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How do you inspire lasting change in a generation? By Cathy Harris

Mark Virkler's picture

For us at the School of Ministry, it’s our motto: Encounter God. Be Transformed. Change the World.

Everything we do at the School of Ministry is intentional. With each batch of students we see a flood of new testimonies: students set free from depression and anxiety; beautiful, supernatural physical healings; deep, intimate encounters with the Holy Spirit; bold equipping in the spiritual gifts. Everything we do is geared towards Presence. Encounter. Transformation. These are the central tenets of Catch The Fire and we pursue them fervently.  


Gordon and Cathy Harris - Directors of SOM

But we’ve recognized over the years that a desire for intentional growth isn’t enough on its own. Values need a vision and success needs a strategy!

Inspiring lasting change in a generation - transforming the world - comes secondary to encounter and transformation. But in the triumphant, glorious momentum of the School, there is a hidden warning not to ride the wave of the ‘corporate anointing’ that rests in this place. It’s hard not to. The worship is outstanding. The teaching is out-of-this-world. The presence of God is thick and it’s powerful. But it’s all too easy to misattribute a corporate encounter as an intimate, personal exchange with the Father. Those moments on the school are a dime-a-dozen. But once one exits the bubble of such a culture, returning to the normalcy of outside life devoid of that corporate anointing, where is the wave that once so nourished? How do you inspire lasting change in a generation?

The answer is lodged squarely in a simple principle: the cultivation of a personal, intimate relationship with God.

Two-Way Journaling is the primary tool we use at the School of Ministry to empower students in their relationship with God. Hearing God’s Voice is the very first topic we teach each school (two to four days immersed in the wisdom of Mark Virkler’s four keys!) and, following that, we use journaling to encourage personal encounter and transformation among all of our students.

Journaling is foundational in our five-month programs. Each week of the school has a different theme and we set weekly “Journal Assignments” in concert with that theme. “Father, how do you see me?” might come with Identity week. “God, what does it mean to be made in your image?” might accompany Genesis week. “Holy Spirit, what is your plan for restoration in my heart?” augments the work of Inner Healing week. “Jesus, how can I be a light to my generation?” equips during Prophetic Evangelism week. Each of our modules has their own set of questions each week - usually three - with a creative task included as one of them and this continues for the whole five months of the program. We also encourage them to take ownership of their own journaling and hear countless testimonies of intimate encounters, answered questions and deep revelation through the process.

Each week, students share their journaling with a trusted Small Group Leader, the primary pastoral interface of the School. Set in a dynamic of deep trust and vulnerability, our Small Group Leaders are a voice of encouragement, care and guidance as students venture into inner healing. The team, all of whom are graduates of the School itself, are there to nurture and refine students as they learn to hear His voice, and provide a useful framework of accountability and guidance for growth. As such, journaling also provides a beautiful and clear window into the pastoral needs and growth of students at the School.

We have witnessed journaling change the lives of countless students.

An example of students journaling

One student several years ago came to the school battered and bruised by a lifetime of bullying, his identity in tatters. Deep at the core of his being was a life-defining ungodly belief: “I am not worthy of love.” Every day, plagued by depression and anxiety, his mind was in turmoil with a multitude of questions. During the course of the School he was encouraged to journal every day “Father, what do you have to say to my heart?” and to make space for the Holy Spirit to breathe life into that area. One day he approached his Small Group Leader, full of frustration. “I’ve been asking God questions in my journaling every day but the only thing he tells me over and over is ‘I love you, son. I just love you.’ I must not be hearing God right - he’s not answering all the important questions I’m asking!”

But just a few weeks later, the message that the Father had been tenderly pressing into his heart found its way in. The student came to his Small Group Leader in floods of tears; he had finally got it: he was passionately, all-consumingly loved by his Father. High walls thrown up in response to hurt came tumbling down, all from the freedom of the power of the word of God. In the wake of that revelation the student became a fervent advocate for journaling, writing dozens of pages each day, pouring his heart out to God and radiating transformation in the process.  

The process was a night-and-day transformation. Through his journaling God began to show him answers to problems, gave him strategies, revelations and wisdom, and cultivated a deep, intimate process of restoration from the trauma of his past. The depression melted away and he blossomed back to life, a bubbling ball of laughter and hope.  Eight years on and two-way journaling is still a foundational part for him; his 22 journals written over those years are proof of it! And it wasn’t just a deep heart journey: the Holy Spirit even began to show him inventions, technologies and breakthroughs relating to the field of science he worked in!

Why is journaling so effective?

Put simply, journaling empowers consistency in relationship with God. It provides a tool for all times and all seasons. A good habit. A focal point for connection with the Father each and every day. And, encouragingly, a written record which can always be returned to in times of testing.

The simplicity of the four keys means that anyone can do it. Anyone can encounter God and find breakthrough through the process of journaling. No matter where they are at, journaling is an accessible tool for all of our students which cultivates a deep and long-lasting relationship with God that embodies Encounter, Presence and Transformation.

Utterance of the phrase “Go and journal about it!” has become somewhat of a hallmark among our graduate family and wider team. But it carries immense gravity in the School: each one of us, and the stories of a thousand students, are living testament to the power of an encounter with the word of God.


Gordon and Cathy Harris are Directors of the School of Ministry at Catch the Fire Church in Toronto


 

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How to Walk by the Spirit Complete Discounted Package

How to Walk by the Spirit Complete Discounted Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 1 Workbook | 6 DVDs | 6 CDs | Total Value $133.85

Are you like many western Christians who have been taught little about how to sense their spirits? Do you have trouble even defining what spirit sensations feel like within you, much less recognizing them? This training was birthed from Mark’s passion to live out of his spirit, and thus release the anointing of God. The problem he faced was lack of clear biblical definition as to what his spirit felt like. So Mark looked up every verse in the Bible on heart and spirit.

Includes Revised & Expanded 15th Anniversary Edition CDs & DVDs

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Naturally Supernatural Complete Discounted Package

Naturally Supernatural Complete Discounted Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 2 Books | 6 CDs | 4 DVDs | Save 15%

A step-by-step guide on “abiding in Christ” or how to let go and let God live naturally and powerfully out through you. Disarmingly simple. Mind-blowingly powerful.

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Overcomer's Complete Discounted Package

Overcomer's Complete Discounted Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 5 books | 3 CD sets | 3 DVD sets | Save $37!

So you just encountered the Holy Spirit in a whole new way, and now you want to deepen your spiritual sensitivity and release of His power? How do you go about doing that? First of all, you want to clearly and biblically define living by the Spirit. Secondly, you want to press into intimacy with the Holy Spirit with understanding and persistence.

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Overflow of the Spirit Complete Package

Overflow of the Spirit Complete Discounted Package

12 Sessions CDs & DVDs | Book 284 pgs | Workbook 50 pgs | Teacher's Guide | by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe

Mark and Charity have teamed up again to create a training series on how to easily manifest the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. It took us several years to break through all the confusion and present a clear, simple understanding of how to release the nine-fold manifestation of the Holy Spirit everywhere you go and with everyone you touch. It is not hard! It can’t be since these are gifts of the Holy Spirit, not things you have to work for.

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Overflow of the Spirit - USB Flash Drive

Overflow of the Spirit USB Flash Drive

Save over $150 on a HOST of resources by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe

Mark and Charity have teamed up again to create a training series on how to easily manifest the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. It took us several years to break through all the confusion and present a clear, simple understanding of how to release the nine-fold manifestation of the Holy Spirit everywhere you go and with everyone you touch. It is not hard! It can’t be since these are gifts of the Holy Spirit, not things you have to work for.

Price: $89.00

Prayers That Heal the Heart Master Package USB Flash Drive - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

2 PDF eBooks | 15 MP3s | 15 Videos | 181 PowerPoint Slides | More...

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit.

Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith. 

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Secrets of World-Class Teachers Package

Secrets of World-Class Teachers Package

6 Books, 2 CDs, 2 DVDs all at a 15% Discount

Spirit-Anointed Teaching Materials designed to strengthen ALL teachers including parents, Sunday school teachers, cell group leaders, pastors and educators in every field! These materials will give you the tools to become a Spirit-anointed trainer!

“They were amazed at His teaching; He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mark 1:22)

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Spirit Born Creativity Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 1 book | 1 CD | 1 DVD

God made man creative, and, in addition, He has given man the ability to draw upon the eternal creativity of God. Locked within you lies a divine reservoir of creative energy that can transform your life.

God spoke to Marc Huddleston in his two-way journaling, "The quietness of a man's mind in My Presence is the birth place of the release of My limitless creativity."

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Take Charge of Your Health Complete Discounted Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 1 book | 12 Video Sessions | 12 Audio Sessions | Save 15%

Discover how you can take charge of your own health — keeping yourself young, energetic, attractive, and free of degenerative diseases! Discover the biblical injunctions on diet and health, and the amazing correlations between them and modern scientific research. Updated in 2015 with 20 years of fresh insights since recording the previous "Go Natural" series!

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Through the Bible 1: Pentateuch Complete Discounted Package

3 CDs and 2 DVDs by Dr. Andrew Hardy | 1 Book by Mark and Patti Virkler | Save almost 15%

Dr. Andrew Hardy takes you from Genesis through Deuteronomy in 10 sessions. This is part one of our Through the Bible series, which gives you an overview of the entire Bible. It contains CDs and DVDs of Pentateuch as well as Through the Bible workbook

Price: $60.00

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