How to take advantage of your time at school? | 3 tips for International Mission School students

Today, as I entered the apartment building of the “Moldtelecom” Training and Recreation Center, the place where the International Mission School takes place, I saw a painting that caught my eye. A family – husband, wife and their two children – installed tile on the stairs.

The father cut the tile, the older boy brought it to his mother and the mother mounted it. Boys learn trades not from books or the internet, and not from hearsay, but live, from their parents. It is the most effective form of education and a classic example of Christian discipleship.

This year, the International Mission School is training 44 young Christians from 12 countries around the world to do discipleship through sports and journalism. When I saw this image, the thought took me to them. Like these parents, who once learned to work in tiles and now pass it on to their children, our students will also need to pass on the teachings they received at the mission school to their children in the faith. But, in order to be able to do their mentoring job well in the future, I want to give them 3 practical tips to take into account while they are at school:

1. Persevere in the Word of God

But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25 NASB)

The secret of happiness in the ministry is directly proportional to the daily understanding and fulfillment of God’s Word. Do not study the Bible mechanically and superficially, but seek to understand God’s Word well. Ask God to reveal His truths to you through the Holy Spirit, be active in your lessons, and where something is not clear to you, ask the teachers to make sure you have a thorough understanding of Bible truth.

2. Make an action plan

The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, but everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5 NASB)

The abundance of the work of the gospel does not come naturally. This is the result of hard and well-planned work. Therefore, I recommend that you think about it now and plan how you are going to implement everything you learn here. Write down your ideas in a notebook, pray, share them with your teachers and ask for their advice. Make a list of the people you want to form your first Bible study group with, and send them an invitation for the fall. If you are a journalist, think about who will be part of your media team and what courses you will teach or which media team you will be involved in when you return home. Ask God to give you a clear strategy for promoting God’s Word in the media. If you are an athlete, see what opportunities you have to open sports clubs in your region.

3. Learn from the experience of teachers

Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. (Philippians 3:17 NASB)

All teachers at the mission school are specialists in their fields and experienced servants. Therefore, take advantage of your time at school and learn from their experience. They have traveled the path you are about to follow and will be able to offer you valuable advice, which you will not find in books or on the internet. Build good and lasting relationships with them, so that in the future you can keep in close contact with them, even at a distance. In fact, your disciples will relate to you exactly to the extent that you relate to your teachers.

I pray that God will help you to bear much fruit in the gospel, to be a good disciple and a good mentor for your disciples.

Translated by Ina Croitoru