Harvest of souls in Nigeria

MAY 2024 FIELD REPORT 

Beloved in Christ Jesus.

We appreciate the Almighty God for His mercy and love toward us all and for the progress so far recorded in the year 2024 at the BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN located at Butu -London, Butubutu village via Badeku/Jago Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria.

We also appreciate you all for your partnership, support and sacrifice. May the Lord continue to bless all our work together in Christ Jesus, amen.

HARVEST OF SOULS AND RESTORATION OF ERRING BRETHREN:

The just concluded  break/preaching trip by our year-2 students and vocational studies by year-1 students resulted in thirty-one conversions and eighteen restorations in Kwara, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Lagos, and Edo States.

Bro. Sunday Dada, Richard Renfro Timothy, and Bro. Osarenren Nosa recorded the highest numbers of conversions of six each in their area of service and restoration of four and seven, respectively. To God be the glory and honor.

FOURTH SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN: 

The final semester of the 2023/24 academic year commenced on May 13th, 2024.  Twenty-three year-1 and six year-2 students returned to Butubutu village campus for the start of 4th semester classes.  We are grateful for our dedicated instructors: Bro. Eniafe Olukayode, Bro. Ebenezer Olugbenga Ojo, Bro. Makinde John, Bro. Israel Tajomavwo, Bro . Samuel Effiong, Bro. Oladokun Samuel, Bro. Isaac Olaniyan, and myself (Bro. Makinde Ebens). Bro. Folorunso Richard and Sister Oyenuga Esther continue their valuable service as computer instructors.  The semester concludes on July 5th, followed by a one-month teaching practicum for the students.

VOTI, MISSION PRINTING TRACTS , HOW GOD SPEAKS AND OUR LOCAL TRACTS AID IN CONVERSIONS OF SOULS.

A report reaching our office from recipients of VOTI, Mission Printing's trifolds, small songbook ,How God Speaks, and local tracts indicates that these resources played a significant role in the conversion of eighteen (18) individuals and the restoration of faith for twenty -three (23) believers in Oyo and Akwa-Ibom States, Nigeria, during May 2024.

We are deeply grateful to Brother Jerry Bates and his wonderful VOTI family, Brother Richard Renfro for his leadership and the Mission Printing crew for their tireless efforts in producing these vital resources. We also extend our sincere appreciation to Brother Chad Wagner and his associates for their unwavering support for African evangelism, particularly in Nigeria. 

May the Lord continue to bless our collaborative efforts as we work together to share the Gospel message.

SWKA - BUTUBUTU VILLAGE, IBADAN, OYO STATE - Resumption of Third Term

According to the Oyo State Basic and Secondary Education Schedule, the Southwest School of Evangelism Kiddies Academy resumed their third term on April 29, 2024.

**Appreciation**

We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our donors, both local and international, for their continued support in training the children of underprivileged families in our community.

We also extend our deepest gratitude to all our partners, especially the Gahanna-Jefferson Congregation, Zach & Kim Van Tassel, Cherry Lloyd and family, and Bro. & Sister Chad Wagner and associates.  Your timely support and sacrifice are instrumental in nation-building. May the Lord continue to bless your work for Him in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

OJOKU MASS EVANGELISM OUTREACH / WBS SEMINAR

The students and staff of the school in collaboration with the WBSFUW in Osun and Ondo States actively participated in 3 days mass evangelism outreach/ WBS- Seminar at Ojoku town, Ona -Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State from the noon of May 24 till May 26.

We evangelized the town in the noon of May 24 and morning of May 25 and stage an open -air Bible Lectureship that centered on God's plan of Redeeming Mankind .

The following were the speakers in the two days Open -Air: Brothers Amos Olusegun, myself (Makinde Ebens), Adeyiwolu Isaac and one of our year -2-students, Umoh Sunday.

Even though, there is no conversion presently, but we were blessed with a restoration and many prospects in this town of about 5,000 inhabitants.

Our next preaching trip is coming up on June 7-9,2024 Lord's willing.

FORTHCOMING BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN 22nd ANNUAL BIBLE LECTURESHIP 2024

We, the eleven instructors of BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN, located in Butubutu Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, convened an online meeting on Thursday, May 17th, 2024.

During our meeting, we extensively discussed various topics for our upcoming Annual Bible Lectureship scheduled for August 22-24, 2024, at the Doug Wheeler Events Center, God willing.

We are pleased to announce the selected theme and topics:

Theme: Christ In You - The Hope of Glory

Topics:

1.What Shall I Do With Christ?

2. The Character of Christ

3. Jesus Christ: The Answer in Hopeless Situations

4. Jesus Christ: Our High Priest

5. Maturity in Christ (Ephesians 4:13)

6. Christ In You: The Hope of Glory

7. Jesus Christ and the Many Mansions of John 14

8. Jesus Christ and Crisis Management (Matthew 18:15-18)

We believe these topics will provide a rich and inspiring exploration of our faith. We would be honored to have you join us for this important event. As we delve into these themes, we pray that God will impart His word deeply into our hearts and guide us on our spiritual journeys.

ABOUT A STUDENT:

Bro. Asamu Michael Adewale is one of our year-1- Students. Admitted into our ministerial program on August 2023. Born in Oyo town on January 15th, 1994 to Bro. & Sister Tunji Asamu.  He became a member of  the Lord's church in 2012.  Currently studying Painting and Decoration along with his ministerial program.

Bro. Adewale aspires to become a minister in the South Western States of Nigeria and beyond after completing his ministerial training.

May the Lord continue to bless our combined efforts in service to Him. Amen.

I remain yours in His Grace & Love as a servant ,

Makinde Ebens 

The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN and WBSFUW

More good news from Malawi

Hello everyone!

We are excited to let our students go for one moth holiday.  June is always a month we give our students to go home and harvest their crops as well as to reunite with their families.  We had good time with them, they have been doing good in class and in preaching door to door as well.  We hope as they leave for their homes,  they will come back in July with good news to share as always. 

Preaching campaign - 21 to 25 May

The Usisya congregation invited the school for a one week preaching campaign as dated in the heading above. We responded them positively,  so we went. We are excited with the campaign outcome and they are asking us to go back again next time. We are always happy to go preach, this helps our students to gain more experience in the field work. This always is our goal - 2Timothy 2:2 (We Train Preachers). This campaign we have helped 17 souls be added to the church through baptism and also 8 souls restored.  Praise God . 

Teaching 

We are almost to the end of our second year Teaching.  We are remaining with few courses to finish before the graduation of our students.  We will resume our classes in the first week of July, 2024. 

Construction work

Please,  we ask for your prayers as we are Constructing Teachers house which will also be accommodating our visiting teachers. The foundation is completed and will start the super structure soon.

We are always thankful for the cooperation between BV international and the Brethren at Hillcrest church for this work. Without your support we would not be where we are today.  Your prayers,  kindness and support means a lot to us. God bless your families continually. 

Eternity Is Forever, Think Souls!

With Regards!

Ephron and Clergynton

Baptisms from Efforts in Gueckedou

Bear Valley of Gueckedou, to Bear Valley International in the USA, and to all those who support God's work in Guinea: may grace and peace be given to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Please receive our report for April 2024.

Introduction

We, Bear Valley of Gueckedou, present this report to inform you about the activities carried out by the school and the evangelism teams on the ground during the 30 days of April 2024. 

I- Teaching

The final recommendation of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28 is to teach them to observe all my commandments. So, teaching is an effective means of strengthening the faith of God's servants. 

Bear Valley of Gueckedou taught the following three lessons during the month of April 2024:

1. Galatians was taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

2. The doctrine of denominations was taught by Niouma 2 Kamano.

3. Christians Logic was taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

II- Evangelism

Jesus Christ's last hours on earth before the ascension were marked by recommendations, including, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

In this great commission, we use different methods and strategies according to the means and circumstances.

In this month, we used the two following methods :

Door-to-door evangelism: We visited a few families to teach them the truth and the way to salvation. We also distributed biblical literature for them to read.

Evangelism teamwork: The evangelism teams are still hard at work planting new congregations. A new congregation was established in Kongola.

Under the coordination of Brother Francis, an evangelistic mission team led by Saa Mani Koundouno went to Kongola on April 16, 2024, for two days of public evangelism. The word of God sown bore fruit, resulting in 18 people being baptized for the remission of their sins. After the following Sunday's service, which was their first public service, 10 people accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and were immediately baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then the Yaradou Kongonani team succeeded in convincing 5 people to follow Jesus, who were baptized and added to the Lord's church. They are members of the Fassaba congregation.

III- History of the Kongola church

Kongola is a village in the Koundou Lengo Bengou sub-prefecture, located on a plain about 40 km from Gueckedou town. The population is entirely Kissi. Following a survey visit by Saa Mani Koundouno, the team leader of Koundou Lengo Bengou, we were reassured that the village is receptive to the Gospel. 

An evangelistic mission coordinated by Brother Francis Musa went on 16/5/2024 to support the Koundou Lengo Bengou team. 

After two days of  public, door-to-door, and personal evangelism followed by exhortation, eighteen (18) people obeyed the Gospel on April 18, 2024.

 Then 10 other people accepted Jesus on April 21, 2024.

According to the commandement of the Lord they being baptized and he added them to His church. Indeed, we confirm the planting and growth of the church of Christ in Kongola. 

IV- Suggestions and Recommendations

We ask all our brothers and sisters in Christ to support us in prayer for the progress of the Church of Christ in Guinea in unity and peace.

Conclusion

In the light of the above, it is clear that Gueckedou is very favorable to the Gospel of the Lord.

We thank all those who have contributed to the evangelization activities, which have resulted in planting one congregation and 33 people baptized.

We also thank our coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, for his support and determination to see the Church of Christ flourish in Guinea.

We would also like to thank all those who contribute in any way to the progress of the Church of Christ in Guinea.

We close this report with this Bible passage below to tell all those who support us not to slacken.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

Niouma 2 Kamano

Evangelistic Efforts by Students in Takoradi, Ghana

OPERATIONAL REPORT APRIL 2024                                   

1. CLASSROOM WORK

Regular students wrote their end of term examination in the first week of April. On the academic calendar, the next two weeks after the examination were for two short courses. A week each for the two. These short courses were Pastoral epistle (I & II Timothy and Titus) and I & II Thessalonians.

We had to postpone these courses to the first and second weeks of the new academic term because the church of Christ at Effikuma invited the school for a week-long evangelism. This invitation coincided with the first week of the short course and we could not decline the invitation because of the congregation’s relationship with the school over the years.

Furthermore, the students complained of fatigue after the evangelism at Beposo, so the faculty thought it wise to give them an early recess after the Effikuma evangelism.

The students therefore vacated for the first term of their second year on the 12th day of April, 2024 and are expected to be back on the 6th day of May, 2024, for the short courses.

Academic work for part-time students continued in the month of April. They are still studying three courses. These courses are world religions, denominational doctrines, and epistles of John and Jude.

On the 19th and 20th days of the month, there were no classes because the school was invited to a graduation ceremony in Accra by the Bear Valley extension school there. The part-time students together with the instructors travelled to Accra to represent West Coast School of Preaching. 

2. PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

As indicated earlier, the regular students were invited by the Lord’s church at Efia-kuma to help spread the gospel. This invitation was gladly accepted and our current students as well as some of our old students joined forces to make this program successful. At the end of the five days’ evangelism, the church at Efia-kuma helped plant a new church in a community called Efia.

There were other evangelistic efforts by our students; past and current, to propagate the seed of the kingdom. One of our last graduating students organized a week-long campaign for Christ where he invited several of our old students. By the end of the week, many got to hear about the Lord, His grace, and His Kingdom. God blessed their efforts with some baptisms.

Also, two members of the school (an instructor and a student) were invited for an evangelism outreach in some communities which led to the planting of a new congregation of the Lord’s church. In short, we had fourteen (14) baptisms in the month of April.

Thank you.

Joshua

Graduation in Ibadan

Dear fellow rservants of God.

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you all from God our Father and from His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Below is the summary of some of our activities for the month of April 2024.

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIRD SEMESTER CLASSES  

By God's grace and through the dedication of both instructors and students, the third semester of the BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN Diploma program concluded successfully on the evening of April 11th, 2024.

The semester included a variety of courses, with instructors leading classes in:

Life of Christ-3 (Book of Luke) and Book of Romans - Bro. Isaac Olaniyan

New Testament Church-2 (Worship) and 1 Corinthians - Bro. Durojaiye Odeyemi

1 & 2 Peter & Jude and 1 & 2 Thessalonians - Bro. Makinde John

Hebrews and OTP - Minor Prophets - Bro. Eniafe Olukayode

2nd Corinthians and Biblical Eschatology - Bro. Samuel Effiong

OT Wisdom-2 (Psalms - SOS) and Marriage and the Home - Bro. Israel Tajomavwo

Preachers' Life & Work and Teach with Success - Bro. Makinde Ebens

Brother Folorunso Richard and Sister Oyenuga Esther continue serving as the School Computer Instructors .

Year-1 students are now engaged in a month-long vocational training program, while year-2 students are participating in a preaching trip to churches within the Western States and Benin-Edo State and Ayekale -Odofin via Omu -Aran in Kwara State of Nigeria.

We look forward to the commencement of fourth-semester classes, Lord willing, on May 13th, 2024.

A SUCCESSFUL ANNUAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR

We're delighted to share that the 22nd Annual Leadership Seminar, held at Chad Wagner's Open Hall at BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN from April 11-13, 2024, was a resounding success! 

We are incredibly grateful to Almighty God for the beautiful weather and the overall success of the seminar. We also extend our sincere appreciation to all of you for your prayers and encouragement

.

22ND ANNUAL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR AND GRADUATION CEREMONY OF BVBIN DEGREE STUDENTS

This year's Leadership Seminar, held at Chad Wagner's Open Hall from April 11th to 13th, 2024, welcomed over 200 church leaders from within and outside the Western States of Nigeria.

Participants began arriving at the premises of BVBIN and SWSE-IBADAN on Wednesday evening. By Thursday morning, over 100 church leaders had registered for the seminar.

Church leaders from Rivers, Delta, Edo, Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, and Osun actively participated in the three-day program of spiritual exercises. 

Over 3,000 VOTI volume 119 booklets, BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN 2024 calendars, approximately 10,000 Mission Printing Trifolds tracts, 3,000 Mission Printing Small Songs Books, 500 copies of "How God Speaks," 1,000 copies of "Preach The Word -2," and several local tracts were distributed freely during the seminar.

We express our sincere appreciation for your partnership and support, which contributed significantly to the success of this seminar. May the Lord continue to bless our collaborative work in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

BVBIN DEGREE PROGRAM CONTINUES: Third Set

By God's grace, the third cohort of BVBIN degree students successfully completed their second class of the two-year sandwich program from April 8th to 19th, 2024, at the BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN campus.

Brother Isaac Olaniyan led the first week's instruction on Advanced Hermeneutics-1, while Brother Makinde Ebens handled Advanced Homiletics-1 in the second week. Meals were provided to the students daily throughout the program.

Six students participated in the two weeks class: Brother Gideon Iluman (Rivers State), Brother Umoh Sunday (Lagos State), Brother Eniafe Olukayode (BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN), Brother Jacob Udeme (Lagos), Brother Akilapa Oluwatimileyin (BVBIN-Ondo), and Brother Ojo Ebenezer Olugbenga (BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN).

The next session will be held from August 12th to 23rd, 2024, Lord willing. Brother Chad Wagner is expected to teach Greek-1, and Brother Ayobami Akanji will lead the Congregational Development-1 course.

This two-week program costs approximately $150 (N175,000). We humbly request your financial assistance to continue equipping God's ministers in Nigeria and surrounding nations.

ABOUT A STUDENT:

Bro. Ogor Joseph is presently one of our year -2- students. Gained admission into the ministerial department of the BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN in January 2020. Born on March 2002 at Obudu, Cross River State. Became a member of the Lord 's church in year 2018. His mission is to be well equipped in the word of God in other to help others know the truth .

UPCOMING EVENTS:

BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN is hosting four WBS seminars this quarter, scheduled between May and June 2024 in Oyo, Osun, and Ekiti States of Nigeria.

Here are the details:

- Ikoyi in Osun State: May 24-26

- Ajia in Oyo State: June 7-9

- Aramoko in Ekiti State: June 14-16

- Esa-Oke in Osun State: June 21-23, 2024.

We appreciate your support and partnership.

Conclusion: We deeply appreciate you all for your partnership and support over the years. May the Lord keep on blessing all our labour together in Christ Jesus,amen.

I remain yours in His Grace Love as a servant,

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

39 students in Onitsha, Nigeria

Calvary greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Below were our report from Onitsha BVBI Center:

1. Courses taught and the teachers that handled them for the period under review:

a. Christian Evidence (114)- Onyekachi Vincent (Awada center). Chidi Chbunna (Okpoko center), January  2024.

b. Wisdom Literature (115)- Faith Jonathan Chimeremeze ( Awada center),  Eneh Everest (Okpoko center) February 2024.

c. The Scheme of Redemption (116)- Nwigwe Innocent (Awada center), Aniamalu Felix ( Okpoko  center) March 2024.

2. We have 39 students. ( 24 Awada and 15 Okpoko)

3. Evangelism: we could not go for our evangelism for the month of March because one of our students held his wedding ceremony on 23rd of March 2024 which many of us participated and I was the one that preached the wedding sermon that day. But brother Everest Eneh and I, in the course of our visits to congregations for sensitization, had three souls baptized into Christ after our teaching and sermon at church of Christ, 29 Akpulu Street Okpoko.

By the grace of God we are trying our best to uplift and protect the image of Bear Valley Bible Institute over here. Some of our students are really doing us proud in many congregation were they handled items of worship. Our teachers are also living up to expectations.

Ezeh Chijoke Shedrack

Making progress in Ondo State, Nigeria

Dear brethren,

I ascribe all glory, honour and Majesty back to Our God in heaven above for His renewable blessings every day for His Children all over the world. We are forever grateful to the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver, Colorado for their support and love over the years! The Eldership with all the brethren at Bear Valley are in our hearts and prayers always for this great Spiritual sacrifice toward build lasting legacy for generations to come in Ondo State! I truly appreciate your love and vision.

Evangelism: First quarter of 2024 is very interesting and important to us here in Ondo State! We were able through the help of God to have baptized a pastor in a denominational Church who have decided to follow Jesus' word and His Church! All glory be to God Almighty, Amen. His name is Taiwo Adepetun. l have encouraged him to enroll with Bear Valley Bible Institute, Ondo center! He is now a student of the School. 

Today been 30th March, 2024, The School in Ondo City went out to preach the gospel again in Sabo Orimolade area in Ondo City with the hope of establishing the Lord's Church in that area! We had many prospects today! We are planning to go back again in order to organize three days Open Air preaching there! The people there were very receptive to the gospel of Christ!

In Akure center, We went to Ilu- abo again in Airport area in Akure! As l have reported last quarter, two of our new students are from that area! The Church there need more hands and we are ready to fill the gap! All the students and instructors were there to assist the Church in that area. We are grateful to be useful tools in the hands of God Almighty.

Classroom activities: In all the two centers classroom activities went as planned!

January 2024 - Brother Victor Fasonu taught the book of Revelation, while Brother Godwin Emmanuel taught Old Testament - 5 minor prophets in Akure center.

February, 2024 - Brother Rowland taught 1& 2 Thessalonians in Ondo center while Brother Oke taught Hebrews in Akure center.

March, 2024 - Brother Oke taught Hebrews in Ondo center, while Brother Rowland taught 1 & 2 Thessalonians in Akure center.

As a school, we are happy that our students are in their third year of study! Our God will see them through, Amen.

Brother Philip Iwere is a student of the school at Akure study center! He is 65 years old. He is married with Children in the Lord! He is very matured and courageous student of the Bible! He is happy learning the word of God. He very active in the Classroom and a loving personality among the students! The School is lucky to have him as a student. He is one of the faithful member of the Lord's Church at No, 13 Leo Street, Akure. After graduation, he is willing to preach the undiluted gospel of Christ.

Beloved brethren, as a school in Ondo State! We are committed toward the growth and development of the school. Once again thank you for your love and support again and again! We know opportunity to make greater exploits doesn't come easy! We are determined in our resolution to remain a pacesetter.

Thank you and remain blessed, Amen. 

Fasonu Victor

Coordinator, 

Bear Valley Bible Institute, Ondo State

Warri adds a new Learning Center

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE – WARRI CENTERS REPORT

JANUARY-MARCH 2024 

INTRODUCTION

The period covering January to March has been interesting and smooth. The faculty is grateful that God has led us through another quarter without any unforeseen contingencies. The faculty remains grateful to the entire Bear Valley family of Denver Colorado USA. The faculty's gratitude and prayer go to the tireless individuals driving the vision of the Bear Valley Bible Institute by raising and sending constant financial and moral support. May the vision continue to grow and to the ends of the earth.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

DSC CENTER:

Classes started early at the DSC center with Godwin Ojocheogwu discussing the course Foundation for Missions. The teacher led the students through and showed that the preaching of the gospel is a powerful tool to reaching out to the lost in the world. A total of 18 students sat for the exams.

In February, Meredith handled the course Romans II. The central thought is on the gospel as the power with which God saves the lost. A total of 19 students sat for the examination.

Solomon Usim in March discussed World Religions with the students. It was a very interesting course because it opened the eyes of the students about other religions of the world. It compared these religions in the light of Christianity. The comparison showed the outstanding nature of Christianity. The course further strengthened their belief in the Christian religion in contradistinction to African traditional Religion. In fact, syncretism was one word that was carefully explored. A total of 19 students sat for the exams.

PTI CENTER:

The new year opened with Iduh Odike discussing the course Life of Christ II (Mark) at the PTI Centre. The course bordered on the public ministry of Jesus Christ in Judea, Galilee, and Perea which was characterized with OBSCURITY, POPULARITY and OPPOSITION in his three and half years of ministry, showing that Jesus is God through his teachings and miracles. A total of 12 students sat for the exams.

In February, Solomon Usim handled the course 2 Corinthians. The book centered on the regularization of relationship between a member from whom the church withdrew fellowship. It also shows that God is the God of comfort despite the rate Christians experience affliction. A total of 12 students sat for the exams.

Abiola Ojoade handled the course O.T. II (History) in March. At the end of the course, Students were able to learn and understand the rise of king David, the beloved servant of the Lord, to the fall of the Southern kingdom of Israel who were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586BC. A total of 10 students sat for the exam.

UGHELLI CENTER:

The Ughelli Centre graciously began operation in March. Meredith Jerry Ovwromoh led the new center at inception and discussed the book, OT History 1. Old Testament Survey 1 focuses on God's divine purposes and plans for mankind, how sin came into the world, God's response to sin, and his relationship with mankind. It also provides a deep understanding of God's nature and character. Out of the 27 persons that sat for the entrance examination, 14 students sat for the exams.

CAMPAIGN PROGRAM/ LECTURESHIP

The Ovwor Olomu community has a very old but weak congregation. This congregation needs help to survive. One of the school’s instructors, Godwin Ojocheogwu, is helping the small church. Thus, the church called for another campaign and staff and students were mobilized to Ovwor Olomu Church of Christ Ughelli South, Delta state. It was held on the 24th of February 2024. As at the time of this report, no baptism yet.

NEW CONGREGATION

A new congregation was established at Location/cemetery road, Otor-Udu, Udu LGA, Delta State Nigeria. An old blind preacher lives in the Otor -Udu community. Because of his condition, he finds it difficult to go to the meeting place which is somewhat far from him. With the combined efforts of the teachers and some students, a congregation was established in his place. The good thing is that the new preacher has since enrolled with the Ughelli center as a student.

NEW INSTRUCTORS

Following the approval of the Ughelli center, it became necessary that two more instructors be brought in. Thus, efforts were made and the services of Bliss Ibuje and Alaba Gabi were secured. The two of them are graduates from the School of Biblical Studies Jos and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Religious Studies. Bliss Ibuje is a serving minister with the church of Christ Ogorode, Sapele Delta State. In the same vein, Alaba Gabi is serving as a minister with the church of Christ Akpeki Crescent, Sapele Delta State. The two teachers had the opportunity of meeting with Chad Wagner for proper introduction at NCBC Ukpom Abak during the last Great Workshop in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. The faculty and staff are indeed grateful to both Chad and Keith for the approval of the Ughelli center. The Ughelli center has a lot of prospects. The staff have started combing the area visiting with the many congregations around and sensitizing the preachers on the need for better ministerial education.

FIRST QUARTER'S EVENTS

·      Number of Students- Seventy-four (74), twenty (20) at PTI, Twenty-seven (27) at DSC and 27 at Ughelli.

·      Number of Campaigns Conducted by Students/Teachers in this Quarter: One.

·      Number of Baptisms resulting from evangelical Efforts by Students/Teachers This quarter: Fifteen (15)

·      Number of New Congregations Established: One

·      Number of Teachers at the School: Seven (7)

·      Number of Churches Restored: None

CONCLUSION

The work of keeping the whole school together and the challenges has not been an easy task. However, God has been mindful of us amidst the many struggles. We appreciate the faculty and staff for their immense support. We are thankful to God Almighty and the entire Bear Valley Family for the unflinching support. It is our sincere prayer that God will bless us all and grant us more fruitfulness in Christ’s name amen.

Solomon Usim

(Director BVBIW)

Evangelistic Work in Lima, Peru

Fraternal greetings to all who have the possibility of reading this report.
March and April have been two very exciting months, with God's favor we have had many opportunities to serve him both outside and within the BVBI – PERU project. This is something that has brought us a lot of satisfaction and very gratifying moments. What I am trying to say is that the work of the institute is not limited only to teaching Saturday classes (according to our modality), but because of the many opportunities we have to serve the Lord, we can merge efforts including those that, As an institution, according to our possibilities, we can do.
ABOUT THE MARCH AND APRIL COURSES: Wisdom Books II (Sal, Prob, Ecl and Cant.) with Andrés Nuñez as teacher and II of Corinthians with myself as instructor (Juan Abanto). We have really enjoyed sharing the lessons corresponding to each course with the brothers. We have had between 5 and 8 students, 4 of them are formal students and another four who have been taking the courses freely and taking only some classes. The four formal students are: Jose D. Chullare, Marta Nolasco, Ethel Lapa and Jhonely Pérez Silva. Here I share a few lines from Brother Andrés' report about his course:
“…We were able to observe the importance, the need for the study and practice of the Christian in his life at all times. The student brothers were able to observe that each study book was very edifying, and important from the point of view of the Jew, as well as for every Christian today... It was truly a great experience studying the wisdom books, they all show us that the hand of God is always available to help, serve and bless man through his word. Thank God for this good experience in meditating on his holy and blessed word in the lives of all of us."
ABOUT THE UPCOMING COURSES: For the months of May and June we have two new courses, I am referring to “The Gospel of John and the Epistles” with Abraham Alata as instructor and Galatians with Juan Abanto. We are looking forward to resuming our classes this coming May 11, if the Lord allows it.
ABOUT THE ANNUAL BIBLE CONFERENCE: As it is already part of our annual work plan with the BVBI – PERU, each year we have a Bible conference presented by the teachers of the institute and one of our graduates, to the brotherhood. This year we turned to the church's location in America, managing to gather about 85 people between the two meetings on March 29-30. The conference had as its theme “A church that fights for the faith.” It has been a time of mutual edification, communion and fraternity. This has been our VI annual Conference and we hope with the Lord's favor to have many more. We are convinced that all these conferences are a great precedent for future events to be held as an institution.
ABOUT EVANGELISTIC WORK: We have had two wonderful opportunities to participate and to be able to help both students and teachers. We had an evangelistic and benevolence campaign with the church of Villa Alejandro in the southern part of Lima (congregation in which the 3 teachers of the institute worked), we had a team of 45 people cooperating in this activity, many evangelistic studies, work with children , and delivery of benevolence, with a reach of approximately 700 people, four new souls were added to the kingdom of our Lord in this event.
The other evangelistic work has been done in the church of Christ in Santa Anita, in the eastern part of Lima on April 26-27, the teachers of the institute were also invited to support, many people had the opportunity to hear the gospel thanks to the efforts of the different evangelistic teams and the program organized by said congregation.
We hope in the Lord to have more opportunities to serve in his kingdom, if He allows us, but we are very grateful for what has happened in these two months that have passed. We beg your constant prayers!

Holiday Evangelistic Work in Kenya

Dear brethren,

Know all men that we at KSOP have resumed classes as of April 8th 2024, this being the first week of our second last quarter towards graduation of the sixth class students.

We have got very serious students- for they have all reported at the right time, including David Mibei who had lately lost his biological mother and had done the burial just a few days before the school resumed. GOD willing, all the current students will go all the way to graduation day- that is on August 24th, 2024.

It is with pleasure that I share with brethren the good work the students did in their home congregations during the March holiday: 

They had served 25 congregations, helping with evangelism, edifying the saved and doing restorations. They had joined hands in gospel meetings and seminars.

They had baptized 22 souls into Christ. 25 souls had been restored as a result of their work and 2 local congregations back to sound doctrine. 

In this quarter, we have 4 African instructors: Charles, David, Phabian and Elias.

Regular courses we teach are:

Greek III, Denominational doctrines, 1&2 Timothy and Titus, Minor Prophets I and II.

Short courses are: The Scheme of Redemption and the Book of Revelation.

We love the work going on at  KSOP and pray for its continuity. We appreciate, pray for, and encourage those who are supporting this work, reminding them that it will not be in vain 1 Cor. 15:58. As Dr. Rowand used to say, and I quote, " Only eternity will reveal the quality of the work done at KSOP".. for the betterment of the church in Africa.

May the Lord bless abundantly all you who endeavor to see yo it that the work at KSOP remains intact.

HIS servant and yours,  

Elias Omollo.

Successful in Takoradi, Ghana

Dear Brethren,

This is our report for the month of March.

OPERATIONAL REPORT MARCH, 2024

1. CLASSROOM WORK

In the first week of the month of March, all the courses were completed for the term. The students are left with short courses. There were no classroom activities for the second week because the school was on field for the campaign for Christ.

The students, the cooks, and the instructors were given the third week to rest after a hectic week on the field spreading the good news of salvation.

The last week of March was a revision week for the students to prepare for the end of term examination.

Short courses postponed: According to our time table, the regular students were to be taken through short courses between April 8 and 19, and then immediately after that break for vacation. But the school received an invitation from the congregation at Efia-Kuma requesting for our students in a 4-day house to house and public evangelism. We therefore decided to postpone the short courses to give way for the evangelism program.

Classes for the part-time students continued to be effective for most part of the month. The only break they had was the Friday and Saturday when we were out for the campaign for Christ. Some of them partook in the evangelism.

Classes resumed for the last two weekends of the month. Three instructors are currently teaching during the weekends. Douglas Armah is teaching the epistles of John and Jude on Fridays, Nathaniel Brobbey is teaching Denominational doctrines on Saturday mornings, and Samuel Owusu-Afari teaches world religions in the afternoon.

2. PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

In the month of March, the school had its campaign for Christ for the term. We have been getting a lot of requests from Churches all over to help them in their evangelism programs. Currently, the school officially goes out on an evangelism trip once a term. There are a lot of individuals and churches who have brought their request to the school. One of such requests came to us from one of our old students. He wanted the school to help him evangelize a town called Beposo, to plant the Lord’s church there, though there are some Christians who move from there to worship at a nearby town. This town is a big commercial town which did not have the Lord’s church. We were very happy to help in such a work, so we made preparations and on the 11th of March, around 12:30 p.m. we left campus to the place.

The town is about 30 – 40 minutes from the school, but because of transportation cost and other conditions, we rented a guest house there to make the work more effective.

The team for the evangelism included the instructors, the cooks, the nine regular students, four part-time students and twenty-two old students.

The campaign for Christ was very successful, as many got to hear the undiluted truth for the first time through personal work and public preaching. Overall, there were seven (7) baptisms, two in the course of the week and the other five visited the church on its first worship day in the town and got baptized after worship. The number of people who met together to worship that Sunday were ninety-three souls, children included.

Seven of the current students stayed behind to worship with the new church before returning to campus.

God blessed the students’ work at Efia-Kuma Church of Christ with two baptisms. But many have had the opportunity to hear the gospel. 

Thank you.

Joshua

Sunyani Campus Quarter Update

2024 REPORT FOR 1st  QUARTER (JANUARY- MARCH)

INTRODUCTION

To God be the glory for the wonderful things He has done and for successfully bringing us to the end of the first quarter of 2024.

ACTIVITIES DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2023

I. FIRST QUARTER COURSES FOR 2024

As usual, three courses were taught in the quarter, these are Prison Epistles, Church History, and Pastoral    Epistles.

II. STUDENTS, STAFF CAMPAIGN 

Through the effort of house to house and public evangelism, five (5) baptisms and twelve (12) restorations were won by staff and students of Sunyani campus.

III. CHURCH PLANTING 

By the grace of God and through the hard work of instructors and students, a new church has been planted at Dr Berko, a vicinity in Sunyani, the establishment was done Sunday, 11th February 2024.

The maiden worship was joyfully conducted with thirty-three (33) members of which five souls were restored after the campaign.

IV. GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR NINE STUDENTS The date set for the next graduation ceremony has been scheduled for 28th July 2024.

V. APPEAL

Our campus on Sunyani is appealing for funds to help acquire a stee cabinet which would he used for the storing of students files as well as other important documents for the school.

Secondly, we would be glad if management could provide a rented facility for lecturers and lecturers where they could lodge. This would be beneficial especially after Friday night of Lectures.

IN CONCLUSION

We are grateful to The Almighty God for bringing us to the end of the quarter successful. We pray that the coming years will be fruitful so that we work steadfastly towards building the kingdom of God

Visiting preacher from Nepal helps in local campaigns

Reporting Letter for the month of April-2024

Respected beloved brother Keith Kasarjian our school director , coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds and all the prayer partners greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We are very much thankful to you for your continual prayer and encouragement for the smooth function of BVBI-Tirupati-India. I would like to submit reporting letter for the month of April-2024.

Class room work:-  In the month of April we have completed the books of Geneses , Exodus, Joshua, Judges and Ruth. We conducted tests for each course.

Zoom classes:- We conduct zoom meeting on every Thursday. We invite church leaders and active members of local churches along with students for the zoom meeting. In the month of April we conducted 4 classes. We feel as it is a great privilege to use the technology for spiritual growth.

Home Bible studies:- Home Bible study is the very best tool for us to meet families and share with them the gospel of Christ. We involve our students in the home bible studies and they learn how to be connected with families and win souls for Christ.

Door to Door  ministry:- We have  conducted door to door ministry from April 24 to 30th . We invited Mr. Gajendra from Nepal .  Along with him we have visited a few villages like Thimmanagaripallem village, Kammavaripallem village,  Chittedu village, Microtower colony village ,Vidyanagar village, Poolathota-village and a few families in Tirupati. We visited most of the Christian families and strengthened them . One of the doctor’s family is interested to study the New Testament church. They invited us for an evening bible study. We appreciate Mr. Gajendra for his patience and love for the souls. He was able to share encouraging short sermons wherever we went.

Campaigning :- In the month of April  25th we have conducted campaigning at the village of Poolathota-village.  Mr.Gajendra preached in the village .  Vidyanagar Church of Christ provided afternoon lunch for all us while we were in village. The local congregation and my brother-in-law’s family were well encouraged by the camp. New families were able to hear the word of God. There are 70 people who were able to attend for the meeting.  One new family invited us for the personal bible study in the village.

Baptisms:- In the month of April 2 souls were baptized and added to the body of Christ. We request you to pray for these new souls so that they may grow in the image  of His son Jesus Christ.

Visiting the sick people:- In the month of April we visited several sick people in the hospital as well at homes. One of our member Brother.N.Ravi Kumar has undergone though heart open surgery . We have visited and provided him Rs.5000 by the local church contribution for his medical help. We also helped Mrs.Marthamma Rs.3500/ for the medical help.

Bore well Project:- we have come across a school at Eswaravaka village. We have moved with great compassion to see the children who are suffering without clean drinking water.  By the partnership of Healing Hands International we were able to provide them a bore well . All the staff and children felt very happy about our loving  service.

Betrothal:- in our local church there was betrothal event on April 24th evening. We were able to attend and share the word of God. Several Hindu religious people were able to hear the word of God.

Wedding:- We have attended for the wedding event of our church member, I was given opportunity to preach the word of God concerning the marriage

Funeral :- My brother-in-law, and active member of the church, passed away on April 14th. We attended to the funeral service on April 15th  and comforted the family members, local church , relatives and village people.

Plans for May 2024:-

World Bible school promotion campaign:-  In the month May sun heat will be increasing in India. All schools and colleges will be closed for the summer vacations. It is our plan to  get connected with World Bible School and conduct promotion campaign. It will be helpful for the several non Christians to received free bible correspondence course.

V.B.S  (children program ):- In the month of May we would like to conduct VBS for the children to educate them for spiritual growth.

Youth camp:- In the month of May we plan to conduct one youth camp.

Gospel meetings:- Summer is suitable season for organizing the gospel meetings. Lord willing we will be conducting few gospel meetings and street meetings

We thank you very much for your continual prayers and encouragement. We thank God for the BVBI which is the  best platform to educate young people and conduct few other activities which are connected with Bible school. We love you and appreciate your love.

Thanking you.

Your brother in Christ.

Vijay  , extension’s centre  in charge of BVBI-Tirupati-India.

Classes continue in Gweru, Zimbabwe

APRIL 2024 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

We always give glory and honour to God who gives us the ability and zeal to advance the cause of His kingdom. We are always grateful when we look back in the month and see the hand of God in a number of areas. To Him, we remain grateful. This report gives a glimpse to some of the issues that transpired in the month in academics, infrastructure and projects. Please find these, hereunder;

1.    FIELD PROGRAM

Field program shall commence on the 1st of May in various areas. The majority of the students arrived at their stations on the 30th of April. The program shall run until the 14th of October. This is in addition to the various practicums that the students underwent prior to this current one culminating into a one full year of practicum. Each camp has a supervisor supervising it. The distribution of students is as follows;

Congregation                                                            Students

Choto, Gokwe South                                     Lewis and Ruvarashe Chibiku

Mutora (Nembudziya)-Gokwe North             Munyaradzi Muzoma and Zivanai Mubi

Nhakiwa & Chemapango-Murewa                Milton Ruredzo and Dzingai Mugova

Borrowdale-Harare                                          Deron Kuwaza and Zivanai Mubi

Mt. Darwin-Mash Central                               Chris Marunga and Munyaradzi Muzoma

Mazambara –Masvingo                                 Hosea Mushaiwa

Checheche-Manicaland                                  Deron Kuwaza

Nerutanga-Buhera                                         Perspective Zindoga

Ngangu-Chimanimani                                      Mactivish Magadaire

The next report shall detail activities that would have transpired during the first month of the practicum.

2.    APRIL PARALLEL CLASSES

Parallel classes proceeded well in April at Nhowe and Gweru respectively. The following subjects were done at Nhowe; Sign Language, Life of Christ, Scheme of Redemption and Personal Work. The following were done at Gweru; Church Growth, Advanced Homiletics, Greek, Church Leadership and Pastoral Epistles. Some of these are still ongoing.

3.    PROJECTS

In April, the school planted about 900 cabbages and 300 butternuts. The maize crop planted at the end of March is doing well. These projects remain critical in the provision of life survival skills to students including better nutrition and an extra dollar to the school.

4.    CLASSROOM BLOCK

The anticipated foundation to the classroom block began to be worked on the 10th of April using the available funds. To date, the following have been done; setting out, trenching, clearance of vegetation, footing and construction of the box. A further $29 000 is needed to complete the structure beyond this foundation level. Any assistance is highly welcome.

CONCLUSION

We thank God for the development we keep witnessing at BVBIZ, both within the students and infrastructural development. Such a progress would not have been possible without the sacrifices you have been making towards the school. We remain grateful for your spiritual, moral, material and financial support. To God be the glory!

41 baptisms in Zambia campaign

April 2024

Report

INTRODUCTION

For the past five weeks the BVBI-Zambia has experienced another deep relationship with the Lord. While attending the Sunday assemblies and mid-week Bible studies is an important and necessary part of our spiritual maturity in our Christian life. The month of April was another unique month in us preaching Christ to the world, we have learned through our preaching how people show a desire to know God’s word better and keep us in touch with each other.

Whatever time we have spend together with Christians and non Christians has really helped us and encouraged us to be strong in the Lord as we have encouraged others we believe.

Our Evangelism in North-western province

This has been our evangelistic trip with our second year students outside copper belt province where we are. In this trip we took other thirteen youths in our district since we expected to meet with other youths in north-western province. We arrived there on 26th April and we were there for four days. We preached and distributed tracts and the work was marvelous.

The leadership at central Church of Christ was not only impressed with how zealous our students worked, but were amazed to see how they preached with all boldness. We also met with other leaders in the district and expressed interest to send their youths to BVBI-Zambia.

We thank Brother Donnie Estep who worked tirelessly for this trip to come to reality; we look forward to more of such trips for practical work in our field. We had a good harvest of souls all of them youths

Our local Outreach on Copper Belt Province

We have continued to work with congregations on the copper belt province and our students have started preaching in different congregations as they are assigned on each first day of the week. Mostly we receive call from the leadership appreciating their work. We have mid-week bible studies, youths, women and Sunday school.

This work is now bearing fruit; most of the congregants are appreciating the work of these preachers and the existing of the Institute

 Total Baptisms recorded

We have recorded forty-one (41) Baptisms for the month of April. It was with much happiness to see Geofrey Mbewe,Hildah Mbango, Emmanuel Masondi,Ziwase Tembo,Hanna Chanda, Selina Kabunda,Getrude Simuyuni, Emmanuel Sapalalo,Judith Musenga,Stella Kantontoka, Grey Zyaambo,Siabasimbi Maxwell, David Kankombe, Ketty Japeza, Nance Kasonda, Felax Gongwe,Salifyanji Moyo, Taonga Nj’ambe, veronica, Handsone and Matidah added to the family of God here on the copper belt and north-western province respectively. Our prayers are with these new born babes in Christ

Total Restorations!

During our Sunday assemblies and students preaching we recorded nineteen (19) restorations. We also had six Christians, who came asking for prayers, and we also had unusual encounter with a young man and a lady who feinted and believed to have been possessed by demons but, the situation came to normal after prayer and the two were taught the gospel.

 Our school garden  

In the spirit of keeping survival skills alive the Institute has continued to plant vegetables in garden, we have planted egg plants and onion and they are well managed by the students. We pray that all works for the betterment of our students  in this garden management we are doing!

Recruitment going on well

We have started our recruitment for 2025-2026 intakes and it is going on well and very promising to have another exciting body of students

Progress in acquiring the land

We are making a progress in acquiring a land where we can begin to build the institute, the land has been given and we are doing the best we can to start building once we finish the payments.

Condolences

Everyone at BVBI-Zambia and the congregation here in Luanshya offer their love and Sympathy to Granton Mwela one of our current student, Granton lost his biological father. Our hearts are filled with love and sympathy for Daniel Manyoni and Richard Chicago and all the family on the death of their grandparents. Daniel and Richard are our current students and both lost their grandparents in the same month. Please pray for our students at this traumatic time.

This is such a blow!                              

Conclusion

Our aim is to live a life of devotion and training others to submit to Christ and becoming like Christ Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me.” The question is how strong is our desire to know Christ?

We always give glory and honor to or

God because your relationship with the Lord is “heart deep” in supporting us in this noble work.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Campaign in Togo yields great results

April 2024 report

May God's peace and mercy be with us all, and let us give glory to God for his blessings during this month of April. Many activities have been carried out, especially evangelism, which is a primordial activity in the evangelist's work.

IBBV:

His course comes to an end in April.

1. RTAO..................Akovi Esperance

2. I and II Corinthians...... Akovi Esperance

3. Gospel according to John........... Attah Komi Ekpe

4. Galatians to 2 Thessalonians ... Attah Komi Ekpe

5. Hebrews..........................Cephas

6. Doctrine of Denomination... Cephas

A two-week break and classes resume on 06 May 2024

Second-quarter courses starting in May 2024.

1. Homiletics II:.............. ATTAH

2. The Little Prophets: .......ATTAH

3. Evidences Chrétiennes: CEPHAS

4. Preaching work: CEPHAS

5. Local church planting and development: .....ESPERANCE

6. Hermeneutics: ..........ESPERANC

7. Church history: .....BEDJELSI Fidèle

Guest:

During this term, a teacher will come and teach the following course: Church History. Evangelist Fidèle Bedjelsi in Kara will come to teach this course to students.

Evangelism:

1. A great deal of work was carried out during the month in Kpalime and Côte d'Ivoire. From April 15 to 21, a team of 6 joined the brothers in Ghana for a week's evangelism: 3 days in BONDOUKOU and 3 days in TANDA. In each of these towns, two (2) people were baptized.

2. In the work plan, two assemblies are to be set up: one in Glekope and another in Danyi-Ndigbe. Through teamwork, two people were baptized in Gleykope, and a new assembly was baptized at the beginning of May. For the month of May, two three-day evangelizations are planned in Lavie-Apedome and Temedja. Teams are hard at work in these localities to get good results from the evangelization campaigns.

Note: an unprepared campaign will not produce lasting results. Those who convert often abandon the church, which is why we need to change the method: prepare the ground several weeks before the evangelistic campaign.

The results of the South Togo teams.

1. Kpalime : 6

2. Kpele: 5

3. Agou : 4

4. Fiokpo: 0

5. Lome: 8

6. Tsevie and Dalavé: 3

7. Atakpame: 3

8. Temedja: 3

9. Blita: 5

10. Notse: 3

Graduation in Accra, Ghana

 Bear Valley Bible Institute, Accra  

End of April 2024 Operating Report

We give thanks to the Lord for His guidance and blessings throughout April 2024. It has been a month filled with growth, learning, and spiritual outreach. Below are the highlights of our activities for the month.

Academic Activities

April marked the beginning of a new quarter for our diploma class. Esteemed Bro Amoo Gyima led the students through enriching courses such as “The Life of Christ” and “Christian Evidences,” while “Scheme of Redemption” by Kojo, “Homiletics 1” by Shadrach Oppong, “Old Testament II and Godhead” by E. O. Larbi, and other subjects were also part of the curriculum. The dedication of both students and faculty has been commendable, ensuring a robust and spiritually enriching academic environment.

Gospel Campaign

Our commitment to spreading the Word took the form of a church planting campaign that spanned two weeks, with activities conducted day and night. Although we did not witness any baptisms this month, we were blessed with the presence of three visiting prospects and the initiation of three new members. We remain hopeful that the seeds planted will bear fruit in God’s perfect timing.

Leadership Seminar

The ongoing weekly leadership seminar at Akotoakrom, spearheaded by Bro E.O Larbi and Bro Sasu Ntim, has proven effective and transformative. The seminar has been instrumental in equipping our leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to shepherd the flock and spread the gospel more effectively.

Working and Education on BV Library

Sammy has been moving around helping to resolve the network connection of the library, fixing errors, and educating its use to instructors and students. This month, he visited Koforidua and Accra East to help fix connection challenges. There was a peculiar error i.e. javascript error after connecting the laptop or phone. He is searching for how to resolve this to keep other students in touch and enjoy its use.

There were common questions students normally asked, “Can it be accessed everywhere I go,” and he answered, “It is a local area network.” Only when you are within the radius of the Wi-Fi yet, the school is working on upgrading it to be used worldwide.

Instructors and students love using it because it contains many books you can access.

Graduation and Matriculation Ceremonies

April 20th, 2024, was a historic day for our institution as we celebrated the 6th Graduation and 7th Matriculation ceremony for our Diploma class, alongside the 1st Graduation ceremony for our Degree class, which saw 12 students proudly receiving their degrees. The 2nd Matriculation ceremony was also held on this day. The events were not only successful but also memorable, marked by joyous celebrations and a spirit of camaraderie. As is our tradition, the ceremonies included a fundraising event, which received generous support from the churches. The funds raised will be instrumental in furthering our mission and supporting our students.

We are immensely grateful for the unwavering support of our partners, alumni, and friends of the college. Your prayers and contributions have been the cornerstone of our success. May the Lord continue to bless you abundantly.

Radio Programme

A new contract has been signed with Top Radio (TOP MEDIA GROUP). We still appeal to you to help by paying the full contract price for us to enable us to reach as many listeners as possible. We were able to reach as many as about Fifteen (15) to Twenty (twenty) people a week. We visited two homes a week to teach and instruct.

We thank our Lord God for these activities. We pray that He gives us strength all the time to work more.

Report by E.O. Larbi, Director

Tanzanian directors visit the United States

Grace and Peace to you friends. 

Recently, Charles Mwanga and Ahimidiwe Kimaro, the local directors of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching (BVBII-Arusha), had the chance to visit America.  Below are Ahimidiwe’s reflections on the trip:

ACSOP Directors trip to US.

“I thank God for been with us in all the time that we had in America and taking us back home safe. Also I will not forget brothers who have been a big help for us and took us where we were supposed to be.

Our intention in traveling to the US was to give thanks to the churches, brothers and sister, for the fact that they have been supporting ACSOP and evangelism efforts without even knowing any local people. This is an encouragement for me when you are trusted that much. I know there some we could not reach due to the time limit but perhaps God will provide another time one day and bring our gratitude to you. Philippians 1:3–8 (NKJV): “3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”

We were able to reach many churches, schools and many leaders of the church. in different states. For instance, Mission Group at Freed-Hardeman University, Huntingdon church, leaders at Shady Grove church in Missouri, South Green St. church Kentucky, Hoover Church, Maysville church, elders and other leaders of Union Grove at Cleveland, Tn, West Side church in  Salem,  Virginia, Burn Flat church, 2nd and Adams church in Oklahoma, College Station elders and deacons in Texas, Keller TX, Tyler TX, Henderson TX, Longview, TX Faulkner University and many other brothers and sisters around places we visited.

Its hard to me to believe how these brothers were happy and appreciative to see us in their congregation. The positive minds and true love motivated these brothers and churches to show hospitality to us all. Some have used their extra time to make sure we are comfortable there. I have learned many things on this trip, one of it is try to your level best to trust others even if out of their sight. Some of these brothers have a great faith on us and the ACSOP although they have never been there or see any local people by sending money over. That is a great faith.

Special thanks to some of our brothers who made this possible, Sidney Aultman and His family, (Hoover church elders) Daniel Gaines and his family, John Hall and his family, Michael Pruett from Huntngdon church, Brad Whinery and his wife. May God bless you for your extra time to Lord’s work in Tanzania.

In His Work.

Ahimidiwe Kimaro

Evangelism work in Guinea

Our fraternal greetings to Bear Valley International and to all our donors who financially and materially support God's work in Guinea.

Please receive our report of activity for the month of March 2024

Introduction. 

This report is a summary of all the activities, events, and highlights of the 31 days of March 2024.

I-Teaching in class room 

During the month of March, we had a 2 week break. We resumed class on March 25, 2024. During the rest of the days of the month, Fara François Tenguiano taught local church development for over 35 hours. The teaching results are satisfactory.

II- Rapid training

A fast-track training session for congregation leaders was organized from 15 to 25 March 2024. A total of 10 people received basic doctrinal and leadership training to lead the local congregations. Among them were 4 people from denominations, but after two days of teaching the 5 elements of true worship that God accepts. Three of them obeyed the Gospel of salvation and were immediately baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

On the last day of training, the remaining person decided to follow Jesus in his church, and was also baptized to become simply a Christian.

III-Evangelism 

In this section we talk about the results of all the activities directly linked to the conversion of lost souls as follows:

1-Evangelism campaign

The first week of the month devoted to the evangelism campaign with the aim of saving lost souls edified brothers and sisters of the congregations concerned.

The villages of Gbolonin, N'Diafassou, and Yende Bawa were visited by evangelism teams. The results of the campaign is 3 baptism.

2-Work of evangelism teams.

We report on the evangelistic efforts of the teams during the 31 days of March. Under the coordination of Brother Francis Musa, teams from Conakry and Gueckedou made a missionary journey along the Dabola, Banko, and Kissidougou route. For a eleven days starting on March 06, 2024, they evangelized, exhorted, publicly and personally the communities they passed through. They edified and encouraged the brothers and sisters in Christ of the congregations in the towns they visited.

They did not record any baptisms, but they sowed the good seed in the hope that God, through His Spirit, would cause the truth to germinate, leading to conversions later on.

Then, the Yaradou Kongonani and Tekoulo evangelism teams, led respectively by Eloi Tolno and Malaya Simbiano, have succeeded in planting two new local congregations in different area: in the village of Yombou, with 5 converts, and in the village of Bandikoulo, with 9 people baptized.

IV-Black page

It is with bitter hearts that we inform you of the untimely death of our brother in Christ Justin Malaya Simbiano on March 05, 2024

Biography: Justin Malaya Simbiano was born in 1986 in Ledoumboulo, father of 5 children, including 2 daughters. He was one of the first graduates of the Bear Valley Institute in Gueckedou on 14/3/2020. He became an evangelist preacher for the Ledoumboulo congregation. 

With his courage and commitment to God's work, he was chosen as evangelism team leader for the Tekoulo zone. He led the planting activities of the Bandikoulo congregation on 20 to 23 March 2024

He also participated in the closing of the rapid training on March 25, 2024, lovingly exhorting and encouraging new evangelists to embrace the Lord's work. That same day he was honored to officiate the baptism of one of the students who had not yet been baptized into the Church of Christ. See photo.

Our brother Malaya Simbiano died after a short illness with tears in his eyes for God's work and for his family responsibility.

Conclusion 

With regard to the above-mentioned evangelism results of 17 people baptized and two new local congregations established.

We thank God for his spiritual guidance.

We also thank our coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his financial, material and managerial support in the progress of the church in Guinea.

We also thank the coordinator of the evangelism teams, Brother Francis Musa and these different teams for their commitment night and day at every season favorable or not in evangelism and the planting of local congregations.

We would also like to thank Bear Valley International, through whom all this has seen the light of day in Guinea.

We thank the brothers and sisters who contribute to the flourishing of church of Christ in Guinea.

We end this report with this passage from the Bible which says << For God is not unjust, to forget your work and the love you have shown for his name, having rendered and still rendering service to the saints. We desire that each of you will show the same zeal to keep full hope to the end, so that you don`t grow slack, but imitate those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.>> Hebrews 6:10-12

Niouma 2 Kamano

Administrative Assistant 

Two Conversions in Ukraine

I want to share with you the latest news from Ukraine and the Ukrainian churches of Christ. Fierce fighting in Ukraine still continues. The Russian military still continues to push forward along the front lines. Every day they push back Ukrainians 200-500 meters. The Russians are using air bombs and unfortunately Ukrainians have no effective anti-aircraft defense guns. Also, the Russians are destroying critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine. During the last month the Russians have destroyed thermal power plants, railroad stations and electricity grids. Russia has scaled up its relentless aggression against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in recent days.

The damage to civilian infrastructure has led to a fight for survival for Ukrainians who have been learning to live in perpetual mortal danger and – quite literally – growing darkness. The Russian missiles are not accurate and therefore many civilians are dying every day. The Ukrainian authorities have been forced to introduce planned power outages to prevent Ukraine’s remaining energy infrastructure from being overloaded, causing disruption to civilian life. 

It is a disaster for our country because the next winter is round the corner and it will be a huge challenge for our government and for our people. The electricians will try to repair the damages but as of now more than 50% of Ukraine’s power infrastructure has been destroyed. Unfortunately, the world is tired of the war in Ukraine and the funds that are being allocated to aid Ukraine are far from enough. Therefore, we are preparing for the worst. We still are trusting the Lord and pray that He would protect Ukraine. It is time for the churches of Christ to sow the seeds of the Word of God. To our great joy, we have good results: one of our graduates Oleg Fofanov is conducting great work in the vineyard of the Lord.

Last week, thanks to Oleg’s efforts and God’s grace, two ladies have been added to the body of Christ. Also, in the cities of Bila Tserkva, Chernivtsi, Kramatorsk and other locations, our brethren are distributing humanitarian aid  packages. While they give out humanitarian aid packages they preach the gospel to the refugees. In our Bible Institute we continue to teach Bible classes. Last month the Book of Daniel (the teacher was Vladimir Paziy) and the Gospel of Luke (the teacher was Dmitry Galyuk) were taught. Also, we conducted a magistrate education course (the teacher was Jerry Bates); the course was on planning and development of the church. This is a great opportunity for our graduates to receive new knowledge and become part of our staff. I am grateful for your prayers and the help that you give to Ukraine every day. This is a very heavy psychological burden for everyone who is inside the country. Every family, every child needs a prayer and support. May the Lord be with you and keep you, 

Your brother Dennis Sopelnik