Category: Foundational Class

After I took my first Foundational Class in 2012, I was blessed to have a clearer view of the powerful Word of God. At twelve years old I was having a large transition in my life, going from attending public school to being homeschooled. It was difficult to not be worried during such a big change in my life, but with the information I learned from the class, I knew I could be more than a conqueror.

I remember being in the class and learning the Biblical record of Job. It was the first time I had ever learned of Job’s struggles. Learning about his life and how he was able to still hold onto his fellowship with God—even with uncertain circumstances—made me feel victorious! We have the ability to be more than conquerors in any situation because God’s love is strong for all. After this class, homeschooling was a worry-free, fun experience, and I am forever blessed to have taken this class The Way Ministry provided.

In my twenties I had been going to school off and on for eight years and only had an associate degree to show for it. I was manic-depressive, or bipolar. I was depressed a lot. It would just hit me out of the blue and last for a week or so. In the field of psychology, the best that could be done was take drugs. So I did. And, not necessarily on doctor’s approval. But, I was desperate. Drugs at best suppressed this dilemma, but it was still there. Always came back up. And, it seemed that everything I tried to do just came out wrong. The scars were so deep that I figured I was going to be like that the rest of my life.

I knew the Bible had to have answers for me, so I decided to try reading the New Testament. I figured “new” had to be more pertinent than the Old Testament. At the end of the Book of Revelation it warned against anyone adding to or taking away from these words. I knew I was guilty of that. So, I fell down to my knees and asked God to forgive me. I asked Him to send someone that could teach me how to understand this Book without interjecting my own thoughts into it.

Not long after that, a friend of mine introduced me to a group of people that were on an outreach program for The Way Ministry. I had many questions, and they answered them clearly and logically from the Book itself. That, impressed me. I started attending their weekly fellowships and was so excited about what I was learning that I started witnessing with them, or more accurately, observing them. I wanted to learn everything I could from them. I still had some issues going on, but I knew I was on the right track. They told me about The Way International’s upcoming Foundational Class, and of course, I took the class. All of a sudden every question that I had about the Bible was being answered one by one. I found out that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. I found out I had sonship rights and one of those rights was righteousness. I was made righteous, not by my works, but by the works of Jesus Christ. It was just as if I had never sinned. Oh, what a glorious realization. I realized God’s great love for me, and He made me righteous. In His eyes, I was righteous. Then, all the sin condemnation just melted away.

I was freed from sin and the consequences from sin. I learned how to live one day at a time with fullness of joy.

After three weeks and twelve sessions of God’s Word, I was completely and totally healed from bipolar depression. I quit drugs too. Upon realizing I wasn’t getting depressed anymore, I wondered…I would have thought it would have taken a great man of God to have laid hands on me and bam! I’m healed. But this just crept up on me—can’t even pinpoint exactly when my deliverance happened. That same week at a home Bible fellowship, a man shared Psalms 107:20: “He [God] sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” At that moment I knew that it was the greatness of God’s Word in that class that healed me. And I have never had a problem with depression since. As for school, I went back to college and finished my final two years in—amazing but true—two years. Upon graduating, I took the Advanced Class and signed up for The Way Ministry’s outreach program. I thank God for the class and for those ambassadors for Christ that showed me God’s Word with precision and clarity.

I took the class over forty years ago. And I’m just as excited about God’s Word today as I was when I first took the class.

I was first introduced to The Way Ministry while studying for my Ph.D. degree in medicinal chemistry at the University of California in San Francisco about forty-five years ago. I had a great love for science and wished to pursue a career as a university professor. At that time I had many questions in my life which could be answered neither from my scientific background nor from my religious background. I met a group of Way believers who were able to answer each of my questions directly from the Bible. This caught my attention because although I had been raised in a denominational church, I had not been taught how to understand the Bible and therefore did not read it.

I proceeded to take the Foundational Class that was offered at the time. I was greatly thrilled by the detailed accuracy of God’s Word that was taught in the class. The fact that many of the same principles used in scientific research are also used in Biblical research really blessed me. After taking the class, I read large sections of the Bible, utilizing the Biblical research principles I had been taught in the class. I became thoroughly convinced that the Word I had been taught in the class was accurate and therefore made a commitment that I would, to the best of my ability, remain faithful to the Word I had been taught by The Way Ministry for the rest of my life.

After taking the class, I proceeded to take the other classes the ministry offered and to participate in household fellowships and Way Ministry programs. During this process I was able to overcome many fears and bad habits and to build discipline in my life. The strength I gained in my life enabled me to enjoy a successful career as a university professor and to serve for over twenty years as a household fellowship coordinator. As I stayed faithful to the Word I had been taught and sought the help of the household when needed, I saw God come through in many challenging situations. I also have been able to help many others with the Word I have been taught.

One area of teaching for which I am especially thankful are the truths pertaining to tithing and abundantly sharing. Because of my faithful practice of these principles I have witnessed many times God rebuking the devourer for my sake (Malachi 3:10,11) and have enjoyed an abundance in the material realm.

I am very thankful that The Way International continues to teach the same accurate Word that I was taught forty-five years ago. I am thankful to be a part of the household of The Way, which stands for the genuine truth of God’s Word in our day and time. I am looking forward to seeing more of God’s blessings in my life.

I took the Foundational Class when I was nineteen and in college in Connecticut. I was in a special education teaching certificate program and needed to take public-speaking classes to learn to be in front of my classroom. I was afraid and very bashful to be in front of people, let alone students in my own classroom. I needed to overcome worry and fear!

It was my turn to speak to the PR class, and I was at the podium, fully prepared and fully nervous. I was shaking so hard my toes were moving in my six-inch platform shoes. The front row could obviously see my nervousness—in my sandals and in my whole being. One girl in the front row began snickering, and I made the mistake of looking at her. The next moment, I was on the floor passed out. I had fainted in front of the entire class. The teacher asked someone to shake me awake. He asked me to get up off the floor and return to my speech. I couldn’t believe that he was not sorry nor had empathy for me at what had just happened. I muddled through the speech and sat down—totally embarrassed and humiliated to be in this class.

Later that week a classmate told me about the Foundational Class and how I could overcome my worries and fear. The principles in the class would aid me in this public-speaking class and with life in general. I took it the following summer, and in my next public-speaking class, I was not only successful in my presentations but I also helped the teacher coordinate and direct a Reader’s Theatre presentation for the entire university. I was able to speak clearly and confidently in whatever was needed and also to help others overcome their specific challenges in this area.

Taking the Foundational Class and other Biblical classes enabled me to become an enthusiastic believer and teacher. I’m able to speak clearly to others about God’s Word and to speak confidently to my classroom students as a result of principles taught by The Way Ministry in the Foundational Class, in the Way Disciple program, and in The Way Corps training program—all of which I can proudly say changed my life and still help me to overcome worry and fear today.

Since I was a very young child, I remember always wanting to be close to God. I listened to the teachings from the denomination I had been brought up in, but all that did for me was generate more questions and confusion. I asked my teacher questions and was told to read particular scriptures. Later when I looked at the scriptures given to me, I found that there were no answers there at all. When I was older I decided to ask everyone I could what their “philosophy” was on life and almost always was given the same answer: I would not be able to be close to God until I died. People told me that I would have to go to heaven to be close to God and that would only happen when I died.

So I decided that I would do just that! I would die a few years from that time and be with God. I continued living life, and as time went on, my brother came home on leave while in the military in Okinawa, Japan. I remember exactly what he said to me: “I have found what we’ve been looking for.” I said, “What?” He repeated it and said he had found what we had been looking for—answers to life. I asked him, “Where?” He said he had taken a class and was attending fellowships that teach these things and more! I said, “Well, I can’t go to Okinawa!” He said, “There is a fellowship right here in this town!” I replied, “Let’s go! When can we go?” He got a big smile on his face and said he would call them and let me know.

When I attended my first Way Ministry fellowship, I could sense there was something there that I wanted! I didn’t know what it was they had, but I wanted it too! I spent all the time they would allow me to spend with them! After taking the Foundational Class, I finally became close to God. I also learned about the law of believing. God’s Word gave me a reason to live! Joy and peace now filled my heart, and I finally had the answers to life that I had so desperately longed to have!

I was introduced to God’s Word by way of our Foundational Class when I was twenty years old. Session by session, my life transformed as I pondered and believed the accuracy and integrity of God’s Word taught. I noticed that big changes were taking place in my life in a relatively short period of time, and so did others. This marked change stopped my family, friends, and coworkers in their tracks. They had never seen such a positive change take place in a person so quickly. Many of them asked me what happened? Who is this man and what changed him? I was a more confident, more radiant, and more peaceful man. I walked in love towards others and put in an honest day’s work. Gone were the negatives in my life and on my lips. I had a new identity and a new life, and I enjoyed telling others what God could do for them.

Over thirty years have gone by, and I still keep in touch with a few of these acquaintances from “the old days.” I still receive calls from some of them, and very often the first question they ask me is, “Are you still with that ministry that changed your life?”

I answer, “Yes I am!”

As a young man, getting ready to graduate from college, I needed direction for my life. I was told by some to read the Bible because that’s where I would find answers. So, one day I picked up a Bible and started reading a section of scripture. But I struggled to understand the meaning of the verses. Frustrated, I set the Bible aside and moved on with my life.

Sometime later, two young people started a conversation with me at a retail establishment near the university that I was attending at that time. They told me they were in a Christian outreach program for The Way Ministry and that one of their purposes was to help others learn how to read and understand the Bible. I shared with them my frustration in not being able to do that for myself. Then they showed me a verse in the Bible, Ephesians 3:4, which reads: “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.”

Soon I started attending their college fellowship on a regular basis. Later they told me about an upcoming Foundational Class where I could learn keys to how the Word of God interprets itself so that I could read and understand the Bible. It wasn’t long before I signed up to take the class, and I quickly began to enjoy reading and understanding the Bible for myself. Once I had an accurate knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, I no longer needed to take another man’s word for it, or have someone else interpret it for me. I was empowered to live and enjoy the more abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give, while walking in the fullness of God’s glorious power and might.

My understanding of the Bible opened up new possibilities for the direction my life would take. I was so excited about the knowledge from God’s Word that I had learned in the Foundational Class that I wanted to share it with everyone I knew. I realized that as an “ambassador for Christ” I was called by God to be His representative and to share the knowledge of His Word with others. I signed up for the same ministry outreach program that the two young people that had initially told me about Way Ministry fellowships and the Foundational Class were participating in. Participating in this service opportunity that focused on reaching out to others to speak God’s Word served as the springboard for my personal lifelong quest for continued spiritual growth while endeavoring to reach out to others so as to help them read and understand God’s Word.

Ultimately I entered The Way Corps training program that laid the foundation for my lifetime of Christian service. The training resulted in my becoming more deeply rooted in God’s Word and even more dedicated to serving others. With a “God first, others second, and I am willing to be third” attitude my spiritual, physical, and financial needs have been met abundantly for over three decades. God’s Word promises that “a faithful man shall abound with blessings…” (Proverbs 28:20), and my life is an attestation to this powerful and dynamic promise because of what God has done for me as a result of what I have learned in The Way Ministry.