Freetown, Sierra Leone school making a difference
Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone
(An Extension of the)
Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Colorado, USA
FREETOWN EXTENSION PROGRAM
QUARTERLY OPERATION REPORT FROM JUNE TO AUGUST, 2026
INTRODUCTION
Here we come again with very exciting news of the operation of the Freetown part-time program! The successes we are registering in Freetown would not have been possible without your kind prayers and involvement, our dear Bear Valley family, the supporting congregation, other administrators of other Bear Valley schools in the world and our brethren all over. We say a big thank you. May our God be glorified in all that we do in His vineyard!
The school in the capital Freetown, though a Saturday program is a success story in many facets. For instance, our students are deeply involved in planting and nurturing congregations around Freetown; they are part of the evangelism team in Freetown. This is worth commending because, just as many, some of our students were just faithful congregational worshippers; they were not zealous for evangelism prior to their enrollment in the school (though 4 of them were before being admitted). But today, almost all the 13 (they were 14 but one of them recently relocated) of them are evangelistically zealous. This shows that even after graduation, they would continue to be active on the field. Apart from the growth rate of the students, the local congregations around Freetown are also being edified by some of our students who move around to strengthen congregations – that is still progress. Besides those mentioned, there are a lot of benefits of the Freetown program to the churches of Christ in Sierra Leone. So in this report, we shall briefly update you on the students’ and staff’ activities. As the quarter ended, the Lord enabled us at the Freetown school to convert souls, establish a congregation, and build up and strengthen some congregations around the Freetown area. Please you are encouraged to continue reading as we give you more details under the following sub-headings:
STUDENTS UPDATES AND ACTIVITIES
Currently, our 13 students are so focused on their studies. Academically, they are completing their second year out of the four years that they have to study with us. They take classes at the uphill Gloucester congregation, and there is a great brotherly relationship between the host congregation and our students. We have four students that came out from the Gloucester congregation. We have one committed and intelligent student, Kelvin Kanu who is a sickle cell patient, and he goes through a lot of pain. Please be praying for Kelvin in your closets. Currently, all the students in Freetown are males and some are married while others are not. Almost all of them are leading congregations around Freetown. We are building a strong team in Freetown and much will be achieved through them by the grace of God.
STUDENTS’ OFF CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
A. Weekly Evangelism: Since our students are in class every Saturday, we have scheduled Friday evenings for their weekly evangelism outreaches. Usually, it is done at their local congregational level. This intensive activity helps them to be acquainted with the methods of field evangelism. It builds the culture of evangelism in our students, a unique thing which is lacking in the sphere of church work in Sierra Leone.
B. Congregational Follow-Ups: Almost all of our students have been instrumental in following up on the new and weak congregations around the Freetown city. Many of them are assigned to new or weak congregations to build them up.
C. Leadership and National Impacts: A good number of our students are effective leaders at the various levels in their congregations. For instance, some are youth ministers, children teachers, congregational preachers, Bible class teachers, etc. Nationally, some of them play certain roles for the growth of the church in Sierra Leone.
SUMMARY OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2026
1. 15 Souls were converted
2. 3 Lectureships were held
3. 1 Congregation was planted
STAFF UPDATES
We continue to remain committed to the task that the Lord has placed in our hands. Currently, we have four teaching and two non-teaching staff at the Freetown program. Because of the shortage of qualified staff, the staff at the Kenema main campus travel for 5 or 6 hours every week (each staff takes one month to handle a course) to come to Freetown to teach. It can be very stressful sometimes, but it is also very rewarding. Our presence in Freetown has been helping some doctrinally weak congregations also. For instance, I spent 7 months teaching one of the big congregations in Sierra Leone, Regent Church of Christ. This congregation had existed for 50 years and yet had some doctrinal problems such as dancing, clapping in worship, choir, spiritual adultery (the members could worship in denominations conveniently and could select the Sundays that they would worship with the Lord’s Church), etc. Today, by the grace of God, Regent is a sound congregation. As I write this report, we have scheduled an evangelistic campaign and the Regent congregation is the host of that outreach. Also, we continue to maintain strong ties with our students. We care about them. Recently, one of our students, Foday Kanu, lost his father, and we all teamed up with him during that period of mourning. We are also involved in other spiritual activities outside of the school. Again, we cooperate with other god-loving brethren from Guinea, Liberia and some West African countries to evangelistically build up the Lord’s church stronger. On the whole, through God’s help, we are all making efforts with our families to contribute to the growth of the church of Christ in and outside of Sierra Leone.
CONCLUSION
As we conclude, we want to mention that it may be very difficult to report all the minute details of all that is going on in the classroom and on the field. However, what you have read is the summary of some of the activities taking place here. Gratefully, we want to thank you for your support and for praying for us; may the Lord bless you all.
Your brother,
Peter Sahr Makundu,
Director,
Sierra Leone Bear Valley Bible Institute