Written Testimonies

"NETS: Surrendering to God" by Elizabeth

Elizabeth is from Canada but was living in the US before doing NETS Stage 2 in 2009. A few years earlier she had completed the 9 week school at Ellel Canada which is the equivalent to Stage 1 of NETS. This is her story...

"The year is 2008 and I am in the midst of completing my doctorate in Counseling when I begin to feel the need to take time out from my normal routine and spend time with God seeking his direction for my life. The future seemed so unclear and I was eager to know what plans God had in store for me. Little did I know that part of his plan was sending me to Ellel Pierrepont’s NETS Stage 2 where I could expand upon the previous teachings of the 9 week school. However, being a starving graduate student there were no funds in place to finance the trip and expenses associated with Stage 2. My desire to combine my secular psychology degree with Ellel’s Christian based training seemed as if it was going to have to wait. Yet, when it’s God’s will, he will make a way…Financing came from the most unusual of places – the Canadian government and I was able to pay the entirety of the Ellel bill. With the school paid for all I needed to do was take a semester off of school and travel across the pond.

I think in hindsight I was putting a lot of pressure on this journey I was about to take. I had so many questions that I wanted answered and England seemed like a good place to find them. Thankfully God is much more patient than I ever hope to be and he allowed me to bombard him with questions, doubts, fears, expectations, hopes, dreams, etc. I think sometimes God needs to get you out of the place where you feel most comfortable and where it is too easy to fill your life with unspiritual things that consume your time and crowd out his voice. I desperately needed to hear God’s voice and immerse myself in Christian community where I could learn, share, heal, and grow in a safe, non-judgmental environment surrounded by believers who were on similar journeys of faith.

For me Stage 2 was about becoming rooted in my faith and exercising the principles of the spiritual life I had sorely neglected; things like warfare, intercession, worship, and walking by faith. The teachings equipped me with the tools needed for prayer ministry in Christian settings, as well as providing me with deeper insight into the roots of problems my clients face. As a therapist it can sometimes become discouraging the lack of progress you see your clients making. Yet, the NETS teachings helped renew my hope for restoration and positive change in the lives of people when you tackled the root of the problem.

Learning to rely completely on the Holy Spirit and not on my own knowledge, experience, expertise, etc. were one of the many lessons I learned on NETS. Surrendering what I wanted for what God wanted was difficult, but not impossible. You never know what will happen when you allow God to steer your vessel. It’s the uncertainty of what he will ask of you that often frightens us, so we continue to wander the wilderness searching for our Promised Land, when we could have arrived their long ago if only we had surrendered it all to him. God was faithful in answering some of my questions and making the future just a little bit clearer. He has opened doors I never dreamed possible. My passion for counseling international students is being utilized in my work as a student counselor at a Christian School in Budapest, Hungary. But he gave me a gift much more valuable than specific answers – the ability to hear His voice once again…" - Elizabeth

Click here for Ria's testimony (PDF format)

Ria shares how NETS was nothing she expected but everything she had hoped for... Read on

Joe - "Reflections on Stage 4"

The fourth stage of NETS is focused on personal destiny, vision and purpose. Very early on I was challenged and a vulnerability exposed in a severe crisis of low self-confidence. But during the first of a number of days of Spending Time with Jesus where we had whole days to personally meditate on a passage of scripture, God met with me and affirmed His call on my life. (Reflection in the beautiful countryside around Pierrepont being part of the process). The content of Stage 4 was very good with the intimacy of a smaller group. Working as part of the stage 4 team on Getting to the Root and MicroNETS was very good. NETS is beautifully constructed, building progressively throughout to develop and equip the students. I recommend NETS to any Christian who seriously wants to bear fruit for God and help His Kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Shalom.