Brandon Gilanyi wants to see every square inch of Lancaster County – including local businesses – transformed for Jesus Christ.
That’s why he is so excited about the Vision and Vocation Institute (VVI), a new “gap year” program to equip high school graduates for the business world scheduled to start this fall.
A “gap year” refers to the period between high school and college, and though VVI is primarily aimed at students seeking to bypass college and go straight into the workforce, Gilanyi believes the program would also help students who later decide to enroll in college.
Nationwide, the percentage of recent high school graduates enrolled in college has been declining, with 61.8% enrolled in 2021, down from over 70% in 2009. Young men in particular are foregoing college at increasing rates, with just 54.9% of recent male high school graduates enrolled in college as of 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But that trend isn’t overly concerning to Gilanyi, who doesn’t believe the traditional college model is the best approach for advancing Christian culture. The typical college experience can be dangerous, he said, because it happens “outside the family and outside the church.”
He believes the new program can offer a better alternative.
The 18-month program is an extension of Firm Foundations Academy (FFA), where Gilanyi serves as the Dean of Students, and is designed to equip participants to think biblically about work, manage personal finances, develop their marketable skills, and learn about entrepreneurship.
But perhaps the most appealing part of the program is the apprenticeships with local businesses.
For three days a week, students in the program will be working at a local business and for the other part of the week they will be studying and interacting with Christian leaders and instructors.
“Mentorship is a big part of this,” said Gilanyi, who plans to be personally involved in both the mentorship and academic side of the program. Students and mentors will “talk shop” each week, discussing what happened at the workplace and how they can learn from their experiences.
Gilanyi, who also serves part-time as an assistant pastor at All Saints Church in Lancaster, said he didn’t have anyone to mentor him after he graduated college with a degree in biblical studies. He ended up selling paint for over a decade – an experience he is thankful for – before an older man helped him figure out his vocational sweet spot: teaching. Gilanyi hopes he can pass on to students much of what he learned during those years.
Eleven local businesses have already agreed to partner with VVI, and Gilanyi said he will continue to look for more Christian-run companies to add to the apprenticeship program. The current offering of business apprenticeships ranges from roofing services to pre-school care to custom cabinetry.
Gilanyi said that local business leaders have told him that it is fairly easy to teach employees the ins and outs of the job, but they struggle to find young workers with a strong work ethic, good people skills, and a desire to develop and take ownership on the job.
Ryan Horst, owner of Ephrata-based Premier Tree Service, has partnered with VVI as one of the companies offering apprenticeships to students. Horst told The Lancaster Patriot that dependability, commitment, and motivation are key characteristics that can be hard to find in many young employees.
Horst spent many years as an employee in another industry prior to starting his tree care business in 2014. He said his Christian faith impacts the way he does business, especially in terms of honesty and a concern for his employees and their families.
Horst, a father of nine, said he believes that “teaching kids to enjoy work should be done at a much younger age than out of high school,” but is still hopeful the program can succeed in helping students build on the foundation they received in their younger years.
Gilanyi is working closely with Sarah Northup, founder of FFA, on the program.
Northup started FFA in 2019 to offer Christian parents an option in between homeschooling and five-day-a-week private school. From the beginning her focus has been on serving Christian families because, she said, “the recovery of the family is really important to the recovery of culture.”
FFA gives parents the opportunity for two days of instruction per week in a classroom setting to supplement their children’s education at home.
Northup believes the modern college model has played a part in the “deconstruction of the family” in American society. While Northup said the college experience can potentially serve a good purpose, negative factors such as cost, secular indoctrination, and distance from family need to be considered.
“If we think about building our communities, we really want kids to stay in the community,” Northup said. “We don’t want to send them out, and we want them to invest in things that are kingdom-oriented here.”
She views both FFA and VVI as a means to help Christian families establish generational influence in Lancaster County.
Though the gap year program is an extension of FFA, Northup said the school will consider applications from any high school graduate who wants to serve Christ in the workplace.
Northup had a vision for a gap-year program four years ago when she started FFA, but her initial focus was on the K-12 program. When Gilanyi joined FFA in 2022, and Northup learned that he too had a similar vision for a vocational program, the specific idea of VVI soon emerged.
Both Gilanyi and Northup have a long-term vision of seeing more Christian businesses established in Lancaster County. More Christian businesses mean more jobs for others, Gilanyi said, and more jobs for others mean more opportunities for families to thrive.
It was Gilanyi’s commitment to his family that eventually led him to leave a well-paid corporate job managing paint stores. The culture of the company, including being open on Sundays, put a strain on his family, leading him to find other work. He thinks Christian-run businesses can offer better environments for employees, allowing them to better serve their neighbors and their families.
Though the apprenticeships are designed to be in Christian-run businesses, the academic side of the program will help prepare students to work in environments potentially hostile to Christianity by teaching biblical apologetics. The ultimate aim of the program is to equip students to serve Christ in their work, whether as a business owner or an employee.
Gilanyi said this task of preparing young people for the workforce “has been passively given over to the secular authorities of the world” who are not interested in honoring Christ in the business world.
“If we want cultural change through strong families and strong businesses, then we need strong Christians who possess a Biblical worldview and conviction who are taking the lead in their local communities.”
