“The View” is a compilation of stories or truths, that the students of the OGTC have cultured during their time in the Training Center.

Author: O.G.T.C. Student Beau Carpenter

Beau Carpenter (Far left in photo)

A Lesson in Teachability

As an excited, timid, and fairly smart (by some estimations) 18 year old kid, I traveled from my parent’s home in North Central Ohio to Atlanta, GA to study in the Our Generation Training Center. In my mind, I was no newbie to the ministry and to life. I had been preaching somewhat regularly for about 9 months, attending and leading in visitation for a year and a half and had obtained an associates degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering during my last two years of high school while working a job 30-35 hours per week. I thought that I was starting out pretty well.

However, Reality set in. I came to the Training Center and within the first eight months, I had all kinds of problems. I had little to no money from the savings I had built up for the past eight years, my vehicle became completely unusable, and I was finding out that I didn’t really know that much about ministry. God was teaching me something, he was teaching me humility and that it was imperative that I would have the attitude of a learner. No one gets very far in life as a know-it-all. I have not arrived to the place where I have it all figured out. I must continue to learn, grow, and have humble attitude knowing that I don’t know everything. I found out that I have a lot of things to learn and that I will never stop learning and growing. Pastor Gardner lives the example of continually learning. Even with his experience and years in the ministry he still continues to read, to learn, and to deepen his walk with the Lord. This is the same attitude that God has been teaching me.

One enormous lesson I have learned through the training center is the lesson of Teachability and knowing that I have not arrived.

For two years Luther Rice struggled with the burden of his lost state. It was so bad that it impaired his health and his jovial spirit. He fell into a deep depression, and it was finally when he humbled himself and submitted to God that he realized it wasn’t about what Scripture he memorized or how much good he did. He realized it was Christ’s work that saved a man. After his conversion Luther decided not to go about the “nominal” Christian life that so many people at the time were living but rather yield his members unto the service of God.

Rice was a man of action, so he was an active soul-winner,  started a bible study, and tried to get others in his church involved in the same activities. It seems that whatever Luther found himself doing he did it with all that was in him, and the same was true with his gospel witness. It was said that his activities were an embarrassment to his pastor and church for neither shared the same burden. Could you imagine being a new Christian wanting to serve God and bring others to him and your own church family doesn’t encourage you; instead they actually possibly discourage you from your work? It didn’t just stop with his church; Luther’s own family didn’t want him to be involved in such a radical lifestyle. However, the discouragement didn’t stop Luther Rice from trying to get the Gospel out. He kept a good attitude and a sweet spirit and heart to tell others of the wonderful grace he found in Jesus Christ. Luther Rice actually start two Bible studies/prayer meetings in his neighborhood, and one of the meeting places was in the house a Baptist.

One of the many things that I love about the story of Luther Rice is that he just did something, and it didn’t matter how much opposition was in his life. Luther Rice was going to tell others about Jesus, and neither his family nor his church was going to get in his way. He was a witness for Christ and nothing was going to stop or rob him of his joy. I wonder if this is true for my life? How many times have I refrained from giving the Gospel. What obstacles have been in my way to keep me from sharing the good news about Jesus? Do I hand out tracts on a regular basis? What if my family discouraged me from and ridiculed me for telling others about Jesus? Would I stop?I don’t know how I would answer many of those questions because I go to a great church and have a family that encourages me to witness. You are probably in the same boat as me, so the real question is are you active in getting the gospel out? Do people know you as a Gospel Proclaimer?

In 1989 a missionary sat in a study with seven young men around him learning the Bible. This activity went on everyday for about eight to nine hours a day, and there would be the occasional day where they would go out to visit in the neighborhood. From those seven men only three graduated in 1993. This was the start of Macedonia Baptist Seminary which would later serve as the model for the Our Generation Training Center in Alpharetta, GA.

In only twenty years, there have been 209 students to graduate and go on to serve the Lord afterwards. There are currently fifteen male and four female graduates living on mission field in other countries around South America and even in Africa. In Peru, there are around seventy pastors and co-pastors. Forty-two of them live in Arequipa.

Macedonia Baptist Seminary has come a long way–from an office in a missionary’s house to 4.8 acres of land with buildings for all sorts of different classes. You might be wondering why I wrote this. It’s because I want everyone to see what happens when you support missions–especially Macedonia Baptist Seminary. God has done great things and He continues to do great things in Arequipa, Peru. If you don’t have a part in this ministry, it is my earnest desire that you pray for the ministry down here and if possible, give. It will be well worth your investment in Peru and in Alpharetta GA.

The BE level or the private-level is the most important level of this philosophy. It is from your BE level that your actions will follow. It would be known as the heart, the part of you that no one knows, the part that no one can change accept Jesus and His Word. The BE level is not seen, and the Bible says that God is looking at the inward part. In 1 Samuel 16:7 God tells Samuel that He isn’t looking on the outward substance of a man, but rather He is looking on the heart. It was also the Pharisees’ hearts that was the problem. Their outside looked great but the inside was full of dead man’s bones (Matthew 23:27.) You see God cares more about who the man is than what he does.

The world has adopted the idea that if we are going to change a person then we have to change what they do or “change the methods.” An example would be AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. They have 12 steps to help an alcoholic. Another example would be the prison or rehabilitation systems. These systems are used to help rehabilitate or restore a person back to normal. The world’s system says to change what you do and as a result you will change who you are. This skewed mentality seems to be a problem in our churches as well. It seems that the preaching in America is more directed at what a person does rather than the issues of the heart. We worry more about using a method to reach a desired result than we do about preaching the only message that will change a person.

I believe that the only way a person can change is by being born again. A miracle occurs at salvation where all the old things pass away and ALL things become new. If you are the type who likes a “steps” kind of program,  that is the first step and the rest will soon follow once you get into the Bible (James 1:21.) That is why we must be BIBLE PEOPLE; that is why we must PREACH BIBLE and not our hobby horses. This is why we must disciple people with the Word of God, and that is what we do at the Our Generation Training Center. We focus more on who you are in Christ than we do on a list of rules. We are Gospel-centered people instead of  being man-centered. Everything that is taught and preached goes back to what the Bible says. Where God speaks we want to speak and where God is silent we are silent. It is no joke; if you want to change get in the Book. If you want a person to become a servant of Christ tell him what Christ has done for him; don’t give him a list of rule. Instead let it will be the love of Christ that constrains him and changes him.

“The View” is a compilation of stories or truths, that the students of the OGTC have cultured during their time in the Training Center.

Author: O.G.T.C. Student Daniel Bennett

One thing I’ve learned since being here at the Our Generation Training Center is that Missions is a major theme in the Bible – even in the Old Testament. In Genesis 12:2-3 God makes a covenant with Abraham that He would bless Abraham (and the Israelites as a whole) and that through them the rest of the nations would be blessed. Thus Israel was given the responsibility to be witnesses for Christ and reach out to the nations around them. The Abrahamic covenant was repeated by God five times, three times to Abraham (Gen 12:2-3; 18:17-18; 22:18), once to Isaac (Genesis 26:4), and once to Jacob (Genesis 28:14). This promise is represented nearly 400 times which are paraphrased abridgements throughout the Bible (ex. Psalm 67:1,2; Isaiah 49:6; and Romans 1:5-6.) Paul in the New Testament confirms this promise when he emphasizes that God intends that all families of the earth might experience the blessing promised to Abraham and that Abraham’s real descendants are believers in Jesus Christ, whether they happen to be Jews or Gentiles (Galatians 3:8, 14, 16, 19, 29; Ephesians 3:2-6, 9, 11; Romans 15:8-12). Understanding God’s promise to Abraham is indispensable to an understanding of the Bible and of the Christian faith. God’s promise reveals His purpose in missions. But we must remember to keep the emphasis on what God will do so that He will get all the glory for it.

Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. 

One of my heroes was a man that truly had a heart for the WORLD–a man that at the end of life wasn’t heralded as a great man of God but was basically considered in all accounts a failure. However, the Lord took that perceived failure and did something remarkable. Luther Rice, now known for being an instrument in starting the Southern Baptist Convention, was a man who served a GREAT GOD. My point of this blog series is not to make much of a man but to show you how God took someone and did great and mighty things through him. I hope to point out some of his godly traits and show you how a man of God lives his life.

The first trait that I would like to point out in the life of Luther Rice is his initiative. Early on in Luther Rice’s life you can see that he was a man of initiative. At the age of sixteen Luther left his home in the Northeast heading to Georgia to buy timber and bring it back to build ships. It appears that asking his parents was not the route that he took. He wanted to make money so he did. He took the initiative. There was no prodding and forcing him to get to work. He was a man of action. This trait only seemed to intensify once he was born-again. Luther Rice took initiative. He saw a need and then spent his life working to meet that need. After returning to America from seeing India, he went out on a horse travelling and preaching to raise awareness and funds for the foreign field and education.

All throughout the Bible you see God’s men making decisions and taking the initiative. Doing so is an aspect of faith. You can see this trait with Noah building the ark, Abraham leaving his homeland and offering up his son, in Moses, Rahab and many more. Many believed and were moved to action themselves as a result. Maybe you are reading this article and you are looking for a place to learn how to be in the ministry. You have the desire but maybe you need show initiative and take the next step. Maybe you are already a student here in the Training Center and so desperately want God to work in your life, so get off the couch and DO SOMETHING. Charles Spurgeon said that a call to preach is a call to prepare. Did you get that? YOU have to take the initiative and get to work. Desire is not enough if we are going to reach this world with gospel; we need men and women who are going to take initiative. We need men and women who don’t need a boss. We need people who have seen the problem and are taking steps to be part of the solution.

Lord please give us, the Our Generation Training Center, men and women who will take initiative–not just students who have a desire, but real MEN and WOMEN who will take the initiative and step out to fulfill this impossible task we call world evangelism. Thank You Father for an example like Luther Rice who gave his life for this cause, but Lord thank you more for your Son, Jesus who gave His all and is our example and enabler to be men and women who take the initiative in His work. Amen.

Name: Kevin Hall

Location: South Africa

DOB: 3/17/1980

If you have spent anytime around the Our Generation Team you probably have heard the story of Kevin Hall. Kevin was high school star in football in North Georgia. His hard work actually got him a scholarship to play football for a Division 1 college. But the Lord had other plans for Kevin. Kevin was called to preach, and with the call to preach also comes the call to prepare. So Kevin left the scholarship and went to Bible College to prepare for ministry.

After Kevin graduated he spent time trying to raise awareness for the need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Even though the job that Kevin was doing is extremely needed, the Lord had other plans for Kevin. Kevin is now a church-planting missionary in the country of South Africa to the Xhosa people. The Lord has helped Kevin not only learn a language that would be extremely difficult to learn but He has also allowed Kevin to start three churches and be in the process of training men for the ministry.

Next week at the Training Center Kevin will be teaching on Strategies of Cultural Adaptations. Kevin Hall has been blessed enough to not only know the theory of learning a culture but to also have the experience of learning a culture. He is a great teacher, GREAT PREACHER, and a man of high character. I hope the students will learn and appreciate the tremendous opportunity to learn from such a choice man of God.

Each church and every person for that matter has different goals. Regardless of his beliefs, a person’s goals can be seen by the way he behaves or by how he spends his time. The challenge with the Christian life is that we must make sure our philosophy, or our way of doing something, is Biblical. In regards to ministry more specifically, if done Biblically, the question then is not so much whether how we do things is morally right or wrong, but rather if the way we do things the way Jesus or Paul would have done ministry.

As churches, our goal is obeying the Great Commission that Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19-20. The question that follows in my mind is how does one go about fulfilling the ministry? Christ commands us to go and teach all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe whatsoever Christ commanded. Many churches (and I hope all Christians) would say that this would be a goal of theirs. But the question is how is this goal fulfilled? What is our plan to accomplish such a difficult task? That is where a philosophy of ministry comes in. Some people or churches rely on evangelists, men who travel around the world preaching the gospel to thousands and thousands, to do this job. Such a philosophy,  while employing a valid means of outreach, does not fulfill the Great Commission alone. Please don’t take what I am saying out of context. The role of an evangelist is extremely important, but it cannot and will not fulfill the Great Commission alone.

At the Training Center we try to teach our students a method by which they can more effectively fulfill the Great Commission. We teach them what Christ did and what He emphasized. Over the next four Mondays I will be going over our BE DO SERVE TRAIN philosophy of ministry and I hope that I will explain it in a way that will help you understand and see the biblical examples played out.

Location: Alpharetta, Ga

DOB: 1/15/1983

Year Graduated College: 2004

Trent Cornwell is a jack of all trades and a master of all. He wears multiple hats doing everything from preaching, website design for missionaries, event planing, couples’ pastor, missions mobilizer, pioneer sender, loving father, husband and teacher at the Our Generation Training Center. And the thing with Trent is that he does all these extremely well.

No one has a greater heart for missions in India on this side of the Atlantic than Trent Cornwell does, in my humble opinion. He is not the textbook definition of a missionary, but he has the heart of one. In February 2011 I saw Trent leave the United States to go on a missions trip to the country of India, and when he came back everyone new that there was something different. Trent shared his burden about the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS who have never heard the glorious gospel in India. His prayer was that God would send laborers to the country of India, and that is what God did. It wasn’t long before one couple surrendered to take the gospel to India and then another. Right now there are five families who have surrendered to take the gospel to India that Trent has had some type of influence on.

I am lucky guy to have not only known such a choice servant of the Lord but I get to work alongside of Trent. This week wraps up the class on “Foundations of a World Vision” that Trent taught, and only the lucky students of the Our Generation Training Center had the opportunity to learn from a great Man of God like Trent Cornwell.