AION (pronounced Eye-On) in Greek and Hebrew, can be translated as a moment or period in time that impacts eternity.

The invitation is to fathers (or father figures) and their 12, 13, and 14-year-old children (apprentices) to engage in the first year of the journey. The AION Path is a distinctly Christian Rite of Passage experience that welcomes families across ethnic, geographic, and denominational lines.

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You need to be affiliated with a Christian church, but your church does not need to be officially affiliated with AION Path. While many churches actively support and connect with the AION Path Rite of Passage, others do not know about AION Path or have not connected officially.

Yes, it is best to have the support of other dads and apprentices while journeying `together. Some dads will choose to travel alone with their children. That is entirely acceptable. All dads benefit from the nationwide AION Path Community.

Most apprentices begin the journey near their 13th birthday and participate in the final AION Path Ceremony near their 16th birthday.

After your 12th birthday

The preparation journey does not have an upper age limit.

Genuine growth, change, and transformation take time. In some cases, older or highly ambitious apprentices may complete the journey in under three years but not less than 24 months after completing the first year’s engagement segment.

Yes.

They represent descriptors of key roles for the journey.

Shepherd
This person is often the church’s senior pastor or a pastor the family has a relationship with. Their responsibilities are:

• To know you are on this journey
• To pray for you
• To warrant your completion of the requirements annually or as needed

The Shepherd is welcome to be more active in the journey to the degree their busy schedule allows.

Guide
A man or woman of faith and stature in your community. Apprentices identify and then meet with adults in their faith community who have skills, aptitudes, or experiences from which the apprentice could benefit. Examples include adults with a positive reputation for their faith, ability to handle money, good judgment, or special skills. Consider the qualities in 1 Timothy 3 and focus on people with moral integrity and humility. Look for those who serve others and are committed to continuous growth in wisdom and faith.

If you find it difficult to identify three people like this, your Shepherd or other leaders in the church should be able to help you. If you still strike out, reach out to us on the Community Page of this website by clicking here.

Apprentice
A term used to refer to your son or daughter. Framing a Rite of Passage as an apprenticeship creates a meaningful narrative:

• The apprentice learns from the past (tradition, wisdom, mentorship).
• The apprentice acts in the present (practice, growth, responsibility).
• The apprentice prepares for the future (adulthood, leadership, followership).

The AION Path apprenticeship presents a dynamic, relational model that requires discipline. The model is deeply enriched by guidance, community, and purpose. By embracing the mindset of an apprentice, the journey of transformation becomes not just a transition but a sacred and intentional process.

The cost of not intentionally leading our children towards spiritual, emotional, and physical adulthood is significantly much higher than the $16/month required to participate (includes dad and apprentice). Generous donors have contributed to bring the cost down to this level. Some churches will subsidize part of the cost for its members, but we don’t imagine it ever being free.

For those households that do not have a believing father, the mother may be in the best position to decide who will lead the child through this Rite of Passage journey. Often, this person will be an uncle, grandfather, or church leader. A spiritually and emotionally mature college student could also stand in the gap when a believing father is unavailable.

Scripture consistently instructs fathers to take the lead role in the spiritual life of the home. At the same time, mothers are vital to their children’s development and spiritual lives. However, when it comes to giving teenagers a lifetime faith, all the best research says that fathers are the most essential factor. When a home has a father who follows Jesus, he should lead the AION Path journey.

Like a Jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah or an Eagle Scout celebration, there are some basic components, but parents and their church have lots of flexibility to imagine what is best.

Generally, there is an “internal” celebration inside the church and an “external’ celebration with extended family, friends, and the larger support community.

The church AION Path Celebration usually features the apprentice standing next to the senior pastor during Sunday worship. The pastor presents the apprentice to the congregation, not as a boy or girl, but as a man or woman with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities shared by adult congregation members.

The pastor acknowledges the significance of the apprentice’s journey and that they are now equipped to lead others and follow Jesus well for a lifetime. Congregations from various traditions may incorporate other elements often found in a commissioning. The key is for the congregation to know the apprentice, to celebrate this remarkable achievement, and to begin relating to the apprentice as an adult from that day forward.

We defer to the family on what the external celebration might look like. Some families will plan celebrations in the home, a restaurant, or other festive location.

Yes. In the first year, a Challenge Coin is awarded when the first section, the Engage Stage, is completed (usually after 90 days). Upon completing the Formation Stage (mid-year), a second Challenge Coin is awarded. Dads can also present the apprentice with a leather-bound Bible with a secret pocket to hold a letter of affirmation to their son or daughter (separate charge). This Bible and limited-edition leather cover can only be received by apprentices who complete the first year’s requirements.

There are other fun things to help you celebrate along the journey.

Members and Participants in AION Path community.

Content, Community & Events. A place to interact with the other participates, ask questions, share ideas and celebrate together.

The church is God’s ordained instrument to equip the saints for ministry and discipleship. There is a great deal of evidence that the most significant influence in the discipleship of the next generation is in their home generally and with the active, relational engagement of fathers specifically. Fathers today often don’t feel equipped or confident in spiritually leading their children.

Churches decide if they are Active or Passive participants in their congregants’ engagement with the AION Path Rite of Passage journey.

Active Engagement Churches
These churches sign a “Memo of Understanding” with AION Path. The church actively promotes and supports dads and their children as they engage with the AION Path Rite of Passage journey. There is an internal champion (church staff member) and an external champion (lay leader or dad). AION Path provides all the resources the church needs to invite families into the journey and equip them along the way.

To receive more information about becoming an Active Engagement Church, click here.

Passive Engagement Churches
A family may approach a pastor to let him know they are participating in the AION Path. One of AION Path’s core values calls for participants to be active and engaged in their local church across generational lines. To that end, they will be looking for a pastor to play the role of Shepherd and pray for them and warrant back to the National Rite of Passage Council that they did, in fact, complete the challenges of the year.

In every way we can. Journey requirements for all three years consistently point apprentices toward active support of, and involvement in their churches.

A parent and the teenager should share their excitement with the senior pastor or student pastor. Face-to-face conversations are better than emails. Sit-down discussions are better than rushed hallway conversations. One family’s excitement may lead to scores of families moving through the AION Path experience.

When all the sticks in a burning campfire are separated, they grow cold. When the sticks remain together, the fire burns brightly. When apprentices and parents are cut off from other families in the AION Path journey, their enthusiasm may grow cold. When the families come together for fellowship and mutual encouragement, their hearts can burn brightly. Ideally, all the families on the AION Path journey should gather several times a year.

In each year of the journey there is a 12 week video based spiritual formation journey. This is an excellent opportunity for dads and their Apprentices to travel together.

Three ways:

1. Send Check Payable to:
National Rite of Passage Council
6201 E. Bayshore Walk #10
Long Beach, Ca 90803

2. Use your Donor Advised Fund (NCF Approved)
TO: National Rite of Passage Council

3. By Credit Card
Click here

EIN 33-1489266

If there is another way you’d like to participate or give, click contact link, get in touch, and we’ll be in touch.

Thank you for partnering with us in forming the next generation.