Building Other Ministers on a Right Foundation

Who constitute the right foundation for building other ministers?

The apostle Paul tells us at Ephesians 2:20: “You have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone.”* Yes, what the Christian apostles and prophets taught and wrote serves as a secondary foundation, even as Jesus Christ himself, as well as what he taught and did for us, constitutes the primary foundation.

To build other ministers, what else is needed besides giving them an intellectual appreciation of Bible truths?

We cannot truly love Jehovah God unless we know him well. So during the study the instructor should continually seek to build up in his student an appreciation of Jehovah God, his greatness and his qualities. He should strive to instill in the student the heart appreciation that will cause him to exclaim: “Look! This is our God. We have hoped in him, and he will save us. This is Jehovah. We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him.”​—Isa. 25:9.

Only by your building in the student such a heart appreciation of Jehovah God will he be moved to put to work in his life the truths he learns. And only then will he be able to weather the storms of personal difficulties that arise in the life of each individual and ultimately weather the storm of Armageddon.

Of what value are questions in true catechetical teaching?

Basically questions help in three ways. First, by means of additional questions the teacher can draw out the student so as to ascertain if he really understands the points being made in the book. Such questions should call for the student to express himself in his own words instead of just reading the answers from the textbook.

By asking questions the teacher can also ascertain whether the student has actually accepted as his own the truths being taught and whether he has replaced the false doctrines he once believed with the Bible truths he is learning or not. Is what the book says the way he himself feels about it?

And thirdly, by means of questions one can also ascertain whether the student understands what bearing the truths learned have on his own personal life and whether he is desirous of following through with them.

What are some of the points a teacher should consider before inviting his student to share in the Christian field ministry?

Does the student believe the Bible to be the Word of God? Does he know and believe at least the basic teachings of the Scriptures? Is he associating with Jehovah’s people at their meetings? Does he apply Bible principles in his life? Has he severed his connections with Babylon the Great? Is he free from involvement in politics? Does he want to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses? All such things the teacher must take into consideration if he would build other ministers on a right foundation.

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