Hello everyone and Merry Christmas!
What a year it’s been! It blows my mind how it’s already December. Time flew by this year, and I realized I have only posted newsletters on the CMTS Website, and haven’t actually sent any out on emails! If you’d like to read my previous newsletters, you can find them here! But if you don’t want to go through that trouble, I’ll write a quick recap of this year. It’s been roughly 4 months since I arrived here in Bernville, PA, and it’s been quite a ride.
First, let me explain what this program entails. Here at the Equip Program, we spend a year learning 4 different vocational trades, taking Bible classes, going on mission trips, practicing evangelism, and being a Christ-like example wherever we go. Every 4 weeks, we rotate between the jobs of Maintenance, Auto Body Shop, Warehouse, and Mechanics Shop. We go through this cycle twice, 4 months in the fall, and 4 more in the spring, with mission trips or vacation time spread out in between for a total of about 10 months. We spend 4 hours each day working there in the afternoon after lunch, and in the mornings before lunch, we have either class time or “Flipside Crew” to help out around the ministry. Flipside Crew rotates every week, completing a full cycle of 4 Crew jobs to fill for the 4 weeks we spend in each vocation. We have classes on Monday morning, Tuesday Morning, and Thursday evening, leaving Wed-Fri to be the days we participate in helping around the ministry. The jobs we rotate between are Landscaping/Gardening, Office Work, Cleaning, and Cooking lunch for the ministry.
It’s been great so far, and I’ve learned a lot! My first month was spent in Maintenance with Ray Pete, where I would learn things like how to repair various machinery, lots of flooring work, painting techniques, and basic electrical and plumbing work. Second, I worked with Doug Sylva in the Body Shop, where we did plenty of auto body work and repair, including learning how to weld, spray paint, and power sand. Next, I worked with Justin Darnell in the Warehouse, where I’d move, clean, build, and more. Finally, up until this point, I’ve been working in the Mechanics Shop with Sam Adams and Nick VanWert, where I’ve learned much about the workings of cars and how to keep them maintained, going far beyond changing a few tires here and there.
Beyond the trade work itself, I’ve mentioned we have a few classes. Most of them only last a few weeks, before switching to a new teacher and topic during the same time period. Though this may seem like cramming a lot of content into a short amount of time, the classes are each 90 minutes long, and we still get as much in as needed at a manageable pace. On top of that, the switching up of teachers and classes helps keep things fresh and interesting and keeps us on our feet! We’ve taken classes covering various Books of the Bible, including James, John, Ephesians, and Genesis (which helped us build a response to the false idea of millions of years permeating the modern church). We’ve also taken classes on how to study the Bible more effectively, and how to build a stronger, reason-based faith in Apologetics.
We held an Evangelism Week, where a few classes were taught, and then on Wednesday and Friday afternoons we went out to the public, in stores or on the side of the road or in a mall, and we went up to strangers and talked to them, formed bonds, shared the gospel, and prayed over people. It was truly incredible to see the Spirit working that week!
We’ve also been on one mission trip and are going on another one next week! We spent a week at a camp, where we did construction. We took all the insulation out from the walls of a cabin, then reassembled the walls, and rebuilt a water-damaged bridge.
Still, my time here has not been without some good fun! I love my roommates, though they’re a good bit louder than I, and we’ve had tons of fun goofing off, on or off campus, whether we’re just going on random drives to hang out at Walmart or Cabelas, or scoring a few strikes in Bowling this week!
Next week, we’ll be doing another construction job in Georgia, helping refurbish a home, and practicing evangelism along the way! All work for Christ is good work. Please pray for us as we plunge head-on into this next adventure and the next season of this program! I’ll keep posting every month on the CMTS Website, where you can read my newsletters along with my roommates, Caleb, Aidan, and Donovan. Jesus loves you, and God bless!
-Logan Brennan
