During the summer of 1963 there was both a conference and a training. T. Austin-Sparks visited there in the fall of 1959 with those meeting at Westmoreland Chapel.
At that time he prayed and dedicated the house to the Lord. He expressed the feeling, which he had had for some time, that there was the need of another place along the foothills in addition to Glendale where Christians could meet that were open to The Witness and the Testimony ministry.
During those six weeks of training, Witness Lee met with the brothers and sisters attending from Monday evening until Saturday evening except for Wednesdays and the Lord’s Days that were for the church meetings. Brother Lee went into Los Angeles at those times and we stayed and met together in Altadena for prayer and the Lord’s Table. There were between 30 and 35 full-time attendees, most staying at the Reetzkes’ house. That number increased to about 70 in the evenings. Morning meetings were from 9-noon. The afternoons were used for going over the lessons and other items of homework (and housework). The evening meetings were from 7-10 p.m. and covered two lessons with a break in between them. The sessions started with singing and prayer. Note taking was required. The American Standard Version was used as it was considered a better translation than the English Revised Version, the Revised Standard Version, and the King James Version, which was described as “too old.”
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Witness Lee covered 18 lessons on life, 18 lessons on truth, 6 lessons on the church, and 6 lessons on service.
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During the entire six weeks, Witness Lee covered 18 lessons on life, 18 lessons on truth, 6 lessons on the church, and 6 lessons on service. The lessons on life were printed in 1999 in the booklet, Basic Principles of the Experience of Life. The lessons on truth were partly covered in the booklets A Brief Definition of the Kingdom of the Heavens (1986) and The Building of God (1999). The lessons on service were printed in Basic Principles for the Service in the Church Life (1999).
In addition to those lessons above, Witness Lee covered the book, God’s Plan of Redemption by Mary McDonough, a “marvelous masterpiece” (WL). The trainees in the afternoon copied the twelve charts in this booklet onto 12" x 24" cardboard. Brother Lee spoke to the trainees from these charts, which he felt to be “very revealing, giving us a clear vision and impressing us with God’s plan, His way of redemption, and the way of life.” It was this sister that gave us the hymn “There’s a Man in the Glory” (Hymns, #505).
In 1963 Witness Lee started to print and distribute The Stream magazine, which contained conference and training messages.
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