Wotutu school works to expand the kingdom

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this part of the world and a gracious and happy new year to you. We do hope you all made it into 2022 with sound health and a great focus to keep serving the Lord. We are doing well, and by His grace we are into the new year without many challenges.

This year is full of promise, as we see God taking us into another dimension in His work. We are ready, and we are prepared to do well in our calling in Him. We call on God for His help. 

Last year closed with our students out for mission work. My wife and I were also involved in the mission work of visiting and nurturing congregations around the Meme division in Cameroon. It was a great time for us as well.

I was privileged again to introduce the theme of the year 2022 in the Wotutu congregation. I also analyzed the theme, and we are trusting that God will bring a new resolve into the life of many who are under our voices.

The students are all back in school and two of our students, Lyambe Francis and Fon Ndinsang got married in the course of the vacation. We are set, and we are rolling in the first quarter of the second year. We have great courses to study which include, “Intertestamental History,” “The Book of Romans,” ”Minor Prophets,” ”2 Corinthians,” and “World Religions.” Keep us in your prayers as we invest our time in teaching and in transferring knowledge to the students who are very much ready to learn.

Many Brightland Christian Comprehensive College students keep coming to our students at BVBIC-Wotutu to learn more from the topics they hear in Chapel. We are blessed to have many avenues for our student preachers to grow. Speaking during chapel and speaking in the Wotutu congregation are added advantages to their learning. The Brightland schools are a fertile land for the gospel.

My wife and I were out of Wotutu for one week of mission work in the Meme division . Its aim was to visit our graduates around that area. It was great to meet them, and to see them being active in their respective congregations. To this same light, I am still planning, and eagerly hoping, to be in the country of Chad with my wife for the work we started doing there last year with brother Ititi. The country of Chad needs more motivation and encouragement. It is very barren spiritually. That is why I wish to travel there with my wife who will be very active in helping the women so that they can start helping other women and children. There is no women’s class in the entire country as well as no children’s class in any of the congregations.

Our students were busy in different communities during the last field work as they were evangelizing and nurturing congregations. Many people suspended what they were doing to listen to the word. It is good for the students to have these opportunities of preaching and teaching in different communities.

Congregations without preachers are always smiling as they welcome a preacher from our campus to their congregation. It is always good to taste how sweet the gospel is when it is presented from a sound angle. Our students do us proud with their zeal and love for the Lord who died for us on the old rugged cross.

Congregations in areas that have been highly affected by the crisis and who had closed their doors are being revived now as our students are entering there, and our God is causing great revival. Three new congregations were established in December 2021 during mission work by our students.

Even with her disability and advanced age, our dear sister will cook for our students and make sure they are safe in her village as they preach the gospel. This is some of the great faith we see daily from God’s children. Keep her and others like her in your prayers.

One of the congregations established last month meets in a new convert’s house. She offered her sitting room for the worship of God and the study of the word within the week. Our students can go there weekly to conduct worship and Bible classes. The landlord is mad at the sister for this. Things like this are some of the challenges we face as we establish new congregations in different places.

The Wotutu congregation is growing rapidly. Because of this, we have demolished the walls that set my office in the church hall apart. Now I don’t have an office in the worship hall, so all of my counseling and praying for people is done from a bench in the hall. Glory be to God for growth!

This Brightland student, Anita Welle, obeyed the gospel. She is now a part of the Wotutu congregation. Keep her in your prayers. Her grandmother is a Christian who will encourage her to grow faster.

One of our preaching students, Prinslo, went to the northwest area and preached in the community of Dunga Matung. While there, he baptized 35 souls within 3 weeks. This was a very strong indication that the field is still very ripe, even after we have graduated 5 different batches of students. Even now it is still true that the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. Brother Denis baptized a soul in the newly established congregation in Kotto village. There is more work going on in many different places.

Sister Senge, our nurse who had a spinal surgery, is recovering. Please keep her in your prayers.

We will continue with our weekend evangelism every week. Keep our plans in your prayers.

APPRECIATIONS

Thank you very much for all that you do for us here. We are grateful.

Elangwe and family

By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

Cameroon school conducts mission work in Kotto

The Lord is good all the time. 

Evangelism is our mission and our mission is evangelism.

This is a report from the mission work in Kotto Mission. We are speaking of our mission of planting new congregations in French Cameroon.

It was on the 28th of December that we carried our luggage to Kotto Mission, a village located in the outskirts of Kombe, along the road leading to the Muyuka community in the southwest, English-speaking region of Cameroon.

We arrived in Kotto Mission with a 15-man delegation made up of some graduates from the Bear Valley schools in Mbanga and Wotutu. These were some students from both schools who were already on personal holiday after their fieldwork along with some sisters from the Mbanga and Kombe congregations. It was 12:30 PM when we got to the village and at 3:00 PM we went for our first outing as we had met with the chief of the village earlier in the day. He had given us a green light for the mission work and to preach in his community. The work was carried out for 3 days of serious door-to-door evangelism.

Come let us reason together! Tracts were distributed both in English and in French and almost 700 hundred tracts of various titles were handed out and about 200 people gave us a few minutes of their time for us to share the word with them. The community enjoyed our stay, and the military officers who were on duty also appreciated the way we were doing the work. 2 souls were added to the church, and 2 internally displaced Christians were discovered during our stay in Kotto and have been restored during the first Sunday of worship.

This young church needs our full-time support until we can get a graduate there in April of next year.

A nice number of people attended a meeting that was held in which we made arrangements to worship in Mami Mary’s residence, and how we shall be sending graduates, tenured preachers, and our student preachers on weekly basis. It was quite unfortunate that our school in Mbanga doesn’t have a bilingual French-English speaking student in this batch. Because of this fact, four different preachers were programmed to be rotating every week. The last one will be there next week. 

Future plan of the congregation: 

It is quite clear that the pillar of that church is our sister Patient, the wife of Asikpo Denis, who is a student preacher in Wotutu, whose daughter has been living in my home for the past few years so that she can go to school in the French zone. They ran away from the crisis but they are sure that by the end of this year, this brother shall carry his wife to the new place where he will decide to work. 

Things will be a bit difficult as all those in the church are still babes in Christ. The mother, in whose parlor we are worshiping, is the landlady to this sister. The opportunity to worship there is only due to the good relationship that they maintain. We must be thinking of what will become of the worship place when this sister will leave by December. We must be thinking about another place of worship. 

We will need to be sending men there to preach for a while. We need a long-term support commitment to be able to correctly nurture these young congregations. Benches, a table, and other items to create a worship area are also needed in this new assembly. 

Evangelism is our mission and our mission is Evangelism. We want to thank the support team for the great mission they are doing. God bless this dream.

There is also a Macedonian cry coming from Tobouro, a border town between Cameroon and Chad. It will cost us a lot, but it is expedient for us to listen. Another call is coming from Nvog. There are many calls and many dreams that need our attention and your support. May we continue to plant and water together as God gives the increase to His glory. 

 From your humble servant,

Ititi Benedict. 

Graduates return for a Bible Seminar

Reporting Letter for the month of January-2022

Respected International Director Mr.Keith Kasarjian,  the coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds and all the prayer partners of BVBI Extension Centre at Tirupati-India, we greet you in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that this reporting letter finds you in good health. We thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement for the smooth function of BVBI at Tirupati.

BVBI-Tirupati:- By the grace of God we have completed three semesters, thankful to our teachers and non-teaching staff for their hard work, and we appreciate all the students for their dedication to study well and follow the curriculum of BVBI. The students take good notes, they write daily examinations, they do memory work, and they write weekly examinations. After completing three semesters without any break we have given them a break and sent all the students for the practical work(Filed work) for the month of February. 

Our Coordinator Visit:-  We are thankful to our Coordinator for traveling to India and visiting our BVBI-extension center. He was with us from  January 9 to 13 (Saturday to Thursday). He taught prison epistles in our Bible school. All the students, teachers and guest students, and local preachers were able to attend the classes. We appreciate his wonderful teaching and encouragement. 

Benevolence:- In the month of January we have raised some funds and were able to distribute new clothes to widows and poor people in India. 

Bible Seminar:- In the month of January we conducted a Bible Seminar on January 7th and 8th. We studied the book of Acts, we invited 10 speakers to present 10 topics from the book of Acts. We are happy to report to you that our coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds was able to present two lessons in our Christian Growth Bible Seminar.

Old batch students:- We invited all the first batch students for the Bible seminar to attend and enjoy the seminar lessons and had wonderful fellowship with one another. I invited one of the former students, Mr. Gopal Krishna to present one lecture in our Bible Seminar. He did an outstanding job.

Joint Service:-   The gospel has reached from our local church to different villages and local churches were planted. Every year in the month of January we conduct a joint service. By the grace of God, this year in the month of January 9th we conducted the joint service by inviting neighboring local churches. We are happy to share with you that Mr. Mark Reynolds was able to preach for this special service.

Home Bible studies:- We have started Home Bible studies in different families. We hope that shortly some people will be added to the body of Christ. Last Sunday 3 souls were baptized by our students , we request your prayers for their spiritual growth.

Thanking you.

Yours brother and sister in Christ.

Vijay&Swarupa, from BVBI-extension Centre-India.

Many good activities in Ibadan

Dear fellow soldiers of Christ Jesus.

Happy New Year in advanced and Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I can never forget those that have been there for us since the inception of this preachers training School in the city of Ibadan in the year 2003. Big thanks to all the American brethren who played vital roles in helping us to achieve our aim of recruiting more men into the Lord's Army. May the Lord keep on blessing all our work together in Christ Jesus, amen.

Here is the summary of our activities in the Lord for this month of December 2021.

OVERVIEW

i- BVBIN Bachelor's Degree program

ii- Weekend Evangelism

iii- Marriage ceremonies

iv- Second Semester Classes

v- Report from WBSFUW

vi- VOTI volume 111 freely distributed

BVBIN BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAM:

The second batch of BVBIN Bachelor's Degree program of November 29 through December 10 was attended by eleven Students in Butubutu village, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Bro. Isaac Olaniyan taught on Research and Writing-1 from November 29 through December 3, while I , Bro. Makinde Ebens taught on Advanced Fundamental of faith-1 from December 6 through 10,2021.

Next two classes is coming up on February or March 2022 , Lord's willing with Bro. Chad Wagner teaching on Greek-1 and Bro. Isaac Olaniyan teaching on Advanced Hermeneutics-1.

WEEKEND EVANGELISM:

According to our tradition, the students and staff of BVBIN & SWSE, IBADAN continue in their weekend outreach in in six centers on December 3 through 5 and December 10 through 12. We are graced in evangelizing Butubutu Village, Jago, Badeku, Ajia, Igbooloyin-Ibadan and Asejire in Osun State. Even though there is no conversion yet, nevertheless , we have many prospects who we believe will soon embrace the truth.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES:

The legal marriage between my daughter, Sister Toluwalope Glory Makinde and Bro. Dennis Ojenomoh was held in Ibadan North Local Government ,Agodi Gate ,Ibadan, Oyo State on December 2 while the traditional ceremony and reception was held in Orebanjo Hall, Iyana Church in Ibadan on December 4,2021.

We deeply appreciate all the brethren, friends, relatives and all the graduates of BVBIN & SWSE , The SWSE foundation members and the representative of BVBIN Schools in Lagos State ,Ondo State, Abuja and Ibadan for their present.

Also, the traditional ceremony and reception of Sister Temidayo Shotola, the second daughter of Bro.Dele Shotola, one of the WBSFUW in Oyo State came up on December 18,2021 in ECOWAS Hall, Challenge Area of Ibadan City. To God be the glory and honor for the success of this two events.

SECOND SEMESTER CLASSES:

Second Semester Classes for 2021/2022 session continue till December 17 when we embark on three weeks break to enable our students participate actively in the end of the year program across the Western States of Nigeria.

All our year-1 & 2- males Students are now working with the Lord's Church across the Western States of Nigeria while the four female Students(three in year-1 and one in year-2) returned to their home congregations .

Our instructors for this semester are: Bro. Isaac Olaniyan who is handling Life of Christ-2(Mark) ,Evangelism-2(Church Planting) and The book of Galatians. Bro. Kayode Eniafe is handling ,Evangelism-2(Church Planting ) , OTP(Major) and The book of Bro. Makinde John is handling How we got the Bible and Basic Bible Doctrine. Bro. Adeolu Andrew is handling Acts of the Apostles and Hermeneutics-1(Introduction). Bro. Oladokun Samuel is handling Christian Evidences. Bro. Emmanuel Godwin is handling World Religious. Bro. Peter Ortserga is handling Cost of Discipleship while I, Bro Makinde Ebens is handling Homiletics-1(Introduction), Hermeneutics-2(In-depth Studies) and Ministerial Counseling. Classes will continue Lord's willing on January 10,2022.

REPORT FROM WORLD BIBLE SCHOOL FOLLOW UP TEAM

i- Our new man, Bro. Benson Balogun who is also one of our year-2- Students and a gospel preacher in Asejire town, Ondo State visited seven High School and share 1,000 WBS Correspondence Courses in which 634 were now returned by the students.

ii- Bro. Enefiok Archibong of Ikot Ekpene town in Akwa-Ibom State reported that the just concluded WBS seminar in his Area was attended by representative of 33 congregations with 170 participants and with a soul converted during the seminar.

iii- Another WBSFUW in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State named Bro. M.B.Archibong reported the conversion of five souls in the just concluded WBS/ LEADERSHIP seminar in his Area in which the just printed VOTI volume 111 was distributed to the representative of churches present.

VOICE OF TRUTH INTERNATIONAL VOLUME 111 FREELY DISTRIBUTED:

Five thousand seven hundred and fifty (5,750) copies of VOTI volume 111 was posted/delivered by hand to brethren and friends of the Lord's Church across the country ,Nigeria between December 5 and 17,2021. We thank the World Evangelism crews for this great gospel material. May the Lord continue to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory is our fervent prayers.

ABOUT A STUDENT:

Bro. Matthew Rowland is one of our year-2- Students. A native of Ponyan in Yagba East Local Government,Kogi State. Born in 1975 and was converted into the Lord's Church in 1998. A graduate of Nigerian Christian Institute, ministerial department, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom. His mission is to become one of the able ministers of God in Africa starting from Nigeria.

END OF THE YEAR PROGRAM:

The staff and WBSFUW in Ibadan organized end of the year program in five communities in Ibadan and Asejire-Osun State from December 23 through 26,2021. Bro. Andrew Adeolu served as the moderator while I (Bro.Makinde Ebens), Bro.Kayode Eniafe and Bro. Dele Shotola served as the speakers.

CONCLUSION:

We appreciate you all for your great support toward the growth of the Lord's Church in Africa most especially in Nigeria. May the Almighty God keep on showering His abundant blessing on all our joint effort is our fervent prayers. Amen.

I remain yours in His Grace as a servant,

Makinde Ebens The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE IBADAN & WBSFUW)

Lectureship in Cameroon

"No Cross No Crown," was our watchword for our last graduation and, "Total Commitment," was the theme for this year to move the church and the new batch of students to another level. It all went well. We now use this medium to congratulate all partners of this great work that is going on in French Cameroon. 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end, but they are new every morning. We greet all in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. We have gone through this year with a very big cross on our head but we can see the crown awaiting us in 2022. Our commitments were so great but we still see that even with the Covid-19 and other related crises, the supporting team has never relented their efforts.

Even though we have not had any missionaries here since the start of the crisis, we also want to thank God for the work that is going on inch by inch but there is still a lot to be done. We, the evangelists, are still in the field working endlessly. We appreciate you all for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your finances also.

 The students will complete their first year of training at the end of March 2022. Their maturity in preaching and handling the word is coming in with enthusiasm. They came with little or no experience, but today, with a lot of courage and knowledge, they can do more and better things in the vineyard of the Lord. God is still sitting on the throne. Before it's graduation time, they will be doing things with a lot of wisdom.

  Students and staff also assisted greatly during the Annual Church of Christ Lectureship in Limbe. The director, the staff, the graduates, and the present students all took part along-side the general assembly of the churches of Christ that took place in Limbe, south west region, Cameroon. 

It was a pleasure to join all of our resources to make this lectureship a success. While the staff and director were taking an active part in the activities, such as preaching, round table discussion, translating from one language to another (French to English and English to French), the students on their part were active in the organization of the grounds and in preaching. The van could be seen taking people around to various preaching grounds. With the use of the speakers on the top of the vehicles, some students and graduates were preaching through these instruments to the whole city.  

  The lectureship recorded 3 baptisms as well as some restored persons. It was the 2021 edition of the annual lectureship. Tracks were also shared to the majority English speakers in that area but also to the francophone population in Limbe as well. Thanks to Richard Renfro with Mission Printing and Barry Baggot with French World Outreach as well.

Mission Printing tracks arrived in Mbanga via Wotutu. These tracts will help us to push the work along for a good while. Materials of different kinds came to us including WBS programs in French and the lessons which are so interesting. We are also sending some to the congregations in the French (or francophone zones) both in Cameroon and in Chad Republic. Bibles and hymnals were also included. 

It was time for short courses, and this time around we had missionary Bassay Louis and his wife Linda from the Bonaberi congregation in Douala teaching the students and their wives. It was great to have Louis teach the book of Galatian to the brothers and Linda teaching “The Holy Women of Faith,” to the women. 

 As weekend evangelism continues both in Mbanga and other communities, sister Tatiana was added to the church in Mbanga and some two other souls to Bafia and Kiboum. We would like to bring to your knowledge the establishment of the congratulations in Kiboum and in Bafia respectively. They also are a part of our newly created assemblies. We offered them a few benches and tables for worship.

The number of new congregations is quite motivating even though it is a timid start. Let's put these young assemblies in our prayers. Bibles were also sent to these young assemblies to be given to the new converts. The church also assisted sister Cecile during her grandmother's burial in Dikouma village. It all went well. Sister Cecile is a new convert and also very active in the church, but due to lack of work, she has decided to settle in Douala were she now worships with the Bonaberi church of Christ. Our prayers are needed. She is a young widow with four children who are still in primary school. 

Thanks so much for reading. Happy new year in advance and many more years to do the work of the Lord.  

Your servants Ititi Benedict and Mary

Prayers needed for Ukraine

Dear brothers and sisters,  

During the last month the situation involving Ukraine and the Russian Federation's aggression was often mentioned in the media. Many politicians made loud comments about unavoidability of the active stages of the military conflict. And the fact is that the Russian Federation moved many of its troops toward the borders of Ukraine creating a lot of political pressure for the government, our population and the rest of the world. However, we keep praying for peace. God is still in control, He knows the times and seasons. There is no panic in Ukraine. Unfortunately, we have been used to living next to the military activities since 2014. For this reason, we plead you to join us in prayers and keep trusting the Lord. 

The classes of the Bible Institute follow the usual schedule, thank God.  The whole school semester we had classes offline. All Instructors found strength and resources to make the trip to Bela Tserkva and teach in the classrooms, right in front of their students. In November and the beginning of December the first year students had the Book of Genesis (Instructor Viktor Semikoz), Exodus-Deuteronomy (Dmitro Galiuk) and Godhead, Satan and Angels (Dennis Sopelnik). On Wednesdays we continue to have studies with Terry Harmon. This is an extra curriculum activity where students can raise questions for discussion and study subjects that are important to the church's growth.  

In January one more student wants to join the program. We pray for her being able to join us in 2022. We are currently looking for funds for a rental and stipend for her. If you have any helpful contacts or some information that can be useful please share it with our program's coordinator Terry Harmon.  

The church keeps doing well. We had some differences in opinions on the "Covid situation". As usual there people for and people against masks, vaccinations, etc. However, thankfully after many prayers and open dialogues we were able to resolve the tension. Those who love God will always find a way to come to an agreement.  The services are conducted offline and in spite of lots of limitations many Christians didn't miss the opportunities of fellowship.  

We are very thankful for your prayers and financial support of our ministry. Our graduates and preachers send their greetings. Life goes on. We still have a lot of plans we are aspiring to accomplish.  

In Christian love, Your brother Dennis Sopelnik

Pray for the teachers in Visak, India

Dear Brethren in Christ,  

I bring greetings from all the students, faculty and staff from Visakha Valley Bible College. God has been so merciful to us, rescued all the three faculty members from their health complications and giving me energy/strength to do all what I am responsible to be doing.

One of the blessing is visit of brother Mark Reynolds, who is the coordinator of the School. We are so pleased with his visit during this very difficult time, he knew that he has to go through lot of screening & testing, but he has chosen to come see us, certainly God has been with him for his successful visit. Certainly we were thrilled with his visit.

Let me update on the faculty members who were sick and recovering:

Bro. P. Mallesara Rao fell from his motor cycle while travelling with his wife, he had injuries on his face and shoulder, so as his wife had some wounds too. Because he hurt his brain when fell on the ground, he was unconscious for three days, after medication and prayer, he gradually becoming normal; couple of days ago he attended the Youth Program we held at Skinner’s Garden.

Brother D. Rama Raju, he had high blood pressure and taken to the hospital, took couple of days to find out the problem and also to find the right hospital, changed three different doctors, finally found the right one who can resolve the bleeding problem in brain caused due to High Blood pressure, it cost a lot of money to get the treatment done. He mortgaged his house to pay the hospital bills. Kindly pray for him as he is recovering, we is feeling perfectly alright because he is doing things on his own, however we do not know when he will be back in his full strength to get back to his responsibility.

 Bro. G. Vamsee Bushanam, he is having problems because of high creatine, as he is having problems with his Kidney. He had very difficult time on the 3rd of this month, after medication for one week, he started feeling better, on the 13th he attended the Youth Program and taught couple of classes to the young men attended. He is going to start teaching from this week onwards.

Unfortunately something has happed just today, my brother James Paul who is learning to take charge of the School, after rapid test for Cvoid-19, he found positive. Kindly pray that he would recover from it as he has begun taking medicine. Do pray for me as I will be trying to run everything smooth. Also pray as the number Covid cases keep raising every hour & every day, it is alarming something what we are not ready for, kindly pray for us as we pray for your safety as well.

Dear brethren, we really had a great visit or brother Mark Reynolds, also looking forward for the visit of Brother Keith Kasarjian in the third week of March. During the visit of Mark Reynolds, he taught our students one day and graduates on the second day. We are so happy that over 60 graduates are working full time in the mission field, thank you all so much for being part of that.

Tailoring Institute: This has been very productive and also giving us a great opportunity to show how much we care. Also, our students are getting stitching classes as part of Trade Education.

We appreciate you so much for help run the school, do appreciate the Elders of Lake Houston & Strickland church of Christ also Jerry & Paula Bates for their continue trust and confidence in the work. We are grateful to the brethren at Lake Houston for helping with some special needs, you have been so kind to us, God bless you all.

Thank you so much for your prayers, please continue as the Corona situation is kind of scary….greet your family and church family for us, we thank you so much for everything. We do thank brother Mark Reynolds to visit with us.

Thanking you,

In Christ,

John Dean M

An outstanding year in Port Harcourt!

END OF THE YEAR 2021 PROGRESS OF BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE RIVERS STATE NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA

The year 2021 can be described as a good year for the two centres of Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers State Nigeria. As at the time of this report which is December 2021 we have a total of 58 active students at our two centres.

STUDY OF TWO COURSES PER MONTH BEGIN JANUARY 2022

We are happy to report that from January 2022 we will begin to study two courses per month. When I first got the information from Brother Chad and Keith that we can upgrade to study two courses per month I received the news with joy. When I went to the students and the teachers at the two centres to shared the news with them and to sample their opinions, everyone received the news with happiness because since the two years of our existence we have been on one course per month scheme. The implication of the two courses per month is that we will cover 24 courses per year and with that scheme, we can graduate our students in two years instead of the 4 years scheme. We therefore thank the management of Bear Valley Bible Institute for the approval of the upgrade. We are now ready to begin the new scheme in January 2022. 

THE VISIT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR (KEITH KASARJIAN) TO OUR TWO CENTERS ON NOVEMBER 27TH 2021

As we were concluding school lectures for the year 2021, the international director visited our school to see our progress. When he flew into Port Harcourt on November 27th 2021; he visited the students and the teachers at our two centres and interacted with them. We are very sure that he was impressed with what he saw at the centres.

LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR 2021 EVANGELISM - OUTREACH

Students of Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers state Nigeria are very much active in evangelism in the state and beyond. Since we started we have been bringing the two centres together for evangelism outreach but in this last quarter of the year 2021 we decided to let each centre evangelize her immediate environment.

On Saturday 16th October 2021, the students and teachers at Ahoada centre went out for evangelism at Ahoada town. The students went to the streets and houses in the community and shared the gospel of Christ to the people. At the end, the students brought back the names of many prospects and the congregation at Ahoada town is following up the prospects. We hope that some of the prospects will be baptized as soon as possible.

On Saturday 30th October 202, the students at Rumuokwuta centre went out to Rumuokwuta town and conducted open air and house to house evangelism. At the end of the outreach the students came back with names of many prospects. A prospect among them visited and worshiped with the congregation at Rumuokwuta. The follow up of the prospects are ongoing and we hope that some of them will be baptized as soon as possible.

STUDENTS TWO WEEKS PRACTICAL FIELD WORK ON DECEMBER 2021

The students two weeks practical field work which we did on December 2021 was scheduled to take place on March 2022. We brought down to December 2021 because of the plan to start the study of two courses per month in 2022. We want the new scheme to run smoothly in 2022 without interruptions.

On December 4th 2021 we sent our 58 students into the field to work with congregations in Rivers State Nigeria and few other states around us. As at the time of this report, we are still gathering the report of the field work from our students and various congregations where they worked.

 At the field, our students conducted open air, house to house evangelism, Bible classes, visitations and prayer meetings. Our male students preached sermons during church meetings and taught Bible classes while the female students taught in the sister’s classes and participated in evangelism.

As at the time of this report, we are still being expecting more reports from the various congregations where our students worked. So far, we have recorded 2 baptisms and 5 restorations while more reports are being expected.

In conclusion, the year 2021 was a great year for Bear Valley Bible Institute in Rivers state Nigeria. We thank our sponsors and everyone who contributed to our success. We hope to achieve more in the New Year ahead.

Report from:

Anthony E. Oluria (Director of studies)

Training preachers in Abuja

SUMMARY REPORT OF THE BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE ABUJA 2021.

INTRODUCTION:

The Year 3 course work activities began with an orientation exercise for newly admitted students and general interactions with the students.

REPORTS:

Students;

The school has an average of Thirty-Seven (37) regular students in both centers (Kado 21 & Nyanya 16).

      * Nyanya - 16

      * Kado - 21

         Total = 37

Courses and Instructors;

* New Testament Church Worship -  January 2021 - Felix Ekpeyong

* The Book of I Corinthians - February 2021 - Abiodun Adegoroye

* Leadership in Local Church - March, 2021 - Moses Obakemi

* The Book of James – April, 2021 -  Domic Dakup

* The Book of Romans – May, 2021 - Kenedy Abrotu

* The Book of II Corinthians – June, 2021 -  Abiodun Adegoroye

* World Religion - July, 2021 – Rupert Kukwa

* Life of Christ III - August, 2021 – Moses Obakemi

* Marriage & Family Life - September, 2021 – Imoh Enang Atakpa

* Church History - October, 2021 – Moses Obakemi

* The Books of John 1,2 & 3 - November, 2021 – Dominic Dakup

* The Study of the Wisdom Literature - December, 2021 - Felix Ekpeyong.

Evangelism Campaigns:

There are Six (6) evangelism campaigns in the period under review. The summary is listed below;

  April                  -   Gidan Zakara       (1 baptism)

 July, 2021         - Adon Kasa              (1 baptism)

 July 2021           -   Bwari                    (No Baptism)

 August, 2021    - Iddo-Sarki            (No baptism)

 October, 2021   -   Asokoro               (1 baptism)

 December, 2021 -  2021  Aso – B   (No baptism)

Baptism(s):

There were Thirteen (13) baptisms conducted by the students individually and collectively under the period under review. They are listed below;

April            = 1 (Bro Ndifreke Frank)

May             = 2 (Franca Eromuseh and Blessing Joseph)

June.          = 1 (Bro. Emmanuel)

July.            = 1 (Solomon Idoko)

October      = 1

November = 3 (Bro Chukwu Ebuka & Sis Blessing Ebuka and  Sister Chika by Daniel Udo)

December = 4 (Sister Bello Kehinde; Abraham Inyang and Sarah Oshofa; Solomon Iko Oche)

Congregational Visitations:

A total of Eight (8) congregations were visited and strengthened, they includes the followings;

* CoC Gidan-Zakara; * CoC Keffi; * CoC Mararaba-Lokotie; * CoC Jewun Masaka

* CoC Asokoro; * CoC Zhewhu; * CoC Mararaba-Aso B; * CoC Gwagalape

CONCLUSION:

We thank God for the grace given to contribute to the development of the church, as well as appreciation to the Bear Valley Bible Institute, the Elders, the faculty and congregations who have plans to key into the vision. God bless everyone.

A great first year in Warri

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE NIGERIA – WARRI

END OF YEAR 2021 REPORT 

INTRODUCTION

To God be the glory for a successful academic year. The academic year started in April, 2021 with great excitement from both students and the local teachers. On the 22nd of May 2021, the students had their matriculation ceremony which was attended by Keith Kasarjian (Director of International Studies) and a host of others. Moreover, because of other local preachers who could not start at the beginning, coupled with the issue of distance and location, the need for a new center was muted and graciously approved. Thankfully, at this point, one can gladly say that the many congregations in the Warri-Delta axis will soon experience new injection of Bible knowledge as many of her preachers will benefit from the rich curriculum of the Bear Valley Bible Institute.

SCHOOL FACTS:

The DSC Express, Warri Center of the Bear Valley Bible Institute, started classes in April 2021. At present, it has a total of 32 students. With the recent approval of the PTI Center, 15 students enrolled and sat for the intake examination. Consequently, both centers in Warri have a total of 47 students. Albeit, more students are warming up to come for further intake exam.

NUMBER OF LOCAL TEACHERS

At present, the centers in Warri have a total of four (4) teachers namely, Solomon Usim, Abiola Ojoade, Meredith Jerry Owvromoh and Godwin Ojocheogwu. These are the local teachers for now and we hope to increase the number as soon as we have more qualified hands.

EVANGELISTIC FACTS

On Saturday, 9th October 2021 the Bear Valley Bible Institute, Nigeria- Warri students, went for their maiden evangelism outreach at Ovwor-Olomu in Ugheli South Local Government Area of Delta State. After the preaching exercise, the students worshipped with the very small rural congregation on Sunday 10th October, 2021 and three (3) souls were baptized to the glory of God. Subsequently, another person was baptized bringing the number to four (4) persons. The Warri centers continually request your prayers so that these persons stay committed to the course of Christ.

Again, between the 12th and 14th of November, 2021 the Bear Valley Bible Institute students embarked on another campaign that led to the planting of a new congregation at Oghior town, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. During this exercise, six (6) persons were baptized and five brethren were already resident in the community. Inaugural worship was held on Sunday 14th November, 2021. The congregation is fully established having her own minister, Philip Ayemoro helping to ensure that the new congregation grows. To this end, two major campaigns were held and a total of ten (10) persons were baptized in the year 2021.

CLOSING REMARKS

The year, 2021 has been an eventful year with many new grounds. We pray that our loving father will bless the new centers and congregations such that the labour of love by the brethren who support the work and the entire Bear Valley family will remain prosperous. May our loving father bless you all in Christ name, amen.

Osita Daniel Onuora, LLM, ACArb

Director, BVBIN-Warri

Evangelism in Zambia

Introduction

Happy and Prosperous 2022 to all brothers and sisters in the Lord!

It is again that time of highlighting some activities that are happening in this part of the world and the school in particular. The students did not tire to do the programs of evangelism during the month of December 2021. And as a school we are very delighted to report the following vital signs of upward mobility as far as the school is concerned.

I.                Major Activities

A.    Evangelism

i.                 The school is on recess and teachers have continued to interact with all the students from their respective congregations.

ii.               Bible studies

We are also very happy to report that the students have continued to set up more Bible studies in their particular places. Both the current student body and our Alumni are actively involved in expanding the kingdom of our master.

iii.             We have formed a good team of preaching in Luapula province where twelve members of the Church from four different congregations namely; Kabalika, Kabanga, Musaila, and Kale are working with our current student Nicholus Mulubwa in preaching and strengthening members of the Lord’s Church. In Luwingu we had a two days meeting with our students preaching on all sessions.  

B.    New Babes in Christ

Malachi Chisenga, Ronald kabaso, Albert Mwewa, Jane Mukusa, Mwiza Nayame, prince Lungu, Josephine Ngandu, Onrick Musonda, Seliya Kalenga, Memory and Bright Mulenga  were baptized in the month of December here on the Copperbelt. Additionally we have recorded nine baptisms in southern province through Daniel Kapata and Arclay Kabaya. In Luapula province we had twlve Baptisms through Nicholus Mulubwa and Northern Province we have recorded four through Mathews Mwale and Gershom Chansa. We also have Muchinga Province with Reuben Museka with two baptisms. We pray for God’s continued blessings on the lives of these souls. We had a total number of thirty seven (37) baptisms.

C.    Restorations

In another development, we have recorded nineteen restorations on the Copperbelt, four from Southern, eight from Northern, and eleven from Central (through our current student Lackson Muwindwa and former student Clive kabinka who are doing God's work in Kabwe). All in all, we have recorded a total number of thirty two (32) of restorations.

D.    Up- coming Marriages

We would like to announce the engagements of our three former students namely Simon Nkhazi, Vinicent Simwanza and Hornbye Mupengu; two of whom have engaged brother Fred Kanangu to negotiate the bride price on their behalf. Everything is going on very well and we ask you to pray for these brother as they are getting ready go into holy matrimony.    

II.              Report on covid-19 in Zambia

i.                 The country has continued to record high cases of Covid 19 Omicron variant. The pandemic started becoming worse towards the end of 2021. We are currently battling with this variant, which is more contagious and spreading fast across our communities.

ii.               Following the up-swing in transmissions of Covid-19 in Zambia, government has placed some restrictions throughout the country. The nation of Zambia is not yet locked down compared to some neighboring countries which are on lockdown.

iii.             Sunday church services have been restricted to only an hour. And wearing masks during services is mandatory.

iv.              Government has postponed the reopening of primary and secondary schools which was scheduled for 10th January 2022 to 24th January 2022 due to a surge in Covid 19 cases. According to the Minister of General Education, the decision to postpone the reopening has been made to allow more children to get vaccinated against Covid 19. Meanwhile the fumigation of public buildings is ongoing. Please remember us in your prayers that we resume classes without any disturbance.

III.           Goals for the upcoming month

As we knock the doors, preach on the streets and reach out in our communities, our goal is to reach out to as many people as possible. We have a motto as a school that says “preaching to the world starts next door”. Based on the availability of funds and the way Covid 19 evolves, we plan to go for two weeks and evangelize a village in Masaiti district of the Copper Belt province of Zambia.

We believe that the school is on firm ground on its pledge to train faithful men who will be able to teach others also. The courses that will be taught when the school reopens are as follow:

Church History, Old Testament 3b (Study of Wisdom Literature: Psalms - Song of Songs), Life of Christ 3 (The ministry of Jesus), and Intertestamental Period.

Our Short Courses will be on Marriage & Family Life.

Our prayer is to keep on laboring for the lord whatever our circumstances. You are always in our prayers! We wish you all God’s speed!!

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

14 students in Sunyani, Ghana

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL – U.S.A 

SUNYANI CAMPUS

BRONG AHAFO COLLEGE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES 

REPORT FOR FOURTH QUARTER (OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 2021). 

DATE: 5th January, 2022

1. SHORT COURSES BIBLE INSTRUCTORS AT THE SUNYANI CAMPUS DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2021:  

1. Daniel Kyereh-Mensah (Local Director and Bible Instructor)

2. Thomas Gyabaa (Bible Instructor)

3. Rexford Agyare-Minta (Bible Instructor)

1. EXAMINATIONS: 

1. Life of Christ 3 – Rexford Agyare-Minta

2. Daniel Kyereh Mensah – Resist Exams on Christian Evidence and Homiletics

3. Thomas Gyabaa – Denominational Doctrine.

4. Thomas Gyabaa – 1st Corinthians

5. Thomas Gyabaa – 2nd Corinthians

1. COURSES THAT WERE TAUGHT DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER: 

1. Church History – Daniel Kyereh Mensah

2. Galatians – Thomas Gyabaa

3. Life of Christ 4. Please if was reported in the 3rd Quarter that Rexford Agyare-Minta was to teach the New Testament Church. In a later arrangement the New Testament Church was changed to life of Christ 1, 2 and 3.

1. NAME OF FORM FOUR STUDENTS

1. Joseph Kyereh Mensah – Sunyani 

2. Samuel Effa – Berekum - Gyamdede

3. Emmanuel Kannor – Goaso

4. Stephen Ohene Gyan – Nsokor Tain

5. Ekumfi Ameyaw – Sunyani 

6. Jacob Osei – Nkaseim - Goaso

7. Anthony Owusu – Wamfie

8. Amo Joseph– Berekum - Biadan

9. Gideon Yeboah – Berekum - Biadan

10. Nicholas K. Korang – Berekum - Biadan

11. Isaac Serwonu – Goaso 

12. Benjamin Obeng Nyarko – Sunyani 

13. Samuel Appiah  -  Sunyani 

14. Kyereh John – Nkonsia (Drobo)

1. NAMES OF FORM ONE STUDENTS:

1. Frank Adu – Sunyani 

2. Francis Adjei Kwasi – Goaso

3. Isaac Takyi – Sankore

4. Maxwell Yeboah – Derma

5. Nicholas Boaffa – Goaso

6. Daniel Anyibas – Goaso

7. Samuel Doe Kofi – Mim

8. Kusi Dwamena – Goaso

9. Stephen Sakyi – Sunyani

10. Ebenezer Arthur Quansah – Sunyani

11. Note: Frankline Daaline has not been consistent as yet.

Ampabeng Godfred deferred his course and is still at the Great Britain. 

1. RE-OPENING DAY SERVICE HELD AT SUNYANI CENTRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST:

To identify with the churches in Bono and Ahafo Regions, we visited the Sunyani Central Church on December 19th 2021 at the Sunday Morning Service.

In an arrangements with the Leadership our students took over all the appointments. By the grace of God the services ended successfully with the Baptism of five souls. Some of these pictures will be sent to Mr. Kojo Acquah Benyi alongside this report.

PREPARED AND SENT BY:    

Daniel Kyereh Mensah 

Local Director 

Sunyani Campus

Students on campaign in Lagos

PREAMBLE

We bless the Lord for the end of the 4th quarter of October to December and the end of the year 2021. We are much grateful to the Lord and thankful for the effort, prayers, and support of the brethren for the progress of the Agege School. May the Lord restore in abundance all that you have spent on the school in Jesus name, amen!

CLASS ACTIVITIES

Class activities are always in improvement during the weekends until any exceptional break. During October Emmanuel Odo took on Research and Writing. In November, Emmanuel Odo taught Revelation and in December, Lucky Uzoyare tookIslam. We are also making sure that we enroll new members to sustain the program in Agege To this effect, we have three new students (Christian, Gabriel and Elijah).

CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

To mark the end of the year, we went on campaign at Akparadija area to evangelize the area. This resulted in converting a soul that was handed over to the Church at Agege.

STUDENT'S PROFILE

Currently doing advance diploma, having graduated with diploma last year. He is currently worshipping with the Lord's church Iroko town, Ogun State, Nigeria. He has been instrumental to the Church at Iroko town

CONCLUSION

The above report was the activities that went on during this 4th quarter of the year, 2021.

We are so much pleased and thankful to everyone, the effort you have put into the progress of the Agege weekend school: the funds, study materials, prayers, and all forms of support rendered to us.

Much appreciation goes to Steven Ashcraft, Keith Kasarjian, Chad Wagner, the Management of Bear Valley Bible Schools, the supporting churches, the teaching staff, and everyone who helped in this regard this year.

May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.

We are also putting much effort to maintain the school's progress and the true doctrine of Christ until He comes back.

We shall never forget to thank our Lord for you in all the good plans you have for the Lord's work. Also, pray with us all the time.

Report by Odo, Emmanuel Chukwuka of Bear Valley Biblenstitute, Agege, Lagos

A great year in Arusha

Grace and Peace to you friends.

As we begin an exciting new year, let's take a moment to appreciate an overview of some things that God accomplished in Tanzania last year:

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW

• 478 Precious souls baptized into Christ

• 305 Erring brothers and sisters restored to the faith

• 30 Total students at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching

• 16 Graduates from our Bachelor program

• 1 Master graduate

• 15 New congregations planted in East Africa

• 1 Congregation restored

• 1 New Bible School established

• 2 Camps hosted at ACSOP

In addition to all of this, construction of the Cy Stafford School of Leadership was completed. What a year! We're looking forward to an even better year this year, and we're thankful that you are a part of it.

Daniel Gaines

Mark Reynolds teaches in Tirupati, India

Respected beloved brother greetings to you in the most holy and precious name of Jesus Christ. We pray that this letter may serve us to find you good health. Brother, we had wonderful time with Mr. Mark Reynolds while he was with us in India. We feel as it is our responsibility to give you report concerning his gracious visit.

Christian Growth Bible Seminar:-      This year  2022  on January 7th and 8th

( Friday&Saturday) we have selected the book of Acts in order to study 10 sermons by 10 speakers. We are happy to report you that two lectures were presented by Mr. Mark Reynolds in our Bible Seminar( Third Missionary Journey and Unstoppable Gospel). We had 136 people attendance for the seminar. Most of them were  local preachers who would be teaching these lessons at their own local churches.

Teaching at Bear Valley Bible Institute extension Centre-Tirupati:- We would like to share with you that Mr. Mark Reynolds has given an excellent teaching at BVBI. He taught the prison epistles , he has provided very good notes. He  conducted daily  examinations, he has given memory work , checked note books etc.. beside our 20 students some of the church members and local preachers,  our teaching staff and non teaching staff  were able to attend for the classes and studied with Mr. Mark. We had more than 50 people attendance in the class daily. We don’t have words to write how much we have been enjoyed the classes. We are thankful to Mr. Mark for his excellent teaching and great encouragement that he has provided by the word of God.

BVBI-Hostel visiting:- Brother, we could able to invite Mr.Mark to the hostel building , he felt so happy to see the beddings ,chairs, little tables, trunk boxes etc…he wondered about the students who have travelled from 1200 miles , 600 miles ,500 miles etc…

Visiting my Native village:- While we were travelling back from Vidyanagar on Sunday we stopped at my native village Jangalapalli. My brother Elisha is preacher there. Mr. Mark has visited my brother’s family and able to visit the HHI Agricultural garden, the bore well and the new church building which is under the construction. The members from the village congregation have been much encouraged by Mr. Mark’s prayer and presence.

WVBS-Projector :-We feel so privileged to received the Nebula Mars II P projector and three hard  disks filled with hundreds of lessons from WVBS. We express our gratitude and thanks from the bottom of our hearts to WVBW. It seems that we can run a university by teaching this wonderful material. We were wondering how Mr. Mark has carried this projector case all the way from US. We sincerely appreciate him and thankful to BVBI for providing this wonderful boon for our extension centre.

We take this opportunity to express our thanks to the elders of Bear Valley Church  of Christ for their your willingness to send such a dedicative staff to our place. Our Indian people have been wondering and much impressed about your great love and real sacrifice to work with us even at this time of covid-19 dangerous situation . We convey a biggest thank to you brother for all your arrangements. We love and appreciate your love.

Thanking you.

Yours brother in Christ.

Vijay , the extension Centre In charge at Tirupati-India

Doing the best they can in Haiti

Haiti International School of Theology

It is hard to believe that the work in Haiti is now entering its thirteenth year! What originally was to be a one-week relief effort became an open door for the gospel. During the first three years, we rebuilt church buildings, repaired or built over 500 homes, fed 1,000’s, provided medical assistance, and shared the gospel along the way. As a result, thousands came to Christ. God receives all the glory for what has been accomplished. We know that we are His tools, used in His kingdom, for His glory.  

After the three years of relief efforts, it was time to refocus. Our focus turned towards building and strengthening the church. Many had obeyed the gospel, so now it was time to help mature them, as Christ commanded, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20). Thus, giving birth to the International School of Theology in 2014.

In 2021 our students and teachers taught and baptized 207 individuals into the body of Christ. Since the starting of IST in 2014, the students and teachers have taught and baptized more than 1,700 souls. Three new congregations were planted in 2021. They are involved with the teaching and preaching in twenty-five congregations, supported forty-three campaigns, seminars, and lectureships. Again, to God be all glory and honor.  

Haiti is a country that is torn by political and civil unrest and extreme poverty. The gang activity has forced our directors to temporally move location for the classes. This was to protect the safety of our students and the property. We are blessed to have directors and teachers who are able to lead, organize and implement the work. I hope to return to Haiti at some point in 2022 but only if it will not endanger the staff, students nor the work we are doing. Our goal is to train preachers and teachers to carry the gospel forward. Please keep Haiti in your prayers. “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Larry Waymire

Nsawam school in Accra

Oct, Nov., Dec. 2021

This is to report on the various activities that were carried out and completed in the fourth quarter – October to December respectively.

Class Activities 

As we normally do in our classes, instructors taught as they were assigned. In September, George Osafo taught Research and Writing in the MLA format. Currently, the students are progressively writing the research assignment as he guides them through. In November, Sammy taught the students Elementary Greek. In the outcome, the students were able to recite and write the Greek alphabet. Able to identify the Greek letters and pronounce them with the right sounds in formation or words, two, three, etc. lettered words. They have ideas about vowels, diphthong, accent, syllabification, and the like.

Not all the students were successful in the Greek; however, they have been reassigned for the new class next year.

Campaign & Other Activities

We had our campaign successfully. The campaign was organized in three communities: Mame Dede Junction, Trebo, and Botokora. These were some of the villages surrounding the school at the new site. The campaign was about sharing tracts, introducing the Lord’s church, and directing the attention of the people to the establishment of the school at the new site. 

Observation on the Campaign

During the campaign activities, we found out that the people were happy for such an institution that is about to be established and the church in the vicinity.

Next Academic Activities

The school is beginning the new courses in the next year 2022. There would be a split into the first year and second year. The first-year students are beginning the courses whereas the second year continues from where they have gotten to.

Baptisms Recorded 

We were grateful to the Lord that the youth are given themselves to the Lord. We had two prospects that have been baptized into Christ.

 New Structure for Practical

We thank God that the Adoagyiri Church, where the school is residing, has built an information center where our students will have the opportunity to preach. However, as part of the students preaching practices, they have been assigned for dawn preaching every Saturday at the center which begins next year, 2022.

Appreciation

We thank the Lord for His marvelous care for the whole year. We also received all support in cash, or items needed for the school.

Takoradi school finishes their third term

1.     CLASSROOM WORK

Third term was nearing its completion in December. It was mainly for short courses (Bible geography and church planting 2) and grounds work. On 17th December, 2021, the students wrote an examination of church planting-2 and finally brought the academic year to a successful end. The regular students will be on break till 17th January, 2022 but the part –time students will resume on 7thJanuary, 2022.

2.     PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

This month has been a busy month for evangelism, as many gospel ministers affiliated to the school engaged in vigorous propagation of the gospel. This included both house to house during day time and public preaching in the evenings for a period of one week. In one of these campaigns, the school supported with our public address system, including some of our teaching staff. In all, about 15 souls were baptized in the month of December.

3.     CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROAD

The road construction which was started on 22nd November, was completed successfully on 31st December.

Zimbabwe school continues to thrive

INTRODUCTION

2021 has come to an end. It has been a difficult year for everyone including BVBIZ due to the Covid pandemic. However, BVBIZ sailed through. God’s hand was upon the school and every one of you to work this work possible. We, therefore, use this report to show our appreciation to everyone who has made it possible for BVBIZ to reach this far. In this report, we summarize what transpired in the month. We shall also give summaries of what transpired in 2021 and some expectations for the coming term.

TERM ENDS

The school term ended on the 10th of December 2021. The following subjects were successfully completed;  Music, Advanced Homiletics, Introduction to Computers, 1,2 &3 John, Community Development and Poverty Alleviation, Marriage and Family Development, Greek (on-going), Christian Spiritual Formation, Church Leadership,  Church History  and Research Methods. Sign Language which was scheduled for this past term has been rescheduled to next term due to the unavailability of the teacher. Great appreciation to the students, the teachers, the BVBIZ board and our various partners for the effort they put in to make the term a success. Students wrote their final examinations successfully from the 6th-10th of December. 

NEXT TERM CURRICULUM 

The following subjects shall be taught next term. The term set to resume on the 7th of January 2022; 

Major Prophets

James 

Romans 

Hermeneutics 2

Biblical Counselling

Hebrews 

Church Growth

1, 2 Timothy, and Titus 

Greek 1

African Traditional Religion

Sign Language

The following subjects are extras which shall proceed by way of seminars;

Strategic Management for Churches

Horticulture

YOUTH LECTURESHIP

BVBIZ succeeded in hosting a mini-youth lectureship from the 3rd-5th of December. The event was organized by BVBIZ students and 55 came. Students and teachers delivered lessons and sermons. The event was well organized and lessons were well presented. The teachers were impressed by the organizational skills of the students. The youth enjoyed the program and were spiritually uplifted. The following congregations were represented at this event; Gokwe, Nashville, Redcliff, Plasworth, Lot 64 and Kwekwe. 

PART TIME PROGRAM

Besides the weekend classes (face to face learning) and online classes that the part time class undertakes, students come to Gweru for 8 days during school breaks. This time they came on the 10th-17th of December. Subjects that were being taught include Denominational Doctrines, Research Methods, Introduction to Academic Writing, Personal Work, Homiletics and Public Speaking. Some of these are ongoing. The students had an opportunity to preach, lead in songs, preside on the Lord’s Supper and chair the Plasworth service on the 12th of December 2021. 

 EVANGELISM

BVBIZ places great emphasis on practicum. In December alone several congregations benefited from BVBIZ students. These congregations include Plaswoth, Lot 64, Redcliff, Marenga and Acturus. There are students who went for Holiday Preaching at Acturus and Redcliff. Reports from these two centers will be made in the next reports. Students who went on break are also active in their local congregations. The Marenga congregation  in Buhera hosted a Fellowship Sunday on the 5th of December and BVBIZ students were called upon two days prior to the event so as to help prepare for the day. Evangelism was done, members were visited and they helped to prepare the venue for the fellowship. Great appreciation to the Marenga congregation for taking care of the students. 

The following statistics are a summary of what BVBIZ was able to do in 2021 despite the challenges caused by the Covid pandemic;

Hours out                                    1021

Devotions                                     431

Sermons preached                        75

Bible Classes                                 61

Total Lessons taught                     310

Counselling sessions                      41

Prospects                                     510

Tracts distributed                          701

WBS booklets distributed           605

Restorations                                   26

Baptisms                                        59

THE TEACHERS HOUSE

One of the tasks that needed to be done was to plaster the box to the teacher’s house so as to protect the structure. Students who have been exposed to some  building skills are guided by their teacher, Ishmael Mutichu in plastering the section.  We are grateful to this joint effort of teachers and students. 

THE MAIZE PROJECT

The major highlight in December in terms of our projects is the maize project. Almost two hectares were put under maize.  Planting was done by students in two fields as part and parcel of their training. 

CONCLUSION

It is with the most profound gratitude that God took us through the year 2021. This was possible through your prayers and partnership. We at BVBIZ wish you all a better and prosperous 2022 even as we all continue to labour for the cause of Christ. To God be the glory!

Siem Reap welcomes visiting brethren

Warm Greetings from Cambodia,

Camping at Darat's House Earlier this month the E412 Center (Bible School in Battambang) visited us and set up a tent camp at brother Darat’s house in the country, just outside of Siem Reap. We joined them in fellowship, food, songs and praise to God. It was a very good time for all of us to get together and reconnect in our friendship after having been separated for a long time due to COVID restrictions. This time together allows us to build up and encourage one another as we drive to maintain our faith and overcome many obstacles in Cambodia.

Marriage Seminar Most of our students are young and single, IBISR invited Wayne and Tami Roberts of the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, Tx to spend a few days with us on zoom. Brother Wes coordinated this event and it was well received and needed by our group. The E412 Bible School in Battambang also joined in along with numerous other small groups, individuals and families. Many questions were asked to Wayne and the women asked many questions to Tami about being godly husbands and wives. We prayed together, sang songs in the main session and then would separate into two zoom rooms for women and men. We appreciate what brother Wayne and his wife Tami shared. Our students realized the significance of finding a spouse who will please the Lord.

Cycling Fellowship for Women During the Independence Day of Cambodia, most of the female church members rode around the temple area, near Siem Reap, on bicycles. The church leaders used money saved to help the unemployed members for renting bicycles so they could participate in the fun activity. We do this to demonstrate positive example of fellowship in our country. The men even took care of the children so their spouses could join in. We are planning a trip to Battambang at the end of the year so that we can once again fellowship with our sisters and brothers there, while being an example of Christianity in that city.

Chapel We continue to meet for chapel lessons twice a week with Battambang, brother Wes and his wife Teri who teaches the ladies.

Classes We study daily and grow daily in our Bible school work. Being taught truth from God’s word helps us understand our purpose and our future.

Baptisms We have had a good year in growing the church. 12 baptisms here in the Siem Reap area but there are more conversions in the villages where our graduates continue to preach and teach. It is very exciting to planting the seed of God’s word and watching it grow.

Thankfulness We are very grateful for our supporters and continue to strive to glorify God and be faithful in our hearts and actions daily.

Darat Run, Piseth Rin, Pros Rok IBISR staff leaders