“Working in cross-cultural missions can be a challenge for any individual to handle; learning a new language, eating different foods, encountering different styles of worship and working in new and challenging ministry opportunities, just to name a few. At the Ciudad Refugio in Medellin, Colombia that ‘challenge’ is very apparent. The interns live on the 5th floor (walk up) of a six story ministry building which houses: a homeless shelter, services during the day, a men’s one year alcohol/drug rehabilitation program, and a women’s program (some of them with small children), On the 1st floor, there is a bakery, mini-market, and BBQ/Fried Chicken store. Amidst this activity there is also a growing church housed on the first floor.

The godly character of the Mount Zion interns is evident as their experiences expose areas that the Lord is working on and each of them is molded into an image more like Christ. As a testimony to Mount Zion International School of Ministry and their preparation of their students, each of the interns face their individual challenges. However, I believe each of them would say: This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21–23).

“In such uncertain times, the last thing we need is uncertain Christians—men, women and leaders who fail to hear the voice of God and cannot discern the seasons in which they live. This is not so with Mount Zion graduates. I have been blessed to receive interns from all over the United States, who have gone through the three year school and served for an intern period of six months in the Irish church. They serve the life of the church from the practical ministries to the evangelization and care of the surrounding communities. By the end of six months, the Mount Zion interns will have worked with street people, seniors, youth, young adults, suicide bereaved families and that is just for starters. Mission Ireland, (travelling the length and breadth of the country preaching the Gospel), Summer Fire Conference, (the national evangelical conference for Ireland) and the National Young Adults Ministries are just a few of the ministry experiences these interns partake in. No task is either above them or below them. The spirit and fortitude that these young men and women serve with has been of tremendous blessing and impact to the Irish church.“

"We have had the privilege of receiving Mount Zion interns for a few years. Each year they have been a blessing to us. They have come in with a servant’s heart and a great respect for the presence of God. They have also shown great respect towards the leadership within the church.

They have poured themselves into all the ministries, such as, evangelism, children’s ministry, Bible studies, acts of service, preaching and prayer. Each group has been an encouragement and a welcome part of our church. The young people of our church have enjoyed the fellowship with the interns and have been challenged to serve the Lord. Lasting friendships have been established with the interns.

It has been an encouragement to watch the interns grow in ministry experience as they have served with us in Ireland.”

“The Mount Zion interns’ desire to serve, minister, and pray, is outstanding. At the beginning of their internship most say ‘I can’t do this or that’, but due to the teaching they received at Mount Zion, they trust God to help them to do what they never could have done in their own strength. It seems wherever they find themselves, God supplies their need—from evangelism to Sunday school, to serving the church, to maintenance, to testifying—they do what is put in front of them. I can see their contentment is not in a position, title, or power, but it is in the Lord’s will. Their joy is in the Lord’s will. Thank God for schools like Mount Zion.”

"It is hard to believe that already ten months have passed since the “Word of Truth” Church has started meeting. The Lord is so faithful and is doing a great work in the church and the ministry is growing..."

You can read the whole newsletter in PDF format here.

God blessed me with so much and has been watching over me my whole life. God used two Mount Zion International School of Ministry graduates to minister to my life and encourage me to attend this school. My sister, who is a Mount Zion graduate, ministered to my heart. I was able to clearly see the effects that this school has had on her life and that God is her first priority. I saw this and I wanted it in my life. I wanted the love that is inside my sister.

I wanted to love the people around me and not judge them. I wanted to love as God loves and I knew that Mount Zion was a place where I could acquire such a love through quiet times, the chapels, the classes and the many opportunities we have to enter into worship on our own or with classmates. Our Lord and Savior is working in this place. He is working in our lives and in our hearts that we can show others what God has done in our lives with the hope that God can do the same for them.

Mount Zion has proven to be exactly what I thought it would be, a life-changing experience and a constant presence of the Holy Spirit around us every day. God has truly blessed me in bringing me here and I thank Him for it daily.

First Year Student
Pennsylvania

I believe that God has brought me to this school for a purpose. During my application process I did a lot of fasting and praying asking for God’s will to be done in my life. I was willing to go any direction as long as it was the Lord’s will. My prayer was “God, if it is Your will for my life, let me go to this school; if it is not, I will not go.” The Lord spoke to me and from there on, it has been all open doors. I trusted God. The day I received my acceptance letter was the happiest day because I knew I was in the Lord’s perfect will.

Having been here at Mount Zion International School of Ministry for a short period of time, the Lord has already begun His work in me, making me a man after His own heart. He has been teaching me humility and the ability to overcome small obstacles and problems that may distract us from God. I have been learning how to pray in all circumstances and how to completely trust Him with my life.

I also love the material that is being taught in all the classes. The teachers truly shine God’s light and they are definitely wise men and women of God. I have been enjoying every day at the school here and I am excited to see the man of God that the Lord is making of me.

First Year Student
Washington

I came to Mount Zion a year ago and it has changed my life completely. I am in my second year now and I can honestly say that even in just one year I am a completely different person. God has truly changed me from the inside out, and He still is changing me (Philippians 1:6).

God has turned me into a prayer warrior. He has taught me how to pray just like Psalm 144:1 says, “...teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” He has taught me to do everything in His strength and not my own. He has brought me out of a lot of bitterness and anger. He is completely restoring my family relations.

I have come to a place where I just want to know Him and Him alone. I want to get to the place where nothing else matters, except Him. I just want to serve my Savior with every fiber of my being and do the work He has planned for my life!

Time is short in these last days and He needs workers. I want to be one of His faithful laborers! Mount Zion has truly been a place and time in my life where I can just set everything else out of the way and focus solely on Him with no distractions. I am so thankful everyday for this place and it is truly a great privilege to be able to have these three years set apart in my life to focus on God!

Second Year Student
Connecticut

Only today I understand that Mount Zion International School of Ministry has been the answer to my heart’s cry.

Some years ago when in the middle of rushing through life, amidst the daily busyness and pursuit for education, the Lord birthed in my heart this deep desire to be set apart and to spend time getting to know Him – a time of just listening to Him. I heard Him inviting me, but felt tied up in responsibilities and duties so that it seemed impossible for me to be set apart for such a purpose in my circumstances, although I longed for it so much. But with God all things are possible and He did a miracle and made a way for me to come to this place.

Now being here I give Him all glory because I cannot imagine myself in a better place. He has been teaching me to draw strength from Him and to walk in intimacy with Him. It was exactly here where the Lord opened my eyes to how much He actually loves me and cares for me. He is revealing His truth to me and this truth is truly setting me free. Still of all the good things I have learned, intimacy – times spent with the Lord is the most important – it is the beginning of all things.

Second Year International Student
Latvia

“I have found the students of Mount Zion to be compassionate, committed, focused on purpose, centered on Christ, unabashedly dependent upon Him, prayerful, and maturing in holiness. Their passion, intimacy and love for Jesus Christ are the bulwark of their experience at Mount Zion International School of Ministry.”

-Pastor in Pennsylvania