Heroes of Today Online Challenge Week 2 – Are you ready to wear the full armor of God?

We’re happy to announce that we will be continuing our Heroes Online Challenge for another week! If you would like to register, go to ctcilife.org, you will be given an two options for registration.

1. To sign up as a participant, you will get the full experience of this program and also have a chance to receive a special prize!
2. Sign up as a observer to still receive devotionals among other aspects of the curriculum.

Be sure to sign up by May 31st 2020 2pm EST!

Life around us seems to be at a stand still right now, and many believers have seen this quarantine as a time to personal retreat, forced isolation or even loss. Despite the deceptive stillness on the surface, the spiritual battle rages beneath. In developing this program, it has been our earnest prayer that those participating would allow the Lord to shine a light in their lives, exposing those things that won’t conform to His will.

We desire to see those things illuminated turned into lights themselves, that we may be better equipped for the greater glory of His name, and the furthering of His kingdom. Don’t let this difficult quarantine season go to waste! Join us the first week of June as we learn what it takes to fight the spiritual battle before us and strive to equip ourselves with the full Armor of God!

” I participated in the first week of the Heroes Online Challenge and it was exactly what I needed during this quaratine time. Prior to the challenge, I had fallen into a rut…I had no discipline and felt very lonely. By the end of the challenge week, I felt encouraged, strenghtened in my walk with the Lord, I made new friends, and I am ready to be who God created me to be. I encourage any high school or college student to particpate in this awesome week.” – Heroes of Today Online Challenge participant-

Be sure to sign up by May 31st 2020 2pm EST!

Online Heroes Challenge: Rise above and go the extra mile! 

Christian Training Center International is proud to announce our Heroes Online Program! This is anyone who is a high schooler all the way up to college students, 14-26. Registration is on our website ctcilife.org until Saturday May, 2 2020.

This is a social media challenge. Once registered, you will be asked to join a private group on facebook or instagram. If your child does not participate in social media, they have the option to use the parent/guardians’. We leave this up to the parent/guardian.

Register here.

How do we make discipline lasting and effective? 

Larry Pons from our Train to Reign Day 8 Week 2 Making Discipline Lasting & Effective.

How did God get me here?

Join us as our interns share a little bit about what God has been doing in and through them this summer.

How much does our heavenly Father love us?

Faith Morton’s family moved to Franklin from Port St. Lucie in 2017 after her sister’s family, Madison and Dustin Ortiz, joined our staff. She shares about the importance of duty vs intimacy, obedience vs sacrifice, seeing the monuments of the Lord’s goodness in our lives, and how much her Heavenly Father truly loves her.

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Do we need to change the lens we look through of how God views us?

Courtney Sahara Baldwin, affectionately known as “CB”, was one of 8 CTCI Summer Interns. Here she shares about her time here and how it has changed the lens she looks through of how God the Father views her.

What is the covenant of marriage all about?

Train to Reign Day 1 Week 1 God’s Plan for Family | Learn about the Covenant of Marriage.

What does it mean to be a man?

Train to Reign Day 3 Larry Pons Men’s Talk

One evening, while in my latter 20’s, I was watching Johnny Carson on TV. For those of you who don’t know or remember him, he was (and forever will be, in my opinion) “the king” of late-night television. Burt Reynolds was one of his guests on this night, and they were talking about various topics, including what it means to be a man.

Is it duty? Is it intimacy? What does God want?

Susan Pons – Train to Reign Family Program Day 2 Week 1 

I and the Father are one. (John 10:30)

For this reason, a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. (Matthew 19:5)

…For the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. (Revelations 10:9)

What does family fun have to do with brown squirrels?

Families have fun together. Here is part of an evening we had together as a part of our Heroes program.

Are you hearing from God?

Teens share about their time at Heroes Week. Best Week EVER!!!

Heroes Week (Sarah Jackson interview)

Jesus kissed us by His grace and we forever fell in love. Family is relationships.

Join us for the opening night (2014) of the CTCI family program, Train to Reign.

Isaiah 45:3 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord. I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

“I’ll be a preacher, I’ll be a teacher, a helper of mankind. I’ll be a walker, I’ll be a talker, I’ll keep the mountain people on my mind.” ~Rufus Morgan (via Chelle Rose)

46 years ago I had the privilege to learn how to hike from Rufus Morgan. He is known as the Modern Moses. As the song says, may I also  “be a preacher, I’ll be a teacher, a helper of mankind. I’ll be a walker, I’ll be a talker, I’ll keep the mountain people on my mind.”

I started going to the Inn of the Last Resort in 1973. The exact date I arrived for the first time was July 8, 1973. I owe my life to the program. I would return for two more summers to be on staff. Eventually I would be able to serve on the Board of Directors. Now I am on the staff. What an honor and privilege it is.

One of our highlights at the time was to hike up Mt. LeConte. High atop Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is LeConte Lodge. After our hike up, we would stay there. It is the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States. It is situated on an open glade just below the summit of Mt. LeConte at an elevation of about 6400 feet. The Lodge serves as a grandstand for the entire Park and commands spectacular views of the Smokies.

How do you build a good foundation for a marriage?

Couples share about their experiences during the Train to Reign Family Program – a two-week course designed to teach practical skills in relationship building and parenting.

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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — The 2020 date will be announced soon. | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Why give a week of your time to work in the kitchen? How does it make a difference?

Work is a vital part of family life. Working in the kitchen to prepare and clean up from 3 meals a day takes effort.

This is an amazing story of a family who gave up a week of their vacation to come to the Christian Training Center to work in the kitchen.

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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — The 2020 date will be announced soon. | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Skills you learn at the Christian Training Center are applicable in so many areas of life. Learn how they are.

Skills you learn at the Christian Training Center are applicable in life. Learn how they are.

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Apologetics Conference – The relevance of Genesis with Tim Chaffey

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, is the foundation of all Christian doctrine. In it, we learn about the triune God, the origin of all matter, the nature of man, why suffering and death exists, and the reason Jesus came to sacrifice His life for us. Genesis also contains accounts of the creation, the Global Flood, and the Tower of Babel – accounts that many Christians don’t see the importance of taking literally. 

But if Genesis is not true, how can we trust the rest of the Bible?  Join us as Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis gives compelling arguments for the first 11 chapters of the Bible and their importance to our modern world.

Learn more here.

What is the best way to train children in the way of Jesus in families today?

Melissa Lee has been overseeing CTCI’s children’s ministry for 26 years. Find out how Jesus is working in children’s lives during our Train to Reign Program.

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Train to Reign

Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.

Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers. Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed. Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.

Learn more here.

Teaching topics include:

• The Plan of God for Family
• Duty vs Intimacy
• Fatherhood
• Communication
• Covering
• Resolving Conflict
• Defeating Parenting Fears
• Discipline
• …and more!

Jesus is the One Who Fulfills My Life

Jesse Wahl reminds us, as he had to learn this summer, that the Lord is the only one who can truly fill and fulfill all the empty spaces in our lives.

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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — The 2020 date will be announced soon. | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

How can we grow spiritually? 

Work week is a highlight for the summer – long hours and hard work has a way of breaking down attitudes and creating character that is needed this summer!! Enjoy the highlights.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — The 2020 date will be announced soon. | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

The largest generation in American history wants to be heroes! Why?

Why be hero for Jesus?

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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

How do you train a leader for Jesus?

One of the biggest callings we feel the Lord has given us at the Christian Training Center is to train this generation to be leaders (Heroes of Today).

What does it take to be a leader for Jesus in today’s world? We emphasize the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline. Young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.

This fall (September 2-November 9, 2019) we are inviting college age students (18-26 yrs) to experience our Heroes of Today Fall Semester Program. Participants spend their days in study sessions, work duties, or on the unpredictable outdoor adventure. The evenings have a natural rhythm of group Bible studies, prayer & intercession, and recreational activities

If you, or someone you may know, might be interested in this program, please click the link below.

https://ctcilife.org/programs/heroes-request/

Are you a hero? Heroes Week Highlight Reel shows you what our program is all about.

The Christian Training Center’s Heroes Week is a fast-paced, full throttle discipleship program!

Whether you are white water rafting, wilderness backpacking, or learning new life skills you will discover more about your identity in Jesus and what it means to live as one of God’s  Heroes of today.

No Heroes program is ever the same. Each week-long program is uniquely crafted as we respond to the Lord and what He is seeking to do in the lives of those He has gathered.

Participants ages 14-18 come from a variety of backgrounds, churches and even from around the world for this summer adventure filled with spiritual, mental, relational and physical challenges.

Come ready to be pushed to the max! Heroes Weeks are a blast, and every activity is rooted in Kingdom purpose. The goal of the week is to instill a lifestyle that is led by the Spirit, obedient to God’s word, and exemplary to the world. You will leave completely exhausted, but renewed in your faith!

You may find it surprising that year to year, participants tell us that it is not the extreme activities they enjoy the most but an encounter with the Lord through powerful devotion times, worship, and thrilling outreach.

Be warned: Heroes week is addictive! Most of our participants come back year after year… and eventually, apply to the Summer Internship Program for young adults.

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ

What does it mean to be a hero? Will you take the challenge?

Jessi tells about her experience as a CTCI Summer Intern.

Be a part of a summer internship that won’t just challenge you – it will change you!

Our Summer Internship Program calls forth young adults ages 18-26 who have a passion to serve Christ and a desire to be trained practically for life, leadership, and future ministry through intense, life-on-life discipleship. During these fast-paced weeks, interns will discover more about who they are and what it means to be a fully committed follower of Jesus.

 “The extra mile challenge was one of the craziest things I have ever done! Sleeping in a cave 2 miles into the earth was something I will never forget. The course was tough but really lead me closer to the Lord and built some maturity into my life.”

2016 Internship Participant

Interns live on the premises and help staff the summer’s programs, conferences, and events. Daily duties can include anything from helping the staff take care of the grounds, gardens, and facilities to preparing meals and helping put together activities for youth and teens.  In between times of service, interns will also get to enjoy activities designed to build character through spiritual, mental, emotional and physical challenges. The relationships and rewards of the summer internship last for a lifetime.

Room, board, and the Extra Mile Challenge are all included free of cost – so all you have to do is get here and be ready to give your all!

Check out our next program here.

The Entire Anti-Family Narrative Just Crumbled 

Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences

This study, conducted by world renowned Johns Hopkins University scientists Dr. Lawrence S. Mayer and Dr. Paul R. McHugh, is a meta-analysis of data from over 200 peer-reviewed studies regarding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” It was published in the fall 2016 edition of The New Atlantis journal and is, far and away, the most objective, exhaustive and comprehensive study on the topic to date.

The research established, among other things:

• • “The understanding of sexual orientation as an innate, biologically fixed property of human beings — the idea that people are ‘born that way’ — is not supported by scientific evidence.”
  • “Sexual orientation” in adolescents is “fluid over the life course for some people, with one study estimating that as many as 80 percent of male adolescents who report same-sex attractions no longer do so as adults.”
  • “Compared to heterosexuals, non-heterosexuals are about two to three times as likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse.”
  • “Gay”-identified people are “at an elevated risk for a variety of adverse health and mental health outcomes.”
  • “Gay”-identified people experience “nearly 2.5 times the risk of suicide.”
  • “The hypothesis that gender identity is an innate, fixed property of human beings that is independent of biological sex — that a person might be ‘a man trapped in a woman’s body’ or ‘a woman trapped in a man’s body’ — is not supported by scientific evidence.”
  • “Studies comparing the brain structures of transgender and non-transgender individuals … do not provide any evidence for a neurobiological basis for cross-gender identification.”
  • “[S]ex-reassigned individuals [are] about five times more likely to attempt suicide and about 19 times more likely to die by suicide.”
  • “[T]he rate of lifetime suicide attempts across all ages of transgender individuals is estimated at 41 percent, compared to under 5 percent in the overall U.S. population.”
  • “Only a minority of children who experience cross-gender identification will continue to do so into adolescence or adulthood.”

Lest you buy the left wing talking point that so-called “homophobia” leads to high rates of suicide and other devastating consequences of the “LGBT” lifestyle, a recent study from “gay”-affirming Sweden dispels this myth. The research, published in the May issue of the European Journal of Epidemiology, found that people entering into a “gay marriage” were, as mirrored above, nearly three times as likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual counterparts.

“Even in a country with a comparatively tolerant climate regarding homosexuality such as Sweden,” observed the researchers, “same-sex married individuals evidence a higher risk for suicide than other married individuals.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Meanwhile, the CDC, no bastion of conservatism, just released this month a report establishing and detailing the devastating effects of “LGBT” identity and behaviors on teens “grades 9-12.”

Writing at WND, child advocate Linda Harvey expressed frustration that, despite its solid conclusions, the CDC yet insists upon using such propagandist terms as “sexual minorities” to describe same-sex-attracted teens. She notes that “these adolescents no more qualify as ‘minorities’ than kids who eat junk food,” and cuts through the smokescreen to summarize the report’s findings:

“Self-labeled homosexual and bisexual teens were twice as likely as heterosexual teens to have been victims of sexual or physical dating violence, to be regular cigarette smokers, to have tried marijuana before age 13, to ever have used cocaine, hallucinogenic drugs, ecstasy, taken prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, or to have felt sad or hopeless.

“They were more likely to be current marijuana users than heterosexual students, more likely to drink alcohol, and over four times as likely to have used methamphetamines or heroin.

“They were four times as likely to actually attempt suicide.

“Homosexual and bisexual students were about 25 percent more likely to have had sexual intercourse, and more likely to be currently sexually active and to have had four or more partners.

“They are more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourse before age 13.” Can we just have a heart and ask: with whom? Were these adult ‘partners’ (aka molesters)?

It’s notable here that, in past studies, researchers with the CDC have indeed discovered that “gay” men are “at least three times more likely to report CSA (childhood sexual abuse),” while the left-leaning Archives of Sexual Behavior similarly determined in a 2001 study that nearly half of all “gay”-identified men were, as children, molested by a homosexual predator: “46 percent of homosexual men and 22 percent of homosexual women reported having been molested by a person of the same gender. This contrasts to only 7 percent of heterosexual men and 1 percent of heterosexual women reporting having been molested by a person of the same gender.”

Considering the above non-biased, replicated scientific facts, it’s little wonder that an earlier study in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) determined the “life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men.”

You think me callous. You think I hate. I’m not and I do not. Truth is hate to those who hate truth. I love self-identified “LGBT” individuals with a love beyond my own power to summon. I love them because Christ first loved me. I love them because, like them, I am a sinner in need of a Savior. They are under deception. The enemy of man is the father of lies, and he prowls like a lion seeking to both deceive and devour us all.

I know what it’s like to have someone close to me struggle with same-sex attraction and adopt an aberrant sexual identity. I have a dear family member wasting away with AIDS at this very moment. While I love him, I also understand that if I were to affirm his lifestyle and offer well-intentioned yet dangerously misguided “compassion,” I would be hurting him, not helping him.

I offer true compassion. I offer truth, in love.

If you truly love someone, you should never, ever encourage that person in a demonstrably destructive and subjective “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” or “transgender” identity. Love them unconditionally, but encourage them to find freedom from it.

Because, whether spiritual, physical, or both, it may be the difference between life and death.

Source: The Entire ‘LGBT’ Narrative Just Crumbled | The Stream

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus.  The goal is fluency in the language of relationships.  Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture.  The foundation is an encounter with Jesus.  This encounter is the means for both insight and vision.  Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ

Synchronized Swimming – Our Talent Show Winners 

Our fun family talent show. This is a short clip of the winners.

Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.

Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers.

Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed. Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.

Learn more and register

​Teaching topics include:

• The Plan of God for Family
• Duty vs Intimacy
• Fatherhood
• Communication
• Covering
• Resolving Conflict
• Defeating Parenting Fears
• Discipline
• …and more!

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ

How innovative ministries are bringing millennials back to church  

Here is a great article about faith among young adults. For many teens and young adults,  they only have a limited amount of experience in their walk with Jesus. The article points out that young adults are in need of mentorship from those in their congregation who have decades of experience as devout Christians.

The Christian Training Center’s young adult program is focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way. Learn More and Register.

Despite belonging to a church-attending family, 24-year-old Danielle De Guzman is among the many American millennials who struggled throughout adolescence to find relevance and trust in the church or Christianity.

After high school, she would at times still attend her parents’ large church in Collin County, Texas, but admits that she would just sit in the lobby and wait for the service to end because she just didn’t see the point of going into the service.

Although she spent years going to the church, she struggled to get plugged in or even develop personal relationships with others in her congregation.

Eventually, she began telling her parents that she had to work on Sundays so she could get out of going to church. Her parents respected her freedom and De Guzman stopped going to church for a period of time. Going to college locally, she spent a lot of time — like many other college students — partying.

The experience had by De Guzman is not unique among millennial adults who grew up in the church.

Read More Here:

How innovative ministries are bringing millennials back to church   – The Christian Post

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ

Fun at family night with wholesome dancing! We train families to reign!

We know how to have some fun at our family oriented Train to Reign program.

Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.

Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers.

Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed. Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.

Learn more and register

​Teaching topics include:

• The Plan of God for Family
• Duty vs Intimacy
• Fatherhood
• Communication
• Covering
• Resolving Conflict
• Defeating Parenting Fears
• Discipline
• …and more!

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

What Will God Use Your Situation For? Can we be happy and joyous in our trials?

Zoe shares on what it means to keep a positive attitude when God as you walk through trials.

Scripture

Why is freedom so important to the Christian life?

Susan Pons talks about why freedom is so very important to the Christian life and to families. Susan grew up in Valdese, North Carolina. Prior to her marriage, she performed professionally on stage and dinner theaters. The mother of four and grandmother of eight, she and her husband, Larry, direct Christian Training Center, International, a ministry dedicated to the restoration of families. She has loved her life.

Check out Susan’s book here.

“Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

2 Corinthians 3:16 — Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.

Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers. Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed.

Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.

Learn more and register

​Teaching topics include:

• The Plan of God for Family
• Duty vs Intimacy
• Fatherhood
• Communication
• Covering
• Resolving Conflict
• Defeating Parenting Fears
• Discipline
• …and more!

If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.

Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.

What is the biggest challenge? Zac’s Semester Testimony at our Heroes Program

Zac Girard was a student with us for the Heroes Semester program in Spring 2019. Here he shares with us about his time here and what has impacted him to go home different than he came.

CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! Emphasizing the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline, young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.

The Lord is Molding This Guy

Welcome from all of us at Christian Training Center International. Today we would like to share a testimony from one of the students who attended our spring 10-week Heroes Semester Program. Actually, he came 6 months early to volunteer here at the ministry, then he stayed on after the program to continue volunteering and helping us out here through the busy summer. We are so very thankful and grateful to the Lord for sending Ian to us! You can hear his take on it by clicking on the video below.

Father God, it is only by Your grace, mercy and favor that we even exist. We thank You so much for Ian, he is such a blessing. We also thank You for the opportunity to share Your gospel and Your love with families and young people here at CTCI. As You send people to us, we pray that all of our efforts, teaching, and work, would be for Your glory and honor only, amen.

If you would like information about how we may be able to help you and your family or details regarding our ministry or any of the programs we offer, please go to our website at http://www.lifeisrelationships.com or fill out the contact box below and we will get back with you promptly.

If you would like to donate to CTCI please click here.

A Fast-paced Discipleship Week For Teens — Ages 14 – 18 — July, 2020

The Christian Training Center’s Heroes Week is a fast-paced, full throttle discipleship program that is set to be the highlight of your summer!

Whether you are white water rafting, wilderness backpacking, or learning new life skills you will discover more about your identity in Christ and what it means to live as one of God’s  Heroes of today.

No Heroes program is ever the same. Each week-long program is uniquely crafted as we respond to the Lord and what He is seeking to do in the lives of those He has gathered.

Participants ages 14-18 come from a variety of backgrounds, churches and even from around the world for this summer adventure filled with spiritual, mental, relational and physical challenges.

Come ready to be pushed to the max! Heroes Weeks are a blast, and every activity is rooted in Kingdom purpose. The goal of the week is to instill a lifestyle that is led by the Spirit, obedient to God’s word, and exemplary to the world. You will leave completely exhausted, but renewed in your faith!

You may find it surprising that year to year, participants tell us that it is not the extreme activities they enjoy the most but an encounter with the Lord through powerful devotion times, worship, and thrilling outreach.

Learn more and register

Be warned: Heroes week is addictive! Most of our participants come back year after year… and eventually, apply to the Summer Internship Program for young adults.

Come and see what the Lord has for you this summer!

Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2

Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack.

Throughout the year, we welcome individuals, couples, and families from around the world who are seeking to strengthen their relationships – with God, within their own families, and with their fellow believers. Every session, individuals, couples, and families from around the world are transformed, healed, and renewed. Barriers to forgiveness, personal growth, and hope are overcome in a supportive and intimate environment. Join us in this safe and holy place where painful and complex situations can be worked through – a place of hope and healing.

Learn more and register

​Teaching topics include:

• The Plan of God for Family
• Duty vs Intimacy
• Fatherhood
• Communication
• Covering
• Resolving Conflict
• Defeating Parenting Fears
• Discipline
• …and more!

Learn more and register

Become a Hero: Go the extra mile with us as we tackle 4 days of thrilling outdoor challenges — July 22 – 25, 2019 — Ages: 18 – 26 yrs

Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! |Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019

Nikki Corbin is the Director of Development for the Christian Training Center. Mike Wilson recently interviewed her about the Inn, the Heroes Semester in September (Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019), how to donate and volunteer.

CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way.

Learn More and Register

CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! Emphasizing the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline, young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.

“The Heroes Semester is taking place, and all that I can say is that the Lord is showing me Himself! Christ is mesmerizing me; He’s opening my heart to fall more in love with Him!”

CB -Tennessee (Participant)

Participants ages 18-26 come from all walks of life with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord and seek Him for their lives and future. Each semester is filled with teaching, activities, and experiences designed to take you on the mountaintops with the Lord as well as train you to live a disciplined life in Christ in the plains and valleys.

Participants spend their days in study sessions, work duties, or on the unpredictable outdoor adventure. The evenings have a natural rhythm of group Bible studies, prayer & intercession, and recreational activities. Everyone pitches in with the usual chores that come with living life together. Electronics take a back seat in daily life, unplugging from usual habits helps to make space for new ones. Each day ends with a note of gratitude and lessons learned.

If you are ready to go deeper in relationships, devotion, and surrender to the Lord, then CTCI’s Heroes Semester could be the most purposeful 10 weeks of your life!

Learn More and Register

Wisdom vs. Lawlessness in Our Homes

Greetings from all of us at Christian Training Center International. Please join us this morning as we read a teaching by Susan Pons and discover God’s wisdom and order for the family and how we can have it in our homes!          

Wives, Why Should We Submit to Our Husbands?

Good morning and welcome to another beautiful day that the Lord has made! We invite you to join us as we share another valuable pearl of wisdom! Women, please know that submission as God intends is beautiful in a marriage! Husbands have a command from the Lord in this matter also. We are considered equal with our husbands yet different in nature. The two complete each other and become one.

Here is another small clip from Susan Pons’ message “Leave and Cleave” from the Train to Reign family program here at CTCI. When we break down Scripture and make practical sense of it, then we can begin to apply it to our lives and in this case our marriages.

“Wives, submit to your husbands as unto to the Lord. Women are equal in every way to men because we are also created in the image of God, but women’s roles are meant to be different from his. Then the Lord God said. It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him. (Genesis 2:18)

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. The words of a husband are to have a cleansing effect. This does not mean he should condemn, belittle, or behave condescendingly, but, he should show love in what he says and how he says it. What an incredible challenge for husbands to face and what a wonderful blessing for wives to receive! Christ speaks to us in the same way through his Word to his people.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. What an incredible example of love is this is! For a husband to love his wife as his own body…tenderly nourishing, pleasing it! What wife could ask for more? When a husband loves his wife as much as himself, it helps to make submission from his wife an easier passage. Christ loved the Church more than His own body. As a part of His Body, we are to submit to His love.

Therefore, a man shall leave father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.This mystery is very great, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband. As husbands make their wives his priority, he becomes the earthly example of Christ’s intense love for His Bride. Wives perhaps should realize that respecting…responding in respectful tones…builds up a man’s role as a husband.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)

So, why not begin the conversation with your husband or wife and examine the place your marriage is in concerning leaving and cleaving? You just might find answers to questions that used to seem impossible to solve. Look forward to this wonderful experience called marriage. It is meant to be good!”

It’s never too late, while we are still here, to begin restoring relationships. If you would like to know more about our family program here at CTCI called Train to Reign, and how we may be able to help you, then please fill out this quick contact form and submit. We will contact you quickly!

Husbands, will you lead in the fight for your marriage?

Good morning from all of us here at CTCI! Please join us in this second of three clips from Susan Pons’ message titled “Leave and Cleave” as we uncover the next practical action step to a Biblically sound marriage. We see who has the first foundational responsibility and where the command comes from!

“It is important to note after God created humankind in His image as male and female, He then gave to them (and us) the first necessary step for the design of a successful marriage—leaving. This command was given to Adam as a means to establish his headship. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve (I Timothy 2:13).

It is interesting to see that this commandment also reveals man as the initial and  active foundational builder in the marriage relationship. In other words, it is the husband’s responsibility to place that first stone creating the firm foundation of his marriage. 

That first solid stone has the word leave engraved upon it.  The second cornerstone to be placed in the marriage foundation finds the word cleave chiseled deeply into  the foundation’s underpinnings. These are two absolute necessities for a solid marriage.

Jesus says it well in Matthew 7:  Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.  Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

If there is no leaving—the first stone in a firm foundation is not put into place. This was God’s plan, not ours.

God’s earthly plan for marriage, then and now, was to guide man away from his former priorities which were formed in him in his life before marriage. Then, he was to turn and make his wife his new priority, through  covenant, with the intention of creating a brand new identity with her. He is commanded to begin building a state-of-the-art foundation for his new life with new stones.  He would begin this construction by placing leave and cleave in the mainstay positions.  This masterpiece, the first marriage, Adam and Eve, was predestined to be a foreshadowing of Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:32)

The marriage built on the right solid foundation as commanded by our God will prevail. It does not matter if you have been married for five weeks or fifty years! This command given by the Lord, establishes a fruitful marriage not matter what stage.

Husbands, you can begin to establish steps leading to a solid foundation even now! It all begins with two words… leaving and cleaving.

Would you like more information about how our Train to Reign program here at CTCI can help guide you practically on this journey of marriage as God intended?

Marriage…Why it is a mystery

Greetings to each of you from all of us here at CTCI, we hope you enjoy this clip from our teaching today! 

Marriage, according to God’s Word is meant to be an earthly reflection of the relationship between Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:22) What an incredibly high calling! The Lord has given us the first two steps in creating this new identity once we say “I do”.

Mr. Webster gave us excellent definitions for these two words:

Leave: to go away from; to abandon; to exit; withdraw from; to forsake. 

Cleave: to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly.

Step #1 – Leave our old life behind. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:7) Many of us have not done this. We brought our “single life” into our marriage and thought we would continue in our previous lifestyles.

Step #2 – Cleave, or cling to our spouse and God’s instructions for a successful marriage. It does not matter what kind of past you may have come from (stable or dis-functional) the Good Lord requires a new oneness and obedience together in Him.

Let’s take a peek at this small piece of a teaching here at CTCI called “Leave and Cleave” written by Susan Pons. She and her husband learned by experience how to do this God’s way.

This is one of a series of three posts from this teaching that we will be sharing.

“Between uncovering God’s plan for the Christian household and reading Mr. Webster’s definitions, Larry and I were confronted with the stark realization that we had failed to leave behind many of our former self-seeking attitudes and independent ways in order to become one. This included our distinctly male and female thought patterns, which were reasons enough to cause major rifts between us. It was up to us to change. This was challenging… yet oh so rewarding!

But, the Lord had an answer that was designed for each couple from the very beginning of time. Actually, leave and cleave is the first command God gives to man and woman following their creations. (Genesis 2:24) So, these two action verbs must be very important in His sight. This mystery is very great; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5: 31-32)”

So, we see in God’s Word that we are commanded to leave our old life before marriage and cleave to our spouse as a new family is created. What steps can you, even now with your spouse, “leave” from your lives before marriage?

Why not come to our Train to Reign program this June and learn how to practically walk this out. It will be a precious time of healing, training and restoration. Train to Reign is the name of our family program here at CTCI and it is designed to help heal and restore family relationships based on Biblical truths. Would you like to know more about how we may be able to help you?

Our Family in Africa

Good morning from all of us here at Christian Training Center International! This is another beautiful day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Ezekiel is an example of how BIG our God is! Please take a few moments and view the videos below, miracles are happening! Ezekiel has been to our program and has carried the teachings back to Africa, to his mission field. The teachings and Biblical lessons are spreading and making a huge impact on their area! He wants to come back for more, our God is the God of more and abundance! God is working mightily and we get to be a small part of it for HIS glory! Won’t you join us and help us get Ezekiel and his wife Joy back over here for the MORE that the Lord wants to share?

Please pray about whether the Lord wants you to be a part of this mighty work HE is doing!

Please make a donation today to help Ezekiel and Joy Udoh! EZEKIEL & JOY UDOH Ezekiel and Joy Udoh are very special to CTCI. They are ministers in Port Hartcourt, Nigeria and run an orphanage for street children…most whose families have been victimized by the terrorist activity of Boko Haram. Ezekiel was able to attend our Train to Reign program in 2017. What he learned impacted his ministry and he sees the desperate need for biblical family values in his country. Ezekiel and Joy feel the Lord is leading both of them to attend our summer Train to Reign Program . The flights alone will cost $4,000.00 (round trip) and the Train to Reign Program fees will be $920.00 for the 10 day program. Will you prayerfully consider helping them be able to return to CTCI this summer? Please watch this short video of CTCI’s director, Larry Pons as he shares why we feel it is important for the Udoh’s to join us this summer. Enjoy this short clip taken from Ezekiel in Port Hartcourt, Nigeria asking for your help. Due to the location of the video in Africa, the video may be difficult to understand. Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to help bless this precious family! Donate FOLLOW US  ‌  ‌  ‌ WWW.LIFEISRELATIONSHIPS.COM

Why do Opposites Attract?

Good morning from all of us here at the Christian Training Center International! Today we would like to share with you a very small clip from one of the teachings at CTCI’s Train To Reign program for families.

We each have a specially designed place and order in our marriage and in our family. God created it that way from the very beginning. And, God’s design in marriage is for us to complete and compliment each other! We are to be different, on purpose. How very profound and perfect! Here is the clip:

“Eve was not designed to be exactly like Adam. Eve was not only designed to become one flesh with him, but also, to be his complimentary opposite, possessing the other half of the qualities, responsibilities, and attributes which he was not given in the creation process.”

God meant it to be this way in order to deepen the understanding of the union between Christ and His Church. 

For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Christ is head of man. Man is the head of woman. God is the head of Christ. In His divine wisdom, God established this order…

-teaching written by Susan Pons

When we want or lack something we are instinctively attracted to it! For example, without realizing it my sister ended up with a husband that loves to cook. You guessed it, she doesn’t love to cook! We smile about how God knew and arranged the whole thing. What about a friend of ours that own their business, he, an introvert for the most part, is out doing the physical job while she is dealing with the customers and building longterm relationships. It works, they compliment each other and make a great team. One is no better than the other just endowed with different gifts, as intended! It’s when we criticize differences or expect people to think and be be just like us that problems arise.

What if in our marriage, today, we purposefully choose instead of complaining about what we think something should be, (because we know we are right) allow it for that time to be their way. After all we have only told them our opinion how many hundred times? Let the Lord reveal the truth in His time. Meanwhile, instead of the argument, what if we choose to accept our spouse as the complement that he/she really is… and accept them this way with gratitude?

It’s beyond amazing to watch as families come to CTCI and see miracles occur! The Lord God meets them as they seek Him and His righteousness in their family relationships. The Lord guides and directs the healing process through group teachings and individual sessions during our family Train to Reign program and families are restored!

If you would like to donate to our ministry please click here.

Would you like more information about our ministry? Please complete this form. 

Article comments can be made below.

Miracles happened here this spring!

We recently finished a two week family program here at CTCI and the Lord worked miracles! He is faithful, always! Here is a brief overview written by Susan Pons:

“Spring  Train To Reign was a most meaningful experience for all involved.  Families from New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Guatemala were introduced to Biblical and experiential training from the staff here at Christian Training Center.

We witnessed one couple placing their wedding rings on their fingers once again after a long period of almost discarding them.  Another couple recognized their need to renew their marriage covenant and place each other in priority over the business and “out of order” circumstances, according to God’s Word, in their lives.  One other family came to the Center longing to help their child stand against the  temptations facing him daily at school.  A young couple, with their family made a decision to return to ministry after embracing the necessity of cherishing their marriage and their role as parents above all else.

So, in closing, the Good Lord was in our midst, healing, restoring, repairing and completing God’s call for family…the first Church!”

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Hot or Cold?

This morning’s devotion by Susan Pons is talking about marriage, however, it’s also relating Christ to the Church. So, whether you are single or married, please join us as we dig into God’s Word and feel free to comment below!

Revelation 3:15 – “I know your works. You are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were either hot or cold. So because you are neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Ephesians 5:21 – “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Ephesians 5:31 – “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is very great, and I am applying it to Christ and His church.”

 

1. Considering that Paul is referring to marriage as a mirror of Christ and the Church, how important is marriage in the sight of God?

2. Was marriage part of God’s plan from the beginning?

3. If the Lord will spit out the Church for being lukewarm, what does this say about marriage?

4. Is your marriage lukewarm? How so? Discuss this with your spouse today.

What kind of Ark is He asking you to build?

Please join us in this mornings devotion by Susan Pons regarding healing in our homes and families.

Genesis 6:9,11-12 (NASB) These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

1 Peter 3:20-21 (NASB) When the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1. Why do you think Noah and his family were the only humans saved during the flood?

2. Do you believe the Lord looks down from heaven in today’s world on our individual household?   What kind of ark is he asking us to build?

3. What changes will it take for you and your wife to obey God in your ark?

4. Discuss this with your spouse:    “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)

      

Does your family/relationship need restoration?

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”

Isaiah 11:1

We’ve been meditating on this scripture this week as we observe the advent season. It has meant more to me this year than ever before.

Our family found ourselves in the midst of great difficulty. We were weak, displaced, disillusioned, and floundering halfway across the world from family, familiarity, and anything resembling security. We had just arrived in Africa after two years of preparation when we were hit with seven bouts of malaria as a family in the first eight weeks. We went and stayed on a farm with some kind folks in Zimbabwe while seeking medical care and rest. During that time Tyson was became ill and couldn’t get out of bed, and our 16 month old had diarrhea for 21 days straight. To say it felt as though the stump was firmly in place with no signs of anything shooting out would be an understatement.

In the depths of my soul, I knew the shoot was there. I did. It had to be. It is out of the stumps of life that the shoot springs forth. When life is unraveling and looking really hopeless is when it’s just getting good. The backdrop is forming to reflect something worth beholding.

CTCI in Franklin, NC is where we found ourselves by mid-February after returning from Africa weary, broken, and longing for a glimpse of hope for our situation. We needed a shoot to spring forth and it did! The soil of our hearts were so fertile for the planting of His truth. Difficulty plows up the hard places, shakes things up, and prepares us for roots to grow down deep. The timing of our arrival for The InnVision (now called Train to Reign) was nothing short of a miracle.

As we were on our way to Franklin, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was desperate for encouragement and hope, but a little fearful of making myself any more vulnerable than we already were. It was the fear of the unknown, but I’m so glad I chose to take the risk.

From the moment we drove up, we were greeted so warmly right at our vehicle with staff and young people who were sincerely happy to have us and immediately started unpacking our luggage for us and helping us to get settled. The atmosphere and culture of love, humility, servanthood, and honor at The Inn was a soothing balm for our broken and hurting hearts, and I began to feel it immediately.

I find it difficult to articulate what the Lord did in me, in our marriage, and in our family during those two weeks, but I’ll do my best. The way I picture it is that we were limping along doing the best we could with what we had on one plane, and the Lord reached down and lifted us up onto an entirely different plane and level of operating that has been unbelievable. For the first time in our almost seven years of marriage I feel the covering and protection of my husband which frees me to be who God’s made me to be as Tyson walks in and embraces His God given role in our relationship. We now see our marriage as our highest calling, and are for the first time are experiencing the fruit of walking in agreement. This was revolutionary for us, and it makes our relationship exponentially more effective in His Kingdom. We now see that our own vision had to die, so that His vision for our lives could come into view. So many scales were removed from our eyes during those two weeks, and such clarity came.

The teaching and guidance on parenting was just as life changing. Our kids were loved on and poured into the entire time. Not to mention, both of our kids were sick with colds, and Miss Melissa and others still loved and nurtured them so we could get the most out of our time there! Tyson and I spent more one on one time together than we ever have since we’ve had children. That was a gift in and of itself, and made it possible for us to get to the heart of matters. Everything about the entire two

weeks was intentional and done with purpose for us to receive all that God had for us.

Before we went to Africa, God impressed Matthew 13:44 on our hearts. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When the man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” We wanted to go after the treasure of the Kingdom with all of our hearts. Just when we thought “our calling” had crumbled and were feeling lost and confused as to what God was doing, we realized that our marriage and our family was the in fact the treasure in the field that we had given everything to possess.

We can’t recommend The Inn highly enough. It is more than worth the investment of time and money. There’s no vacation in the world that will satisfy your soul like opening yourself up to The Lord and what he has for you and your family for a solid week or two and receiving the gifts that flow through Larry, Susan, and all the wonderful folks there (in the amazing mountains of western North Carolina no less)!

Thankful for His goodness

Train to Reign Participants

Newlywed Valentines!

AJ & Amy Selby were married on December 8th, 2018!

Here they share a couple of things that they have enjoyed about being married.

Monday Morning Devotions

Today as we get ready for a new year, let us resolve to give top priority to our relationships!

Devotion by Susan Pons

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Hebrews 2:1).

Staying the path with God requires a discipline to take the time to hear Him speak:
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)

There are seasons in this life when we can drift away from our “first love.”

Similar to an earthly marriage that needs careful attention to keep the flame burning, so it is in our union with the Lord.

How do we keep these two most important relationships alive?

1. Inclining our ears towards the Lord and our spouse.

2. Seeking both relationships with all of our hearts.

3. Cutting off those things that keep us from nourishing these two highest unions.

So, today, let’s make the effort not to drift away from our relationships with the Lord and in our marriage. The rewards are great!

1.What is it in your personal life that can cause you to drift away?
2.What kind of discipline does this require of you?
3.How does our not drifting away affect the Body of Christ of which you are a
part?

We would love to hear your thoughts on these questions and this study! Please comment below!

Giving Tuesday

Dear Friends,

As a great reminder to all year-end contributions, Giving Tuesday was designed to ease the strain of last minute donations during the Christmas season. What is exciting for CTCI is your donation this year will be twice the value. That’s right! Every dollar we receive will be matched up to $100,000.00.

Now is the time to give. Not only are you helping to restore families from around the globe, but hundreds of young people are also being transformed through our Heroes of Today challenge programs.

This is the season of Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for the many faithful donors who help enable us to continue this work.

Would you prayerfully consider donating to the ministry of CTCI? Every dollar counts, and this year, twice as much!

God bless you and your family during this time of thanking our Lord for His many blessings.

Most Sincerely,

Larry F. Pons, CTCI Executive Director

To donate now and find more information about the lives affected by your giving at CTCI click here. God Bless!

2018 Summer Intern Testimonies: Faith Morton

Faith Morton’s family moved to Franklin from Port St. Lucie in 2017 after her sister’s family, Madison and Dustin Ortiz, joined our staff. She shares about the importance of duty vs intimacy, obedience vs sacrifice, seeing the monuments of the Lord’s goodness in our lives, and how much her Heavenly Father truly loves her.

If you would like more information about the summer internship or our upcoming spring semester you can go to:

Summer Internship – http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/heroesinternship

Spring Semester – http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/heroessemmester

2018 Summer Intern Testimonies: Daniel Ricks

Daniel Ricks came to join the 2018 Summer Internship in order to serve and strengthen his relationship with the Lord prior to leaving for Army Basic Training in September. During his time here his relationship with the Lord was made even more personal with the revelation that he always “has his Father’s ear.”

If you would like more information about the summer internship or our upcoming spring semester you can go to:

Summer Internship – http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/heroesinternship

Spring Semester – http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/heroessemmester