La Vera Vite Bible School
On April 6, 2025, we started our first Bible school in Italy with 7 staff and 14 students! We put an emphasis on John 15:1-17 where Jesus says that he is the vine, the Father is the vine dresser, and we are the branches that produce much fruit. This is a theologically rich passage and serves as a great basis for our school.
40 Days and 40 Nights
On our first morning we were challenged to think about Moses being called to be with God on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. Our school is divided into three parts. For the first part we will be in a mountain setting above Verona in the shadow of Monte Baldo a nearby snow-covered mountain (with lots of space for hiking and recreation. Here we will have six weeks of classes with travel or other activities on the weekends. Here we will also invite Italian young people to come for a spiritual life weekend and a "Taste and See" opportunity for them to sit in classes with us to experience Bible school (with the thought that some of them might want to attend next year). This is a time and space for drawing close to God and for him to draw close to us and speak to us of our life with him. Like Moses, we are being changed as we draw away with him. This is essential for what follows: descending to join churches to evangelize Italy. After that we will have a final week together to debrief and discuss how we have changed and how God wants to use us to serve and change the world.