The Way International
The Way International is a nontrinitarian Christian organization based in New Knoxville, Ohio. The followers congregate primarily in home fellowships located throughout the United States, two US territories, and in over 30 countries. It was founded by Victor Paul Wierwille in 1942 as a radio program, subsequently becoming The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan in 1947, and The Way, Inc., in 1955.
The ministry distributes publications such as The Way Magazine through its company, American Christian Press, and has developed and promotes classes and other programs, some of which are in several languages. It formed The Way Corps, a leadership training program, in 1970.
The Way offers classes in biblical studies to its followers, prominently the Power for Abundant Living Today class series, considered to be the modern-day successor to its original class series, Power for Abundant Living. The Way International has given focused attention on first-century Christianity and extensive research into the Church Epistles. It has been described as combining biblical literalism, evangelicalism, Calvinism, dispensationalism, and Pentecostalism. The teaching of The Way International is based on 2 Peter 1:20 that "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" and they believe the Bible interprets itself in a variety of ways that are taught in its studies, classes, and publications. According to their website, TWI teaches that every follower can have an accurate understanding of God's original intent in his Word.
On October 3, 1982, L. Craig Martindale became the second president of The Way. He was followed by Rosalie F. Rivenbark in April 2000. In March 2017, Jean-Yves DeLisle was installed as the fourth president. On March 10, 2020, Vernon W. Edwards was installed as the fifth president of The Way.
History
Victor Paul Wierwille
Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille was born on December 31, 1916. Wierwille was deeply interested in Christianity from a young age, and attended Mission House College and Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, as well as the University of Chicago Divinity School. He later received a Master of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Pikes Peak Bible Seminary.Wierwille was ordained as a minister in the Evangelical and Reformed Church. He maintained he had recovered the true apostolic understanding of Christianity that had been lost to the church. He later claimed God spoke to him personally, telling him he would teach him "the Word as it had not been known since the first century", so that he could pass it on to others.
Radio ministry
On October 3, 1942, Wierwille began a weekly live radio program dubbed Vesper Chimes, recruiting a group of young people from local churches to help him. The program was broadcast from WLOK in Lima, Ohio, where the youth would sing and perform alongside Wierwille's sermons that included "principles for abundant life". Soon afterwards, the program was renamed The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan. Wierwille published his first book, Victory Through Christ, in 1945, compiling his radio sermons. In 1947, The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan incorporated with Wierwille as president alongside a board of directors.That year, The Way: The Chimes Hour Young People's Publication began publishing writings by people associated with the radio program each month. Starting in 1948, Wierwille began broadcasting every morning in addition to the regular weekly program. Nearly ten years following the first broadcast, The Van Wert Gospel Gift Shop and Multigraph Printing and Publishing Co. opened for business and released the first issue of The Way Magazine. The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan, broadcast over radio station WLW in Cincinnati, continued to have radio and public performances until April 1953, at which time the Nielsen ratings showed that 70,000 homes were tuned in on Sundays. Wierwille continued to broadcast his meditations over WIMA in Lima, WONW in Defiance, and WRFD in Worthington, Ohio, until 1955.
The Way
In 1953, Wierwille started teaching the course that would later become Power for Abundant Living. It was held in Van Wert, Ohio. It expanded to other locations in Ohio and eventually to other states. Four years later, he resigned from the Evangelical and Reformed Church pastorate to devote his time to The Way ministry.Moving to his family's farm in New Knoxville, Ohio, in 1959, he established the location as the headquarters for The Way's Institute for Biblical Research and Teaching, later The Way Inc. The Way's followers grew significantly in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In January 1968, Wierwille visited San Francisco to personally witness the Jesus People street ministries, such as those in Haight-Ashbury, where he himself ministered. Some of the groups he met later incorporated as The Way East and The Way West, groups that utilized Wierwille's PFAL class in their ministries. Wierwille had many join him on his trip, marking a period of large growth for his ministry. Wierwille later merged The Way East and The Way West into The Way Inc., now the Way International.
Leadership changes
In 1982, during the ministry's 40th anniversary celebration, Wierwille installed L. Craig Martindale as president and accepted the title Founding President.In 2000, Martindale's term as president ended and Rosalie F. Rivenbark replaced him. The governing board, originally called the board of trustees, but now called the board of directors, consisted of three to five directors, with Rivenbark as chairman.
In January 2017, Rivenbark stepped down from the presidency but retained her position as chairman of the board of directors. Jean Yves DeLisle was installed as the fourth president.
On March 10, 2020, Vern Edwards was installed as the fifth president
On June 16, 2020, Rivenbark stepped down as chairman, and the board of directors was reduced to three members: Edwards, Bill Greene, and John Rupp.
Structure
Organization
The Way International headquarters is located in New Knoxville, Ohio. The organization also owns and operate Camp Gunnison—The Way Family Ranch in Gunnison, Colorado. The Way is organized into Regions, States, and Branches, with each Branch consisting of two or more home fellowships. The Way focuses on these fellowships as a basic organizational unit. Meetings are run in each home by fellowship coordinators who have completed The Way of Abundance and Power or the Power for Abundant Living Today class series. The Way International claims no official membership other than the board of directors; individuals who participate in fellowships are referred to as "followers of the way," or "believers".Until at least the late 1980s, The Way's organization was based on a tree with "leaves", "twigs", "branches", "limbs", "regions" and the international headquarters in New Knoxville being the "trunk".
Classes
The Way offers three sequential classes covering Bible studies. The Foundational and Intermediate classes are required prior to taking any other classes. To qualify for the Advanced class, which is held specially in Ohio each summer, a student must first complete the Foundational and Intermediate classes twice, in addition to Defeating the Adversary. Classes offered include:- The Foundational Class on Power for Abundant Living Today
- The Intermediate Class on Power for Abundant Living Today
- The Advanced Class on Power for Abundant Living Today
- Defeating the Adversary
- Living God's Word as a Family
- Practical Keys to Biblical Research
- The Renewed Mind: The Key to Power
- Living the Mystery as Members in Particular
- Living the Book of Acts Today
Programs
The Way Corps and College
In 1970, Wierwille formalized his selection and training of ministry leaders by starting "The Way Corps". The Way Corps' motto is "It Is Written". Prior to the First Corps, Wierwille invited a group of Way followers to New Knoxville for training and teaching. He disbanded the group for reasons which were never made public, other than a statement in The Way: Living in Love that they "never got it together among themselves", and that Wierwille "gave them the privilege of leaving". This group was later referred to as "The Zero Corps".In 1977, the Way purchased property in Rome City, Indiana, where the "Family Corps", those adults who wanted to train as leaders but had children or were older, resided and trained. A working farm, Rome City, was purchased from the Catholic Church.
In 1974, The Way purchased the former site of the College of Emporia, a United Presbyterian college in Emporia, Kansas, with an opening enrollment of 400 students. It housed the College Division and Way Corps. The College Division, a single or two-year program, focused on Biblical study and the Way Corps, a four-year program, focused on future minister or leadership training. Activities during the campus residencies included basic mandatory physical activity and other optional activities as desired. Days were spent on work assignments, usually involving the needs of each campus. Other programs included Biblical research and study nights, led by ministry staff, and typically involved in-depth study of various books of the Bible. Before senior year, Way Corps students left for an interim year as missionaries.
One of the work projects of the Emporia campus was the restoration of the Anderson Memorial Library, a Carnegie library built in 1901 that had fallen into disrepair. It was rededicated in 1986 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1987.
Upon completion of the four-year curriculum, graduates receive an accredited degree in theology. Way Corps duties include "providing spiritual leadership at all levels and carrying out decisions made by the Board of Directors". The Way has ordained Way Corps graduates over the years, and both men and women serve as clergy. Neither graduation from the Way Corps nor accepting a high leadership position guarantee ordination.