Testimonials

This is an amazing course, made all the richer by the instructors and the fellow students. The affirmations of my fellow students and the course instructors have not only encouraged me, but strengthened my calling. I will be ever grateful for this course.

Self discovery is an ongoing process and this course is an effective tool to guide the journey. I found a gentle peace and comfort by reflecting and putting my thoughts and struggles on paper.

One of my favorite components of the classes is interacting with others who are searching out their area of call, as well. God used classmates to strengthen my quest and also open my mind to additional ways that ministry can be accomplished as a lay person.

Learning with others makes this unknown path more reassuring. God has used the knowledge from these classes to strengthen my faith journey. It also opened up ministry opportunities as well.

One of the best aspects of this class was the sharing of our reflection papers and the response from and responding to our classmate's work. It would be next to impossible to get the same level of response in a classroom setting.

One of my highlights was the sharing done among the course "attendees." ... It is very cool to hear about the different ways the other attendees are working in God's Kingdom.

I was really fascinated by the comparison of who in the Bible I identified with. It was fun comparing how I have been called and my response to those in the Bible and their responses.

Another highlight was discussing the final paper with my pastor and District Superintendent. I was so touched by their affirmations of my calling and gifts and how supportive they were.

I am a preacher’s kid, and have been in the United Methodist church for over 60 years. Despite this experience, this course has been invaluable to me, not just for preparing me to fill a small membership church need, but rounding out my Christian education in general, and my Methodist upbringing as well.

For me this class has established a bible study routine, encouraged me to use new bible references and other relevant texts and disciplined my thinking. I would wholeheartedly recommend this class to any United Methodist lay person.

This course has caused me to stretch my spiritual muscles to complete the assignments. It was a challenge sometimes and I spent A LOT of time praying. But it merely "whet my appetite" for the next phase of the training. I can't wait to get started.