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Growth in the Word Leads to Boldness in Speaking It

This ministry has taught me how to be bold in speaking God’s Word. Speaking God’s Word is now an intentional habit!

Over time in my childhood and upbringing in church, I grew to be embarrassed to speak of my godly beliefs and practices. My parents taught me by their words and examples to live God’s Word to the best of my understanding, and I knew that Scripture says to speak His Word to others. However, well into adulthood, I still largely kept my beliefs to myself and usually shied away from speaking God’s Word to others.

Still going to my family’s church, I became convinced of the need for me to be a light in my own community as a witness and as an ambassador for Christ! I even took training classes in outreach along with other members of the congregation; but we never did anything with that training. However, the calling remained on my heart and in my prayers.

Enter The Way International. I met Way International ministers and discovered that they were interested and experienced in local outreach through speaking God’s Word. After realizing THIS was the opportunity to grow that I was looking for, I began attending fellowship—and outreach events—and ministry classes.

Though I was a student of the Bible for many years prior to being introduced to this ministry, I immediately benefitted from the decades of careful research and teaching of God’s Word. Learning about the “sonship rights,” and especially so much more about our ministry of reconciliation, was a thrill and an answer to my prayers.

The ministry’s focus of reconciling others to God was, and is, exciting to me! It has helped change my whole perspective on speaking God’s Word in outreach. I learned that one of my rights as a son of God is to speak the truth to all who want to know. Our ministry coached me in having my mind more fully prepared with the gospel of peace, and the one-on-one coaching in speaking forth God’s Word in outreach situations gave me a newfound boldness to introduce and speak God’s Word in a multitude of encounters.

This learning really sharpened my focus on the truth—on the present truth—and took my understanding to new heights, and it helped elevate my believing, my conviction, and my desire to MOVE God’s Word! Now I skillfully and fluidly introduce God’s Word into a conversation and have the habit to fearlessly, intentionally, and without reservation speak God’s Word.

I am an ambassador with a renewed mind, a workman of God’s Word, and a spokesman of it. Now, I am never ashamed to hold forth the Word of Life thanks to the accurate teaching developed over the seventy-five years of our ministry on what it means to be an ambassador for Christ.

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God Made a Bad Situation into a Witnessing Opportunity

When I took the Foundational Class in March of 1979, I became more confident in myself because of the love of God that was shown to me and because of what I learned about believing. I had the boldness now because of God and His Word to believe in what God could do for me, and I had the power of Christ in me.

Due to the confidence and trust in God that I received after taking the class in March of that year, I decided to go out on the ministry’s outreach program, called Word Over the World (WOW) Ambassadors. That outreach program was a year of great growth in all areas of my life. During that year is when my incident occurred.

I was driving down a road that I had thought I knew well. It had snowed the night before, so it was slippery. I thought the road had a natural curve at the end, but I was wrong! And very wrong was I! There was a stop sign instead, and I did not have time to slow down to stop. I turned my car to the right really fast. It whirled around into a spin and, with a big BUMP, went into a ditch. My WOW sister was with me, and other than it startling us, we were physically all right.

After calling for help at the closest house, the police came and the car was towed since it was in no condition to drive. When talking with the police, I found out that my insurance was no longer active. My parents had canceled it. The state we were in was the first one to require car insurance, so without it I was written up a ticket and told to appear in court.

It was a small town, and court was in the judge’s office. During the hearing, it was just the judge and me. He started with a simple chat, asking me where I was from, since my license was from Nebraska, and what I was doing there. I told him where I was from and why. He told me that he wanted this to be brief because he was feeling ill. That encouraged me to witness to him about believing and God’s healing that can happen when one believes. I asked him if he would like me to minister healing to him, and he said yes. I ministered healing, and he was so blessed because he instantly felt better! At the end of the meeting, he told me that he didn’t want to penalize me at all by charging a fee or revoking my license, but he had to at least revoke my license because he needed to do his job. He waived the fee. God made a bad situation into a witnessing opportunity for me! Or as they say, God made “lemonade out of lemons.”

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Victory in Living the Word

In the past thirty years of my life, I have had great freedom to make choices in my life because of what the ministry has taught concerning “living within your means” and living debt-free.

I purchased a home in 1986 and considered if I could afford the mortgage even if I worked at a minimum-wage job. So I was applying the principle of living within my means.

But looking ahead, I wanted to do more for God with my time and talents. The best way to do this was to start living debt-free. So I worked toward and then paid off my mortgage, and I now have no loans or credit card debt.

When in the early 1990s our country entered a recession, I was able to face the challenges of the country’s financial crisis with trust in God and the absence of fear because I was free from the bondage of debt.

Living debt-free opened up opportunities to take on the privilege of being a household fellowship coordinator in the first years of the new millennium and to help others see the greatness of living the Word in this category. I am still sharing these truths today and will continue to do so in the current fellowship I have the honor to coordinate.

I was able to leave a job situation after thirty-eight years that had become very vexing day after day because I knew that I had that freedom of living debt-free. Another woman who was in the exact same situation at the company was afraid to look for other opportunities to use her skills elsewhere. She was too afraid to do so because her mind-set was, “I cannot because I have a mortgage.”

I have seen the benefit of what the ministry has taught me in very practical solutions for living in whatever financial or political climate that surrounds me in the world. I have peace. Being in bondage to debt would have caused me to fear and ensnared me. God’s Word, when applied, allows us to walk in freedom and abundance.

I thank God for His matchless Word, and The Way Ministry for teaching me how to apply it in every category of life so that I can walk circumspectly and unfettered, serving God with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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Starting Married Life Debt-Free

When we were preparing for our wedding, we made up our minds that we would begin our marriage debt-free and also have a beautiful event that was within our budget. We were convinced from the Word we had been taught in The Way Ministry that it is God’s will for us to live within our means and that there is true freedom in living without financial encumbrances. Although neither of us foresaw any upcoming changes to our income levels, we decided to prove God by continuing to tithe and abundantly share, set a workable wedding budget, and pay off our debts little by little.

Over the course of the next year, we were amazed to see our debts shrinking and finally disappearing. We were blessed by individuals who gifted us some money here or there; but beyond that, we still to this day do not know how we were able to make our incomes stretch as far as they did. In fact, after our wedding was over and paid for, we were debt-free and still had an unexpected abundance of finances remaining. We started our new life together with a crystal clear example of what God truly means by “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”

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I Am Able to Love Big!

Because of God and His Word, I am able to love big. I have been able to help my family members in times of discouragement. Many times have I brightened my mother’s day on the phone when she was in a down­hearted state of mind. It thrills me to leave others better than I find them. I was the first one to tell my family members, “I love you.” Now, they are comfortable saying, “I love you,” out loud too.

One time, my brother and sister-in-law from Ohio came to visit my husband and me in Florida, and we were going to go together on a cruise for the first time out of Miami (a three-hour trip from our home). Everyone had their ID with them. Three of us had our passports, and my sister-in-law had an alternate form of acceptable ID.

At the port, my sister-in-law was the final one of us to check in. She did not know that the law had just changed a month before, and her form of ID was no longer acceptable. Need I say any more? We were not going on that cruise. She felt so low, thinking that she had been the cause of the cancellation. She began to cry right there in the terminal. I just knew where my brother’s mind was tempted to go at this point—anger at his wife.

I immediately wrapped her in my arms and told her it was alright. We would just alter our vacation plans and go on the cruise again in a year or two. It took a little while for her to calm down, but I just kept comforting her, and my husband reinforced the effort. My brother, who could have really come down on her, saw that heart of love we showed her and was not inflamed towards her. Actually, he stayed pretty quiet for awhile and encouraged her later as well.

Had I not had the knowledge and wisdom of God’s Word, I am sure I would have responded according to the world’s way. But growing in God’s Word for many years has enabled me to love big and help others.

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I Have Been Taught How to Love Others

My involvement in The Way Ministry was not only life changing but life saving! Because of the Word I learned in this ministry, I had a purpose for living again. I was looking for love but was afraid I would be hurt. I John 4:18 arrested my attention, and I wanted God’s love in my life and to get rid of the fear. I was looking to give, but I had nothing to give. I wanted to be sure of what I believed, but I had nothing solid I could say was true—only other people’s different opinions.

It wasn’t until I went on our ministry’s outreach program that I consistently applied the principles I was learning, and I saw these changes come to pass in my life. The outreach program was for one year. I moved to a place I did not know with others I did not know. I remember talking to God and saying something like, “God, I’ll go anywhere but no little Podunk town. I need a city with some big stores to shop in.” (I was from New York.) Ha! We were sent to a country town, population 1,243! That would teach me. All we had was a hardware store. But God had bigger ideas than shopping.

Well, in a big city you can get lost pretty easily, but in a little town you live in a fishbowl. In other words, everyone sees your life and gets to know you pretty quickly. Well, we held forth the Word to everyone in that little town—three times over. And after the initial shock of these “outsiders” invading their town, people began to take notice of the way we lived. We made friends with folks and eventually ran a Foundational Class in our home. We saw that these people who were pretty set in their ways were changing! But our time there was not without great challenges.

One day we were visiting the home of Tim, one of the students. We were talking out by the barn. A car drove into the driveway to where we were talking, and a man came out, very red faced and upset. He walked right up to me and asked what we were doing there. I was stunned at first but remained calm. He said he was the minister at the church in town. Then he pointed his index finger right under my chin and said, “You wouldn’t like it if I went into your garden and picked your fruit, would you?”

Now maybe a year ago I may have been afraid of this man. But on this day, I was different. I was acting in love, and there was no fear in my life. I was bold. I was convinced of what I had and what we had given Tim and of the great changes that were taking place in his life. I don’t know where the words came from, but I know it was God working in me to stand up to that man and lovingly and boldly tell him that we were teaching Tim the Word of God, and his life was changing. God gave me sure ground to stand on. And by the way, before the end of the year, a friend came to town and took me on a shopping spree in an upscale department store in a big city!

I love that I know what to think. I think the Word. It keeps life simple. And if I hadn’t learned the accuracy of the Word from this ministry, I wouldn’t have this to give to others. One of the greatest joys of my life is to have this Word and His love to give and help others the way I’ve been helped. I have purpose in life beyond what I ever imagined. Thank you, God, and thank you to The Way International, which has taught me and so many others the Word of God for over seventy-five years!

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Blessings from Being Raised in God’s Word

The Way Ministry and the Word of God have done nothing but benefit my life. Because I have been raised in the Word, every situation, conflict, or need that I have come across in my sixteen years has been perfectly dealt with by my family using the power of prayer, the Word of God, and ministry tools.

A brief example of a time when God blessed and healed me was around two years ago. The basketball season had just started for my high school. I was a freshman and on the team, which was looking very promising. In the third day of practice, however, I landed awkwardly and pulled my hamstring. I was having trouble walking, putting weight on my leg, and it really hurt. The trainer said I would most likely miss the next two weeks. This was so depressing to me because the first couple weeks of practice are so important to seeing where all the players fit on the team.

I arrived at home shortly after and hopped up the staircase to my father’s office. My dad, being a man with a lot of knowledge of the Word, reminded me that I could be healed. He found a few verses on healing; then he prayed. I arose from the office chair and immediately felt better and was healed. I even ran up and down the hallway with a big smile on my face. Another great thing was that I was cleared to play at our next practice. Just a couple of days later I was back at the gym as good as new!

I’ve learned in the ministry that I can always go to God in prayer.

Philippians 4:6:
Be careful [Be anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

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We Are Stronger Together

What has blessed and continues to bless me is spending time with other believers as that helps us grow together as people. Many times in my young life, there were situations where I just needed to be around believers because I knew that we are stronger together than anything. Whenever I need comfort, or I need to express my joy, I know I can go to believers because they are friends that I can trust and laugh with.

I don’t have unbelieving friends because of their negativity. I have a lot going on in my life with school starting soon, and it can sometimes be stressful. Having to deal with schedules, managing friends, and having good grades is all that I think about. But whenever I’m with believers, these thoughts just stop—I don’t think about them anymore, and that is proof as to how easy it is to stop thinking about the world. When I’m with believers, it’s easier for me to deal with things because they have the Word like I do. They know about the world, and believers know how to comfort one another.

I’m very grateful to be raised in this ministry around believers. The Seventy-fifth Anniversary was amazing, and I hope to go to another celebration someday.

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We Do Our Best and God Does the Rest

As a young, ambitious college music student, I made the decision to audition and apply for the Brevard music festival in North Carolina—a prestigious and intensive seven-week orchestral program. I knew that this festival would help me grow immensely, taking me to a higher level of musicianship and artistry. I was doing everything I knew to be accepted into the program, such as practicing my instrument a lot, asking my instructors for letters of recommendation, and listening to my viola teacher’s musical suggestions. Additionally, I was aware that the festival was going to be a big financial commitment, and I found it challenging to figure out how I was going to raise enough money for not only the festival, but also for room and board, travel, and so forth.

One night, my mom and I were discussing the situation, and she had the wonderful idea for me to write letters to my college professors, teachers from my past, businesses in the area, and anyone who had greatly influenced my musical studies over the years. So I wrote letters from the heart, explaining my passion for music and my desire to bless others with it, as well as how God had helped me achieve many victories over the years and how much I was believing to attend the Brevard music festival. After I addressed all of my letters and sent them out, I was peaceful because I knew that I had put forth my best efforts to raise the funds, and now the situation was out of my hands. I trusted that God would take care of everything.

A few days later, letters started arriving, and more and more came flooding in each day. People were sending very generous donations and cards, telling me how blessed they were to receive my letters and how they were praying and believing with me to reach my goal. Many who had heard me play music in the past were even telling me how much my music had inspired them and how they wanted to give back for all of the ways I inspired others. This was so touching to me because not only were my prayers to God answered, but also He was showing me a labor of love. I never truly knew how much my music meant to people. By everyone’s kind words and gestures, it was evident how much this impacted them and how much they cared about me. I not only reached my goal, but also I was accepted into the music festival with additional scholarships.

God gave me the desire of my heart this summer, and in the process, He reminded me of the true meaning of Luke 6:38: “Give, and it shall be given unto you….” I had given of my time and talents for years, and God was simply returning the favor. The great love of the household and support of those who believe in me never ceases to amaze me, and I am so thankful to be a part of their lives.

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God Will Always Help Me

There is not room enough on this page to tell of what God has done for me. I am so happy I learned the Word of God in The Way Ministry.

In short, I have become confident in who I am. Who am I? I am a son of God with holy spirit inside. Before I learned the Word of God, I couldn’t be sure of anything. Today, I can boldly talk to and teach a group of peers in the ministry and on the job. When I learn a truth from God’s Word, I can be sure it is true. That builds the confidence inside of me.

Not too long ago I desired to change jobs and pursue a line of work I hadn’t done before. Some people said, “You can’t get a job like that—you don’t have any experience.” Before I learned about the power of positive believing on the promises of God, I may have believed them.

Psalms 37:5:
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

I applied for the desired job and got hired. I am meek and confident in what I do. The Word of God I have learned in The Way Ministry has given me a foundation to base my beliefs on that doesn’t fail. At any time I can go to God and find help.

Hebrews 4:16:
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

I thank my God and The Way International for the Word of God I have been taught.