Preparing teenagers for ministry: The Joshua and Esther Clubs

The Joshua and Esther Clubs at Monte Hebrón provided preparation for teenagers interested in full-time Christian service. The groups addressed a particular interval in their lives: they had expressed a commitment to ministry but were still too young to begin Bible institute. Regular instruction gave them an opportunity to prepare while remaining involved in their local church. [1]

By the spring of 2015, Tommy Ashcraft was teaching fifteen teenage boys in the Joshua Club. Ana Saénz led a parallel group for girls called the Esther Club. The two groups met at the same time on Sunday afternoons. [1]

The Joshua Club

The Joshua Club met at 4:15 p.m. Tommy devoted thirty minutes to teaching basic matters intended to help the boys when they eventually entered Bible college. By May 2015, he had been teaching the group for almost a year. [1]

The fifteen boys had surrendered to full-time service. Their preparation therefore began before formal enrollment in the Instituto Bíblico Bautista Monte Hebrón. The club gave those decisions a continuing place in the weekly schedule, rather than leaving the young people to wait until they were old enough for institute studies. [1]

Ana Saénz and the Esther Club

Ana Saénz, a young woman in the congregation, taught a similar group of girls during the same Sunday-afternoon period. Known as the Esther Club, it extended the preparatory work to young women alongside the boys’ class. [1]

The parallel arrangement placed responsibility with two teachers serving different groups. Tommy worked directly with the boys, while Ana provided instruction for the girls. Both groups belonged to the same effort to encourage young people looking toward future Christian service. [1]

Encouragement between a decision and formal training

The clubs combined preparation with encouragement. Their purpose was to help the teenagers remain enthusiastic about serving God and maintain their decisions concerning full-time ministry. Basic instruction looked ahead to Bible college, while the regular meetings supported the commitment they had already made. [1]

This gave the church a way to work with young people during the years before institute enrollment. Their interest in ministry could be accompanied by ongoing teaching, with the next stage of preparation already in view. The Joshua and Esther Clubs connected a teenager’s decision to serve with a regular opportunity to begin learning. [1]