI in 2018 at Definition Church as in-house training, then expanded the curriculum digitally so other organizations could use it.^1
Students work through monthly courses on two-year Leadership and Ministry tracks, or a Create Your Own path for a custom sequence. Work happens in cohorts on Develop.Me, CLI's learning platform, with live instruction, on-demand playback, peer conversation, and staff support. The Ministry track pairs one leadership course with one ministry course each month; finishers receive a leadership certificate.^3^5
Instructors include Dr. Freeman, Dr. Rodney Cooper, Dr. Reggie McNeal, and Dr. Allen Holmes. Course resources include Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Atomic Habits, and Lead Like Jesus.^6 Graduates who complete a full two-year track can receive transfer credit at Southeastern University and Manna University, and a tuition discount at Colorado Christian University. CLI also partners with Reliant Mission.^8
CLI is not itself accredited. Its values begin with Jesus is our focus and People are our priority, framed by Ephesians 4:11-13.^2
