Ellen White strongly emphasized that every local congregation should function as a training school for Christian workers, equipping its members for active service and outreach.
Here's a more detailed look at what she envisioned for churches as training centers:
1. **Comprehensive Training for Practical Work:**
* "Every church should be a training school for Christian workers. Its members should be taught how to give Bible readings, how to conduct and teach Sabbath-school classes, how best to help the poor and to care for the sick, how to work for the unconverted." (
MH 149.2)
* This training should extend to practical skills, including "schools of health, cooking schools, and classes in various lines of Christian help work." (
MH 149.2)
* The training should involve "not only teaching, but actual work under experienced instructors. Let the teachers lead the way in working among the people, and others, uniting with them, will learn from their example. One example is worth more than many precepts." (
MH 149.2)
2. **Developing Missionary Talent:**
* Churches have a "solemn responsibility... to train youth and educate talent to engage in missionary work." (
CT 69.2, 6T 213)
* When churches identify promising individuals who cannot afford schooling, they should "assume the responsibility of sending them to one of our training schools." (
CT 69.2, 6T 213)
* The goal is to prepare individuals for various lines of missionary work, including "missionary nurses, some as canvassers, and some as gospel ministers." (
8T 230.1)
3. **Ministers' Role in Equipping Members:**
* Ministers should focus on "planning work for them. Give each one something to do for others... And let all be taught how to work. Especially should those who are newly come to the faith be educated to become laborers together with God." (
6T 49.4)
4. **Integration with Public Efforts:**
* A well-balanced work in cities can be achieved when a "training school for Bible workers is in progress" alongside public meetings. Experienced laborers should provide daily instruction to Bible workers and unite in the general public effort. (9T 111,
GW 364.3)
* As new converts are made, those leading the mission should "show these new converts how to experience the power of the truth in their lives." (9T 111)
5. **Importance of Practical Godliness:**
* Students coming from these training schools must "realize the greatness of the work; practical godliness must be brought into their daily experience, if they would be fitted for any place of usefulness in the cause of God." (
CE 209.1, GW92 291.2,
CT 501.1)
In summary, Ellen White envisioned local churches as dynamic centers where members are not just taught, but actively trained and equipped through practical experience to engage in various forms of missionary and Christian help work, fostering both individual spiritual growth and collective outreach.
References:
* White, E. G. (1905). The Ministry of Healing (MH), p. 149.2.
* White, E. G. (1904). Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8 (8T), p. 230.1.
* White, E. G. (1913). Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students (CT), p. 69.2, 158, 173, 501.1.
* White, E. G. (1900). Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6 (6T), p. 49.4, 213.
* White, E. G. (1909). Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9 (9T), p. 111.
* White, E. G. (1892). Gospel Workers (GW92), p. 291.2.
* White, E. G. (1915). Gospel Workers (GW), p. 364.3.
* White, E. G. (1913). Christian Education (CE), p. 46.1, 209.1.