FREETOWN EXTENSION PROGRAM
QUARTERLY OPERATION REPORT FROM APRIL - JUNE, 2025
INTRODUCTION
As a record of consistent progress, we were favored by God again this year through the generosity of our committed coordinator, Steve Ashcraft, our International Director, Keith Kasarjian and our Assistant Director, Mark Reynolds, and the whole of Bear Valley family in Colorado to have begun a much-needed extended program at Freetown. This program is so helpful that the students keep on appreciating the local administration and the international partners on a daily basis, especially as it is igniting an evangelistic zeal in them and helping them to serve God better within and outside their local congregations. Not just the students, but the local congregations around Freetown are so grateful for the presence of the school. From April to June, 2025, the academic activities continued, the students continued to be involved with the local congregations, and some considerable souls were converted. Here are some more details:
STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC UPDATES
Our Freetown extended students are thriving well. From February when they started classes, they will be completing their first quarter at the end of July. Currently, we have sixteen of them in the program. Out of the sixteen, only two are females.
STUDENTS’ ASSIGNMENTS
Since the school is rooted and based its foundation on evangelism, our students are positioned to have this understanding. Therefore, almost all of them are involved in evangelism in their local congregations and with the evangelistic team in Freetown. Every month, they are to give an overview of the various activities that they carry in their local congregations and beyond. And this has been yielding some good fruits. For instance, Simon Peter (the students’ leader), Momoh Turay, Emmanuel Kargbo, Foday Kanu, Abu Kargbo, Alfred Kargbo, Daniel Mansaray, Michael Ballah, Thomas William, etc all actively lead their local congregations and are involved in plenty spiritual activities in their congregations.
STAFF’S ACTIVITIES
Our staff at Kenema are truly working harder. Each month, a staff travels from Kenema to Freetown each week to teach our students. This is especially needed now because there are no good Bible teachers currently around Freetown that one could involve in taking classes. Moreover, many people are not evangelistic and we appreciate a teacher who himself is evangelistic and can motivate our students in the class to be more evangelistic. So with this set up, our few staff are always busy, especially with the Kenema full time and part time programs also. But this is not all, the presence of a staff in Freetown every week is not to just take classes in the school, but to also help build local congregations around Freetown. Each week, after the class on Saturday, he worships with a congregation on Sunday before returning to Kenema (over 200 miles away from Freetown) later that Sunday. Sometimes it is challenging but it is rewarding! Brother Peter Sahr Makundu took the lead in this endeavor by attending the Regent Church of Christ for the past months. After him, Brothers Michael and David also followed. The Regent congregation had existed for 50 years and yet did not understand the difference between denominationalism and Christianity. The members included many denominational practices (choirs, clapping and dancing, unscriptural means of raising funds, belief in miracles, tongues, anointing oil, etc) in their worship. Therefore, Brother Peter took some time to teach the congregation on doctrinal sin that the congregation never thought was a problem. With his engagement in that congregation, many erroneous practices have been identified and exposed. The congregants are very grateful to God for using Brother Peter to have opened their eyes. Please join us to pray that they continue to hold unto sound doctrine.
EVANGELISM AND CONVERSION OF SOULS
As previously said, our students are actively involved in evangelistic activities. So for the past three months, they converted nine souls and organized three congregational lectureships of youths, general and women. They continued to follow up on some new congregations planted and the new studies established. Hopefully, there will be more conversions in the future!
CONCLUSION
We are grateful to God that our students continue to make significant strides in their academic and extra-curricular activities. We are even hopeful that God through them will record many successes in the ministry as they continue in their Christian journey. Thank you for reading this report to this point. Until you get another update in September this year, may the Lord keep you in good health!
Your brother,
Peter Sahr Makundu,
Director,
Sierra Leone Bear Valley Bible Institute