Spiritual Life

The student’s spiritual life revolves around the vision and purpose of Mount Zion International School of Ministry, which is intimacy with Christ. The guidelines and disciplined structure at Mount Zion are designed to produce within the hearts of the students a spirit of excellence and obedience to Christ. The standards at Mount Zion are high in order to maximize the ability of the student to focus on knowing Christ and to minimize the distractions of the world. As a result, many students have experienced life-changing encounters with Christ and will never be the same again.

Daily Chapels are at the center of the spiritual life of Mount Zion. Students gather in the main sanctuary at 11 a.m. every weekday for a time of refreshing in God’s presence. Chapel services include: times of worship and waiting upon God, prayer meetings for their families, special needs, and for the nations; life-changing teachings that bring students to know who they are in Christ; and times of sharing, where students are encouraged to share from the Word of God about any insights or truths they have received while in their personal time with God. Students are always strengthened and blessed when Pastor David Wilkerson, Mount Zion International School of Ministry’s Chairman of the Board, visits and shares from God’s Word. Foreign missionaries also frequent as guest speakers, as do the pastoral staff from Times Square Church, in New York City.

In the winter-spring semester, students have the opportunity to experience God’s burden for the nations during our mission’s week. It is a week dedicated to focus on the nations and their needs. Students are challenged by guest missionaries and provoked to prayer by student presentations that show the heart of God for the nations. Many students have felt God’s burden for specific nations and responded with the same cry as faithful Isaiah, "Here am I, Lord: send me."

Prayer Meetings, apart from daily chapels, play a vital role at the school as well. The school believes in the power of travailing prayer and takes God’s promise in James 5:16 literally, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Every Friday, students gather in the main sanctuary for a prayer meeting. Student-led prayer chains for leadership, interns, and ministry needs. Missions prayer is held daily to pray for the nations and the body of Christ. Many lives have been dramatically changed and transformed through these special times set aside to seek the face of God.

Personal Devotional Life of the students is another important aspect of the student’s spiritual growth in Christ. It is here that students learn God’s voice for themselves and come to know Christ intimately. Students are required to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and spend at least one hour of prayer, worship and reading the Word before they start the day. The early wakeup and devotional time with God is important because it develops a personal intimacy with Christ that will be continued throughout their lifetime and ministry. Personal devotion is not limited to a morning prayer time, though; during off hours many students take advantage of the fields that surround the facilities to further their hunger for God’s presence. Many worn prayer paths can be seen as you walk through the fields, each one serving as the testimony of a heart that is hungry for more of Christ.

Daily Instruction in God’s Word, through well- balanced teaching, enhances the student’s understanding of the Bible and challenges them to go further in their study of God’s Word. The purpose of Mount Zion is to raise up well-balanced worshippers of Christ who know the voice of God and can rightly divide the Word of God. Mount Zion offers a broad range of courses specially chosen to further students along the path of knowing Him through His Word. (For a list of Bible courses click here)

Along with the Biblical courses, students receive instruction by gifted and experienced teachers in the practical matters of ministry. Homiletics, Pastoral Ministries, and Teaching Methodology are just a few of the courses offered to students in order to enhance their ability to intelligently share and communicate God’s Word with integrity and confidence.

Outreaches provide a needed outlet for students to give out the love of God that they have experienced in their own lives. The Lord has opened several doors for our students to share the Gospel in the community. Each student is involved in at least one of the following outreaches: nursing homes, hospital, an inner city neighborhood in Harrisburg (which is an outreach to children and youth), a behavioral health hospital (for troubled youth), and a men's prison.