Why are we thankful at the Christian Training Center? Watch us count the ways.
Why are we thankful at the Christian Training Center? Watch us count the ways.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.Give thanks to him and bless his name. Psalm 100:4 (CSB)
What does “life is relationships” mean? Why is the Christian Training Center so special?
Watch this great Christian Training Center overview. See our founders, Jay and Sally Fesperman explain why “life is relationships” is so meaningful.
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
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! | 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 | 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.
Heroes Semester Fall 2017 Testimonies
November 12th was the final Sunday for our 2017 fall semester group and we got to hear a little from each of them about their time here with us before they returned home.
WATCH the full video HERE.
The Life I Live
“To life by faith is to trust and obey – if you trust AND obey that’s a living relationship. There is intimacy. There is growth. There is vitality.”
On November 5th our dear friend, Herman Weits, came and shared with us about the life of his ministry.
Herman and his wife, Ross, lead Bali Christian Retreat Center which is a ministry of Words of Hope International and he came to spend some time with us while on a visit back to the states.
WATCH the full video HERE.
The Power of Testimony
“Your testimonies; the things the Lord does in your life, good and bad because in God there is no bad. He takes the bad and turns it into good. They are your prophecies. They’re the stories you have to tell wherever you go, and God will use them to touch multitudes.”
This Sunday we were blessed to have Bill Eubank, longtime friend of the ministry and CTCI board member, share with us on the blessings the Lord has given us through the testimonies He has given us and their impact on others.
WATCH the full video HERE.
2 Peter: Freedom
“When the Holy Spirit changes our earthly nature into a divinely inspired one then we are free from this world of its corruption and its lust.”
In this message, Larry Pons continues to our walk through 2 Peter and shares how we have been given freedom through faith and the Holy Spirit.
WATCH the full video HERE.
2 Peter: Glory & Excellence
“He has called us by His own glory and excellence so we are called therefore into His glory and into His excellence.”
In this message, Larry Pons speaks about Peter’s teachings and how the knowledge of God and our faith in Him is where all spiritual strength is conveyed to us.
WATCH the full video HERE.
2 Peter: Faith
“Faith makes no distinction to whether you’re a slave or an apostle. Every true believer is by faith justified in the sight of God and forgiven of all his sins.”
In this message, Larry Pons continues to walk through 2 Peter and challenges our thinking on what we actually have faith in Jesus for.
WATCH the Full Video HERE.
What’s going on??? (3/3) | Jay Fesperman
7. OUR OWN CHURCH. These things I am telling you about are in no order of importance, and one of the most important functions going on here at The Inn is the regular meetings of the Franklin covenant Church, of which Larry and I are elders, along with . . . Pastor Robert Enloe. The Ministry of The Inn is actually an outreach from this church, and all the people within the body make major contributions to the activities here. As a staff for The Inn, we have never had a salaried people serving. It has always been a cooperative effort of all those who are a part of the church. The church is a group of home-cell groups who meet regularly each week. Then the entire body comes together every Sunday morning for worship, fellowship, and teaching, as well as to receive the ministry the Lord is raising up at that time. We trust that we are becoming what Paul said the church at Thessalonica was supposed to be: “A model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia”.
What’s going on??? (2/3) | Jay Fesperman
3. FAMILY TRAINING & COUNSELING. Larry Pons and his wife Susan, along with their four young children, will have been at [CTCI] for five years in September, and they are doing a grand job! This is a many-faceted operation, and they cover the responsibilities in a beautiful fashion. One of the most important works the Lord has brought our way is this: we are seeing God bring men and their entire families into The Inn for several weeks, and sometimes months, for the purpose of rekindling the fires that have been dimmed by time and circumstances. Often, these men are filling very important roles of responsibility in their local churches. In the complexity of their many responsibilities and the pressures of today’s family life, they often find it difficult to hold on to the vision of what the Lord has called them too. Thus, many are finding it helpful to have the opportunity to come under a discipline of retraining, rethinking, and re-hearing from the Lord, under the watchful eyes of the staff here at [CTCI]. This has turned out to be a very significant work, meeting a great need in the Body of Christ.
What’s going on??? (1/3) | Jay Fesperman
So many changes have come about in our ministry at [CTCI] that we decided to take this month’s letter and share with you what God is doing in this place as we complete our 15th year as a ministry to the Lord Jesus Christ.
First Family
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.“ — Ephesians 5:31-33
What a high calling marriage is! The first command God gives to man following the creation of woman is to leave mother and father and cleave to his wife (Genesis 2:24). Adam did not have earthly parents, which makes this scripture, written in the beginning, even more extraordinary and weighty.
In The Beginning … of The Inn
In The Beginning … of The Inn
(from my perspective … Tracy Fesperman Collins)
Some time, in the early 1970’s, Jay and Sally Fesperman looked at and bought the Wayah Valley Inn. And, yes, as the story goes, they were looking for a one-room cabin. They needed a place to allow themselves to get away from life and all that was going on in the day-to-day world. Jay was very much involved with business, traveling and entertaining clients. From the first heart episode that Jay had (early 1960’s), Sally was very purposeful in seeing that they lived a healthy lifestyle! When the original doctor asked about exercise, Jay’s answer was “I run to catch planes!” That is when a new pattern of exercise and relaxation began – golf! They never rode in golf carts; they always walked the course. So, in 1970, when they felt the need to have a place to get away and relax, they began looking in Franklin, North Carolina. They loved the mountains, the slower pace and the golf courses!
And the name ??? I have lots of childhood memories! One of the most comforting things I remember was the fact that every morning, at 5 AM, my parents (Jay and Sally) were having their Quiet Time
These Are Times that Sell Men’s Souls
Yesterday, I was reminded of Thomas Paine’s quote that publicized the travail of a nation yet to be born…“These are the times that try men’s souls.” Many in our nation feel the trying of our very beings concerning the survival of our individual and national souls. There is a reason for this: the trying of our souls, as a nation, has been so very great because the selling of our American souls is taking place day by day. The trying of a soul is good. It challenges us to choose between truths and lies. The selling of a soul is quite the opposite. It closes the eyes to truth and sinks human lives into apathetic, tragic and heartbreaking deceit.
How have we sold our souls as a nation? I’ll give just a few of my beliefs that I never imagined would be questioned during my lifetime: