Learn About Our Distinctives
Community
WAY Students will grow in a loving, Christ-centered familial atmosphere with mentorship from LeTourneau staff. All students live on campus in our dormitory or other campus housing and through daily service, class, and time spent together they learn through practice how Godly community lives.
Service
WAY Students will be treated like other staff on campus, serving within the various departments of LeTourneau’s ministry according to its needs and the God-given talents they posses.
Discipleship
WAY Students Students in the One-Year program will learn and practice the three aspects of discipleship: following Jesus, being transformed by Jesus, and joining Jesus on his mission to make disciples (See EQUIPPED).
Equipped
WAY Students will be equipped to fulfill the Great Commission. Serving God and making disciples wherever God will lead them next: Ministry, Missions, College, or Career. Our ministry centers around Christ’s prescribed model: disciples making disciples.
A year-long biblical education and leadership program for high school graduates and college-age adults seeking to receive collegiate-level education on the foundations of the Christian faith. The WAY School seeks to equip Christians to be disciple-makers and spiritual leaders within their churches and surrounding communities.
Classes
We believe in a holistic education, and for that reason we have designed our curriculum to approach the study of scripture and its application to our lives in an integrated, specialized model of teaching. There are four distinct courses for the one year program at LeTourneau—Redemptive History, Biblical Hermeneutics and Rhetoric, Theology and Philosophy, and Integrated Spiritual Formations.
Within these four classes students will cover a comprehensive survey of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Church History, along with learning the fundamentals of interpreting scripture and teaching. Students will also gain exposure to the breadth of Christian philosophy and theology, helping them to express the Christian Worldview as taught by Scripture in its application to personal holiness, evangelism, ethics, and counseling. The purpose of growing in our knowledge of God is to be transformed in the renewal of our minds, that we may love and cherish God as He is and to worship Him in Spirit and Truth.
Our Curriculum
The WAY School of Discipleship offers an intensive curriculum of theological study and practical ministry application that builds the character and habits of Godly men and women. Students will grow in their appreciation for scripture in weekly classes focused on understanding the Word of God and loving Him with all your mind, heart, and soul. Students will immediately begin applying the principles of Godly living through specialized training in ministry settings, evangelistic outreach, and missions outside of camp. Each student’s week is balanced to allow for involvement in a local church and fellowship opportunities with students and staff.
Example Weekly Schedule
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Ministry on Campus | Class | Study | Class | Ministry on Campus | Partial Ministry on Campus | Sabbath and Rest |
Tuition and Application
There is no tuition! We are grateful to be able to invest in the lives of our students and to offer our 2025 program free of charge. There will be no cost for books, classes, activities, or housing during the course of your program. We do offer an optional trip to students within the program at a minimal fee. To help offset the cost of this ministry, we ask all of our students to share their desire to join The WAY School of Discipleship with as many of their friends and family as possible so that these loved ones might encourage our students through prayer and financial support. Support that the students raise is provided to them through the ministry as a weekly stipend.
Transfer Schools
Through our partnership with Eleven:6, our students can transfer up to 30 credits to any of our partner schools! Credits will be enrolled through Anchor Christian University, and all transfer agreements are handled through Anchor. From Cedarville University to Cairn University, our students can take the skills and knowledge that they learned from LeTourneau into a Bachelor’s degree and further.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does The WAY School one year program begin and end?
The WAY Program runs from September to September every year. This means that students will complete at least nine months of theological education and leadership training at LeTourneau (from September to May) and then have three months of full-time, paid ministry experience during the summer (June-September).
Do students in The WAY School live at camp?
Yes! All of our students live on campus in either our newly built dormitories or in another location on LeTourneau’s property.
Do students in The WAY School receive any financial compensation?
We ask all of our students to share their desire to join The WAY School of Discipleship with as many of their friends and family as possible so that these loved ones might encourage our students through prayer and financial support. Support that the students raise is provided to them through the ministry as a weekly stipend.
Do I have to enroll in The WAY Summer program before attending The WAY School?
No! But, it is suggested that students interested in joining us for Fall 2022 also consider joining us for the summer as there is no better introduction to our ministry than the summer! With that said, students in our one year program will be expected to remain with us for the full year completing nine months of theological training (September-May) and three months of paid, full-time ministry (June-September)
What is an average day like for a student in The WAY School?
Students in our program are treated as fellow staff members, beginning their day with our morning staff meeting at 8AM. After we address the needs for the day, students will either go to class until the late afternoon or head into a department to serve for the work day. During the evenings, students are usually free! With that said, depending on the need the students may go with the Discipleship Coordinator to various ministries in the Canandaigua-Rochester area to serve beyond LeTourneau.
Where will I serve?
Students serve on campus in a variety of jobs. During the conference season (September through June) the most common jobs on campus are serving our guest in hospitality, our dining hall, the kitchen and with our maintenance and grounds team. During the summer, our students are often leaders in their departments from our overnight kid’s camp, lifeguarding, outdoor recreation, and more! If you have skills that you think would be best applied to a specific location, then please indicate that on your application.
Do students need to have a driver's license or a vehicle?
No! Students are not required to have either a license or a vehicle on campus.
Hear from Past Students
I developed a firm, foundational understanding of my faith through The WAY School of Discipleship. I went from being a believer who struggled to understand his Bible to being able to clearly articulate what I believe and why. The education I have received has helped me to be a better leader, worker, brother in Christ, and a better friend. My time at LeTourneau, though tough at times, has made an invaluable change within my walk with God!
Derek Ballard
Discipleship Coordinator
Derek is passionate about transformational discipleship. To Derek, this means that becoming a disciple of Christ entails that we follow Him, and are gradually transformed in a greater likeness to Christ. Through this process of transformation, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in which we follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior, is The WAY to experience life as God intended it. Derek seeks to train up disciples into godly young men and women who are equipped and ready to serve the Lord in whatever service God may call them to, bearing the image of Christ wherever they go, and making more disciples along the way. It is through this process of transformational discipleship that we build up the kingdom of God for His glory and for the joy of His people! Currently, Derek is pursuing his Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he is excited to see where God will lead in the coming years, and to see God work in and through the lives of His disciples!
Phone: 585-554-3400
Email: dballard@letcc.org