Restoring Identity, Raising Leaders.
Discover the story, the conviction, and the vision that shape our work.
Our Story
Imago Dei Institute was established from one simple conviction: identity shapes everything.
Identity influences how people think, how they relate to others, how they make decisions, how they lead, and how they contribute to society. It is the foundation upon which every other area of life is built.
Every generation asks the same enduring questions.
Our world offers many answers to these questions through achievement, appearance, approval, success, and personal accomplishment. While these can shape a person’s experience, they do not provide a lasting foundation for identity.
We believe there is a stronger foundation.
From the opening chapter of Scripture, we learn that every person is created by God and in the image of God. Identity begins with the Creator. When people understand who they are in light of this truth, they are better equipped to live with purpose, grow in character, and lead with integrity.
This conviction is the foundation of Imago Dei Institute and the work we are committed to advancing.
Meet the Founder
Imago Dei Institute was founded by Rachel Nduta out of a conviction that identity is foundational for human flourishing.
Rachel’s work across business operations, program implementation, leadership, and organizational development gradually led her to look beyond what organizations and programs achieve to a question that became central to her work: What shapes the person someone becomes?
This question led to the development of Imago Dei Institute and its work to restore identity and raise leaders, beginning with adolescent girls.
Today, Rachel leads the Institute’s work in identity formation, mentorship, and leadership development. She works to translate the question at the heart of IDI into practical research, frameworks, and educational resources that others can put into practice.
Connect on LinkedIn →Our Biblical Foundation
At the heart of Imago Dei Institute is a simple and enduring truth.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
This verse is more than the inspiration behind our name. It provides the foundation for everything we believe about identity.
Every person is created in the image of God. Every person therefore possesses inherent dignity, worth, and purpose from the beginning of life. These are gifts from God that do not depend on achievement, performance, social status, or the opinions of others.
The name Imago Dei is the Latin expression for Image of God.
Scripture presents every person first as a bearer of God’s image. This understanding provides a secure foundation from which character, purpose, leadership, and healthy relationships can grow throughout life.
Behaviour, education, leadership, and personal development all play important roles in human flourishing. Each of these areas is strengthened when identity is healthy and well-formed.
For this reason, we believe identity formation is one of the most important investments that can be made in individuals, families, institutions, and communities.
Our Vision
A world where identity is the foundation of human flourishing.
We envision people who understand who they are and who live from that understanding with purpose, wisdom, integrity, and compassion. As people flourish, they strengthen their families, enrich their communities, and contribute to institutions that serve the common good.
Our Mission
To advance identity formation through research, education, transformative programs and partnerships.
Our mission is to make identity formation more widely understood, more intentionally cultivated, and more practically applied across individuals, families, institutions, and communities.
Our Guiding Principles
Identity
We believe identity is the foundation of meaningful living.
Every person is created in the image of God. This truth provides the foundation for dignity, purpose, character, leadership, and human flourishing. It shapes how we understand ourselves, relate to others, and contribute to the world around us.
Truth
We pursue truth with biblical faithfulness, intellectual honesty, humility, and wisdom.
We are committed to careful research, thoughtful learning, and faithful application. We believe truth is discovered with integrity, communicated with clarity, and lived with conviction.
Formation
We believe lasting growth develops through intentional formation.
Identity, character, wisdom, and leadership are cultivated over time through learning, reflection, meaningful relationships, and consistent practice. We are committed to supporting this lifelong journey of growth.
Community
We believe people flourish in healthy communities.
Families, schools, churches, and communities all play an essential role in nurturing healthy identity. We value relationships built on belonging, encouragement, mutual responsibility, and shared purpose.
Stewardship
We believe every opportunity is a gift to be stewarded well.
We seek to steward people, knowledge, relationships, resources, and influence with excellence, humility, and faithfulness. Our work is guided by a commitment to serve others and contribute to the common good.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.
Psalm 92:12–14
Our Approach
Everything we do at Imago Dei Institute is guided by one conviction: identity is formed intentionally.
We advance identity formation through research, education, practical frameworks, collaborative partnerships, and transformative programs. Each area contributes to a shared purpose of making identity formation more widely understood, intentionally cultivated, and meaningfully applied.
Together, these areas connect ideas with practice, strengthen institutions, and help individuals and communities flourish.
Learn More About How We Work →The Future We Are Working Toward
We see identity formation becoming an essential field of knowledge and practice.
Families can play a more intentional role in nurturing healthy identity from childhood. Schools can support the development of the whole person. Churches can disciple people from a secure understanding of their identity in Christ. Institutions can recognize identity formation as an important foundation for leadership and long-term flourishing.
We see an expanding body of knowledge and practice that strengthens understanding of identity formation and supports its application across sectors.
Imago Dei Institute exists to contribute to this field through research, education, frameworks, transformative programs, and partnerships, with faithfulness and excellence.
When identity is rightly formed, people are better equipped to live with purpose and contribute meaningfully to society. This is the foundation for human flourishing.
Explore Our Work →