In the early chapters of Proverbs, Solomon presents a teachable spirit as the essence of wisdom. A wise man receives instruction. The Lord said, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Crowds of people listened to the teaching of the Lord. Sadly, most went away untouched. They came to consider not to respond. Seeking hearts are teachable hearts that listen closely to the Lord and respond to Him with obedient faith.

Early on in his christian experience, John Wesley was greatly impacted by a man who told him, “Sir, you wish to serve God and go to heaven. Remember you cannot serve Him alone. You must therefore find companions or make them. The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.” God does not call us to live the christian life alone. When we become a child of God, we also become part of Christ’s body. That body, which is to work and function as a group, requires both participation and adaptability. God loves unity and speaks most clearly to His people when this is true of a group. Each student must be ready to set aside personal considerations for the benefit of others.

Paul told Timothy to entrust the truth to faithful men who would be able to teach others. Interestingly, Paul did not say gifted men, intellectual men, or personable men. God desired faithful men.

Testing faithfulness in young men and women is not simple. Interestingly, one of the few indications of faithfulness given in Scripture has to do with money. “He who is faithful in small things is also faithful in much.” The small thing referred to here is the use of money. If that is not handled righteously, the Lord asks how God could entrust into a man’s hands true (spiritual) riches. How we handle the financial responsibilities of life gives an indication of how we will handle spiritual responsibilities.

We have a no-debt policy. We require, therefore, that any accumulated debt be adequately handled before taking on the further obligation of tuition for school.

Faithfulness also means meeting obligations. Students must be able to demonstrate that they will be able to meet all biblical family and personal obligations while they are attending EI.

We must make it clear that our ministry is discipleship-training, not in-depth counseling or rehabilitation. We recognize the need for both of these ministries, and have found through experience that our program is not a substitute for helping those whose needs require these specialized ministries. Applicants, therefore, must be free of addictive behavior, such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, pornography, etc. Past difficulty in these areas does not disqualify anyone from attending, but there must be a definite, demonstrated deliverance before undertaking the pressures of training. Our course of study is intense, and students must be physically and emotionally capable of meeting the demands of the program.