Join Us in School of Ministry!

The Heartland Conference saw the need for training ministerial candidates and serious lay leaders in the early 1990s. The school started out as a part of the national ETS (Equipping The Saints) correspondence program. In the Heartland, we helped pioneer a modular classroom setting under top-notch teachers — all with extensive ministry experience and outstanding academic qualifications.

You Can Do It!

Because of responsibilities and seasons of life, not everyone can attend full-time Bible college. The Heartland School of Ministry is doable for almost anyone. The program includes 16 courses (8 per year — we do not meet during Christmas and the summer). Each class includes a month for pre-class reading and assignment(s) before the Friday evening and Saturday morning class.

Many of the pastors in our conference fulfilled their licensing requirements through the School of Ministry. Whether you desire to receive credentials or just have a desire to learn more about the Bible and ministry, we invite you to join the School of Ministry.

March 16-17, 2012

Join Richard Goad in this overview of communicating in teaching and preaching styles.

Recently, I read these words of a Christian psychologist: "Every day believers should be either learning something from those with more knowledge and information than they or teaching something to those who may have less knowledge than they possess.

As a teacher with an assignment and mission to share God's Word each week, do you love to teach? Do you live to teach?

A few years ago, I received a call one Saturday afternoon from the teacher of an adult Sunday school class. He apologized for the late notice, but said he was ill and was certain he would not be able to be there the next day.

The lesson that Sunday was on the "Ordinances of the Church." I agreed to fill in and spent the rest of the evening studying and talking to God about that important but rather stuffy-sounding topic.

When Sunday morning dawned, I felt ready. With Bible, notes, commentary, and props in hand, my husband and I were there early enough for me set the scene before the students began arriving. He helped me carry in a chalice, a loaf of homemade bread (which, "coincidentally," he had baked the day before), a large basin of soapy water, and a fluffy bath towel. I arranged these items on a table at the front of the room.

You should have seen and heard the students' reactions and comments when they walked in and saw the items on the table, including the basin of water and towel, waiting for them. Priceless! I kept them wondering for a while about my intent before assuring them I had not staged an impromptu foot-washing service. Their responses provided a great segue into the lesson.

With God's help, that lesson became one I will never forget and one that helped the students grasp the meaning and significance of the holy ordinances of the church. But that often happens when a teacher loves (lives) to talk about Jesus and allows the Holy Spirit to make Him known.

Stewardship is founded on this principle, "God has given you what you need to do what He's called you to do." God has given you the tool to do the job. He's given you the seed to plant for the harvest. He's given you the solution to fix the problem.

Too many Christians believe that God is expecting them to do something with nothing! That is simply not biblical stewardship. God is not expecting you to make something out of nothing. God is the Creator, and only He can make something out of nothing. He is commanding you and I to take the resource  He's given us and begin to use it for His purpose. God has given you everything you need. You just need to see the tool, the seed, and the resource that He has placed in your hand. Take that resource given to you by God, and use it. It is at that moment you become a good steward.