APRIL 2019 NARRATIVE REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Preachers are not trained in a day. Several building blocks are needed and are laid carefully till we get a quality and competent product. At the end of every month, we look back and see how far God would have taken us in this endeavor. It is our joy to report on the building blocks that we laid in the month of April. God’s favour has been upon BVBIZ and to this we remain grateful. He has used several of you to get us this far. Besides the value added to the students, more value has also been added to the institution, Bear Valley Bible Institute Zimbabwe.
1.0 SIGN LANGUAGE
Everyone deserves to hear the word of God. BVBIZ takes this seriously. From the 9th to the 17th of April we had the second session of “sign language” training. The first was held last year. BVBIZ students are now conversant with sign language and can now comfortably share the word with the deaf. Great appreciation goes to an anonymous sister who has sponsored this program twice.
2.0 PARTNERS FOR AFRICA
BVBIZ was blessed to receive Dorean Flynn and his team of Partners for Africa. His work is bare for all to see especially within the churches in Bulawayo and Matabeleland provinces. His organization has also drilled boreholes for communities. It is this organization that blessed BVBIZ with her first borehole in February this year. The team visited the institution with 3 seasoned preachers from the U.S.A on the 11th of April and they had quality time with the students who are direct beneficiaries of the borehole they drilled.
3.0 EVANGELISM
Evangelism continued in the month of April. This took place at two levels. Students continued to go out for weekend evangelism every Saturday and Sunday. Areas that were covered included Mambo, Mkoba 12, Nashville, Julena, Midlands State University and Kwekwe.
Besides weekend evangelism, there was a one-week campaign that also took place at Mkoba 4, Mhoba 12 and Chikuku in Masvingo. The congregation at Chikuku was started by BVBIZ in 2017 during the school’s first field program. At this year’s campaign, students were joined by Brother Mashaba of the Gospel Chariot. Students were distributed as follows;
Mkoba 4 : K.Dube, B. Tengulachepa, T.Kamungeremu, M.Phiri
Mkoba 12 : T.Dube, T.Chikuni, T.Mangwanda, G.Ndoro
Chikuku : S. Tsikada, C.Muzambi, V.Gandiwa, B.Tiyani, I.Mupanduki
The following were the results of the work that was done in April
Total Hours of work 138
Total sermons 11
Total song leading opportunities 25
Devotions (homes) 18
Devotions (clinics & schools) 5
Counselling sessions 4
Total prospects 260
Lessons taught 120
WBS Lessons distributed 66
Tracts distributed 165
Total restorations 1
Total baptisms 10
4.0 FIELD PROGRAM
From the 22nd of June to the 8th of September, BVBIZ students shall be going for their field practicum in different areas. This is over and above weekend evangelism and one week campaigns that are done every term. In the May report, we shall publish the list of areas that shall benefit. The list will also include names of students who will be going to such areas. This is the time when students will have a longer period of putting theory into practice.
5.1 MIDLANDS GOSPEL MEETING
The Midlands Gospel meeting took place from the 26th-28th of April at Kwekwe. Midlands is one of the provinces with very few congregations in Zimbabwe. BVBIZ rallied the province and the preachers to rise to the challenge of growing the church. Implementation of some of the resolutions will be reported in the subsequent reports. BVBIZ had several opportunities to lead in various capacities during the services that were being conducted there.
6.0 DEVELOPMENT AT SITE
Several developments have taken place this far. Where technical expertise is not needed, students have provided labour. Some of the developments that have been done include;
· Drilling of 2 boreholes
· Installation of a solar system and a tank on one of the boreholes
· Production of a topographical map indicating the site’s bounderies
· Construction of a room that is used for security purposes and as a store room.
· Digging of a 9m long and a 3m dip pit for use as a pit latrine (toilet)
In the month of April, a 6m x 4m room was fully constructed. Great appreciation goes to Bear Valley Bible Institute International for providing the funds to construct this room. Another one is under construction using funds raised locally and from savings made. The second room is expected to be complete by the 5th of May. 5 more rooms are needed for BVBIZ to move to this site. Bricks will be molded on site. A solar system will also be needed since there is no electricity in the area.
Besides the construction of buildings above, the following will needs to be done
· Planting of an orchard (for the provision of food and income to the school).
· Purchase of beehives for a bee keeping project. The site has a lot of trees which can be used to have this done
· Construction of fowl runs for poultry projects
· Preparation for about 2 hectares of land for farming in two stages. Our wish will be to have the first hectare under drip irrigation. US$2000 is needed to get this done.
7.0 ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Students continued to enhance their skills. After obtaining skills in cabbage production, currently they are working on the raising of tomatoes. The goal is for them to have a source of income as they preach after graduation and furthermore, teach their congregants life survival skills.
8.0 BVBIZ STRATEGIC MAP
BVBIZ is following a 3-year map. This strategic document continues to give strategic direction to the institution. This is a product of the Board, management and other stakeholders. Several efforts being made are in line with this. This month we remind and upraise you, our most esteemed stakeholders, about the existence of the school’s strategic plan. Our desire is for more people and congregations to partner with us in achieving this endeavor. You can always play a part. We include in this report, a small section defining who we are. This is included hereunder.
This plan is intended to ensure that the institution’s core business of training and developing manpower progresses unhindered. The main focus is to direct the institution to become a leading and preferred institution. By 2020, the following should be happening;
· BVBIZ should produce highly qualified, equipped and competent servants through a robust training and development program.
· To have an institution with a highly structured program for human capital development that will drive the core business of training and developing servants of God.
· To have a well-structured resource base that steer the training and development of servants of God.
· To have an institution with state of the art structures and equipment that will aid the institution to achieve her vision.
VISION
To be a leading and preferred spiritual and academic centre in Zimbabwe and beyond
MISSION
To empower men and women through training and development
VALUES
Biblical Restoration: We believe in teaching what the Bible teaches and be silent where it is silent
Spirituality: We nurture souls to be Christ centred
Integrity: We believe in integrity and strive always to meet the standard of Christ
Stewardship: We believe in honesty while managing resources under our care
Accountability: We are committed to transparency in the employment of resources
Excellence: We strive for higher academic standards .
CONCLUSION
Many things are taking place at BVBIZ as we desire to fulfill our core business of training and developing servants of God. This can be seen by some of those activities highlighted above. This could not have been possible without sacrifices being made by the Woodland Oaks congregation and other various partners both local and international. To God be the glory.
Mathew Muchingam
Director, BVBI-Z