THIS STATEMENT FROM WORD OF LIFE’S FOUNDING DIRECTOR, JACK WYRTZEN , HAS BEEN QUOTED, PREACHED, PRINTED IN PUBLICATIONS, SCREEN PRINTED ON T-SHIRTS AND COMMITTED TO MEMORY BY WORD OF LIFE BIBLE INSTITUTE ALUMNI EVERYWHERE. WHY? WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS STATEMENT THAT CAUSES IT TO RESONATE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE?
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purpose of it is to give the students a glimpse of what it’s like to be a missionary. Students are taught what the Bible says about God’s plan for the nations, and they learn a Biblical perspective on raising support. Each young person is then required to raise up a team of financial and prayer supporters in a process similar to that of full-time missionaries. Dare 2 Share On September 23, the Word of Life Florida Bible Institute partnered with Dare 2 Share, a nationwide event, by being a host location for their satellite meeting. The goal of this student-led event was to reach around 50,000 teenagers and to equip and empower them to relationally share the Gospel with their friends. Open air evangelism (oae) OAE has been a part of the evangelism training for Bible Institute students for over 30 years. Teams of students are taught how to witness to people, preach a message on the sketch board, or share the Gospel using a rope trick. If you have ever wondered if those street side salvation decisions are real, I had a recent “random” meeting with Bill Brown ’88 in which he shared a story with me about how he asked Sam Frey ‘80 to bring an OAE team to his hometown of Kearny, New Jersey in 1985. During one of those street meetings, he watched a young man respond to the Gospel message. Bill made a point to follow-up with the young man and disciple him. Bill and the newly-saved young man, Peter Ogilvie ’88, both attended the Bible Institute in the fall of 1987. Peter Ogilvie is now married with five children who love Jesus and two of them, Peter ’12 and John ’14 are Bible Institute alumni also. Can you recall the training and experience you received on your ministry team at the Bible Institute? Gerald Zeimer ’89 remembers that Jack’s quote personalized the call to world missions, and it was then he realized the Lord could use him to be a part of that call. Gerald and his wife, Kristen ’89, have been missionaries in Romania for 22 years. They work with Titus International and are involved in summer camps, Bible Clubs for children, Bible studies, and church planting. The Zeimers have four children, and two of them, Michael ’15, and Corina ’17, are graduates of the Bible Institute.
ack Wyrtzen, a young insurance salesman in New York City, came to understand the Gospel through the persistent witness of his Army buddy, George Schilling. Jack’s life was forever changed. He became passionate about knowing God and knowing Scripture, and he enthusiastically shared the life changing Good News of the Gospel with others. For 77 years, the ministry of Word of Life has faithfully proclaimed the Gospel message and has also trained and equipped young people to reach their generation with the Good News of the Gospel. Currently, Word of Life has ministries in over 70 countries. Here in the United States, there are two Bible Institutes and hundreds of Bible Clubs in local churches. Other opportunities for young people to be trained are: Student Fusion Student Fusion is a short-term missions opportunity for students ages 15-22. The goal is to expose them to what God is doing around the world and challenge and empower them to be part of His plan for the nations. During the summer of 2017, almost 100 people traveled to four countries and saw over 320 salvation decisions. The Cross-Cultural Internship CCI is another program Word of Life offers to students who have completed two years at the Word of Life Bible Institute. In this program, students complete their last two years of college online through schools such as Liberty University or Summit University (who offer discounts), while they are completing an internship on a foreign mission field. Currently, there are 58 students in 27 countries, and there are 43 more students ready to join them in January. CCI CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE ON WORLD MISSIONS NOT JUST THROUGH THE CHANCE TO SERVE IN ANOTHER CULTURE, BUT THROUGH WITNESSING GOD USES ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE TO COMPLETE HIS WORLDWIDE PURPOSES IN THE HEARTS OF INDIVIDUALS. ” “ – KELLY FACEMIRE | 2015-2017 Missions Reality Missions Reality is a class that second-year students take, and it culminates with a two-week mission trip. The
the call to each generation 09
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