Erich received the bulk of his ministry training at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho. During his time at RLM, he enrolled in a program offered by Boise Bible College to earn a degree in Biblical Leadership.

The bulk of Erich’s studies revolved around the discipleship process developed by Real Life Ministries of Post Falls, Idaho. Courses were taught by RLM staff members in conjunction with the college faculty which taught foundational Bible courses. To this day, Erich’s portfolio is still used by Boise Bible College faculty as a prime example in their portfolio-based studies.
Erich’s internship was in the youth and children’s ministries at RLM

In his time at RLM, Erich has become extremely knowledgeable on the RLM discipleship process having experienced it as a small group leader and in other capacities. He has attended both Summit and DiscipleShift (then called Immersion), programs developed by RLM for its leaders and leaders of other churches.

Erich’s philosophy is that Jesus called the Church to make disciples as opposed to simply making converts (Matthew 28), and that, being the Son of Man He was a perfect example as to what a man should be: a disciple maker. His discipleship process included 12 disciples with a special focus on three (Peter, James, and John). Jesus never meant for anyone to take-on making disciples with more than 12 people at a time. Classroom and large group environments are not relational enough to create disciples. Jesus showed us that it is best done in small groups. The goal is to create disciples who can create disciples. If a church is not actively making disciples, that church is not the Church as Jesus designed it.

Erich has been a successful small group leader, and has taken his philosophy to other roles. At Eastridge Church, he was able to successfully train a self-running all-volunteer team to handle audio and video production responsibilities. The same principles were also used at SkyWest Airlines in the Delta Air Lines Baggage Service Office in Spokane, Washington, where Erich was the lead baggage service agent.