THE WAY School of Discipleship
EST. 2016
THE WAY One-Year Program
THE WAY School of Discipleship is a unique opportunity for young Christians aspiring to know and love God more deeply. Our one-year program is a fully funded, residential experience that equips young adults with the skills to teach, counsel, evangelize, and serve as competent and effective ministers of the Gospel. The primary goal of THE WAY School of Discipleship is to prepare Christians to make disciples wherever God calls them. Since our first class in 2016, students have moved on to become leaders in full-time ministry, professional life, or have continued with further education in college. Our model for ministry is “disciples making disciples.” With simple obedience to the call of Christian discipleship, we hope to build the next-generation of church leaders and disciple-makers that will accelerate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in workplaces, colleges, and local churches.
Our Distinctives
Community
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.
Leadership
We desire for you to become a leader at LeTourneau, which requires that our students cultivate a Christian work ethic and embody the characteristics of Jesus in making decisions, planning for their future, and doing all things to the glory of God. Our one-year program will equip you with the necessary tools to serve in our ministry, but also to go into local churches and even abroad to teach, evangelize, and serve.
Theology
God commands us that we love Him with all of our mind, and to know God is itself “eternal life.” This relationship is at the heart of our one-year program. Through weekly courses challenging you to think and to love God and His Word, we are confident that you will grow in your understanding of the scriptures and the world that God has made.
Our Curriculum
How many years have you spent studying English composition and literature, or mathematics and natural sciences like biology and chemistry? Now how many years have you spent studying your faith? 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 |
| Service on Campus | Class | Study | Class | Service on Campus | Partial Service on Campus | Sabbath and Rest |
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 Clarks Summit University, our students can take the skills and knowledge that they learned from LeTourneau into a Bachelor’s degree and further.
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.
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 2023 program free of charge. There will be no cost for books, classes, activities, housing, or food throughout the entirety of the program (for mission trips there may be a minimal fee). To help offset the cost to 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.
We are accepting applications for Summer 2024!
THE WAY Summer Discipleship and Service Program
Are you interested in coming to LeTourneau but you’re not sure about a full year commitment? Then join us for the summer and then make up your mind!
Frequently Asked Questions
When does THE WAY 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 Program live at camp?
Yes! All of our students live on campus in either our newly built dormitory or in another location on LeTourneau’s property.
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 in THE WAY Program 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.
What is an average day like for a student in the Discipleship 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.
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.
Is there a Second-Year Program offered?
Yes! In 2021 we welcomed our first Second-Year student who is currently studying Greek and the works of Saint Augustine and C. S. Lewis. As a student progresses through the One-Year Program, they may be offered an invitation to stay with LeTourneau for a second year of paid ministry and study.
Do I have to spend the Summer before the One-Year-Program starts?
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)
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