The work in the extension program has been going (and growing) and keeping me very busy! There are so many opportunities to train men to preach in their own culture to reach their own people and we are trying to make the most of them. We feel very blessed.

In mid-March we had our annual extension staff meeting in Denver. This is a time where all of us come together to discuss the work that we are already doing, how to do it better, and to plan for future growth. It is always a tiring, exciting, and fulfilling time and this year was no exception. I’m fortunate to be involved in the most exciting work I know of and to work with some outstanding people!

The following week I headed to Arusha, Tanzania to teach Comprehensive Leadership in the Andrew Connally School of Preaching (students pictured above). I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve taught at ACSOP, but I always enjoy being there. This time was extra special for me as my daughter, Molly, accompanied me for her first trip out of North America. We had a very enjoyable and profitable time together!

The plans for the new school in Kenya are coming along. I will be there next month, along with an elder and preacher from the Charlotte Ave. congregation to facilitate some of the final plans for moving things forward. The current projected start date is Sept. 1, 2012.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support and for being a partner in training men to preach in their own culture to reach their own people!

The beginning of the year until now has brought a lot of progress and opportunities for the Bear Valley Extension program. 

The New Kenya extension

The new extension in Kenya is the project that has kept me the busiest, but all the pieces of the puzzle are coming together nicely for that school. The elders at the local congregation of Ahono will oversee the school, the good eldership of the Charlotte Ave. church in Rock Hill, SC will be the sponsoring congregation, and, as is always the case, the doctrinal and academic standards will fall under the oversight of the Bear Valley elders. Charles Ogutu will serve as the Director of the school and Mike Reese (Mannington, WV) will be its US coordinator. Brandon Kerns has been instrumental in a number of ways, including helping to raise support for the building of a dorm and school facility. Currently half the money needed has been raised. A tentative start date of September 3 has been set. 

Plenty of opportunities

Since the first of the year I have had the opportunity to talk to 5 churches, or elderships, in 4 states about the exciting things going on at Bear Valley. Next week will bring our annual extension staff meeting in Denver and on Mar. 23^rd I leave to teach at the extension in Arusha, Tanzania.

Thank you for the prayers and support that make this possible!

Keith Kasarjian

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope the New Year finds you and yours doing well! Our family sends its warmest greetings to your family. It’s hard to believe that 2012 is already here, but it is, and full of opportunities. The work at Bear Valley continues to grow and become more exciting every year. Truly, only God could have seen what it would become from the beginning and where it will go from here into the future.

I am currently engaged in two big projects. First, I have been working for months on the possibility of a new extension in the country of Kenya. Several Bear Valley graduates from the school in Arusha, Tanzania have been asking for a school in western Kenya where they live and preach. A series of events, perhaps providential, have provided what appears to be an incredible opportunity to train many men to preach in a country where there are many Christians, but few preachers.

Weeks of due diligence were followed by a survey trip in November (see last month’s report) and are now being followed up by making sure everything is in place that would allow for the day-to-day operation of a school. As of now, no date has been set to start the school, but late this year seems reasonable.

The second big project that I have been working on is the development of a new course on Stewardship that will be incorporated into our curriculum. In an ongoing effort to help our graduates be self-supporting, we have seen the need to help them know the biblical principles of managing the resources they have been entrusted and to give as they should. In turn, they will know how to teach the congregations the same things, which will in turn increase the giving in congregations. We are excited about the long-term benefits of this approach!

Thank you to all who support the great work that God is doing through us - we couldn’t do it without you. Please continue to pray for us and we train men in their own culture to reach their own people. 

In him,

Keith

Survey trip to Kenya

            I have just returned from a survey trip to Kisumu, Kenya. A number of Bear Valley graduates from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Arusha, Tanzania are from this area and have returned to preach and plant churches. They requested that we look into the possibility of an extension in Kenya to train preachers for all Kenya. After doing quite a bit of due diligence, it was determined that a survey trip was in order.

            I was accompanied by Mike Reese who, in addition to having experience teaching in Bear Valley extensions, is familiar with the work in the Kisumu area. Mike and I have travelled together in the past and I knew that I would want his input. He was also extremely helpful in the planning and organizing of this trip.

            What we found was basically what we had expected: an area with many congregations, a large number of Bear Valley graduates, and a deep desire to have a preacher training school in Kenya. We were able to visit several potential sites and to visit with many potential students. We also had a meeting with 12 potential teachers, most of whom are Bear Valley graduates.

            There are still many decisions to be made, but the future looks promising in this area. Please pray for God’s will to be done in this. For more information, feel free to contact me @ 334.730.0091 or Mike Reese @ 304.986.2924.

Keith Kasarjian

West Coast School of Preaching - Takoradi, Ghana

Never having visited this extension before or Ghana, for that matter, I did not know what to expect. What I found was an outstanding class of men! I had 22 students who were eager to learn and who proved themselves to be very good students. I taught “Leadership” which is needed there, as it is in most places.

The studies prompted many good questions from the students and we spent a lot of time addressing some of the practical matters of leadership, especially that of church leadership. One question I will be laughing about for some time had to do with preacher support. One of the students said he had been told that in America preachers make about the same income as doctors. After I stopped rolling on the floor I clarified it for him.

More than half of these students are nearing the end of the requirements for either a degree or a certificate and a new class is being currently recruited. There are many congregations in Ghana and most of them are without a preacher. Certainly there is a great need here. Continue to pray for this school and these men and their families.