The harvest is plentiful in Zambia

INTRODUCTION

We send to you warm greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We also take this opportunity to give honor and glory to God our heavenly Father who through His grace and the love fully shown in Christ has granted us the rare opportunity to work in His Kingdom!

Once again this report has been written in an effort to provide some insight into the work that BVBI-Zambia has continued to experience.  It is always uplifting to write and reflect on the happenings here at BVBI-Zambia during the month of May, 2024.

New congregations

We have continued to do evangelism with our Alumni and many times working with our current student body which saw a new congregation becoming to reality in Choma. At least six new members with nine already members of the Church met for the first time at a primary school to begin a congregation. We continue to work and pray that Aclay Kabaya one of our former students will continue like Timothy to see the growth of this congregation. Efforts were made through one-on-one preaching as seen in the pictures attached and baptisms were witnessed.

Gershom Chansa has continued to do great work. He was given opportunity to present the gospel to expecting mothers at hospital and his work was marvelous. This was a place where those mothers expecting to give birth wait. In attendance during his preaching they were one hundred and sixteen (116) and out of this sixty six (66) stood up to be prayed for and four (4) stood up for baptism. 

Boyd kalaba now preaching in Kitwe in Kanfisa constituency he is the one in charge of the newly established congregation there. Kanfinsa is a big constituency with a population of thirty-seven thousand (37,000) we target the growth of the congregation to be great. Five (5) souls have been added to the church for the month of May.

In Baluba of Luanshya district, Baluba is 22kilimeters West of Luanshya, there we have Austin and Joseph Musonda (our former students) working together to have the spiritual growth of that congregation. We witnessed the addition to the Lord’s church of three (3) souls and the restoration of fourteen Souls. Our current students have a schedule of visiting this congregation every Sunday and the work is going on well. Five souls were restored during the preaching in this area by Levy Silungwe one of the current students.

Promoting survival skills 

We are currently involved in growing vegetables and soybeans, as our strategic long plan in training quality preachers who may be able to survive in any situation of life, as Paul said in Acts 20:34 “yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.”

We have harvested soybeans and part of it will be used for producing feed for chicken. We had raised thirty of the layers and students have benefited a lot by eating the eggs, and above all most of the community are already benefiting from our vegetable production. All our students have learned on land preparations and vegetable production.

Total Baptisms recorded

We have a total number of eighteen (18) baptisms were recorded in southern and copper belt provinces respectively.

Total Restorations!

We had recorded a total number of ninety one (91) restorations during the month of May. We keep looking forward to a more glorious month of June in our work for the Lord   

Short course

We received brother Kennedy Mukuka from Lusaka province who taught the Book of Romans in our second quarter, once again the Bible knowledge is expanded to our students for this was another great experience for our students. During his stay we discussed more on recruitment which is going on. We also planned the trip to D.R.Congo for recruitment and to visit brothers there who we are working with. We are praying that our plans will come to pass.

Conclusion

May our God the creator of heaven and earth keep all of you safe and sound, indeed in our oneness we can make life meaningful to the last day here on earth. We continue to glorify God for Bear Valley Bible Institute International and to our supportive family at Woodland Oarks Church of Christ, may God richly bless you all. 

In His service,

Cephas and Fred

Successful campaigns in Uganda

Brethren,  Greetings in the mighty name of our dear Lord Jesus christ. Peace, grace and mercy from our Lord be with you.

I am so much grateful for the favor God has given us to still be alive to-date.  I can't wait to share with you the beautiful things the Lord has done for us through our time in the holidays and to this present day.

To begin  with, we broke off mid April having arranged the evangelism sessions for the students.  We were able to have  six evangelism grounds in many different parts of the country.  Teachers working hand in hand with students by knocking  doors in the morning and during evening hours, we would go on open air campaigns.  Men of God labored and God being behind us, ten souls were added to the church through this struggle.  Students showed the heart of commitment because it would have been their time of resting at home but we chose to do this for the betterment of the Lord’s church here in Uganda. 

Through these campaigns,  we were joined by some of our old students who gave much encouragement to these outgoing students.  The school is truly making a difference.  In all the places we have been at, they were blessing the school and asking that we keep on doing this to grow the kingdom of God. 

On the other hand, the school has reported back for the final semester. Students started reporting as early as 1st of June  and classes started on Monday which was 3rd of June. Only one student who had some inconveniences at home reported late on 3rd. We thank God they have all come back in good health and we look forward to pushing on until the last day and then graduation comes. We are blessed this time that we have our brother Jerry who is taking the students through a short course dealing with the book of Roman's.

On  behalf of bear valley Uganda,  I take this opportunity to thank brother Jerry  for his tireless efforts and the love he has for the Lord’s work. We have been blessed by his coming to us. God rewards. We have nothing we can give in exchange to his service he is rendering. 

Concerning  the next intake, I have been able to move around the country  and we have so far received 15 applications and we hope for more. We continue asking for your support both physical and spiritual. 

May the almighty God bless and protect you 

Be blessed in the lord. 

Until all have heard 

Raymond 

Beautiful fellowship in Cambodia

Dear Brethren in Jesus Christ,

I am very grateful to bring warm greetings and updates on the Preachers Training School work in Siem Reap Cambodia. It is always wonderful to hear that you and your family are doing well by the grace of God.

We give honor and glory to God who has given us this rare opportunity to work in His Kingdom. We want to thank you for taking the time to read this report and look at these recent photos.

IBISR’s Academy:

Nowadays we continue to train our students in the subjects of (preachers and their work) as well (family and marriage).  Darat Run and I (Piseth Rin) are the teachers of those classes. Our students were very happy and satisfied with their studies in those subjects.

 Application week:

Since our students have finished some courses related to spreading the gospel to the world, every week, Darat and I lead the students in sharing the words of God in the new town named RunTahek. Every Sunday, about 25 to 30 people come to study God’s word with us. We are so proud of what our students have learned from direct evangelism.

Some of our students also go out preaching every Saturday and Sunday. They went down to the three villages such as Ta Kamm, Sam Buor,  and Kouk Khnang villages.

 Bible Chapel class on Zoom:

We are so grateful to our coordinator name Wes Autrey and his wife Teri Autrey for sharing valuable God’s words in both female and male classes through virtual meetings every Friday.

Monthly fellowship meal:

Making this special fellowship meal happens because we want to show our relationship as lovers of God to one another. This shows us how our church has been growing, and our current Christian members can observe how the life of Jesus's followers love sharing. We always do this meeting once a month. This encourages us to enjoy fellowship with each other and the world can see how Christians spend time with one another.

A weekly Lady Class:

Since the ladies have a rotated turn in directing the children every Sunday morning, the ladies prefer to devote more time to practicing and training on how to instruct the youngsters and the other ladies as well as give all the ladies to take turns to lecture in the lady group. They mostly have this guidance every Sunday evening at Hannah’s Home Children’s Home. This activity has benefited them a lot in establishing their fearless and gaining from each other ladies on how to instruct the youngsters and the female group.

Prayer:

Without your prayers and care, we can’t do these things. We ask you to pray for many lost souls who need the gospel. And remember our students who went down to preach the gospel to the villages as well.  

Servants of Christ.

Piseth Rin and Darat Run.

Co-Directors IBISR.

Baptisms in India

Date 06/06/2024

BVBI-Tirupati-India -Reporting Letter for the month of May-2024

Respected beloved brother Keith Kasarjian our director, our coordinator Mark Reynolds and all the prayer partners greetings to you in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that this reporting letter finds you all well physically as well as spiritually. We would like to share report for the month of May-2024.

BVBI-students practical training:  In the month of May we have gave a break for the students, The month of May was  summer season  in India and all the students participated in the practical work at different local churches.

BVBI-students Students campaigning to conduct V.B.S : We conducted a two day VBS children classes at Vidyangar on May 24th & 25th. We collected about 100 children from different villages and gathered them at the Vidyanagar church of Christ meeting place. We trained 10 teachers and gave each teacher 10 children for the group bible study. We appointed 10 volunteers to help the program. The theme for 2024 was God’s Love. The local church and other individual members donated money for food, snacks, drinks and gifts . God has blessed our two day campaign .

BVBI-students Students campaigning to distribute New testaments: We conducted a student campaign on May 29th at Ambedkar colony. We distributed New testaments. There were more than 50 people who were able to attend for the campaign .

Baptisms in the  month of May : In the month of May 3 souls were baptized and added to the body of Christ. We request you to pray for the newly baptized souls so that they may grow in the image of His son Jesus Christ.

Preachers meeting: We attended a preachers meeting which was held in the city of Nellore, Andhra Padesh-India on May 30th.

BVBI-students -3 days workshop on Fruit tree Garden Plantation :  In the third week of May we planted a fruit tree garden by the partnership of Healing Hands International.

Based on the poverty situation of the poor people in this location , we established  one  agri based fruit plantation garden . in this garden we  grow mango trees, jack fruit trees, guava, orange, pomegranate , lemon, papaya, banana, coconut, citrus plants.  We selected land with all infrastructure facilities like agro based inputs , fencing , equipments material and grown the above said fruit plants with provision of organic manure, drip irrigation system etc..with the help of Healing Hands International .

Brothers, we thank you for creating this wonderful platform of BVBI at our city.  We express our gratitude and thanks to our director Keith Kasarjian and our coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds for their restless efforts for the smooth function of BVBI extension centre in Tirupati-India. They are always available for any suggestions and guidance .  Even in midnight  we call them they could able to respond with kindness and love. We appreciate their service . We treat your assistance as a blessing of God to train young people in India. We need your continual prayers for our extension centre.

Thanking you.

Yours brother in Christ.

B.Vijaya Kumar – BVBI-Tirupati-India-

New congregation planted in Kenya

Dear brethren,

  We have today, on May 31, 2024, taken a break till we resume classes from July 1st - August 23rd of 2024. Courses that remain are for the last quarter after which, graduation of the sixth class. The 19 students in this class have really persevered till now  and it is our prayer, that by our God's mercy, they will make it to the graduation day of August 24th,  2024. 

 We have had four African instructors this time and no American. We are thankful for the service they tirelessly rendered to these serious Bible students. May the Lord reward them accordingly as He sees fit, that is to Charles, David and Phabian.

The students have been a very big help to the churches around. Each quarter they cannot miss invitations to attend gospel meetings in order to help with evangelism. This time they had the opportunity to serve local congregations at Rangengni, Obera, Wang' Arot, Tiengre and Kapsimotwet. While  at Kapsimotwet, six students from Rift Valley managed to plant one new congregation of 9 members _ called Kipkoriyan church of Christ. Now that they are back home, we pray that they will help wherever possible with initial development of that newly established congregation.

Much thanks to all of you who endeavor to support, both in prayers and finances this great work at KSOP.

May the Lord of all mercies bless you richly to the end as we look forward to seeing you on the graduation day of August 24th, 2024.

In his service, Elias Omollo

Putting their education into action in Arusha, Tanzania

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim.3:14,16). The Apostle Paul is writing to the young man Timothy, to assure him of the great work that God has started in him. Timothy has to been imparted with the knowledge that he learned from those who are faithful to the Lord in his life. This is the same thing we do here at Andrew Connally School of Preaching. Imparting life who will go out full of zeal and will for the sake of the Kingdom.

The school started on the second week of February having 22 students, and has been closed for break this past Friday,

We were able to do the following things through God’s help.

 1.     The total number of 28 courses (14 in English and 14 in Swahili) were taught.

2.     Two campaigns were conducted.

3.     Seventy-five Bible class were taught

4.     Two courses of the Cy Stafford School of Leadership went on these past two weeks.

These and many other good things are continuing in the Kingdom, just because you chose to support and pray for this good work. Thank you so much.

Please continue to pray for our students as they have returned to their homes and work with their local congregations. We are expecting them to bring changes and help their home congregations at this time. We are excited to start visiting them at their homes starting next month, to see how they are helping the church through what they have received.

Thank you so much for all that you mean and do in His Kingdom.

Your servant in His Kingdom

Till all have heard

Charles Mwanga

Director

School Updates and Evangelistic Outreach in Liberia

Operation Report April 2024 — Sanniquillie City, Nimba County

Our Sincere Greetings!

We are very thankful to the Almighty God for guiding and protecting us through our first Academic Year. We also extend thanks and appreciation to the Bear Valley Family for their tireless support since we started this academic year (2024 – 2025). Moreover, we are asking for your constant prayers for strength and wisdom to successfully go through this academic year.

Relocating The School to Sanniquillie

We started and ended the first quarter of this academic year (2024 –2025) in Ganta successfully. From January 22, to April 19, 2024 we conducted classes successfully. From April 22, to April 28, 2024 has been used for Campaign, and from April 28, to May 10, 2024 was for the break, but because time was against us to move to Sanniquillie, and we wanted to be on time with the Curriculum, we used both the Campaign and the break times to speedily move to Sanniquillie. We thank God and appreciate Bear Valley so greatly for the support that enabled the School to finally move in Sanniquillie.

School in Session, Classes Continue

Upon the completion of transporting the materials and setting up the Campus, we immediately On May 13, 2024 as the Commencement of the second Quarter which is presently ongoing.

House to House Evangelism

During the following two weekends, after the commencement of classes, a strong Students House to House Evangelism Campaign was conducted resulting in three Baptisms. We pray that more souls will be won through the same method (Student’s House to house Evangelism).

Updates from Tamale, Ghana

BEAR VALLEY INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES — TAMALE, GHANA

APRIL 2024 OPERATING REPORT

It is a great blessing to be given the privilege to give account or report on events or activities that one has taken which concerns others. We are grateful once again to briefly report on the things that happened in Bear Valley Tamale in the month of April, 2024. April has been a good month just like all the past months, though students were on break.

PAINTING AND WRITING ON THE FRONT OF THE FENCE WALL

Painting work and writing the school name on the front view of the gate was successfully completed. Funds were released in the month of March; work started, and got completed in the month of April. Some two trips of gravel were also purchased to fill some portion of the front to make it level. More filling work needs to be done to add some bit of beauty to the entrance of the school. We need to consider as and when we are able, a continued painting of the eternal part of the fence wall. We will also need to do a lot of filling work, both outside and inside to put our compound and environment in a more presentable way.

As the rains have started, we intend to purchase good flowers to beautify and demarcate the school garden from the compound. It is our desire to do our best to make the environment of the school attractive and of a certain good standard. We wish to thank our Coordinators, Kojo and Steven and Mama Karen as well for encouraging and inspiring us to raise the standard of our environment. God bless you.

Brother Kojo in particular was in Tamale in the month of April purposely to address the issue of our environment and the need for us to keep it clean and healthy.

ANIMALS RAISED BY SOME STAFF

1 Timothy “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” To fulfill this command, hard work and wise investment and good decision making is necessary. Some of the resident staff are raising pigs and fowls by the fence wall, distance from the school compound to support the upkeep of our families and our Christian responsibilities. It is a great blessing serving the Lord through Bear Valley. Brother Kojo supported some of us with a very good brahma breed of fowls, which will help better our lives. We thank the Lord for his life.

PURCHASE

We purchased a new battery, a diesel pump router, and a starter for the school bus in the month of April. It was very important to replace them because we were to embark on a journey to Ivory Coast for an evangelistic campaign with the bus.

For the same reason and other evangelistic activities that were ongoing, we had to also purchase a new amplifier for smooth evangelistic work. Our amplifier got spoiled, we got it fixed, and it broke down again and we were advised by the repairer to get a bit higher one. He said, our speakers were stronger than the amplifier. We were in an evangelistic campaign in Tamale town, this called for the need for us to quickly arrange for a new amplifier to help the situation. Since the purchase of the new amplifier, our sound system performs much better than before.  

KPALSI SOUTH CONGREGATION

Evangelism: The Kpalsi South congregation together with the Tamale evangelistic team jointly embarked on an evangelistic campaign in the Kpalsi community in an effort to reach out to our neighborhood. Both public preaching and door to door studies were done, and it was very promising. The public preaching was done right in front of the church auditorium. Two souls were added to the Church at the end of the program.

Benevolence: As part of the church’s activities and duty, and as a strategy in preaching Christ to the lost, the church embarked on a benevolent journey to a needy organization. We visited social welfare, to support some disabled babies. We also identified a blind man who had learned a trade but needed some little capital to start, and supported him. We are following up on him with the hope of converting him. It is our hope that all the activities we are engaging in will aid us to preach Christ to the lost.

Brother Jacob and his wife visit: Brother Jacob Yeboah and his newly weeded wife visited the Kpalsi South congregation in the month of April to show appreciation to the church for our participation in their wedding ceremony. His wife and he were so happy to be with us.

SCHOOL GARDEN

We harvested a great deal of onions from our school garden. The onions cultivated in the dry season didn’t disappoint us at all. We bless God for blessing our work. We wish to use some to complement the feeding, while some will be sold to offload part of the bills of the irrigating materials. Onions have no price this year, it is our hope all these efforts would be profitable for the school in the very near future.

 Praise the Lord.

Thank you,

Bear Valley Tamale

Great success in Kpalime

May God's peace and mercy be with us all, and let us give glory to God for his blessings during this period ending in April. Everyone is doing well. The only exception was student Ezéchiel, who spent three days in the hospital in March with a stomachache.

Many activities have been carried out, especially evangelism, which is a primordial activity in the evangelist's work.

Classes

Classes proceed as usual with research that teachers now give students to do without difficulty utilizing the Bear Valley Digital Library. 

During this period, the following classes were taught at the school:

 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

After a two-week break, classes resumed on May 06, 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 — ESPERANCE

7. Church history — BEDJELSI Fidèle

Guest Teacher

During this term, Evangelist Fidèle Bedjelsi in Kara will come to teach the course Church History to the students.

Training for teachers and students

SENGHOR Avougna, a teacher at the Lycée, was asked to help with training on how to use the research programs he teaches in schools. This was done via WhatsApp video. 

Evangelism

First, as is their custom, the students go to the ZOMAYI district every Friday in February from 8:00 to 15:00 to do door-to-door evangelism for a new assembly that has just been planted. With no one evangelist to lead it, the students and evangelists work to help the assembly grow and edify.

A three-day evangelization took place in the Tsévié area in March (DALAVE's village) and in some other areas where seminars and general worship were held.

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

In the work plan for southern Togo, two new assemblies will 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 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, so we must prepare the ground several weeks before the evangelistic campaign.

The results of the South Togo evangelism teams

Each evangelistic team in southern Togo had several baptisms during the period. Over sixty souls were baptized into Christ by the evangelistic teams shown below:

1. Kpalime: 10

2. Kpele: 9

3. Agou : 6

4. Fiokpo: 1

5. Lome: 12

6. Tsevie and Dalavé: 5

7. Atakpame: 3

8. Temedja: 7

9. Blita: 8

10. Notse: 4 

In the north, evangelistic teams were formed in Kuka and Dapaong. In Dapaong, team training for good cooperation did not take place due to the unavailability of evangelists on that day. Another opportunity for this training is planned for a later date.

Seminar

Focusing on training women who lead children in local assemblies, sister Karen Ashcraft came with educational material that the women benefited from free of charge.

After three consecutive days of hard work by our Karen in Kpalime at the end of February, the women from twenty-eight congregations completed their training with great joy. They are now ready to take charge of the children in our different congregations and train other women to continue the mission in Togo. Karen then went north to Kara and held her second seminar in Togo with ten additional congregations.

Saturday courses for denominational leaders

It's a challenge for the Church of Christ to reach more people in the denominations with the Gospel. Separate from the Bear Valley school, we continue to hold Saturday evangelistic classes for denominational leaders. We presently have programs in fifteen locations with around 200 students. A seminar was held in Kpalime for students of the denominational program for two days in March.

Having fully understood the Gospel of Christ and his Church, some of the students began by giving their names for further training at the Institute Biblique Bear Togo.

Updates from Ukraine

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to share some significant events from this past month that, in my opinion, will shape Ukraine's future and impact the church in our country.

Unfortunately, the war has been ongoing for two and a half years now, and the situation is only deteriorating. We are losing some of our best men daily, who could have been great fathers and grandfathers. The gene pool of our country is rapidly diminishing. This is also reflected in the church; if you look at congregations in different cities, you will mostly see pensioners who constantly need food packages and assistance.

Sadly, a new mobilization law came into effect on May 18th. In short, all men aged 25 to 60 will be required to serve and fight, with almost no exceptions. Therefore, the situation is becoming more difficult every day. There is hardly anyone left to work in factories and fields. Men have divided into two categories: those who are ready to serve and those who are hiding from military recruiters. This harsh reality has affected every family in Ukraine and will only worsen if the war continues.

Now, about the work of the institute. This year, we have three students graduating: Vyacheslav, Victoria, and Alexander. They are all remarkable individuals who want to serve the Lord and support the work of the church. However, the question arises, will they have the opportunity to do so? Each of them will turn 25 in a couple of years and will be called to the front.

Let me share another story. We have a potential student who wants to enroll. He will turn 25 this summer; he has one child and a wife who is pregnant with their second child. Unfortunately, his plans may be disrupted as he has already received a summons and has been asked to report with his belongings.

I ask you to continue praying for the war to end soon, not for the sake of victory or defeat, but for the preservation of our people as a nation.

Last month, I taught two courses: Prophet Jeremiah and Ezekiel, using excellent material by Denny Petrillo. Dmitry Galyuk also taught the Gospel of Luke. I want to highlight the very active work of the churches in Ukraine. Many preachers can be called to the military at any moment, yet they still help people in need. Recently, there were baptisms in Poltava and Pokrovsk, demonstrating the continuous work of our brothers. I am grateful to God for knowing them personally and for the opportunity to pray for them.

I also ask for prayers for those Christians who are already serving. Many of them are struggling, especially mentally, but there is no alternative. Our legislation does not provide for alternative service for Christians.

May God keep you, and thank you for your constant support.

Sincerely, Denys Sopelnyk

Souls Converted by Students and Staff in Sierra Leone

INTRODUCTION

We have come again with exciting news regarding the spread of the Gospel and the training of men to spread the Gospel more! We are appreciative to God to have come your way again with our April 2024 report, our committed readers, partners, and supporters. We know that the successes that we are recording here all come from the prayers and the financial support you are giving us and we do not take that for granted. Our team here (the staff, students, graduates and evangelistic teams) are also not relenting in pursuing the cause of Christ. That is why in April 2024, our students excelled in their academics, evangelistic campaigns and lectureships were conducted, fifty four (54) souls were converted, and our Agricultural farm yielded some good fruits.

THE STUDENTS CONTINUED WITH THEIR ACADEMICS

Our students (full time and part time) continued their classes and were very committed to their studies. Our full-time students progressed to their second quarter of their first year while our part-time students continued with their fourth quarter, which is anticipated to end by May. Apart from academics, you have always been informed from our reports (and for those who have visited us from firsthand knowledge) that our students are always going on the evangelistic field to demonstrate practically the skills they are learning in the classroom. To this cause, they have truly been committed and we truly covet your prayers for them.  

THE SCHOOL CONDUCTED AN EVANGELISM CAMPAIGN AND CONVERTED 31 SOULS

Truly, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are very few! This is very true with the situation of the Churches of Christ in Sierra Leone. Souls are thirsty to hear the word, but there are not many committed brethren. So when you find few that truly love the Lord, they need to be prayed for and encouraged. By March of 2023, we sent you a report that we conducted an evangelistic campaign at Segbwema with six souls converted which led to the establishment of a local congregation. And you were also informed that we were going to nurture that congregation through our External Mission Program. You were given the description of the typical setting of Segbwema, how it is dominated by Muslims (though few denominations are there) but that there were many prospects there. Based on how we have been engaging this community with the Gospel since last year, we decided to launch a Gospel campaign there. Before the campaign, something interesting happened. We found a denomination, bearing the name “Church of Christ” but practicing error (instruments, tithe and everything that is erroneous) and started studying with her members. By December of 2023, many of her members were converted (though we did not report this, but our coordinator, Steve Ashcraft knows about it and he and brother Francis Musa, a long time Sierra Leonean Missionary to Guinea, even gave us some good guidance. Brother Mike Udam and his wife, upon their visit in December last year, were also taken to these new Christians for exhortation and encouragement). Therefore we brought those who accepted the truth together with our previous members and they made up a congregation. We have been going to build this congregation up consistently. In fact, one of our last year graduates, Epaphras A. Missailie has been assigned to this congregation as her preacher. Not only Missailie, but the school is involved with the congregation because many are people who are just coming from error, therefore they need a more mature and sound teacher to uphold them with the doctrine of Christ.  So it was an attempt to strengthen this congregation that we took a campaign there from April 10 to 15. During this time, evangelism was done vigorously and as the result, thirty one (31) souls were converted. This congregation, with the addition of the 31 brethren, has a big challenge of a place of worship. And as you will be praying for them, please remember to include that also in your prayers.

EVANGELISTIC SEMINARS AND CONVERSION OF SOULS BY THE EVANGELISTIC TEAMS AND ALUMNI

You are already aware of the active works of the evangelistic teams across the country. So training seminars were held in Freetown, Kenema, Kpayeh, and Kono Most of these programs actually go along with evangelism and not just sitting down in a church building to receive lectures. Therefore, as a result of the combined efforts of the teams and alumni, twenty three (23) souls were converted.

FOOD PRODUCTION THROUGH AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM

It was in February this year that we informed you that we received good and educational training from Healing Hands International through Dr. Udofia. We immediately went ahead to apply the skills we learnt and this has yielded us some good benefits. We are even very optimistic that it would help us greatly as we continue to embark on Agriculture as a school in order to augment your cherished finances you send to us to feed our students and staff. In April, we had an encouraging harvest of cucumbers, corn, beans and lettuce. This is truly good as preachers so that we can also be trained on how to find food for our families. We are on the Operation Feed Bear Valley Family, hence we will continue to pursue this cause.

CONCLUSION

As you went through this report, it was evident that the Lord is promoting His work here through the instrumentality of people like you. We are also making our efforts here. Therefore, we continue to be grateful to God and to you. We look forward again to updating you in our May report.

Peter Sahr Makundu

Director, Sierra Leone Bear Valley Bible Institute

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!