Altha Burts, Founder/Executive Director, Well of Life Ministries, and husband Greg Burts

About Well of Life Ministries

We are a teaching and discipleship ministry, offering individual training and mentoring to leaders. We also provide written materials for personal and small group study. These materials have been developed by Altha Burts, Founder and Executive Director of Well of Life Ministries.

Since its beginning, Well of Life Ministries has developed and distributed written materials in the form of “life-changing truth” teachings. At the center of all these is the strategic teaching/Bible study called “Unless a Grain of Wheat.” For over three decades, “Unless a Grain of Wheat” has been distributed and taught to many individuals and groups around the world. Additionally, Altha’s book Come Up Higher and an audio (CD) of her amazing testimony of healing and transformation have also been widely distributed.

Though her ministry of discipleship, teaching, and counseling began over 30 years ago, the ministry called “Well of Life” was birthed from a vision the Lord gave her in 1996 from the passage in John 4 where the woman at the well met Jesus, and thirsted no more. Jesus saw into her heart, and knew she was not just filling empty, clay water pots, but searching for “life” and “fulfillment.” An outcast who caught His attention, she touched His heart, saying to her:

“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:14 “

Unless a Grain of Wheat” was developed by Altha over 30 years ago, to be a strategic compilation of life-changing truths. Having developed these teachings as a Biblical counselor, they had special meaning to Altha as she had known and walked them in her own personal journey with the Lord.

As you will see, “Unless a Grain of Wheat” is comprised of narrative, illustrative diagrams, and in-depth personal study questions that will expand and enhance the student’s understanding. It is more than a Bible study. It is a self-directed study intended to “walk” serious disciples of Jesus into truths that will draw each one into deeper relationship with Jesus. Based on the Old Testament types and shadows of the nation of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan, “Unless a Grain of Wheat” reveals the truths necessary for a follower of Christ to walk in this present world—the journey from new birth to the fullness of maturity in Christ.

In 2000, “Unless a Grain of Wheat” was reformatted—it was broken down into individual “bite sizes.” In doing so, it was our intent that the “Treasures of Truth” could be more useful in meeting individual needs in smaller, more “digestible” portions, while allowing individuals or groups the option of entering into the whole study of “Unless a Grain of Wheat” of any part thereof. In 2007, Greg Burts, Altha’s husband, and Janet Prince, Altha’s co-author of Come Up Higher, video-taped all 23 “Treasures of Truth.”

Acknowledgements. Altha would like to acknowledge those who worked to develop “Unless a Grain of Wheat: Treasures of Truth.” Liz Dupar and Linda Roper were instrumental in developing Altha’s original diagrams; Jennifer Ramey converted the original document into the electronic format; and Bi Kjos very thoughtfully and prayerfully developed the Study Guide.