AFTER YOU GO HOME

Going out with joy

You may have heard of or even experienced culture shock, which happens when people living in a new country encounter situations that are strange for them because they are culturally different. But did you know there is a thing called “reverse culture shock”? It’s unexpected. There are things you can do to prepare for the possibility of it and to thrive in spite of it. In Going Out with Joy, we bridge the gap between you now and you at home and help equip you to embrace this current season and to “go out with joy.”

BSSM ALUMNI

Here is the link to all things bssm alumni - click here

Questions for BSSM International Student Alumni

We did a survey in 2020, and here some of the answers we received from BSSM international student alumni

TESTIMONIES

Testimony of a student from Switzerland (2013)

When I came back home to Switzerland after two years of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, I needed time to settle down. The first month was pretty hard. I felt a lot going on in the spiritual atmosphere, and I was really sensitive to everything and everyone around me.

When I was still at Bethel, I had decided that I wanted to stay in Switzerland after the 2nd year because I got an awesome job at my church, and I felt it was the right time to go back. But as I came back home and had all these feelings going on,my decision got fragile.

In all of these feelings, I decided that I was not going to run away from home just because it would be easier to run back to Bethel. I decided that I was going to make a decision when I’m feeling good back home. As the summer went on, I had a lot of thinking going on in my head. In all of that, I knew that God would lead me the right path. I spent a lot of time with Daddy God and leaned on His heart.

Without these times, I wouldn’t be where I am at right now! The secret place was my weapon!

Finally, I decided that I would stay in Switzerland.

Just as I made the decision to stay, there were a lot of invitations from different churches from Switzerland to preach and serve at. I had so much favor, also in my home church. When I came back, they asked me to come into the core church leadership team. In only a half year back home, so many things worked out for me.

I realized that I have learned to be a daughter of the king. Daughters don’t run away. They serve, they honor, they have favor everywhere they go to and they love people around them. Exactly what I just described, I experienced when I came back home.

Bill always says: "When you go back home, just serve your church, and you will gain favor.” That’s what I experience here every day.

Note from Pam: I had the joy of seeing this student in Switzerland a year after she left BSSM, and I could see how she is thriving! It is a joy to see our graduates thriving and being a great blessing where they are.

Testimony of a student from Canada (2014)

I was scared about leaving Bethel. I didn’t want to admit I was scared, but it was real fear—even if I couldn’t admit it to myself. Lurking beneath my conscious preparation for life after Bethel were the possibilities I didn’t want to consider: Would I feel lonely being one of the only people back home who had experienced this life-changing school?

Would these transformative years become only memories of my glory days? Would I be able to thrive without the support and encouragement I felt in school and church? If I had let these doubts speak to me, they probably would have become even more articulate: Would I be okay without live Bethel worship in my church services? Could I handle not hearing Bill preach in person more than once a year? What if I never see another miracle again?!

I knew we had been prepared for this, but I doubted whether or not I was ready. The gauntlet was thrown down, by Bill and others, right from the start. “Come back in twenty years, and tell me you’re still burning.” I anticipated hardships and trials, and they weren’t as frightening as apathy was: Would it be possible for me to grow cold? I avoided these kinds of questions because I had no way to know their answers. My ship hadn’t set sail yet! Underneath the doubts I skirted, only one question really summarized all my concerns: Had God really changed my life?

My last Sunday at Bethel was surreal. I kept trying to slow time down. I felt like interrupting the person doing the worship transition just so I could tell the band to keep playing another song… and another… The drive back to Canada was strange, too; it slowly began to sink in. “I’m not going to be back for a while.”

Originally, I made the mistake of dealing with my fears by getting busy. I wanted to pray and fast and worship my way back into Bethel. If I couldn’t stay in Redding forever, I’d just try to recreate it where I was. The Holy Spirit eased the fear out of me. I gradually became aware of how revival wasn’t about the culture I found myself within; revival was about the culture already thriving inside of me!

Slowly but surely, I realized I could be confident in how God had changed me. I discovered convictions and values which were forever sealed upon my heart: a passion for God’s presence; an abiding value for worship; an expectation for the supernatural to be natural all around me. God considered certain matters to be settled within me, and now I could, too.

I discovered how God had taken responsibility for my journey all along! He brought me into a thriving community filled with people who encourage me and spur me on. He’s given me opportunities to express my faith beyond the walls of our church, and He’s continuing to teach me about His Kingdom; school hasn’t stopped since I returned home! Although these matters didn’t happen overnight, and I needed to have patience and trust, I’ve watched God continue to move me toward His unchanging purpose and desire for my life. He is the creative architect of my story.

I am no longer afraid of the future. There is a maturity developing within me– not because I have it all together, but because I rest in the arms of the one who does, and He’s very determined about me. In fact, He’s made up His mind about us all: He has decided to reveal the grandest of mysteries through the humblest of lives. We are living epistles because He is writing upon our hearts, revealing truths about us He’s had in mind since the beginning. Bethel is where I encountered God in a profound and life-giving way. Now I know, beyond the shadows of doubt, how resonant and permanent it is to encounter the God who has been dreaming of us since before our beginning!

Note from Pam: I got to meet with this student on a visit to Bethel. Yep! He is thriving; making a difference right where he is!

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