“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” — 1 Samuel 7:12
Lesson
What You Will Learn
- Explain the four parts of the capstone and how it ends in commissioning
- Review your growth across the whole program and gather evidence of it
- Start your portfolio using the contents checklist
- Plan a brief, honest approach to your record in your materials, using official guidance
Lesson Notes
What the Capstone Is
The capstone is the last step for every Bridge to Opportunity graduate, whatever certificate you chose. It has four parts:
- Capstone Portfolio: your best documents and work, gathered in one place.
- Re-Entry Plan Presentation: an 8–10 minute presentation of your 12-month plan to a panel of instructors and mentors.
- Testimony of Growth: a 2–3 minute story of what God has done in you, written or spoken.
- Supervised Practice Session (ministry track only): a short role-played ministry session, observed and signed off by a supervisor.
The capstone ends with a commissioning ceremony, a time of prayer and blessing as you are sent into your next season. This is a celebration, not a trial.
Raising Your Ebenezer
After God helped Israel, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, meaning stone of help, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us (1 Samuel 7:12). Looking back is not about reliving the past. It is about remembering where God helped you so you can trust Him for what is ahead.
Look back over the program:
- BTO 101: using devices, email, documents, and staying safe online.
- BTO 102: listening, speaking, writing, resolving conflict, and telling your story.
- BTO 103: budgeting, banking, credit, and stewardship.
- BTO 104: servant leadership, identity in Christ, goals, and resilience.
- BTO 105: your calling, résumé, rights, interviews, and 90-day plan.
- Your certificate: the four courses that prepared you for a career or ministry path.
Growth shows up in three places: skills (what you can do now), character (who you are becoming), and faith (how you trust God).
The Portfolio Contents Checklist
Your portfolio should include:
- Résumé, updated to include your certificate.
- Cover letter for a real or sample job, business opportunity, or ministry role.
- Reference list with three references who have agreed to serve.
- Certificates and transcript: your Bridge to Opportunity records, plus any GED, diploma, or other training.
- Two or three work samples from your certificate. Examples: a formatted business letter or spreadsheet; a one-page business plan summary; an edited writing sample; a budget or stewardship lesson; a listening or coaching reflection; a recovery group meeting outline; a care visit plan; a discipleship meeting outline.
- Personal budget for your first months home (updated from BTO 103).
- Re-entry plan: your 90-day plan now, expanded to 12 months in Module 2.
- One to three letters of support from instructors, a chaplain, a work supervisor, or a mentor.
Never include your Social Security number, ID numbers, or original documents. Keep originals somewhere safe and list only what you have and where it is kept.
Paper or Digital
A paper portfolio in a folder with labeled tabs is complete and fully acceptable. If devices are permitted, you may also type and save your documents in organized folders using your BTO 101 skills. Either way, keep a clean copy you can hand to an employer, a pastor, or a case manager.
Your Record and Your Materials
Your portfolio does not need to tell the story of your record. On applications, answer what is asked, honestly, and keep your answers consistent with your master application sheet. In conversation, use your Honest-Brief-Forward answer from BTO 102 and BTO 105.
What you must disclose, and what may be sealed or cleared, depends on your state, your city, and your case. This course does not give legal advice. Get official guidance from legal aid, your attorney, or your case manager, and write down where you will get it: ____________________.
Key Terms
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Capstone | The final course that brings the whole program together |
| Portfolio | An organized collection of your best documents and work |
| Work sample | A piece of your own work that shows a skill |
| Letter of support | A letter from someone who can speak to your growth and character |
| Ebenezer | “Stone of help”; a reminder of where God has helped you (1 Samuel 7:12) |
In-Class Activities
My Ebenezer Timeline
Draw a line across the page from the day you started BTO 101 to today. Mark five to seven moments of growth: a skill you learned, a fear you faced, a time you chose well, a moment you saw God help you. Write one sentence for each. You decide what to include; you do not need to write about anything painful.
Portfolio Inventory
Go through the Portfolio Contents Checklist. For each item, mark: Have it, Needs revision, or Need to get it.
- Then write the names (by role) of one to three people you will ask for a letter of support.
Assignment: Portfolio Start
- A completed Portfolio Inventory.
- Your résumé, updated to include your certificate and capstone.
- Two work samples from your certificate, each with a one-sentence caption explaining the skill it shows.
- A short, polite written request for a letter of support to one to three people (sent through your instructor or an approved channel).
- A one-paragraph Growth Summary: how you have grown in skills, character, and faith.
Graded with the Module Assignment Rubric.
Reflection Journal
Samuel named the stone Ebenezer: Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. Look at your timeline. Where has God helped you so far? Write about one moment you want to remember when the road gets hard.
Prayer focus: Thank God for every way He has helped you so far, and ask Him to help you finish well.
Weekly Reading & Devotions
Stones of Help
After God helped Israel, Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us (1 Samuel 7:12). The stone did not erase the hard years. It marked the place where God had helped, so the people would remember when the next hard day came.
Renée almost skipped the first capstone session. (Renée is a composite example.) I don't have anything to put in a portfolio, she told her instructor. Then she laid out her work: the résumé from BTO 105, a budget from BTO 103, a spreadsheet she built in her certificate, a note from her work supervisor. She was quiet for a long minute. I did all this?
Your portfolio is your own stone of help. It gathers your résumé, cover letter, references, certificates, work samples from your certificate, budget, re-entry plan, and letters of support. A paper folder with labeled tabs is complete and fully acceptable.
Keep it safe and simple. Never put your Social Security number, ID numbers, or original documents in a portfolio you hand to others. And your portfolio does not need to tell the story of your record. For questions about what you must disclose or what can be sealed, get official guidance from legal aid, your attorney, or your case manager.
Looking back is not living in the past. It is remembering where God helped you, so you can trust Him for what is ahead.
Think About It
- What is one skill you have now that you did not have when you started BTO 101? ______________________
- Who will you ask for a letter of support, and why? ______________________
- Where do you see God's help in this season? ______________________
Daily Devotions for Week 1
Hitherto
Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.— 1 Samuel 7:12 (KJV)
Every step of this program is a place where God helped you. Mark it and remember it.
Reflect: What is one Ebenezer moment from this program?
Pray: Lord, thank You for helping me this far.
Do: Write one Ebenezer moment on an index card and keep it in your portfolio.
I Will Remember
I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.— Psalm 77:11 (KJV)
Remembering God's past faithfulness is fuel for faith when the future feels uncertain.
Reflect: What has God done for you that you never want to forget?
Pray: Lord, help me remember Your works.
Do: Tell a classmate one thing God has done for you.
New Every Morning
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.— Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)
You do not have to carry yesterday's failures into today. God's mercy meets you fresh each morning.
Reflect: What do you need God's fresh mercy for today?
Pray: Lord, thank You for mercy that is new every morning.
Do: Begin tomorrow by thanking God for one new mercy.
A New Thing
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?— Isaiah 43:19 (KJV)
God is not only redeeming your past. He is doing something new in you right now.
Reflect: What new thing do you see God doing in you?
Pray: Lord, open my eyes to the new thing You are doing.
Do: Add one new skill or strength to your Growth Summary.
Great Things
The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.— Psalm 126:3 (KJV)
Gladness is the right response to God's work. It is all right to celebrate how far you have come.
Reflect: What are you glad about this week?
Pray: Lord, You have done great things, and I am glad.
Do: Finish your Portfolio Inventory and thank God for each item you already have.
Module Quiz
- 1.
Which is one of the four parts of the capstone for every student?
- 2.
“Ebenezer” in 1 Samuel 7:12 means:
- 3.
Which should NEVER go in a portfolio you hand to others?
- 4.
A paper portfolio is fully acceptable for the capstone.
- 5.
Name the three places growth shows up, according to the lesson.