March/April 2013

In the time since the last report, I have been very blessed (and busy!) with a number of opportunities to preach and to share the extension work with others. In March I spoke on the Recharge program in Monterey, CA. and enjoyed being with the good brethren there. Later that week I traveled to Rock Hill, SC to meet with several of the folks directly involved with the Kenya School of Preaching. By that time, the school had been operating for 6 months and the Charlotte Avenue elders wisely called the meeting to discuss and plan. I’m happy to tell you things are going great in Kenya!

The first day of April began the annual extension staff meeting in Denver. This is an important time for those of us in the program to get together for a couple of days and discuss the work, work through some of the challenges, and plan for the future. This year’s meeting was a complete success! I am blessed to work with some outstanding people.

I also preached a gospel meeting for the Point Pleasant congregation (near Cincinnati) and was able to take our youngest son (Blake) with me and really enjoyed that. After a little time at home, I went to Visalia, CA. to speak 4 times on the West Visalia Spiritual Growth Expo. As you would imagine, I was able to share the extension work with several people while I was in these places. I am constantly encouraged by how many brethren are excited about us training preachers around the world, in the mission field.

We constantly receive partnership requests and currently I am working on a couple of those. When, and if, things materialize, I will certainly tell you more. Until then, please keep the current and future opportunities in your prayers.

Thank you for partnering with me in this great ministry. Your support, trust, and prayers are greatly appreciated! 

In Him,

Keith

January/February 2013

This year in the Bear Valley extension program has begun much like it ended - busy and full of excitement! 2012 saw unprecedented growth and this year, with God’s help and the partnership of so many good people, promises to be even better,.

I was privileged to be able to attend the Freed-Hardeman lectureship this year and to renew many friendships. In addition, I spent a lot of time at the Bear Valley display, talking to people who want to know more about what we’re doing. I was also able to speak at the Missions Forum one of the days. From there I traveled to Lexington, KY to meet with the good elders of the North Lexington congregation, who are one of my partners.

Two days after returning from there I went to Chandigarh, India. Every year theNorth India Preacher’s Lectureship is combined with the graduation exercises of the North India Bible College. Both events were well-attended and I was privileged to be able to speak twice on the lectureship, at the graduation, present the certificates on behalf of Bear Valley, and to preach twice on Sunday. It was an incredibly successful trip!

Much like the US, the church in India is stronger in the south and weaker in the north. This is one of the reasons we believe the North India Bible College is providing a much-needed service to the church. Additionally, it is the only preacher training school in the brotherhood (that I am aware of) that trains preachers in the Hindi language.

Even though trips like these are necessary and beneficial, the majority of my work is from this side of the pond and is administrative in nature. It isn’t near as flashy, but it helps make everything else happen. I’m blessed to be involved in such an exciting ministry and I’m thankful for supportive partners! Until next time, take care and God bless.

For Him,

Keith Kasarjian

December 2012

The Bear Valley Extension Program has grown at such a fast pace that it has become obvious that we needed to add the position of "Regional Coordinator" to oversee the schools in specific areas of the world. In September, Bob Turner asked me if I would take on the role of Regional Coordinator over Asia, in addition to my role as Assistant Director. I gladly accepted the job, and with that came the need to familiarize myself with these schools.

I’m happy to say that I have just returned from a very successful trip to visit both of the schools in India and the one in Nepal. (I will soon visit the school in Cambodia, but just could not possibly include it in this trip) I needed to meet the staff, faculty, and students; as well as see the facilities, and access what we can do to make things even better in each location. What I found in each school was a dedicated Director, capable teachers, and students who are serious about preparing themselves to preach the gospel.

As we enter the new year we are excited about what is happening in the extension program! Is it completely where we want it to be? No, and it probably never will be. We know that too much is at stake to ever be fully satisfied, but we are also incredibly encouraged by the success that God is granting our efforts. This has been to date, the best year ever in the Extension program. Please take a moment to read the year-end review click here. 

I continue to be thankful for all those who make it possible for these things to happen. So many pray for this work, as well as provide the necessary funding. Thank you so much and may God continue to bless you the remainder of this year and throughout 2013!

Because of Him,

Keith

I hope this report finds you and yours doing well and busy serving our God. Since my last report, there are many exciting things to tell you about.

Labor Day weekend is always the time for our Bear Valley staff retreat in the mountains outside of Denver. This is always enjoyable, but it is also very important as it is one of only 2 times a year that everyone gets together to discuss the work and plan for the future. Reports were shared and plans were made and I can tell you things are progressing very nicely! 

Also, (and this is BIG news!) on October 1^st, the new school in Kenya began classes! As many of you know, this has been in the works for quite a while, so it’s is extremely gratifying to reach this milestone. Having put so much blood, sweat, and tears in this, I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw the pictures from the first day! This is a joint effort between Bear Valley and several outstanding partners, all for the purpose of training sound, capable preachers for all of Kenya. Please pray for these 20 men, their families, and their future. Also, there are new extensions in Liberia and Nigeria!

There is another change that has taken place that is also exciting. In addition to my role as Assistant Director of the Extension Program, I have been asked to be the Regional Coordinator for Asia. “Regional Coordinator” is a new job title that has been necessitated by the growth of the overall work. This will have me working with the extension Coordinators and Directors of the schools in Cambodia, India (2 schools), and Nepal, as well as travelling periodically to those schools.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. The total enrollment in Bear Valley extensions is now over 300 (think of all that potential!), but we could not do it without partners like you!

Take care and God bless,

Keith

A Super Summer!

I don’t know about you, but our summer has flown by! Time flies, especially when you enjoy what you’re doing. This summer has brought a number of opportunities to serve in the Kingdom. I addition to the work with Bear Valley (more on that in the next paragraph) I have had the opportunity to preach and teach in a number of places, as well as speak on the Cane Ridge Lectureship, sponsored by the great North Lexington (Ky) congregation. There really are, at times, more opportunities than I can meet and for that I feel very blessed.

The Bear Valley extension work has not seen a slow-down this summer. In fact, things are rolling rightalong. As you probably know, my big project has been getting things together for the beginning of the Kenya School of Preaching and I am thrilled to tell you that that is about to happen with a maxed-out class of 20!! School coordinator Mike Reese is there now and called to tell me that the orientation went great and everything is ready to begin October 1. The potential in these men and this school is beyond exciting.

In addition to Kenya, I have been working behind the scenes to put together information for each extension, which will be helpful to the teachers who travel there to teach. This has been a much bigger project than I had anticipated.

Our family has also had a super summer too. Being gone as much as I am during the year, I made sure that this summer I wouldn’t go anywhere without them. We took a short camping trip, a full vacation, and the kids went to church camp while Kim and I had a week together. It’s been nice, but this week we take Molly to Freed-Hardeman to begin her freshmen year. Prayers (and Kleenex) are appreciated. From there we will attend Polishing the Pulpit and hope to see some of you there.

Thanks for being a partner in the eternity-affecting work of training preachers! I couldn’t do it without you. 

In Him,

Keith