Note what Nathan H. Knorr, the first president of the school, said to those gathered:

“The men of this world, and their women and children, are storing up riches on this earth, trying to have a place of security insured to them. But do they really succeed? They can never be secure against the destruction unavoidably due to come upon the whole world. However, those who have entered into a covenant with God are storing up riches in heaven that will not rust or be destroyed. They have value with God, who is in heaven.

“So, then, the work that you Bible [school] graduates do in . . . proclaiming the Kingdom message . . . where witnesses have never gone before . . . is a vital work preliminary to the establishment of the [New Order] of righteousness.”

What N. H. Knorr told the first class, on its very first school day, still is true today. He said:

“It is NOT the purpose of this [school] to equip you to be ordained ministers. You are ministers already and have been active in the ministry for years. This is a requirement for entrance . . . The course of study at the [school] is for the exclusive purpose of preparing you to be more able ministers in the territories to which you go.”