Ministerial Training School Bears Fruit

During the 1989 service year, two additional classes of this school were held in the United States. Assembly Halls in St. Louis, Missouri, and Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, were used for the third and fourth classes respectively. A fifth class was taught in Vienna, Austria, during the spring of 1989.

Of the 25 students in the third class, 6 were given foreign assignments. The rest were assigned to serve in the United States and Canada, with some of them going into circuit work. In the fourth class, 16 of the 24 students were assigned to foreign fields. For the present, the others continue in their full-time service in the United States and Canada.

In the latter part of April 1989, the Ministerial Training School took on more of an international aspect. Two experienced instructors who serve as traveling overseers in the United States were sent to Vienna. The 23 students making up the first European class came from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia. Also, eight prospective instructors for future classes in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain attended the course. A fine classroom was available as well as library facilities and a school office. Accommodations were provided in the Bethel Home.

The instructors were highly pleased with the fine progress of the students. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them, something they will never forget or regret. Four graduates have been assigned to lands outside of Europe, while at present the others are caring for assignments right there on the European continent.

Following the conclusion of their schooling, a letter from the Vienna class said in part: “Before we came, most of us were already serving in a shepherding capacity. But now we understand much better what the standard for shepherds for God’s people really is. We are confident that we have been well trained and equipped to serve Jehovah, our brothers, and our fellowman much better than we ever could have done without this fine education.”

Thus far, graduates of the Ministerial Training School have been assigned to serve in 25 lands outside of their countries of origin.

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The first European class of the Ministerial Training School graduated on June 18, 1989, Vienna, Austria

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In the United States the third class of the Ministerial Training School graduated on November 13, 1988, and the fourth class on June 11, 1989