Recovering Grace » A Bill Gothard generation shines light on the teachings of IBLP and ATITales from Training Centers

Have you Shiny Happy People? Looking for more info? Start here.

Articles about how Bill Gothard mishandles the Bible to support his legalistic viewpoint.

Personal testimonies of finding true freedom through God's matchless grace.

Living and thriving through the grace of God.

Stories and accounts of the destruction caused by the teachings of Bill Gothard.

You are here:

Home
Tales from Training Centers

Category Archives: Tales from Training Centers

My ITC Prison Sentence, Part 3

20 September 2011, 06:15

JessicaF

The assignments I was given when I was confined to the prayer room at the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) were all intended to make me aware of my sin and failure. For example, I was to write a two-page description of my sins, how they affected others, and the specific ways that God was using […]

My ITC Prison Sentence, Part 2

15 September 2011, 06:15

JessicaF

The Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) was gearing up for Thanksgiving and none of us in the training programs were allowed to leave. It was only a four-day weekend, after all. But this policy was causing serious morale issues. Especially since it wasn’t applied universally: the cosmetology instructor was one of those who was allowed to […]

My ITC Prison Sentence, Part 1

13 September 2011, 06:15

JessicaF

My Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) prison sentence started in 1996, when I was 18 years old. My parents had gotten to the end of their rope with me. I had been the family project, constantly in need of guidance and discipline, ever since our family joined ATI when I was ten. I desperately wanted to […]

The Prayer Closet: An Introduction

6 September 2011, 06:15

RyanR

Prayer closet. Few words from my time in the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) cause me to shudder the way those do. I was on staff at the Indianapolis Training Center (ITC) in 1994 when the prayer closet was instituted. For the uninitiated, ITC was housed in an old 13-story hotel, just north of downtown Indianapolis. […]

Disillusioned, Not Equipped, Part 2

1 September 2011, 06:15

Moderator

I wanted out! I wanted to go home! I had lost hope and trust in leadership. When I brought them a problem they said it was somehow because of some sin I had committed, or one that my parents had committed. I was tired of the judgment. I prayed fervently that God would take my […]

Disillusioned, Not Equipped, part 1

30 August 2011, 06:15

Moderator

photo courtesy of Ophelia Cherry

I was excited. Through the EQUIP program of the Advanced Training Institute (ATI), I was going to be used by God to reach one of the juvenile delinquent young women for Christ and help her improve her life. It would be someone who did not have the benefit of godly parents, as I did. Someone […]

You’ll Be Okay … Maybe

23 August 2011, 06:15

Moderator

The following stories, told by former Advanced Training Institute (ATI) students on various online forums, are a small sampling of the many stories told by young people who became ill or sustained physical injuries while working at an ATI training center or at Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) headquarters. These stories illustrate a common […]

To Russia With Love, part 2

18 August 2011, 06:15

RobertM

My fourth year in Russia was the most difficult, but in a much stranger way. At the beginning of the year, I was given the assignment of interpreting for a family. I was told that this family had been a problem in the past year and had not been expected to stay, but now it […]

To Russia With Love, part 1

16 August 2011, 06:15

RobertM

When my family began homeschooling in 1985, there were only a handful of homeschooling families in our state of Mississippi. Homeschooling ended up being very positive for our family. It brought us closer together and closer to the Lord. We used several different homeschooling curricula over the years, and there were a couple of years […]

Muzzling the Ox

9 August 2011, 06:00

Moderator

In many ways, I’ve been pretty lucky when it came to the whole Advanced Training Institute (ATI) experience. I always thought that the double standard that my parents had was weird: we could wear jeans on the farm or to work with my dad, but not to town or where anyone would see us. I […]