God at Work in Garça

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The Hensleys have served the Lord in Brazil, South America since 1996. They have worked with orphanages, started mission points, established churches, and are presently conducting a seminary to train Brazilian pastors.

July 18, 2023

Dear friends and family,

As Barbara and I are traveling here in Brazil the climate is very different. In São Paulo City it is somewhat warm, in Caraguatatuba it is a little bit cooler but comfortable; however, in Garça…woah! — it is very cold! So, we had to find jackets, 2or 3 shirts, and other clothes that helped with the cold, and we are not yet done with our traveling. I was just not ready for this cold weather. We are planning to go to Rio de Janiero where we will present our Seminary. We will encounter a different part of Brazil, so we do not know how the climate will be.

While in Garça we were able to renew some old friendships and acquaintances. Boy how some of them have changed. (ha ha). However, the biggest surprise was when I preached Sunday night. This was the first “almost full” church I have been in since COVID. God is still at work and on His throne. Pastor Surgeno is the Pastor of the Church on the site of the Orphanage where the Alpha and Omega Home was located. Now for another blessing in this meeting: I encountered 7 of the young men who were in our charge while we worked in the Orphanage. Talk about changes! These young men were…beautiful (for lack of a better word)—and I am talking about inside and out. In their midst were some who were married with families, some were professionals, but the most gratifying was that all of them were active in the church, leading the music, playing instruments, and bringing their family to church. These young men all had jobs and were going about the business of raising a family and serving God. Just how AWESOME can things get! These were “our boys” at the orphanage and they still called me “Pa”. You can’t imagine the pleasure that this brought to my heart.

And then I get to preach and I am on a cloud. This was probably one of the most pleasurable messages I have had the pleasure of preaching and one of the pleasures was that my granddaughter Chelsea translated for me. You talk about the Holy Spirit working—what a night. Forget the cold, God is at work!!!

Not all is wonderful—I got the “grippe”. For those of us who don’t live in Brazil, that is a cold. So I got cold medicine and cough syrup, and got back on the road. It is an all-day drive back it Caraguatatuba.

Planning several meetings and another message or two after Garça. I am still on a cloud—between preaching and telling about the Seminary, I feel 48 years old again. God is AWESOME, WONDERFUL, AMAZING; there are just not enough adjectives to describe our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!

Pray for us as we travel, for our health and safety.

In His service,
Aj and Barbara

Chelsea translating for her grandfather AJ

CONTACT INFO

AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Paul’s Church Planting Strategy

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The Tates have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.

July 9, 2023

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

Beloved, as I mentioned in a previous letter, I am currently teaching a Church Planting class to my students. Near the end of the class I asked my students to write a “Church Planting Strategy” in a particular context where they could implement the principles they were learning in the class. For my newsletter this month I want to include one of my students’ Strategy. This is a little longer than I usually put in my newsletter but I truly think you will enjoy it. My student’s name is Paul. He wants to start a church with motorbike taxi riders near his home. His Strategy follows. I have left it completely unedited so it is very “unpolished” and you may have to read some things twice to understand what he is saying. Remember, English is not Paul’s mother tongue. I pray you are edified.

By Paul Mwilu

Introduction

For one and a half years since 2022, I have been having this unending desire to reach out to the motor riders in my village market, Mbuani, Kola Location, Machakos County, Kenya. I have been having jitters, wondering how to go about it; what will I say to them? How will I assemble them? What will I do?… The questions have been endless, with no tangible answer, but the baseline has been that I just have to do it, anyhow. But deep down I knew that I have to have some solid theological base, and actually I had no idea that I was to Join Moffat Bible College. Now that by the grace of God I am in this college, and going through the Bible on a personal level beyond the lectures, and being led by the Holy Spirit, I believe God is readying me for that desire I believe He put in me. And what more! My Lecturer Mr. Tate has indeed equipped me with real great knowledge in the subject of Church Planting. Now my spiritual ammo is loaded in this field, and as my Field Marshall, Mwalimu Roger is giving the order, and the Captain of the LORD’S Hosts, Christ, is empowering me; I shoot!

Why Motor Bike Riders.

“Through God’s grace we have the Word and the Holy Spirit. What more could we want? Our only viable option is to be confident and courageous in spreading His Kingdom through the birth of new churches. Tomorrow is ours because we are His. Let’s begin the journey now.” (Brock, pg. 25). In my village, we have more than thirty young men who ride motorbikes for a living. Not more than 1% of them attend a church, or are born again. Hence I see a great and vital need to sow into them the Word of God. I ask the Holy Spirit to prepare me for this work, as the field belongs to Christ. I then will need to also prepare my soil, the Riders, as to receive the Word of God well. A village that has so many youths without God is more endangered than the Dodo itself, leave alone extinction. Most of these youths only see motorbike riding as the only available form of employment, and more so they admire the debauchery that goes along with it. If such trends are not tamed early, our society as a whole will soon fall, devoid of God. After establishing this church, I will have put a mechanism, together with the new members, so that they can reproduce the same in the nearby markets.

Where Are they to be Reached.

Back in my village, the notion of every Christian and non-Christians alike, including the pastors, generationally believe that a church is a building where “worshippers” go, mostly on Sundays to worship God. With this kind of an ideology, it therefore is not easy to convince folks to start a church under a motorbike shade, contributed by a campaigning local Member of County Assembly. The villagers will hush in small crowds, heaving up their shoulders like in an Afrosinema shoot (clarification from Roger – Kenyan movies), as the clergy too, cross their chests in a bid to ward off the “evil spirit” in me. Probably the question that will be in most heads is: “What became of William’s son? So he went to a Bible School to bring these weird churches here?” But amidst such a situation, I will forge ahead and incept the new church against the traditional backdrop. Actually, under this shade where the riders wait for potential customers, shielding them from the elements, is where I plan to first meet with them. I will first go and see them informally, and chat with them, then ask them how they feel if that following Sunday, or any other day of their choice, we could meet for a short prayer and Bible study. Once we agree on the time and date, I will encourage them to pass the word to their colleagues, so we may achieve a quorum of at least 20 people. Their ages range between 17 to 40 years.

How to Reach, Start and Sustain a Bible Study / Church with Them.

Now, with my initial reconnaissance done satisfactorily, I will go back to my closet and pray for success on the stage. I will review my strategies and commit them to God’s purposeful Word. I will refer(and note so) to Brock’s Good News for You, the Bible study guide, so as to give me an easy and in depth study. In it I will be able to systematically cover the 7 steps, as Brock recommends it for an individual, Counselor guided or even group use. This study is derived from John’s Gospel, hence I will need the Bible or a New Testament. On the material day, I will be brief in my introduction, as most of the riders get calls of duty. I will share to them why it is important to have a Bible study, to get to know more about God, and the purpose he has for us. I will get views from them on how they wish we conduct our meetings, especially the venue. I will suggest to them if we can also meet in one of the eateries, back rooms, and probably have tea at the end, to cover the venue expenses, or even meet in an open undeveloped plot owned by my family. The plan is to meet somewhere neutral and accessible to all and spacious. Concentrating on the organism(members), not the organization (like where to meet) will be my major emphasis. Most do know how to read and write, and as earlier advised, they will have notes and pens. A clear strategy will enable me and my members to stay focused on the right topics, at the right time. As Brock notes in page 96, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” So I will have come up with a normal process in this church planting with my acceptive Riders. These are geared towards establishing a New Testament principled church that is Self-Governing, Self-Supporting, Self-Teaching, Self-Expressing and Self-Propagating. This process aimed at a prolonged exposure to the Word of God, is highlighted below; First for the next seven weeks we will go through the 7 lessons of Brock’s Good News for You, (as earlier stated here, I will use Brock’s material and quote accordingly) and at the end of it, I will be able to invite any member who will be willing to get Christ’s salvation. Once they accept, there will be a class for baptism, so as to prepare them for baptism by water immersion as their outward sign of conversion.

Conclusion

With this summary of my strategy for church planting, powered by the Holy Spirit, I believe we will go far and extend to the nearby markets. The Bible will be the main textbook. Other people like the traders in shops and even bars, will be encouraged to join too. Within a specified time, I will encourage the new converts to take up leadership and even start other Bible Studies, extending to the larger Kenya.

Those are the end of Paul’s words and so I will simply pray: “Lord, bless Paul’s ministry and empower him in the work he wishes to do.”

Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe

CONTACT INFO

Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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News & Reports – July 2023

The Online Edition of the July 2023 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/letter on our website.


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Training Pastors & Leaders, New Church Planted, Evangelistic Cookouts, Couples Gathering, Update on Needs

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Jud and Raquel Hatcher are third generation missionaries serving the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.

June 22, 2023

Dear friends,

We are delighted to bring you an exciting update on the ongoing ministry work in Brazil. God’s grace and favor continue to pour upon us as we witness His transformative power at work in the lives of individuals, churches, and communities. Here are some highlights from recent events and initiatives:

Pastors’ Conference with Pastor Hanibal Rodriguez:

We were privileged to host an uplifting Pastors’ Conference in partnership with Pastor Hanibal Rodriguez from Wheaton Bible Church. This conference served as a time of refreshment, equipping, and encouragement for pastors across the nation. Through Pastor Hanibal’s insightful teaching and powerful ministry, pastors were equipped to shepherd their congregations with renewed vision and passion.

Church Ministries Conference with Eight Workshops:

In our commitment to fostering growth and excellence in church ministries, we organized a dynamic Church Ministries Conference. This event featured eight different workshops covering various aspects of ministry, including worship, discipleship, children’s ministry, evangelism, and more. Pastors, leaders, and volunteers gained valuable insights, practical tools, and inspiration to enhance their ministry effectiveness.

Pastor and Leaders Monthly Gathering:

We continued our monthly gatherings for pastors and leaders to strengthen unity and provide a platform for mutual support and growth. These gatherings took place in São Paulo and Parana, attracting participants from various regions. Through worship, prayer, and the sharing of testimonies and challenges, we witnessed the power of collaboration and the edification of leaders as they sharpened one another for a more significant Kingdom impact.

Church Plant in Marilia led by Americo and Paulinha:

Praise God for the establishment of a new church in Marilia under the leadership of Americo and Paulinha. This church plant represents an answered prayer and a strategic step in reaching the unreached in that area. We believe that this congregation will grow into a vibrant community of believers, passionately sharing the Gospel and transforming lives.

Three Incredible Evangelistic Cookouts:

Evangelism remains at the core of our mission, and we rejoiced in organizing three incredible evangelistic cookouts. These events provided opportunities for fellowship, engaging conversations, and sharing the love of Christ. Many individuals encountered the truth of the Gospel, and we witnessed the power of God’s Word breaking strongholds and bringing salvation to those who were lost.

Couples Gathering:

We organized a special Couples Gathering to recognize the importance of healthy marriages and families. This event aimed to strengthen marital relationships, enrich communication, and provide biblical principles for navigating challenges. Couples left the gathering inspired and equipped to build strong foundations in their homes, becoming beacons of Christ’s love and grace.

Evangelistic Cookouts, One-on-One Discipleship, and Small Group Bible Studies:

Our evangelistic efforts continued through three incredible cookouts, creating opportunities for fellowship, conversations, and sharing the Gospel. We also engaged in one-on-one discipleship meetings and small group Bible studies in homes, nurturing spiritual growth and community among believers.

Family News:

In the midst of our ministry endeavors, we rejoice in celebrating the accomplishments of our family:

Sarah won her school’s “Talent Show” with her beautiful singing, showcasing her God-given gifts and talents.

Benjamin shone brightly as the protagonist in his 8th-grade theatrical performance, displaying remarkable acting skills.

We joyfully celebrated Benjamin’s 8th-grade graduation, marking a significant milestone in his academic journey.

Melissa achieved a new level of proficiency in her Jiu-Jitsu class, earning a well-deserved stripe and demonstrating her determination and discipline.

Laura received the prestigious “Outstanding Student of the Year Award” at her school, recognizing her exceptional academic achievements and character.

I (Jud) marked my 46th birthday with a delightful date with Raquel at an incredible fondue restaurant.

The kids and I enjoyed a memorable day of bike riding at Ibirapuera Park, Brazil’s equivalent to NY Central Park.

Fundraising Requests:

We humbly reach out to you, our faithful supporters, with two pressing fundraising needs:

1)     Sound System, Stage, and Tent:

To enhance our church planting and network gatherings, we require a sound system, stage, and tent. The estimated cost for this essential equipment is 10,000 US dollars, considering the higher expenses for such equipment in Brazil.

2)     Second Car Purchase:

Due to the increasing demand and rising expenditures on transportation, we urgently need to acquire a second vehicle. The estimated cost for this much-needed resource is also 10,000 US dollars.

We are humbled by the privilege of serving alongside faithful partners like yourselves. Your prayers and support have been instrumental in the progress and impact of these ministries. As we press forward, we invite you to join us in prayer that God’s Kingdom will continue to expand and transform lives in Brazil.

May the Lord bless you abundantly for your partnership in the Gospel.

Grateful always,
Jud Hatcher

Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Believers: Living Witnesses to Unbelievers

John and Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France

Missionaries John and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”

June 21, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If you look at the heading of this letter you will see a new address. So, now is a good time to make note of our new home/hard mail address in your address book or file. God has answered your and our prayers about this matter. We have now been in a new house for the past three weeks.

Our church has also moved with us. We are only about two miles from our old location. God has already given us some connections with new neighbors and we continue to stay in contact with folks from our old neighborhood.

However, the best news of the last couple of months is in this paragraph. You may remember that a few months ago we began a new Bible study in the city of L’Union which is a thirty-minute drive north of us. Besides Judy and me, the only person who is a believer in these meetings is the lady who hosts them in her home. Even her husband is not a believer, but we have had a good friendly relationship with Him for many years. The attendees in this group have been stirred by God to seek answers. One married couple about our age are from Iran have undergoing much suffering. The husband was imprisoned a couple of different times for a lengthy period of time by the very oppressive government of their home country. They managed to escape to France about 25 years ago. They are both Muslim by birth and rearing. When we began the Bible study, they knew nothing about the Bible or Christ.

This couple, B—m and Sh—- have really paid attention, but just didn’t seem to understand about Christ. If you have no close friends from the Islamic culture it is hard to understand that for them Mohamed is the greatest prophet and Christ is just a man. God in the flesh just doesn’t make sense to them… until the Holy Spirit touches their heart. Last week, as I was once again explaining in detail that Jesus Christ is God, B—- who is normally very quiet spoke with a great smile on his face saying (in French) “I get it, I get it.” He was thrilled and so are we.

Another Bible study that we have is in the city of Mazere, about 40 miles south of us. A lady there, sister to the host in L’Union, has been hosting a Bible study in her home for many years and it has touched many. Several have been saved over the years. Those who now come to this Bible study are believers. They live in cities where there are no churches. This is their primary fellowship group. Last Saturday, both of these groups, the believers and the seekers met together for a picnic and we had a great day together. Believers getting an opportunity to be living witnesses to unbelievers. We had some interesting questions from those who need Christ. I am including a snapshot taking at the picnic.

Picnic in L’Union

One more tidbit and then I will close. Last year a young man who started coming to church and Sunday School with his parents when he was in Grade School confessed faith in Christ and followed the Lord in baptism. Philip, our son and one of the church leaders, has been discipling this young man. At our last youth meeting we had good number of youth, his friends, who were there for the first time. We were thrilled.

You will see a picture of the Bible discussion taking place at this youth meeting.

Bible discussion at youth meeting in France

Well, I am stopping for now, though there are a number of other blessings I would like share. We are delighted that you are co-laborers with us. Please continue to pray for us and those that God brings across our path.

Serving in France,

John and Judy

Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Training Ubim Teens, Remodeling Flooded Building

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Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.

June 13, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Hope that all of you are doing well. We are doing well. There have been lots of people with cold symptoms and lots of coughing. Thank God I am doing much better with the home remedies I have been using.

The works are doing well. The ministry in the village of Ubim is doing well. The couple that is working there is training the teens to play different instruments and to sing. It is really a blessing to see the work growing. We plan soon to have services on Sunday now that we have the couple to help. Pray for the couple as they will soon have their baby. Their names are Carol and Lucas.

Also, we have started to remodel the church of Cacau Pereira. The last 2 years the water came up high and flooded the church building, so we are raising the floor and the roof structure.
The services in the homes are doing well. We will increase the services in the homes as needed.
Now that things have calmed down with the COVID we plan on starting back the festivals we used to have. We are planning one in August.

The camp that we are working on is coming along. We have cleared the are where we are going to build. We have started the first building. We are excited about having the camp.

Thank you for the prayers and support that each one of you have done for the ministry. God bless you all!

Love in Christ our Savior,
Odali and Kathy Barros

Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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7 from Remote Tribe Baptized in Ituí River

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Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

June 17, 2023

Dear Brethren,

Last time I reported to you, I had been in the States for 2 months. Now it is pushing 5 months. Beverly arrived a couple of months ago, which has made my life much easier through these toughest months of this ordeal. Tuesday will be my final radiation session of 25. I saw the oncologist on Thursday and the surgeon on Friday. Both have given me the green light to return home as soon as I heal a little bit and feel up to it. The original surgery took over 6 weeks to heal then the radiation has undone much of that. However, we hope to start our journey home on July 5th. So far I have spent about $7,000.00 out of pocket. The insurance covered much of the treatment, which, as you can imagine, was astronomical. Hopefully we will get some back. Don’t be shy if you would like to help.

The reports from the field are glowing. People have been saved every weekend.

Our missions conference was in mid-May.

The 3 nights were attended by crowds of 600 plus. Three more surrendered to be missionaries. We preach and teach about how people are called and commissioned to be missionaries. The Holy Spirit performs His power in it all. The 3 new candidates are already in training by Zico (our missions coordinator) and Geverton our full-time missionary at large.

Now let me share a couple of the recent mission trips that our teams have made.

Two of our teams did house to house, village to village, evangelism on the Boa Fé River. This river runs west to east about 50 miles north of Cruzeiro do Sul. It flows into our main river, the Juruá, about 100 miles downstream from us. Since we have a full time missionary and congregation at Gama (about halfway from headwaters to mouth), one team went there overland and went upstream to the last house. The other team went down the Juruá to the mouth of the Boa Fé and worked their way up to Gama, where the 2 teams finished up. That way in just a couple of weeks the 2 teams were able to share the gospel with everyone on the whole river. I haven’t seen the final report that was given to the home church.

Pastor Ezi (one of the 7 pastors of First Baptist Church of Cruzeiro do Sul) went to visit our work among the Marubo Indians. Ezi’s son-in-law is a Marubo and went with him. Ezi’s daughter went, too, taking their 2 children (one is just a few months old)! To get to the tribe they had go down the Juruá River 100 miles to the mouth of the Boa Fé River. Then they had to hike due north for 2 days to get to the reservation. The Indians come out to help them carry their baggage. These Indians end up making this hike 4 times to get our missionaries in and back out again! While there he baptized 7 Maoubos in the Ituí River. That river is actually a tributary of the Amazon River, to give you an idea of how remote and isolated the tribe is. Our full-time missionary there is Ronaldinho. He was born there. We did much of his training, but he also spent a couple of years in a seminary in Rio de Janeiro.

For lack of space, I am holding one more great piece of mission news for my next letter. Sorry about the suspense, but you’ll just have to wait!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,

Mike Creiglow

CONTACT INFO

Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Teaching Students about Church Planting

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The Tates have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.

June 10, 2023

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

One of the classes that I am teaching this term is Church Planting. Even though I spent fifteen years in Kitale doing church planting, I still hardly feel qualified to teach this course to new ministry students. It is such an important subject for my students to study and I can only pray that I teach them properly and to do everything I can to help them understand the importance of the subject and how they should be doing it. But what I’m teaching them has been a hard sell so far. Let me see if I can explain why.

My students are studying for ministry work. They are diligently studying the Bible and what it means to work in the ministry of Jesus Christ. They are good and godly students who want to know Jesus, want to know the Bible, and want to minister the gospel in the lives of people and in the world. But they usually also come with a certain mindset. I’ll call it a Traditional mindset. They come to Bible school, many of them want to become pastors. They are thinking of becoming pastors of already established churches, of preaching the Word of God and ministering in that church, of seeing that church grow bigger, and of eventually building a bigger church to accommodate this bigger congregation.

There is nothing wrong with the above model, is there? No, there isn’t. It is the same model that most of us are familiar with and, if we are pastors, it is the model we are probably participating in. So, no, there is nothing wrong with the Traditional model. But I am trying to teach these young Bible students something a little different. I am trying to convince them to consider a slightly different model. I don’t know what to call it, so I’ll just call it the Different model. In the Different model that I’m teaching them, I’m trying to convince them to go to a location where there is NO church already present, where there may not be any Christians at all, where the gospel needs to be preached, and where a new New Testament church is actually needed. My students can usually get on board with this pretty well, after all they are godly students wanting to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus. Where they start jumping off the wagon, however, is when I begin to teach the really different part of the Different model. I am trying to teach them to start churches that will reproduce themselves and start other churches and to teach them principles on how to do that. They were on board at first because, while they do want to fulfill the Great Commission, they also want to start churches that will eventually become big, have lots of people and tithes, and be able to build big church buildings and have lots of structured programs. When I began telling them that church buildings are not always conducive to churches reproducing themselves because poor communities cannot reproduce such a thing, they began jumping off board. When I began telling them that when their church becomes big enough (defined as too big to meet in their house anymore) then the church should start convincing some of its members to start a new church in another location, even more jumped off board. After all, how can their church become big if they are always sending some of their members off to start a new church somewhere else? I think their biggest issue might be, “How can I ever get enough financial support from my church if my church membership is never more than 15-25 people?” The other issue they face is the issue we all face – the mindset that “Bigger is better.” They want to pastor a big church because “Bigger is better” for a thousand and one reasons. I want them to start churches that will start churches that will start churches so that the gospel will spread, the kingdom of Christ will spread, and there will be a church presence preaching the gospel in every place in Kenya and in every place in the world. It is a hard sell, even for godly, Jesus loving Bible students at Bible college. I can see some changes in them, though. They are beginning to ask themselves the question I ask them all the time, “What is your goal?” Is your goal a big church, with a big membership, a big offering plate, a big building, and a big reputation? There is nothing wrong with that goal, my beloved students. But consider another goal – a dozen churches, spreading out over the city, preaching the gospel and reaching the lost, all with the purpose of spreading the Kingdom and starting more churches that will all be doing the same thing.

“My beloved students – What is your goal?”

Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe

CONTACT INFO

Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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