Sixteen people graduated from The Second Mile’s discipleship course entitled Milestones. At a celebration banquet, Nathan Eastman, The Second Mile’s discipleship leader and course instructor, handed out certificates of achievement and individual congratulations to each graduate. The evening concluded with a prayer of dedication for the graduates. Five of the 16 graduates were baptized at the conclusion of the course.
Eastman and Brant Berglin, The Second Mile pastor, created the Milestones discipleship curriculum, which is designed to disciple someone through the process of Bible study, baptism and membership in the Adventist Church, and finally into active ministry and leadership. The core course covers three basic areas:
Disciplines—What the Bible is, who wrote it and when, why it can be trusted, and how to study it using prayer and meditation.
Doctrines—The foundational teachings of the Bible, including the distinctive beliefs of the Adventist Church. Topics are Christ-centered and encourage participants to believe and practice the Christian life.
Direction—Baptism and the role of the Adventist Church as it applies to the specific tasks of the local church body and its worldwide mission.
Class members were encouraged to reach the next milestone—discovering a ministry in the local church by means of the Connections and Becoming a Contagious Christian courses.
Twelve people have completed the one-weekend Connections course and are finding ministries in the local church. A mentoring process and leadership training to grow people into mature disciples of Jesus is being implemented.
Thirteen Milestones graduates stand with their instructors, Nathan Eastman and Pastor Brant Berglin, who created the program designed to take seekers from a point of little biblical knowledge to church membership and active ministry. (Unknown)
