Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone
(An Extension of the)
Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Colorado, USA
ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER, 2022
Full Time and the Extended Programs
INTRODUCTION
Greetings to you beloved in the Lord! On behalf of the administration and the students of the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone, I want to open this write up by giving thanks and acknowledgement to God Almighty for His love that He continues to bestow upon us. We are grateful to Him for this opportunity again to share with you the continuous outcome of the work that is going on in Sierra Leone here. The month of September served as another remarkable month for us; it was so because some exciting activities took place here. Some of these activities included an evangelistic campaign, conversion of souls and the restorations of some brethren, lectureship, and the continuation of academic activities. Please may you keep on reading for the details as they are arranged under the following subheadings:
EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN, CONVERSION OF SOULS AND RESTORATION OF BRETHREN
The motive of Bear Valley worldwide, that is, to take the gospel to every soul “Until all have heard” and are saved is really commendable. It is God’s desire truly that no one should perish but come to repentance (2 Peter 3.9), and it was in light of this that we embarked on another successful evangelistic campaign in September. This time around, we directed our campaign to Pujehun, the southern part of Sierra Leone. Pujehun is 102 Miles away from Kenema. It is the headquarter town of Pujehun District. We decided to go to Pujehun because the brethren at the congregation there requested that we go there to help strengthen the congregation and help to evangelize the area. The Pujehun congregation was established in 2009 through the WBS correspondence which is handled by Brother Jacob Sesay till date. When the congregation was established, there was no preacher that would lead those converts. They made a request to Brother Jacob to be going there to be teaching them, but he informed them that he is unable to do that, but that he would seek for someone to send there. He sought for one Liberian brother, Martin Gashua (around 73 years now), who resides at Bandajuma around the territory of Pujehun. Brother Martin has been the preacher there since then till now. Since the time that the congregation was established till now, they have a membership of 12 brethren, who do not even all come regularly. During the one week spent, we engaged the congregation and held a meeting. They told us a lot of factors that have been contributing to poor growth of the Lord’s Church there. These factors range from ineffective leadership, lack of interest in evangelism, lack of effective preacher who is committed to the work that can motivate others, lack of sound biblical teachers, etc. With all of these, we decided to encourage one brother among them who stays in Pujehun there, Brother Vincent, who is a graduate of the 21st Century Global Mission, to be serving as an assistant preacher to Brother Martin who stays somehow far. Brother Vincent accepted but also alerted us that he is a Bike Rider, therefore, his effectiveness in the work of the Church is questionable. However, we told the congregation that since it is the Lord’s desire that His church functions effectively everywhere, we would include them on our external mission list so that our staff and the students would be going there. Having said all of these, I want to let you understand dear reader that Pujehun is a very fertile town for the Gospel to be received. The people of Pujehun just need someone to teach them and they are ready to accept the truth. So for the one week we spent there, 10 souls were converted and 4 brethren who left the congregation long ago were restored. We believed that we could do more but for almost 3 days, we could not preach because it was raining. But God is to be praised for those He added to the congregation at Pujehun. During our regular weekly evangelism outreaches, 3 souls were converted. Please may we pray for those new converts and for the Church at Pujehun. We want to emphatically let you know our supporters that evangelistic campaigns and our weekend evangelism outreaches are very rewarding; do not hesitate to send in whatever financial support you have. All will be and has been used for all the intended purposes.
RESUMPTION OF THE SECOND SEMESTER FOR THE EXTENDED PROGRAM
You will recall that in our August report, we informed you that the first semester year one for the extended program came to an end and that they were expected to resume on September 3, 2022 for the continuation of their studies. Indeed, all the 15 students resumed except one, Adamson Brima who did not come back again because of family responsibilities. So right now, we have 14 students in the extended program all together. We are grateful for all our students, especially in relation to their commitment to their studies and the work of the Lord.
LECTURESHIP
In the month of September, we held a very successful and timely lectureship which was themed, “UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP IN A LOCAL CHURCH.” The purpose of this lectureship was to begin to teach the brethren in the local congregations in Kenema about the organization of the Lord’s Church, and what impacts that has on the growth of individual Christians and the congregations as a whole. The lectureship was attended by 188 brethren from the four local congregations in Kenema, even though we had one of our speakers from Freetown. Presently, there is no congregation in Kenema with all complete Biblically organized leadership, though some of the congregations here have spent many years in existence. Therefore, it is the desire of the KBVBI to continue to teach the brethren so that in a short while, men will rise up who have met the biblical qualifications and are ready to serve with humility to be elders and deacons in local congregations here. This challenge of ineffective leadership is not only limited to Kenema; many congregations in Sierra Leone also follow suit.
THE DIRECTOR’S MARRIAGE INVITATION
In order to continue to be more effective in the work of God, Brother Peter Sahr Makundu has decided to seek for a helper in the person of sister Patience Boima. We have decided to spend life together and raise up a Christian family. The marriage is scheduled to take place on the 2nd and the 3rd December, 2022, at Kenema here. On this note, we are specially inviting all of you; we require your prayers, guidance and financial support in whatever way. We remain grateful to all the brethren who have been counselling us. We anticipate your coming and may the peace of God be with all of us till that time.
STUDENT’S BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Eric Fayia Turay
Eric Turay is one of our committed and serious minded students. He worships with the Komendeh Church of Christ. Komendeh is about 8 miles away from Koindu, eastern Sierra Leone. He serves as the assistant preacher at his congregation. Brother Eric was born on January 9, 1986. He was added to the Lord’s Church in 2009. Since then, he has been actively involved in the activities of the Church. Brother Eric is a very humble brother who loves to serve with passion. He personally sought for the opportunity to be enrolled at the KBVBI so he could learn more skills to lead God’s church and bring many to Christ. At the end of this report, Brother Eric’s picture will be attached.
CONCLUSION
It is indeed exciting and fulfilling to be found useful in God’s vineyard. And to you brethren, the lives you are changing in Sierra Leone here through your prayers, financial support, guidance and direction, are all duly acknowledged, and may the Lord bless you richly.