Are you considering going to a Catch The Fire School of Ministry? With schools in Toronto, Canada, Raleigh, USA, London, England and Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, each school has a different flavour, but the same passion every student to be transformed in God’s presence.
Perhaps you know a graduate of the School of Ministry who has told you their incredible transformation story, and you’ve seen how different they are since they came back home. You’ve seen their passion for Jesus, relationship with God, and boldness to pray for people and you want that, too. Or perhaps you don’t have any connection at all, but you’re just really hungry to meet God.
Wherever you’re coming from, here are 11 things you should know before you go the School of Ministry:
1) You need a “YES”
Going to a Catch The Fire School of Ministry is an invitation for you to meet with God. But it’s not one-sided. You need to have the openness and willingness to say “yes” to Him, wherever He leads you.
2) You’ll be doing supernatural stuff
Early in the program, you’ll learn how to hear God speaking, prophecy, and pray for healing. And you’ll have plenty of practice. By the time you graduate, you’ll be confident knowing that God can use you supernaturally.
3) It’s high intensity
Catch The Fire School of Ministry programs are short (most of them run for less than a year), but so much happens. God works deep in your heart, there are countless opportunities for encounters with Him, and there’s so much to learn.
4) And it’s gonna be SO. MUCH. FUN.
Go deep with God. Play hard. You’ll get to know some incredible people, try things you’ve never tried before, and go on adventures you’d never expected. And you’ll have a lot of laughs in the process.
5) You’ll be transformed.
School of Ministry in Toronto’s tagline is Encounter God, Be Transformed, Change The World.
When you meet God, you can’t help but come away different. And taking 5 months for God to change your life is going to do something drastic. Every graduation, there are students who come away completely different to the way they started the school program.
6) You’ll have stacks of ministry opportunities
In each of the schools, you’ll be plugged in to church life, you’ll get to attend conferences and visit local churches. You’ll have opportunities to speak, lead worship, pray and prophecy.
7) It’s anchored by community and relationship
Relationship is at the heart of the School of Ministry. You’ll be in a small group where you’ll get to know fellow students, share your hearts, and journey together. Each school is small enough that you’ll get to know everyone attending and be known by the leadership. People often say that the one thing they didn’t expect is that they’d meet friends for life at the School of Ministry.
8) Warning: you might cry
The progam has a huge component of inner healing. When God heals you of your past emotional hurts, you’re more free to walk in your God-given destiny. That healing process might involve tears, so make sure you have kleenex at hand. Whatever happens, you’re in a safe environment, and no one’s going to push you farther than you’re ready to go.
9) Travel, travel, travel
Ministry opportunities don’t just happen in the local church. Each school has regular outreaches in the city, across the country, and often internationally. Outreach will stretch you to use the tools you’ve learned on the school. Plus it’s a lot of fun. And the travel doesn’t have to stop once school is over. You’ll make lots of international friends that you’ll probably want to visit afterwards!
10) You might discover you can do new things
Because you get a lot of chances to try new things, you might discover you can do something new. Hannah Graham, director of the School of Ministry in London, talked about a student that came in 2018 who was not at all interested in kids ministry. “Part way through, she was like, ‘this is my ministry, this is what I'm made to do!’” said Hannah, “She’s now serving all the time on our kid's ministry.”
Other students have gone on to intern in church departments which have opened the door to careers not just in church ministry, but in graphic design, marketing, and many other areas.
11) Life won’t be perfect afterwards, but you’ll be equipped.
If you thought that going to the School of Ministry would fix all your issues and turn you into a ‘perfect christian’, sorry to break it to you, but you’re wrong. There will still be things that God needs to work on in your heart. And like every human, you’re bound to encounter challenge and suffering along the road of life. But the school will give you tools to help you cling to God and move through life’s difficulties with him.
Hannah Graham shared a story with me of a student who miscarried while at the School of Ministry in London. After some time away, she shared her testimony, “She said, ‘The school taught me about how good God is, and the power of worship being my breakthrough. When I lost my baby, the first thing I did was I fell on my knees and I worshipped. I worshipped God because he's good and I knew he had everything and he had my baby. Within a few days our hearts completely changed to this place of joy and admiration for who God is.’ She said, ‘Without the school I would never have thought that I could find such peace in God in such a time of real trouble and real pain.’”
Her experience at the school of ministry didn’t stop her from experiencing pain, but taught her how to process it with God.
Written By Alice Clarke