Fall 2025 Cohort — Unsolicited Testimonials

Jer's best-ever teaching experience in 22 years: hand-picked leaders he personally knew, ~15 countries, various sectors — all "ready to do the heavy lifting and look in the mirror." All feedback below was unsolicited (shared by Jer, June 2026). Get written permission before using any of this in marketing.

1. "You've just facilitated an international, confessional community of leaders who experienced a special communion with each other and God."

2. "I'm really excited about this course, Jeremy. The content is great, and the community of participants is fantastic! Becky is also having a wonderful time, as she shared in a brief conversation with me this morning."

3. "Wow, what a first meeting. I know you are talking about 'soul' in this course, but today I experienced the Spirit. I know this is a leadership course first and foremost, but there is no doubt in my mind that the timing of this course, with these people, is part of God's never ending quest to grab my heart. I'm in a personal season of dryness, I realized today just how thirsty I am. Dryness seems to dull the senses, today my senses were awakened."

4. "Still chuckling this morning as I recall our leadership zoom session... And you being soloed in the call with the HR Director. On another note the class is effective... Thanks for putting it together. The combination of teaching, storytelling and community bring the message to life. Thanks for leading."

5. "I'm sorry I missed the last meeting but am thankful I got to watch the recording the next day. I'm so thankful for all that was shared and have written down the prayer requests from all of you. Jeremy mentioned that I said I was sad that this forum was coming to a close... Better to feel sorrow because a wonderful gift had an expiration than to experience the sorrow of never having enjoyed the gift. I resonated with Joe's comments about the 'upside down kingdom of God'... I expected to gain knowledge and tools about how to lead better through lectures and data and I feel like I walked into a family of brothers and sisters who quietly, humbly and with honesty and transparency are making the world a better place. Gaining from your personal stories was much more powerful for me than receiving another fact or principles from a book."

6. "As an aside, this class has quickly become my favourite part of week. I am in awe of the wisdom and perspective in this course! It's amazing how this has been so applicable to life already."

7. (TerraClear team member:) "Thank you so much for the wonderful idea of bringing us together... When I first met you Jer, I thought you were just a regular guest visiting for a tour and would soon be gone. But you are different—you brought peace and strong leadership ideas to our company. We all have our own lids, and I feel that the more I learn and meet new friends, the more my lid is lifted... What I love most about the course is how we can share different perspectives from many cultures, yet we all share the same need to grow in leadership... If there is something to improve, I think it would be having more time and more activities together. Jesus is the best example of how to live and lead well. Thanks be to God."

What the testimonials tell us (analysis)

1. Community IS the product. "I expected lectures and data... I walked into a family of brothers and sisters." The strategy's bet on The Pack is confirmed by the customers themselves.
2. The only improvement request = more time together → direct demand signal for The Pack (alumni continuity) and the retreat.
3. The actual experience is more explicitly faith-rooted than the public positioning. "Communion with God," "the Spirit," prayer requests, "Jesus is the best example." This is deeper than "faith-adjacent" — a strategic positioning question Jer should decide deliberately (see strategy/finding-the-pack.md).
4. Storytelling > principles ("personal stories... much more powerful than another fact or principle from a book") — confirms the course design's light-reading, heavy-discussion bias.
5. Maxwell language lands ("we all have our own lids — my lid is lifted").
6. Cross-cultural composition was a feature, not a bug — 15 countries was part of the magic.
7. The cohort formed because Jer knew everyone first — which is exactly the acquisition problem, and the answer to it (the trust graph) is sitting inside these testimonials: these people know the next cohort.