Elim Bible Institute - Oasis Yearbook (Lima, NY)

Page 45 text:

Mission Field In Itself City Training is much more than an evangelistic center. It is a place of closely knit fellowship and intense per¬ sonal relationships. We learn to share each other’s joys, and bear one another’s burdens. For all of us, a term at E.C.T.C. is an unforgettable experience of the providence of God, bringing us to our knees in utter dependence on Him. As we daily exhaust ourselves in ministry to others, we find the key that unlocks His storehouse of abundant grace. Most of all, though, City Training is the home of our beloved friend and “father”, Dennis Hunt, with his wife, Joan, and two children. Located in “scenic” Bedford-Stuyvestant, Brooklyn, we live in two tenement houses with a “lovely” view of Dean St. Our neighbors are a lively bunch — prostitutes, pimps, junkies and rats. But in the midst of it all, we discover that Jesus Christ is still Lord, and He is reaching out to the poor in spirit. Kid’s Cave every Sunday morning. » 1 m . “m

Page 44 text:

New York City Is A Times Square, Greenwich Village, and the East Side can be just as dangerous as the jungles of darkest Africa — and just as lonely. Bound by the corruption of sin, sex, and “smack”, the hearts of half-dead, totally wasted in¬ dividuals are crying out for love and reality. “How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?” Each term, Elim commissions a group of eager young evangelists, constrained by the love of Christ and com¬ pelled by the power of the Spirit, to the City to meet the needs of eight million people. Before long, we realize God’s real purpose in Elim City Training Center; He wants to reveal His power and providence to us in a “des¬ ert place” far-removed from the comfort and security of Elim’s “ivory towers”.

Page 46 text:

We attend classes each morning at the Methodist church on Dean St. The afternoon is spent doing work duties and holding outdoor children’s meetings. After dinner we meet for prayer in the Blue Room and then off to Man¬ hattan. With the two-edged sword in our hand and the Four Spiritual Laws in our mouth, we dare to lead a soul to Christ. In the darkness of Greenwich Village, we pre¬ sent Christ, the light of the world and in the East Side we challenge the existentialists with the existential reality of Jesus Christ. The Staten Island Ferry gives us a time to relax and sing the praises of God to a captive audience. And in Times Square, we have an open-air pulpit to de¬ liver the gospel to a collective congregation of drunks, prostitutes, businessmen, hippies, and tourists. After an eventful evening in which almost anything can happen, we pile into our van and head back to the secur¬ ity of Dean St. — home away from home. We fall on our knees, not only in exhaustion, but in praise to our Lord Jesus for what He has done this evening, and claim His grace for the following day. es out the garbage Ken Lawson and Dave Martin dishwashing. 42