This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the first eight messages given during the spring 2018 term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is "Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." The goal of God's economy and of our enjoyment of the riches of Christ is the organic building up of the church as the Body of Christ. This goal is God's purpose, God's will, and His good pleasure. The building up of the church as the Body of Christ is simultaneously the maturing of the one new man and the preparation of the bride.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the final nine messages given during the spring 2018 term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is "Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ." These messages continue to emphasize the enjoyment of the indescribably rich and all-inclusive Christ as everything to us as seen in the New Testament. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see that we need to have a pure heart to see God, which is to gain God so that we may become God in life and nature. The more we experience and enjoy such an all-inclusive Christ, the more we will become the building material for and even the builders of the church, fulfilling the greatest prophecy in the Bible to bring in the kingdom of God.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones held in Toronto, Canada, on October 9-11, 2014. The general subject of the training was “The Vision, Practice, and Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1971, volume 4, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from August 27, 1971, through January 3, 1972. During this period Brother Lee traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago at the end of August, where he remained for one week before returning to Los Angeles. From there he traveled in California, visiting San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose before returning to Los Angeles at the end of October. Then he traveled to Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Toronto, Canada; and Detroit, Michigan. There is no record of his speaking in these four cities. Near the end of November he visited Akron, Ohio, and gave a conference over the Thanksgiving weekend. At the beginning of December he returned to Los Angeles for about a week, after which he traveled to Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Canada; and Moses Lake, Spokane, and Seattle, Washington. He then went to San Jose and San Francisco at the end of December. There is no record of his speaking in Portland, Vancouver, Moses Lake, Spokane, and San Jose. The contents of this volume are divided into thirteen sections, as follows: 1. Seventeen messages given in Chicago, Illinois, from August 27 through September 6. These messages were previously published under the title Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ. 2. One message given in Chicago, Illinois, on August 29. This message was previously printed in The Ministry magazine, volume 2, number 8, August/September 1998, under the title The Scriptural Pattern for Raising Up Churches. 3. One message given in Chicago, Illinois, on September 5. It is published in this volume under the title Migration for the Lord's Move in the United States. 4. One message given in Los Angeles, California, on September 8. It was previously printed in The Ministry magazine, volume 2, number 8, August/September 1998, under the title The Establishing and Spread of the Churches. 5. Three miscellaneous messages given in Los Angeles, California, on October 3 and 31. They are included in this volume under the title Various Los Angeles Meetings. 6. One message given in San Diego, California. The date of the message is uncertain, but it is thought to be October 10. It is included in this volume under the title The Recovery of the Genuine Oneness of the Body of Christ. 7. One message given in San Diego, California, on October 22. This message is published in this volume under the title Having a Personal, Intimate, Affectionate, Tender, and Loving Contact with the Lord Jesus. 8. Two messages given in San Francisco, California, on October 16 and 17. They are published in this volume under the title The Lord's Recovery of the Enjoyment of the All-inclusive Christ. 9. Seven messages given in Akron, Ohio, from November 25 through 28. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Central Revelation in the Bible. 10. Three messages given in Akron, Ohio, from November 22 through 26. They are included in this volume under the title Being Saved in the Life of Christ for the Church Life. 11. Three messages given in Los Angeles, California, from December 5 through 8. These messages are included in this volume under the title Gathering Together to Minister Christ, to Receive Christ, and to Glorify God. 12. Seven messages given in Seattle, Washington, from December 24 through 27. They are published in this volume under the title Enjoying and Ministering Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. 13. Eight messages given in San Francisco, California, from December 31, 1971, through January 3, 1972. These messages are included in this volume under the title Crucial Aspects of the Lord's Recovery.

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the nine messages given during the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones, held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, October 5-7, 2006. The general subject of the training was "Shepherding the Flock of God." These messages are a continuation of the training given in the spring of 2006 (see The Ministry, Vol. 10, No. 5). The burden of these messages is not about the technique of shepherding but about what we are in our person and how we behave in the church. This is according to Paul's word to the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20. He said, "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock" (v. 28). We first need to take care of ourselves, to be shepherded in our own person before we take care of all the flock. Messages 1 and 2 show us that our shepherding must be according to the plan of God and the word of God, according to the teaching of the apostles, and according to God. These form the basis of our shepherding. Messages 3, 5, and 7 show us that our shepherding is in our living by the grace of God, in an organic way according to His initiation and with our cooperation, and in dealing with peculiarity. These are the conditions of our shepherding. Messages 4, 6, and 8 show us that our goal must be to shepherd the saints into the faith of the truth, into a life of living through dying, and into a life of prayer for the organic practice of the God-ordained way in the vital groups. Finally, in Message 9, if the elders are constituted with the basis, the conditions, and the goal of shepherding, the flock of God will be shepherded to know the Body of Christ. May the Lord speak to us His light-shedding and life-imparting word. Last of all, we include letters and reports concerning the recent gospel move in the Russian-speaking world.