Purpose and Goal
The Purpose Of The Training
- To build up the trainees in Christ in the growth of His life unto maturity – Eph. 4:15; Col. 1:28.
- To equip the trainees in the realisation of the divine truths according to the Scriptures by the revelation of the Holy Spirit – 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:18.
- To raise up the trainees in the cultivation of their spiritual capacity in the preaching of the gospel, the nourishing of the young believers, the perfecting of the saints, and the prophesying of the word of God for the building up of the local churches, consummating in the building up of the Body of Christ – Matt. 28:19; 1 Thes. 2:7; Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 14:1.
- To reach the high peak of the divine revelation – God becoming a man that man may become God in life and nature, but not in the Godhead.
- To reach the high peak of today’s Zion (the overcomers) in today’s Jerusalem (the church) – Rev. 14:1.
- To reach the reality of the Body of Christ by living a life conformed to Christ’s death in the power of His resurrection – Phil. 3:10.
THE GOAL OF THE TRAINING
The Focus
- The Divine Life: Every life needs training and regulation to help it grow properly and become fruitful. This is even more true concerning the life of God that we received when we believed. Through classes, daily life practices and shepherding, the training helps each trainee to experience and enjoy this life, resulting in developing its function and resulting in fruitfulness.
- Bible Truth: Truth in the Bible is fathomless, and to begin to arrive at the full knowledge of the truth requires intensive study. The training classes cover key books in the Old and New Testaments, an overview of the whole Bible, in-depth studies of the high peak truths, and biblical truths concerning the Christian life and Christian service. Trainees are equipped not only for the spread of the truth, but also to know truth from heresy and false teaching.
- Gospel Preaching: This training is designed to bring each trainee into active and fruitful preaching of the gospel, with very positive and long-term results. This will be attained through a very strict and scheduled training programme.
- The Greek Language (Option): Greek is the original New Testament language. To be trained in Greek allows a much fuller view of God’s thought and ultimate purpose as revealed in the Bible. The goal is that each trainee will be able to use the Greek Interlinear New Testament, concordance and Greek word study tools. This will expand the trainee’s ability to accurately decipher and convey the truths of the Bible.
- Practical Service: Each trainee is assigned to various service groups with a schedule of weekly service. Any church will thrive or decline in direct proportion to the diligence and participation of all its members in the various service areas. Training in this area is an integral part of the overall training objectives.
- Character: Years of experience clearly reveal that a person’s usefulness depends to a great degree on his level of character. For example, a Christian worker may be very gifted and consecrated, but if he is never punctual his suitability is dissipated. Therefore, this training affects numerous areas of a person’s character, with the positive result of uplifting his inherent traits. These areas include diligence, stability, patience, accommodation of all races and strata of people, submission, exactness and endurance, just to name a few.
- Speaking Forth the Truth: Several times a week the trainees are given opportunity to speak forth the points of truth which they have been studying and they are critiqued on their manner of speaking.
- The full-time programme: This is the main programme of the FTTL, in which the trainees complete a two-year, residential training course, with four terms.
- The short-term programme: This programme is offered to applicants who are unable for whatever reason to participate in the full two-year course. These trainees apply to come to the training for a short-term period, of a minimum of two days, and fully participate in all aspects of the full-time programme for the duration of their stay.