One of the duties that students participate in while at SOM is working weekly shifts on the Prayer Line.  People from around the nation call into the church seeking prayer.  Whether it be the loss of a loved one, a job layoff, a home foreclosure, or breaking an addiction, students at SOM are there to lend a compassionate ear and to pray with callers.

“It is such an incredible blessing to be there for hurting people and to pray with them”, says John Brown, who recently completed his first year at SOM.  “People are really struggling today and we count it a joy to be there for the callers.”

Listen to Carl Westerlund being interviewed regarding the School of Ministry by Pastor Brian Broderson on the live radio program Pastor’s Perspective. The conversation covers the School of Ministry’s purpose and history, course material, student resources, and the ministry training each student receives.

Carl Westerlund’s interview with Brian Brodersen

The School of Ministry is accepting applications for the Fall semester. If you feel God’s calling on your life to the school, please complete the application. All applications need to be turned in by August 3, 2012.

A principle that is continually taught at the Calvary Chapel School of Ministry is the importance of teaching the text. What is the text we are teaching: God’s Word. To teach the text is important to stay true to God’s Word. A way of teaching the text is through Inductive Bible Study. Inductive Bible Study (IBS) is a process that has the student of the Bible read a passage, observe the text in the passage, interpret the passage in its context and finally make application. Studying the Bible in this way allows us to present the Word in its context but also to glean truths that are applicable for today.

The 2011-2013 course catalog for School of Ministry is now available.  You can download it by clicking here.

A number of missionary teams from School of Ministry have served in the country of Haiti after an earthquake devastated the country.  During the most recent trips, students at SOM helped trained and equip local pastors, evangelized in the cities, and distributed shoes to those in need.

Here is the account from one of the missionary team members who is a student at SOM, Shady Francis:

This trip was such a blessing! It was absolutely wonderful to see God working in Haiti! The people we met are incredibly poor, definitely one of the poorest people in the world. However, they have so much love to give. Everyone is constantly smiling and inviting us inside their tents and so open to the Gospel. Our main objective was to share Jesus with these people and they couldn’t get enough! We passed out tracks, Bibles, shoes, soap, medicine, vitamins, shirts, underwear … pretty much everything we had! We really got to connect with many people and it was GOOD! Haiti is a country that is trying to get out of darkness. The country has a been a prisoner of Voodoo and black magic for the last 200 years. It has been amoung the poorest countries in the world (before the earthquake) because of the corruption in the high places. Just recently they elected a new president who sent a mass text to all the people that he has given his life to Jesus Christ and actually carried a BIG cross on stage during his inauguration!

Haiti needs our help and PRAYERS! The earthquake was a devastating blow to an already poor country. The roads are all rocky, people have no shoes, kids are naked in the streets, little girls are exposed, the “tents” that the people live in have no doors, no protection from people that wish them harm, like rapists! We saw MANY young woman who are pregnant or with little kids, they have no way of protecting themselves.

I will leave you with the BEST part of our trip … There was a man who came up to us as we were sharing the Gospel in the tent cities. He asked for a Bible, we told him sorry but we had just run out. We offered him a track instead, but he became frustrated. He raised his voice and with a heavy accent blurted “I already have 2 tracks! I want to learn more about Jesus!” We smiled and told him “we can tell you more about Jesus” He reluctantly said OK, still disappointed from not getting a Bible. We shared with him briefly about the sacrifice of Jesus and what it means to him personally. He then interrupted us and to our surprise, he said “that’s enough!” and very nonchalantly said “that sounds good … I will take it.” We looked at each other in amazement and praised the Lord!

God is awesome, so much bigger than I had imagined! I went to Haiti thinking I was going to help and make a difference but God was already there and all I could do was watch in amazement and try to stay out of His way. Seriously our God is BIG!!!