In this video, the speaker describes the disciplined lifestyle of a Bible school and mission training program. The schedule includes classes, study time, prayer, meals, and various activities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being faithful to God and trusting in His guidance. A young lady shares her experience of being in the program and highlights the challenges and rewards of missionary life.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I'm James Hoover from Goshen, Indiana. I'm attending a Byrne Christian Fellowship, which is in Byrne. I was asked to share a testimony and I was born again in Colorado Bible School in 2002 and for the next six months or so, I was serious about following God and I met with some brothers and I was seriously following God and God did a lot of work in my heart. But after that, after the six months was over, I don't know what really went wrong, but my sights, I wasn't looking to Christ as much as I should have and I started to, my love for Him started to wane off. Anyways, I never really got into any major sins or anything at that point, but just my love for Christ was weak and I was just not dedicated like I should have been. I remember in 2004 then, God began working in my heart and I started praying for my life that He would do a work in my heart and about two weeks later, one of my best friends was killed, Gene Schroeder in Colorado and I went out there and going to the funeral and I just felt God speaking to me very deeply in the funeral and I remember just crying before God and saying that this is my best friend and I didn't really know what He meant right at the point, but I just felt Him speaking to me and saying that I want to be your friend, that He wants me to be loving Him and not having anything in the way. And I remember just dedicating my life and following Him sincerely and honestly. And two weeks later was Bible school here and I came out here and I remember one of the brothers just spoke to me and encouraged me. After each message, why don't you go and just pray and pour your heart out before God and He will definitely do a work in your heart. And it was such a blessing. Thank you for putting that input in my life and I was so blessed with that. Every message I would just go back and pour my heart out before God and that week He did an incredible work in my heart, especially just because of the accident and dedication a couple weeks before. And after that I was seeking God and I was praying for ways that I could learn to know Him more. I started praying about missions more seriously and I just remember just very sweet, sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ. And next spring Weston called us and asked if we would go to Ghana and it was just another direct answer to prayer that He wanted us to go. So we went to Ghana and through my time there, just seeking Him and serving there, God just really laid a burden on my heart to love Him and to give my life for Him. Earlier on we had been in a conservative Mennonite church and I was going to the youth group and we never got into any bad things or anything but it was just a carnal atmosphere and Brother Mark talking about giving up your friends. I remember just deciding that soon after I was born again I was going to just stop going to the youth groups and just focus on Christ. And I think that was a major stepping stone in my life as well, just to get distractions out of the way and not be distracted with friends and with all the things, the carnality that can go along with all of that. But we went to Ghana and I was so blessed in being there. God showed me so much and gave me more of a passion to love Him, more of a passion for the world and for His kingdom. I don't know, my coming here to Bible school this year then was just another added more wood to the fire and it just was such a blessing being here and all the rich teaching we've heard. I was so blessed and just again recharged and renewed to live out my life with a fervent zeal for Jesus Christ and not giving anything, letting anything back, giving all to Him. I just am excited about the next months and years ahead in my life and I'm really looking forward to it. I know God has a lot for me. I really don't know what's planned in the next. My future looks a little, I don't really know what's going on, but I'm just trusting Him that He will lead me, He will guide me and that He can receive glory for my life. I wasn't always, since 2004 when God worked in my heart in the revival, I wasn't always faithful, but God remains faithful and unmovable and He will never let us down. God bless you all. Hi, my name is Courtney Thomas and I'm from Grace Christian Fellowship in Bainbridge, New York. Yesterday one of the matrons came up and asked me to share what God has been doing in my life this week. I guess I'll start with that. A few months back, I started struggling with holding a grudge against people I thought had treated me unfairly or just not treated me with the respect that I thought I needed. I would talk badly of them to my family and my friends and it just gave me a negative outlook on pretty much most of my areas in my life. I knew that it wasn't right, but I wasn't for sure how to just stop and give it all to God. So time went on and it started to affect the very dear friendships that I have. I would get together with another friend and we would talk about different people and I knew that the other friend that I'd hurt could feel something between us. And I knew that there was a wall growing between that friend and I and we felt that she, my other friend and I, we just felt that the one that we'd hurt had disapproved of us. So we kind of looked down on her or, I'm not sure exactly how you would say it, but a wall started growing there and our friendship became more shallow than what it had been. And I came this week and for the first few messages I was really distracted and I knew that God wanted me to give this area up and to forgive those who had treated me unfairly and to make up with my friend and ask her forgiveness. I tried to justify it and shrug it off. But then on Wednesday I found myself alone in a quiet room and I was trying to memorize the verses and I just could not concentrate on it. And I knew that God wanted me to give this to him so I just started praying and surrendering the area with my friendship and forgiving those people and a few other issues that I knew God wanted me to surrender. God gave me such a peace after that. And later that day I was talking to another one of my friends and she said God had been working the same way in her life and we knew that God wanted us to go to that friend that night. And so after supper we went for a walk and had a beautiful time just sharing our hearts and asking forgiveness and God gave us such a joy after that, just a peace with being clear with him and the joy just continued to grow as the night went on. I guess we just laughed and praised God all night long. It was so amazing to be clear with God like that. I have people that I have to go back to as we get home and ask for forgiveness for the influence I've been on others who aren't Christians and who I had an influence on. But I'm excited to go back and get things right. I just really want to continue to surrender anything that God brings before me that I haven't gave up yet. I just want to give him all the glory for what he has done in my life. Well, praise the Lord. I'm Joshua Ray from Sand Hill Bible Church and it's a privilege to be here. I grew up in a conservative Christian home and church that taught many of the biblical principles that you've heard this week of Bible School. And at a very young age, I prayed and asked Jesus to save me, but I lacked a very important, something very important and that was something Brother Moses Stoltz shared about Friday night. And that was in Matthew 13 verse 23. It says, but he that receives seed into the good ground is he that hears the word and understandeth it. And at that young age, I didn't understand all that God required of me as a faithful follower of him. And I believe that the devil knew this. And as I got older, he tried to bring me into bondage through worldly music, uncleanness, and carefree Christianity, which is a bondage. And he tried to do all this before I could have a complete understanding of what it really meant to follow Jesus Christ. Over in Romans 6 verse 17 through 19, it says, but God, be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine, which was delivered to you. Being then made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness. And God really began dealing with me in my heart and convicting me of sin. I can remember many times when sitting in church and being so convicted of sin, I was shaking in my seat and God really began to do a work in my heart and grant me a heart to seek him with all my heart. I can just remember crying out to God and him breaking my heart in many areas. It wasn't all at once, but it was as if he was holding me out over the fire and purging all the dross and the tin and revealing himself to me. I just praise the Lord for that. It seems like each one of us has our own personalized cross. God wants each one of us to take up our own cross and follow him. And I came to Bible school with the desire and the prayer that God would reveal more of himself to me and that he would grant me a deeper walk with him, that I could go away from here changed for eternity, that the change wouldn't just last through the week, but that I would be forever changed. And I believe he has answered that prayer. And I would also like to share something that has helped me to seriously take advantage of what I have heard in my church and here. And I just want to say that I have three siblings who have chosen a world over what many of you have heard this week. My brother was here last year. Many of you met him. And I just want to leave with you a question. Are we really taking advantage of what we're hearing? Are we really going to make a difference in our life? And so I'll just leave you with this question. As God has granted me victory through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and I believe he will continue to grant me victories in those areas that he has showed me this week, I just want to ask you a question. Will we see you again in the congregation of the righteous? Will we see you again in the congregation of those who are seeking God with their whole heart? My name is Jessica Stamper, and I'm from Charity Christian Fellowship. I was born again between the ages of 11 and 12. I knew that the Lord was drawing me to himself. There was rebellion in my heart against my parents, and I didn't know quite what to do because I couldn't get rid of it myself. I was miserable, and I couldn't take away the sin in my heart. Finally, I was so tired of it and weary of the burden that I was carrying, and I wanted to be free. The Lord allowed some difficult circumstances then, and I did surrender my life to Christ completely. There was total freedom from that weight. It was gone. I do praise God that he did that, that he didn't stop working there. He continued to convict me and lead me into his ways. More recently, the Lord has been doing a deep work in my heart. One of the most hindering sins that I've struggled with has been discouragement. I'll get discouraged, and I'll let it pull me down, and I lose ground because I just flounder. Lately in the past few months, there were circumstances in my life that were difficult, but I found as I trusted the Lord for my failings and walked by faith, that he is giving me victory in that area. I am fighting consistent victory in this. As I came to Bible school, my heart was just longing that God would do something that would last, that it wouldn't just be where I came this week, and the next week it's gone. So I came with an open heart, and the Lord did work. He convicted me in many areas, and I found especially as far as being a soldier. I want to be a soldier for Jesus. I don't want to just let loose and just be foolish. I want to go home and learn to walk through my daily life as a soldier for Jesus. One specific thing that I was convicted of was letting foolishness or worthless conversation just snatch away the work that God did. I've found so many times that's the way it is. I want to learn to keep my heart and life open and clear before the Lord, and to have a heart that said only on Him, to serve Him. That's my desire as I go home, that God would do that in my heart. I want to serve only Him. Hello, my name is James Shirk, and I'm from Charity Christian Fellowship, where I go there. It's just because of Jesus that I'm testifying today. Growing up, my mom did teach me the scriptures. She taught me about Jesus, and all the Bible stories, and all the different... everything in the Bible, pretty much, I remember. We had to sit in Sundays and listen. But, I don't know, I started to rebel, I guess, maybe 10 or something. I remember one thing, I told a lie. I thought it was a small thing, but it was just an outright lie. And I held to it. I wouldn't budge. And I carried it with me until probably about a year ago, I think. About a year ago, I got converted. I don't know if that dragged me into a lot of other things, but with that lie and selfishness, holding on to that, and holding on to rebellion, it seemed like there were just... the side effects were just every kind of sin, probably breaking all the commandments. But about a year and a half ago, maybe not quite, but I don't know, I started getting broken. I couldn't find any more comfort in those. I just was seeking for comfort, but I couldn't find any more in the world. I just... I searched and searched, and just there wasn't nothing left. I started to get broken and convicted about my sin, and finally I ended up at church, and there was a revival message. And that morning, Sunday morning, I was just so convicted, I just couldn't even speak by the end of that message. Finally, I couldn't leave because I had brought people there to church, so I had to stay there and eat a fellowship meal, but I didn't eat. I just went outside and thought I could walk it off. Just, I don't know, somehow get rid of this miserable feeling that's just over me. I didn't know what was going on, but then my sister asked if she could get one of the preachers to pray with us, and I finally agreed after she asked me a couple of times. He told me he thinks I'm under conviction, and asked if I knew about Jesus, and I said yes. I heard the gospel my mom had taught me, but I didn't know it could do... I thought you just believe, and well, you just believe, and I didn't know what it meant for sure. But he said I should confess my sins and ask God for forgiveness, and that's what I did. It was kind of hard to start as we kneeled there. I was pretty proud, but I just came to the end of myself there, and thought, okay, this is... Anyway, I confessed my sin and asked the Lord to forgive me, and He did. That next couple of days, I was just so happy, I couldn't stop smiling. It was beautiful. I mean, it wasn't a week later I was wondering if I was born again, but it's been up and down from there, but this last week has just again been like a confirmation, and it's just been good. One of the, I don't know, it seems like one of the verses I always cling to is in Proverbs. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path. Many times I start thinking myself up against something, and then I realize I don't have to lean on my own understanding, like thinking about God and how He created and how He was before anything. It just seems like I go up against it, and suddenly I can't imagine it anymore, and then I just have to come back and say I don't need to understand because it seems I don't need to. But yeah, it's just a blessing to know the Lord and have a relationship. My name is Christine Newswanger, and I attend Living Hope Christian Fellowship in Terry Hill, Pennsylvania. Known to Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, Ephesians 3.20. This verse is the testimony of my life. Truly God has done exceedingly abundantly above all that I've asked or thought. I had a real struggle with coming to salvation. I responded to alter calls, confessed my sins, and prayed. Yet I still wasn't clear. Many times I wondered, when will the struggles end? Will I ever be a Christian whose confidence is firmly fixed in God? And I have to say the struggles have ended, and I can put my confidence in God, for He does not change. During Bible school last year, I responded one evening. As I prayed and repented, heaven just opened, and for the first time I felt there was nothing between my soul and the Savior. This past year has been a blessed experience of growing in Him. The Christian life is much sweeter than I imagined it to be. In July I was baptized, and since then my walk with God has deepened. It's exciting seeing the ways God works bring me more growth and maturity. This Bible school was a blessing, just being able to come with a clear heart. I have heard a lot, and there are still many areas I need to grow in. But Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith. And faithless He that hath promised to perform it. My name is Timothy Quigley. I'm 17. I come from Wilmington, Illinois. I go to a small home church there. God has truly worked something in my life. I was born and raised Catholic. I have a heavily Catholic background in my life. And for the most part, I had a pretty good life growing up. My mom stayed at home, went through public schooling, got good grades. Everything was going pretty good. All until my 8th grade year. That was supposed to be the best year I've had. Got confirmed in my Catholic faith, was feeling good about myself. And that's about the time my world sort of collapsed on me. I found out one day that my dad was cheating on my mom. And it sort of shattered my trust in the world. It truly just destroyed me from there. Everything just went downhill. I lost faith in just about everything. Developed a mouth on me. Started doing things I shouldn't do. Was not a good time in my life. And for the next year or so, I truly just blocked it out. It was like that part of my life didn't exist. I didn't have a dad. And from there, it was just shutting out everything and pretty much everyone. I was like that for about a year and a half. And then slowly, it was like an infectious wound. It just started building. And I found myself asking why more and more and more. And then one day at my high school, I began to notice a Bible study going on. And I saw people there. It was just, why can you trust God when He would do something like that to me? Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, and I attended the Bible study. I'd go in, listen to it, and leave. And I didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to do anything at all. But there was two important people I met in my life there, Tony and Samantha Brown. Tony, he reached out to me. I mean, I was trying to be as antisocial as possible, but Tony sort of went and just pulled me in. And eventually, through a lot, he got me to attend Bible study. And from there, I learned what salvation was and that I was a sinner. And it was a shock for me. I really couldn't believe what I did for the past couple of years. And even after that, it was still, I was wondering why. Because at that point, I knew God was a loving, caring God. But why would He do that to me? Why? And even for the next year, I truly struggled with that. It caused me to lose no end of sleep. It finally dawned on me one day that if God had not done that in my life, if that horrible thing had never happened to me, I would be going to hell. And I would never know God's grace. And it's an amazing thing to me that God can take something so horrible in your life, just whatever it may be, and just take it and turn it around to further His glory. And I praise Him for that. It's such an amazing thing in my sight. And from this day, not just from that day, I've just felt so much stronger in the Lord. I have 100% faith that the Lord, whatever happens, if my family becomes saved or not, it is part of His plan. And I have 100% faith that it's part of the greater plan for the greater good. Because God has no more, has the perfect plan out there. And I just thank Him so much for that. God bless you all. My name is Joanna Davis. I'm from Sand Hill Bible Church in Auburn, Alabama. It's a privilege to be here today and to share some of what Jesus has done in my life. I was brought up in a Christian home where my parents sought to bring me up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. When I was 10 years old, I began to experience deep conviction over my sin. And shortly thereafter, God brought me to a breaking point. And I repented of my sin and received Jesus as my personal Savior. I knew I was born again because my heart was changed. And I began to desire to read God's Word. And for the first time in my life, the Bible became a living book to me. Several years later, as a young teenager, I began to drift from the Lord. This was due to several worldly influences I allowed into my life. I started listening to southern gospel music and other types of contemporary Christian music and began to develop close friendships with some of my peers who had rebellious tendencies. These things began to draw me away from the Lord Jesus. And I began to rebel in my heart against the conservative standards of my upbringing. As I look back to this period of my life, I see it as a very critical point when Satan was fighting hard to win me to the world. But the Holy Spirit continued to strive with me and make me miserable. I had tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and I could not stand to live out of fellowship with God. After about a year of living in this backslidden condition, the Lord and His mercy again brought me to repentance. And I began to separate myself from the worldly influences that had stolen my heart's affection from the Lord Jesus. In 2001, when I was 15 years old, the Lord began to work in the hearts of our young people and to show us our need of repentance in many areas of our lives. It was a refreshing time as well as a dreadful time as many of us were brought to a crossroads spiritually. During this time, I became desperate for spiritual reality in my life. Although I had been saved when I was 10 years old, I believe the Lord would want me to reconfirm my commitment to follow Him no matter what it might cost me. Once again, I totally surrender my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Since that time, God has continued to work in my life. I've been through some mountaintops and through some low valleys. But through it all, Jesus has been a wonderful Savior to me. My greatest burden for sharing my testimony today is for any of you young people who know there are things that you need to surrender to God, but are afraid of what your peers might think. Maybe it's music or some other form of entertainment or clothing that you know you must give up in order to pursue godliness. I encourage you to break free from the fear of what your friends might say or think. Don't ever be afraid to take action and stand alone when you know your soul is at stake. Someday soon, your friends will move on to what they think will not matter anymore. But you alone will have to live with the consequences of the decisions that you are making today. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the fact that God in his mercy gave me the grace to take a stand as a young teenager. I know. Jesus said, Except corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it. And he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. May God bless you. My name is Mark Martin, and I am from Ephrata Christian Fellowship. This is my local church here. I live here in Ephrata, too. I'm happy to be here today. God has been doing a lot in my heart over the past couple months, I would say. I'm going to read here in Isaiah 40. That's kind of my testimony. And then I'll share a little. This has been a real blessing to me as I read over this many times. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Verse 29. He giveth power to the faint. I can say that God has truly done that work in my heart. He has been there in times of temptation. And I've experienced the power that he's given. And all of us as young men, we come to places where we fall. But if we truly come and surrender, he helps us the way he says here. And so I just want to express the faithfulness of God and what he's promised here. I've learned to surrender over the past couple months, and just the joy and the peace that he's brought in my life, just through that surrender in different areas that he's asked me to surrender, and authority has been a blessing in my life. Putting myself under that, it has been something that has freed me in many areas. I just want to praise the Lord for his saving faith and the power that he has for us. We just trust him. It's great to be here, and I thank the Lord first and foremost for all that he does. My name is Rosemary Barka. I'm from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and I come from Living Truth Ministries. It's in New York, in New York City, in Queens. I just want to take the time to thank the Lord for his faithfulness, because if it wasn't for his mercy, I wouldn't be here today. I didn't grow up in a Christian home, but I first got saved when I was 12. But I had no direction in my life as far as how to walk the Christian life. It wasn't until I was 15 years old where I received the truth of God's word, and the Lord just really touched my heart. I went into a place where it was full of young men and women who really, really loved the Lord. You could see by their countenance and their modesty that they were following the ways of God, and I said, that's how a Christian life should be. That really touched my heart that summer. I gave my life completely to the Lord, and I turned away from my old ways. The Lord has blessed me ever since. I know that when I first came to the Lord, he just gave me a fervent desire to seek his face, to love him, and just have that fire in my heart for his word. And then as time went on, even though the Lord's blessing was upon me, the influences of the world was choking me. I was really touched this week by Brother Moose, and his preaching about the stony ground here. I was sitting in my seat. I remember clearly saying, well, I'm not rebellious, so I shouldn't go up there. And he explained how even though you have a little rebellion in your heart, that it can grow, and I knew that I had lost my first love. So as I was sitting there, the Lord just put in my heart, and I just felt such conviction. And I was just sitting there, and I was tearing as we were singing the invitation song. And it really touched my heart when I saw one of the young men come here, the one with her leg. And then God just spoke to me and said, Rosemary, I resist the proud, but give grace to the humble. And I was sitting there, and as I was thinking that, as God was putting that in my heart, I said, I have to let go of the rebellion that is in my heart because I've been listening to worldly Christian music, the contemporary Christian music, and just allowing unnecessary movies to enter, allowing my eyes to behold the evil through movies. And I wasn't as fervent for the Lord as I should be. And so I came up, and then I repented of my sin. And I just encourage you all to seek the Lord because He can be found if you just let Him. It hurts to see my friends falling away from the Lord. This world, we're living in the last days, and they're falling away, and it's strong. But God is stronger. And I know that when the enemy comes in like a flood, He will raise up a standard against them. And I pray that we will be that standard that the Lord sets against the enemy. God bless you. Praise the Lord. My name is Brad Caldwell. I'm from Auburn, Alabama, Sand Hill Bible Church. I was asked to share my testimony, and in particular what the Lord has been doing in the past couple of years, but also to give some background information. So first of all, I was raised growing up in a Presbyterian church, the liberal branch of the two, the PCUSA, and was not a Christian at that time. And in my second year of high school, I met a couple of Christians that would bring their Bibles to school and talk about the Lord. And I was born again reading in James about how faith without works is dead. And I continued to go to this church until I graduated high school because it was where my family went. And at that point, I moved to Auburn from Huntsville. I was born and raised in Huntsville. I moved to Auburn to attend Auburn University. And having been through a secular college, I can tell you firsthand that many of the professors there are very liberal-minded and that many of them have the spirit of antichrist and that they'll do anything in their power to undermine the Bible and to mock Christianity and to promote immorality and to intimidate any Christians in their classes. And I had at least five professors that were very much like this. And so I just wanted to say that it's a hellish environment for a Christian to have to go through. I would not encourage it. In any event, during my time at college, I came across the New Testament church. And some of their teachings were familiar to me already, such as being born again and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. And other teachings were new to me, such as modest dress, non-resistance, the possibility of a Christian falling away, and so forth. I saw that these things were in the Bible, and I embraced them. And with this background information, I'd like to share some of the things that have challenged and encouraged me by these Bible schools. This is my second year of Bible school, and it's been a blessing to hear a lot of continuous preaching that promotes a God word and a Godly life. And it just seems like all of Christendom is preaching a false gospel today. And it's just a blessing, and it's refreshing to hear an emphasis on holiness. Also, I've been blessed by the two families that I've stayed with these two years. Their examples have stirred me to be more zealous for God. Finally, I've appreciated the Godly atmosphere here and have been encouraged by it. It's been a blessing to meet brothers and sisters in Christ who are desiring to obey the Bible and to talk about spiritual things. In short, these Bible schools have helped me to have a renewed vision of doing God's will and of being on fire for Christ. Thank you, and God bless you. I am from Bainbridge, New York, and attend Grace Christian Fellowship. God has done so much in my heart this past year, and I feel so humbled yet so grateful for what He has done. I had become very bitter over things that had happened to me and over hurts, and I also became very rebellious in my heart, and it came out in my actions and how I related to my parents. It was a very confusing and dark time in my life, and I didn't know what I wanted to believe. I had become a Christian, and I knew how sweet fellowship with God was, but I was so confused in what I wanted to believe, and I just wanted to give it all up. I was terribly confused, and it was a very hard time in my life. Then this past January, I got the opportunity to go to Ghana and spend two months with my sister Kate and her husband Samuel. And while I was there, God began to break my heart, and I began to see the sin of my rebellion and just what a selfish person I was. And it was amazing to me how God dealt with me and what He showed me. And He started showing me His vision, and it was amazing to me how much He loved me and how He cared about my life and didn't give up on me, even through that time of my rebellion. And I'll always be grateful for that time in Africa. It changed me so tremendously, and I feel so awed at God when I look at His love and mercy. And I really did not deserve it. And He has helped me to get back under my parents' authority. And just one area, music, has always been a very big passion of mine. And I had been listening to things that I knew my parents would not like. He dealt with me on that, where one evening, I just gave all my music to my parents. And it's like, I want you to take this, and I want to be serious about my Christian life. And I am so not perfect, and I know there's so much more God wants to do in my heart and my life. But He has been so faithful. And this week has been such a blessing to enter into, knowing that I was free of that rebellion. And it is my desire to recklessly abandon my life for Him, and that I would count it a privilege to lay down my life for others. And I want to catch that vision that God has for His people, and keep serving Him. My name is David Bagwell, and I'm from Hirels, New Mexico. And I'd just like to share my testimony to the glory of God. This evening, my family attends a Baptist church in New Mexico. And when I was ten years old, I prayed a prayer. And I thought that I was saved, but I never dealt with repentance in my life. And throughout my life, there were things that I was hiding that I didn't want God to put His finger on. And any time He would convict me about that, I'd be like, No, God, I don't want to confess that. I want to keep that hidden. And I didn't want to deal with it. And because of that, sin had dominion over me, and I didn't have victory over it. And it was about a year ago that the Lord started working in my heart, and convicting me, and drawing me to Himself. And a little over half a year ago, we started receiving tapes from charity in Ephrata. And it was just such a blessing. And the Lord brought conviction in my life, especially through tapes from Brother Denny and Brother Mose. And the Lord really convicted me of my sin and showed me that I needed to repent and confess. And in April of this year, I confessed and repented, and I was born again. Before I gave my life to the Lord, I was so afraid of confessing my sin. But after I did it, the Lord just gave me such a joy. And I don't know why I didn't do it before. It was like I was blinded, but the Lord set me free from that. And I just want to praise His name for that. And I just thank the Lord that He allowed me to be able to come to this youth Bible school. It's been a blessing in my life. And I pray that the Lord would help me to apply the things that I've learned this week, as I go back home, that He might be glorified in my life. Thank you. Well, I'm not one of the youth, but I must say I feel a little bit younger this week after being with all of you. And I was very surprised they asked me to share my testimony. But I was young once, so I'll try to keep it brief. I was raised in a non-Christian home, and I was raised by alcoholic parents. We never read the Bible. We didn't pray together. We kind of did some things around Christmas and Easter, as I recall. And I remember growing up thinking they had something to do with God. And my parents sent me to a Lutheran church because they thought that was the right thing to do. And I was confirmed when I was 14 or 15 years old. And that was the last time I ever went to a church. I went to the public school, and it included everything, you know, dating, dancing, immodest dress, beach parties, fashion, jewelry. I was just your typical worldly girl. But that's what was expected of me. That's the way I was raised. And I honestly, I guess I knew it was wrong, but I didn't know anything else. And I was dating a guy, and he took me to some meetings. And we both made a profession of Christianity. I really believed deep in my heart I wanted to be a Christian. I wanted to be different. I had found the vanity and the emptiness of what we were doing, just following whatever was out there. But the gospel that was presented to us was really shallow. There wasn't much talk about sin. You just kind of were a better person. And there certainly wasn't anything about repentance. We just accepted Christ as our Savior and kind of moved on. And I always had this desire that I wanted to serve God. I wanted to be different. I wanted to have the strength to overcome the things that were in my own heart. And growing up the way that I grew up, there was a lot of vanity and pride in my life. And I got married very young. And my husband and I were attending a church. We had made that commitment to follow Christ. And we attended church. We were very faithful in that. And little by little, the Lord was really putting his finger on some things in our lives. And I remember years ago, a pastor put his finger on some really wrong attitudes in my own heart that affected a lot of relationships. And the root of most of the struggle I had in relationships was pride in my life. And I didn't want to believe it at first because I was a good churchgoer and I was doing my best. But I really didn't have the power to overcome the thing that was interfering with relationships. And when this pastor put his finger on that, it really broke my heart. And I thought, Lord, am I really like that? And I'm afraid he said yes. And I broke my heart. I just really tried to empty myself of a lot of pride. And it was amazing to me how relationships started healing and how things that bothered me and I just had to be the right person. It just didn't even matter. What mattered is that I could just be Christlike. And I so wanted to please the Lord and be more like him. But I really didn't know how. And I was in a church setting where they just didn't teach us those things. And a number of years later, another thing that happened to me was my husband had a business. And he hired a fellow who was a little odd. And his wife dressed a little odd. And they were always talking about the Bible. And, I mean, she just didn't wear jewelry. She didn't do anything with her hair. It was just kind of really different for me. And this fellow told me one time, he says, you know, Debbie, he says, you really don't regard the Bible with much respect. You throw parts of it out. And I was crushed. I mean, I was really crushed. I thought, I'm not like that. I really want to serve God. I really believe I'm doing what I should do. And he took me to a few verses where I was guilty. And the first thing out of my mouth was, that doesn't mean what it says. That's a cultural thing. And the minute it was off my lips, my heart was just smitten that I was guilty. And if the Bible doesn't mean what it says, what does it mean? You know, I went home that night, and I talked to my husband, and I cried, and I cried. And I think within a couple days, I had read the Holy Testament. And I thought, I am such a guilty, wicked person. How can I take the Bible and just disregard what it says? And I especially appreciate Dean's session when Brother Dean was teaching about the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the differences in that, because it was that kind of thinking that helped me to separate the Old Testament and all the things that are involved there as far as people that were wealthy and things of non-resistance and issues of how do you take the women in the Old Testament and put them up with the women in the New Testament when it talks about modesty and adornment and things like that, because they didn't seem to add up. And it just helped me to really settle in my own heart that if we follow Christ, Christ's teaching in the New Testament is not negating the Old Testament, but it's lifting it to a higher position. And I had to start looking at all the issues of vanity in my life and why I couldn't look at the New Testament and what it had to say about modesty and jewelry and adornment and all those things and just lay them down for Christ's sake. And I had to take the Bible at face value. And it took a while for the Lord to really work in my heart and just rip out that root of vanity so that I could really see the Bible very, very clearly. And I really, really appreciate these Bibles because I wished I would have had things like this when I was younger. I think that my Christian walk would not have been so painfully slow in its growth. And I guess if I were to challenge you young people, you have so many opportunities. My only regret in following the Lord is that I haven't embraced more of it faster and not hit so many hard bumps and dragged my feet along the way. I guess one of the biggest challenges I've had this weekend sitting in the sessions is Denny's session on quiet time. And it's so easy as we go in our Christian walk. And I've had such a blessed time being part of this fellowship here. So much teaching and stuff. But it has made me a little bit cool in my own quiet time with the Lord. I don't cherish it as much as I used to. And I was really challenged with that in Denny's teaching that that is the root of our Christian growth. And so I'm not sure why they asked me, but I just share that for your sake. God has blessed me and I have no regrets in my Christian walk. God bless you. My name is Richard Chopp. I'm from Amherst, Virginia. And I'm 17 years old. Well, I was raised in a very godly family. But in spite of that, a few years ago, I got into some sin. And this sin kept me from coming to God. And so when I came to Bible school this year, I didn't really want to come. But my parents wanted me to come, so I came. And in the prayer group times, I wasn't really honest with the prayer group leader and all that. But he kept coming to me and talking with me and asking me what was going on. And I felt like I couldn't really open up to him. But I guess it was yesterday, he told me in the morning that he wanted to have another talk with me. And that put a big dread in my heart. I didn't really want to talk to him again. And then when Denny preached his message yesterday, it was really convicting. So I went and had my talk with my prayer group leader later on, right after lunch. And he asked me again, what is holding me back? And so I just sat there for a couple minutes, just sitting there, not saying anything. And I was debating whether or not I could just bring it out. And then I asked him to pray for me, and he did. And after that, I dumped my bucket. And as soon as I did that, I got saved. It was not even a struggle to get saved then, after I dumped my bucket. So for all of you who are struggling and are not saved right now, there's hope for you, and I'll be praying for you. I'm Lucinda Hurst. I'm from Pikeville Christian Fellowship in Tennessee. Oh, my heart's pounding. I just want to say that God is so good to me. I grew up in a Christian home. I have Christian parents. And I just don't know why God chose to put me where He did. But He's just blessed me so much, and I know that to Him as much giving much is required. And anyway, I feel extremely blessed to have been here this week. King Jesus has really been lifted up this week. And I have a clearer picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. And the message on virtue especially spoke to me. Having a brave warlike spirit and unfaltering commitment to serve God. I always thought virtue just meant being good, but that made it so clear. Brother Denny, all those definitions were really a blessing. God also spoke to me about my lack of prayer and fasting. It's easy for me to forget I'm a soldier, and this life isn't meant to be comfortable for me. One thing Brother Denny shared was that salvation is a person. That is so true. I found that knowing Jesus is real life, it's fulfillment and freedom. And there have been times I just floated along and tried to look like a good Christian and have a good reputation. But I wasn't abiding in the Lord, and that's a miserable place to be. The last year I feel like I've really been growing in the Lord. It's been a joyful time of surrendering to the Lord and experiencing His presence. It's not easy. It takes time every day to seek the Lord, but it's worth it. When I take the time I need to spend with Him, He just gives me such a peace. Peace that there's nothing between me and Him. And peace that He'll guide me through my whole life. And peace just in the midst of whatever I face. And I just want to give my whole life for the Kingdom of Heaven because He's worthy of it. Good afternoon everyone. A lot of faces out there. Praise the Lord. My name is John Robert Graber, and I am 20 years old. My current dwelling place is in Grable, Indiana, which is Allen County. But my home is in glory with the Savior. And praise the Lord for that. Each one of us, if we have a relationship with Christ, we can claim that today. And I've been asked to share just a brief testimony of what God has done in my life. And He's done a marvelous work in my life. And when He converts a sinner and adopts him into His family, that is a wonderful work that He can do, that He does. It's a miracle. And I guess I grew up in an old order Amish home. My parents are still in that setting. They're still old order Amish. And I still am able to live at home with them. I praise God for that. I'm the oldest in my family. I have, well, there's four boys, four of us boys and two sisters. And so I can be a godly influence to them, being the oldest. And I pray that God would use me in that area. And that each one of you would pray that I could be a godly influence to them. And I guess our family, my dad didn't really want his children going to the Amish school. I'm not sure why or what his reason was. So I went to public school. And therefore, I didn't have many Amish friends. And after I came to turn 16, I was able to go be with the youth and do things I was afraid to leave. And I thank God for that because people had influences on my life. And I learned to know young men and ladies that later on would have a big influence on my life in my conversion. And growing up, I never heard anything about being born again. I never heard that before. That was all new to me when I became converted. I was asked, you know, are you born again? One of the brothers asked me if I'm born again. And I sat there and I pondered. And I thought, wow, what is this? I didn't know what to answer. I really didn't know what to answer. And then he said, well, if you don't know, you're probably not born again. And he just explained the plan of salvation to me. And I was able to confess my sins and give my life to the Lord. And I felt this burden lifted off of my heart. My sins were gone. They were washed away. And I praise the Lord for that. And this week at Bible school, it's a blessing that I've been able to come. I didn't think I would be able to. Mom and dad didn't really want me to right at first. But then they ended up signing my form and allowed me to come. So I praise the Lord for that. He answered my prayer. And I've been encouraged this week. Just the past couple weeks, God has shown me so many things. There's been the accident, I'm sure everyone's heard about. And through this, I have learned that there is power in prayer. The brothers at home, we gathered together and prayed. And God answered our prayers. And that has blessed me so much. God hears our prayers. And there is power in prayer. And I just want to encourage everyone here. When you feel discouraged, when you feel down or a trial or temptation comes, pray. Pray to the Lord. He gives you. And I just want to share. This morning I was reading in Psalms. And Psalms 44 verses 3 to verse 8. It says, For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but thy right hand and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hast a favor unto them. Thou art my king, O God. Command deliverances for Jacob. Through thee will we push down our enemies. Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name forever. That just really spoke to me this morning. That God, it is all about God. It's nothing I have done or can do. And that's my testimony. That God has reached down to touch and save a sinner like me. And if you're not saved, if you haven't been born again, God wants you. He loves the sinner, but He hates the sin. He wants you in His kingdom. And another thing this week, I just realized, or made more clear, is that we are the future church. And I just thought of that song, Rise up, O men of God. Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the risen King. We are the future church. Let us stand up and be strong. And another thing that blessed me, I had to think, you know, when we become a Christian, our life changes. God changes our desires, and He changes everything. And one thing I had to think of was, I was trying to think, how is a good way to witness to people? And I was just sitting and thinking, and I was thinking about fruit. And I thought, you know, what is my favorite fruit? And when I was a Christian, my favorite fruit, I probably would have said, I don't know, maybe bananas or apples or something. But now I'm a Christian, and if someone would ask me, what's your favorite fruit? My favorite fruit is the fruit of the Spirit. Praise the Lord. He changes our every desire. And we owe all to Jesus. He is worthy. And I just want to encourage you all to press on and serve the Lord with all your heart and all your strength and soul and mind. And may the Lord bless you. Praise the Lord. How many of you are familiar with the program in Ghana right now called the Scent School? Can you raise your hand? Okay. Not all of you are, and that's the reason we would like to just present it to you a little bit here. We thought, wow, this is a great opportunity to announce it and explain it a little bit when there's several hundred young people here. The acronym Scent stands for Serving Every Nation Training School. In the past, we had been sending gospel teams to Ghana for about five or six weeks at a time, and they did a lot of ministering in Ghana and also learning about what it's like to minister in another culture and some aspects of missionary life. And we have expanded that now into a 12-week course or a 12-week mission training school called Scent that occurs in the fall of every year. This year is the first program that we're doing. It's about in the months October, November, and December. And we would like to continue doing that every year if the Lord enables us to. And I just want to share with you a little bit of what's going on over there right now. I have talked to brothers in Ghana several times during this week during the Bible School, and they sent me yesterday a packet of letters. They asked the young people there in the Scent School, what would you like to say to the Bible School students? And they wrote you all some letters, and they are powerful. I wish I could read them all to you. I'll read you some excerpts. But God has done a lot in their hearts and lives, and in reading some of the excerpts of their letters and trying to explain to you what the school is, I hope that it makes you aware of what's going on. And the other reason I'm sharing and announcing on it is because this is a school. It's not a team. It's now a mission training school. That means as a school, if you would like to be a part, you must submit an application and enroll. So if you are here and you're interested, you're serious about your Christian life, you're serious about learning more about missions and ministering cross-culturally, then this is something that you could enroll in if you're at least 18 years of age. I believe right now we're taking people 19 and over, so you could enroll. You could submit an application at the age of 18. Now, that does not mean if you submit an application that you're automatically accepted. That means that you start corresponding with us, and we start trying to ascertain where you are in your spiritual life. And if you're ready for something like this, we may even give you reading assignments to prepare you for something like this in your future. So it's limited to about 20 young people per semester at this point or per term. Some of the courses that are taught there, if I could just give you a quick overview, this is a combination of ministry, opportunity, and intense training and lecturing by the missionaries there and by other people that we may pull in. Some of the courses that are being taught this year are language acquisition and practicals, cross-cultural ministry, and then a corresponding practical week where the guys went out two by two into villages where we'd never been with just enough money in their pocket for the bus ride in and out, expected to live among the people for several days, and come back and write a five-page report on the religion and culture of the people where they stayed. There is a course on Islam, including some talks given by converted Muslims in Ghana and some talks given by Muslims themselves on their religion. Then also a week of practicals where you can go out and share your faith with Muslim people under our direction in the city of Tamale and learn a little bit about that. There's a week of teaching on the early church, that is the church in Aks, how they felt about missions and how the center shifted from Jerusalem up to Antioch. There is a course on missions geography. There's also a time where the young people go out for about a week and live in a very remote location in the bush and learn some about that kind of mission survival living. There's a course on sacrificial living for world Christians. So that's a little bit what the course involves. It's a very intense time. The daily schedule when you're there at the school is very intense. I'll just read it out to you quickly here. Five-thirty in the morning you wake up and then an hour of personal devotions from six to seven. From seven to eight, corporate worship with the young men that are on the group, taking turns preaching to the group to learn how to share in the Word of God. Eight to nine there's breakfast and you're eating the entire three months. You're eating very simple foods that third world people would eat. Even the food is trained to work discipline into your life. There's a class from nine to eleven. Then from eleven to twelve-thirty there's a study period with writing assignments that are given, homework, reading material. From twelve-thirty to two you eat lunch and do some chores. Water has to be hauled into the facility by hand and things like that. From two to four is the second class. Then from four to five there's another hour of study or maybe take a walk to try to clear your mind. The third class is from five to six. Then corporate prayer six to six-thirty. Supper six-thirty to seven-thirty. Then seven-thirty to nine is singing, discussions about the day and if needed more study to write a paper for the next day. Nine o'clock showers or that's a generous term. It's actually bucket baths. There's no running water in the facility. And at ten o'clock lights out. So that just gives you I'm trying to give you a little picture of the discipline of the school. This is a combination of boot camp, Bible school, mission training and all those things together. It is discipline and there's a lot of study involved and writing involved. However, it's also very spiritual and focused. Brother Jeremy told me, my brother-in-law that's helping to run the school, he told me that after many of the sessions or classes the young people just pour out their hearts in prayer and weep before the Lord was the words that he told me. So this is a spiritual exercise. I'd like to read you just in closing here just a few excerpts from their letters. If you would let me do that. Here's an excerpt from a young lady's letter that she wrote about the schedule. It is incredibly exciting to see God's power at work in the midst of our inadequacies. So far our experiences have included studies on language acquisition, the gospel, culture, and biblical principles in church planning. In addition to 25 hours of class per week, we read hundreds of pages of missions, biographies, and other books pertaining to missions. Naturally, our schedule does not leave a lot of time for emailing, which explains why you haven't heard from me before now. You're allowed contact with your families once every other week. This young person says, My expectations for this school was that through this training I would be better equipped to go to an unreached tribe when the Lord opens the way. I expected to gain insights as to how a missionary opens up a tribe and presents the message of good news to them. But I have gained so much more. God has been doing a great work in my own heart of showing me how I loved my own ease and enjoyment and how little I loved Him and cared about His desire to be glorified among the peoples of the world. I have become fully convinced that I am not given an option by God. I must devote my life to the cause of taking the gospel to all people. Another young person says, Perhaps the best part for me was just to take a good, honest look at the fact of the difficulty that will be involved in crossing another culture. Becoming a baby all over again. Not knowing what you're supposed to do and making many, many mistakes. Probably speaking of the times that they go out and live among the people. Sometimes painful ones. Going suddenly from a somebody to a nobody. It was very good to put some reality and meat on my dreams. Another young person. I hoped that I would be able to come here and be maybe radically, though not preferably, changed for the better. I desired to be changed while still retaining at least some of my own personal identity. Some of who I was. Surprise. I feel like I am being coerced by the Holy Spirit over the precipice. I am beginning to tune in to the frequency of the heart of God. I am learning the fundamentals of grassroots Christianity. By the grace of God, I will follow Him even if I am to be seen as a fool. Another young lady writes, This has been a time of intense learning for me, but even more than that, it has been a time of searching my heart before God. As I lay in bed sick, I question whether or not I'm really willing to go somewhere where I might not feel well most of the time. As I tremblingly went out onto the streets and mingled with the people, I realized that it's impossible to be a missionary without ministering to people. As I watched the missionaries dealing with sick little ones, I asked myself if I was willing to minister to people for the glory of God at the risk of losing my own children. Missionary life is not a romantic concept in which one becomes a hero to rescue the hapless heathen. It is a grueling life of becoming a nobody in order to bring real lost human beings who may not see their need to accept your message to a place of glorifying God. I have heard God's call in my own heart. Now the responsibility is mine. Isn't that a blessing? And they did also give me a message here that we as descent young people have been carrying all of the students of Charity Youth Bible School in our hearts in prayer. May God bless you richly as you seek His face and draw you closer to Him than you've ever been before. May you be of one heart and one mind with us in the pursuit of the work of the Lord. So I just wanted to share this with you briefly. I hope that it can be a blessing to you. And again, I want to reiterate to you that this is a time of spiritual renewal, but it's also a very disciplined boot camp lifestyle. Please do not apply if you are not willing to be told everything to do, including when you sleep and what you eat, for three months as part of a training program in the Gospel. So we want very serious young people. However, we are opening it up. We want you to come to us and express interest. This is not a thing where we're going to call you and you get called to go. This is if you want an experience like this in your life, you need to enroll or let us know. So I would like in the next two days, this afternoon or tomorrow, if you are interested in enrolling for next year or interested in getting information, please see myself or Mickey Brubaker. Can you stand up, Mickey? Wave your hand. Mickey Brubaker in the back. If you would see either me or Mickey Brubaker, we would love to talk more about it with you and give you some applications. So thank you and God bless you.