Partners
Newton Institute
Today’s colleges and universities promote godless lifestyles and philosophy; they are expensive, require four or more years to graduate, and they often produce only debt and degrees that have little value in the economy. Graduates enter the job market with few actual skills and no experience. We seek an alternative form of baccalaureate and graduate education that honors God and produces top quality education, research, and engineering products. We propose Newton Institute for the Reformation of Science, Engineering, and the Trades as a vision of how Godly people, under Divine leadership and enabling can change the present state of affairs. Particularly, we desire to equip young men1 to become husbands and fathers whose lives and homes honor our Lord Jesus Christ.
Newton Institute will be a nonprofit organization that provides university-level apprenticeship education primarily for homeschool graduates with technical and research interests. The research produced by the staff and apprenticed students will provide proof that those who attend the Institute are fit to work in any secular job they choose after completion of their apprenticeship.
Rather than passively receiving lecture-based instruction, apprenticed students will work on real projects that produce valuable scientific contributions and useful engineering products. Projects will be led by staff and advanced students who will also be charged with writing proposals to funding organizations to produce their products. Rather than gaining degrees in a government-accredited course of study, apprenticed students will produce a portfolio of projects and inventions that prove their acumen. Rather than diplomas, apprenticed students will receive recommendation letters from the staff detailing their performance on the projects and teams where they worked. Rather than teaching mathematics, physics, etc. as unmotivated lectures and homework, staff will guide apprenticed students to find the appropriate source material to solve the problems they face in the projects they work on. Thus, all learning will be motivated by project needs and student curiosity. Apprenticed students whose work results in financial gains for the Institute will be paid for their efforts rather than paying to attend.
Staff will ensure that apprenticed students will gain complete command of a subject area by including them in a variety of projects and problems. Apprenticed students will stay anywhere from one to five years until they have produced a sufficient portfolio of work as determined by the research staff and their advisors. Their portfolio will serve as credentials for their careers.
All science stems from knowledge of Jesus Christ, through His physical creation. As a direct result, Theology, the Queen of Sciences, will be an intrinsic part of the curriculum at Newton Institute. Student apprentices will be required to study the Bible individually and to participate in group-Bible-study activities. Each apprenticed student will be required to demonstrate how his work is motivated by and directed toward the glory of God by applying the Bible to his research.
Many disciplines and trades will be required to make Newton Institute a financial success. We will need people skilled in equipment fabrication, product sales, accounting, legal issues, design, and art to create research and products from raw concepts. Technical writing, leadership, and project management, three disciplines often neglected in the university training of scientists and engineers, will be part of the experience offered to apprentices in the course of their work.
We will start the Institute locally in Washington State at a location that the Lord will lead us to. We believe that initially, much of the work and collaboration may be done remotely over the Internet from a variety of locations. Depending on the skills and interests of the staff and apprentices the Lord brings us, some of the work will likely need to be done in a central location, and thus we will need equipment, a campus, buildings, etc. We desire that the apprentices should live with the families of staff members, but we will honor the desires of the apprentices’ parents for their sons’ housing. Living with the families of the staff of the Newton Institute would opportunities for provide mentorship both in the apprentices’ personal lives and for their scientific and technical work.
At first, staff may need to volunteer their time until the Institute becomes stable. This delay may be a period of three to five years. During the start-up period, the families of origin would continue to provide subsistence for their sons. We expect the young men to become self-sufficient through hard work and guided research in time. Once products or inventions of the Institute begin to pay dividends, staff and apprentices would begin to receive pay appropriate to their labor. From the beginning, we would seek to partner with other organizations such as Washington’s Christian Heritage Home Educators, Vision Forum, and Answers in Genesis.
Now we seek the counsel of God’s people to refine this vision to proceed. Without Him, the vision is impossible and unprofitable. Please prayerfully consider whether you would like to join this vision and how you might help.
Mentors and Apprentices- Please apply through the AME registration process and then contact Glenn Fink, the Director of the Newton Institute- 509-392-2868. finkga@textfree.us
Christian Family Business Association
www.christianfamilybusiness.org/
We are excited to announce the Christian Family Business Association! And you are invited!! This is an exciting concept being implemented Initially in the Denver, CO area but spreading Chapters nation wide.
The vision of the CFBA is to assist and train Christian families to take dominion through the market place, teaching business and success principles to our young people, and linking Christians with true Christian businesses. How can we teach our children when we rise up and when we walk in the way and when we lie down if we are spending so much of that time away from them making a living? How can we integrate family and business? These are some of the questions we will be exploring. Whether you are already a business owner, or would like to be a full time or part time business owner for supplemental income, or would like your children to be, we believe the CFBA can be an important link for you.
Mission StatementThe vision of CFBA originated in the Denver metro area, and was to start taking dominion of the city for Christ thru apprenticing 200 families to own and operate their own family business. The CFBA offers a long term voluntary 2- 5 year apprentice program to disciple families who will then be trained to mentor other families in business, success and Godly principles of money management. We are looking for families who would like to join us in this endeavor either as sponsor families, or families desiring mentorship and fellowship in building a family business of their own. With the CFBA team of experienced business owners, there are many, many ideas of part time and full time businesses that your family can learn and be apprenticed in.
Mentors and Apprentices- Please apply through the AME registration process and then contact Dale Schamel, the Director of the CFBA, at ceo@christianfamilybusiness.org
Ohline Shutters
Ohline shutters is a shutter manufacturing entity that has been in business since the mid 1950’s. At one time it was the largest manufacture in the United States. Over the last ten years the industry exploded in growth, but the previous owner was old and set in his ways. With the collapse of the economy and refusal by the previous owner to adapt, Ohline was on the brink of extinction just six months ago.
Providentially, the Board of Directors chose to keep the company open and brought me on board, and we are having the time of our lives. In six months we went from losing $150,000.00 a month to breaking even as of July and August 2010. The opportunity here for me was truly a “once in a lifetime opportunity”. We have the full backing of the board to rebuild this company from the ground up. We have overcome many challenges in the past six months and are on our way to continued integration and growth. Ohline offers to a young man the ability to see the inner workings of a national manufacturing company. He will learn how to relate to and manage people (without a doubt the most important aspect to running a company). He will see the myriad of decisions that come up every week, the process of completely redesigning our product offering and making us once again a dominant player in our industry. He will get to interact with our customers, another invaluable talent that is mandatory for success. He will get to see the inside numbers, learn all about a profit and loss statement, margins, how to do a budget and determine if a company really is profitable. He will get to see true entrepreneurship in action and see what the daily grind is really all about. We can’t use a man who is unwilling to jump into any project and get his hands dirty. By the same token he must exhibit professionalism as he interacts with client both in person and on the phone. We will also be branching out into retail sales in the coming year, which is a whole other animal to experience.
Looking back at what I know now, I would genuinely pay money to have this experience as a young man. The foundation it will lay for running your own business is worth far more than a lifetime of college that will fill your head with facts but fail to prepare you for real life decisions and actions.
Furthermore, I have an extensive background in real estate and buying properties to fix up and rent or sell. There is opportunity for that in this area. If a young man is handy and knows construction, there may be an opportunity for this kind of project where he could participate in this kind of deal and share in the profits on the back end. This is more of a side opportunity and is by no means necessary for being a part of Ohline.
Mentors and Apprentices- Please apply through the AME registration process and then contact Paul Gatlin, President of Ohline Shutters at Paulg@ohline.com
ASLAN Companies
ASLAN Companies is a multi faceted construction, development and investment firm that encompasses 3 core areas of business…..Invest, Design and Build. Our focus is to aid investors in all three areas as it pertains to a commercial projects and GREEN, energy efficient structures from homes to businesses. Our purpose is to bring Glory to God in the market place and to disciple young men that are interested in one of our three focuses and desire to Glorify God in their businesses.
Aaron Voorhees, ASLAN CEO, is an entrepreneur with 16 years of business experience. Visit ASLAN’S Web site at www.ASLANcom.com Track and apply for apprentice opportunities with ASLAN at AMEProgram.com
Computronix
Computronix is a privately-owned software development and consulting company, with offices in Edmonton, Alberta, and Denver, Colorado. Computronix delivers distinctive software solutions and high quality service in a win-win relationship with our clients. Our main product is “POSSE,” a workflow management suite that is configured to meet each client’s specific business needs. This highly flexible workflow management engine determines the work that needs to be performed, who needs to perform it (and when), and who should perform the next step. Built upon an Oracle database, POSSE ensures that all work steps are completed, in order to accomplish a job in a consistent and efficient manner. In the U.S., our clients are government agencies who use POSSE to perform regulatory, permitting, inspection, and enforcement functions.
Computronix (U.S.A.) periodically holds a “POSSE Bootcamp” to train potential staff in how to use POSSE. A 2-week orientation course provides an introduction to POSSE and allows both the Applicant and Computronix to evaluate whether this line of work may be a good fit for the Applicant. Upon acceptance into the main Bootcamp, the apprenticeship truly begins. The Apprentice undergoes an intense period of classroom and individual study, culminating in the final exam, in which the Apprentice builds a POSSE database from scratch and presents the solution to Computronix evaluators. Graduates of the Bootcamp begin to work on actual client projects and continue to develop their skills, with oversight from Computronix staff. The Apprentice role usually lasts 1–2 years, with a formal evaluation at the end of the first year. Compensation for Apprentices is an hourly wage, with significant performance and certification incentives built in to encourage growth and initiative on the part of the Apprentice.
Computronix does not look for prior computer experience in Apprentices, but rather the aptitude for detailed (and often complex) software configuration. As important as aptitude is the display of solid character in a professional work environment. It is important for our staff to maintain integrity, to be dependable and thorough in their work, to display perseverance and humility when the pressure rises, and to interact with our clients in a mature and professional manner.
Our website is www.computronix.com. Apprentices may apply through the AME registration process and then contact Joel George, Computronix (U.S.A.) Human Resources Representative, at joel.george@computronix.com.