Nationwide meeting in Zambia

It is always a great pleasure to write and reflect on the happenings here at BVBI-Zambia during the month of August, 2019. The students have continued with their evangelistic efforts that are done each week. These activities include the door-knocking and preaching on the streets. These actions are overseen by Brother Cephas Mwamba. And as a result of this evangelistic effort, Shermus Mulenga was converted on 19th august. Shermus has been known for his good leadership qualities in the denomination world and we hope and pray that he will translate that into serving the True God in the church.

Students have also restored three souls back to the sheepfold. It is indeed a great thing to see the zeal that is exhibited by all the students as they reach out to the people in the community with the Gospel of Christ. They impress not only us as the school but also the congregations where they teach and preach on each first day of the week.

We had a very successful evangelistic trip to Mpika, Muchinga Province of Zambia. Muchinga province is between, Northern and Eastern Provinces and 620 Kilometers from the Copper Belt Province. The church of Christ is not so strong in this newly created province, hence when the Institute was invited by the Church there to help in evangelism and strengthen the existence of the Lord’s kingdom there, we saw a good opportunity because the Ten (10) provinces of Zambia were represented at this conference meeting. The conference started on 23rd August 2019 and ended on 26th August, 2019. We traveled with other members from different congregations of the Copper Belt Province. The total number of 52 represented all the 17 congregations from the Copper Belt. We took all our students and they all participated immensely in the activities of the conference. And during the evangelism Robby Chileshe and Ignatius Mwanza and 8 others were added to the Lord. Brother Cephas Mwamba facilitated the baptisms that took place. It was good to see our students ministering. We had a total number of 11 Baptisms and three restoration in this month of August.

We are looking forward to having Donnie Estep come and teach “2 Corinthians,” as a short course. He will be in Zambia from 8th September 2019 to 14th September, 2019. We thank God for the work that he is doing!

Our hearts are always thankful for the partnership and financial support and all the encouragement we enjoy from you in this noble work. We pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Agriculture seminar in Zambia

July 2019 Report

Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters!! We give honor and glory to God who has given us the opportunity to work in His Kingdom.

The school is on a short break and some students remained for catch up courses, the rest of the students have gone back to their respective home congregations. The school reopens for the first quarter of 2019/2020 school calendar.

We have received the good reports from all of the students who have gone for holiday are that they are doing fine in their work as preachers. They have been conducting personal Bible studies during this break with a number of people in their localities. Before going on short break, we had what we called “friendship evangelism” were students’ patrolled streets, houses and shops. This mission was intended for students to know how to make friends for evangelism. It was very interesting once again to see different talents. Students had set Bible studies with members of the community and they will continue as they resume their second year.

Brother Joseph Ilunga went back to Lubumbashi, DRC. He went to see one of his brothers who was reported to be sick but he has since recovered. Before coming to BVBI-Zambia, Joseph was doing some business ventures to enable him take support some of his siblings. Ever since his parents passed away, some of his siblings depended on him for their schooling and day to day survival. Hence even now, he has a very huge responsibility on his shoulders as far as supporting these siblings is concerned. Joseph has proved to be a dedicated servant of God and we believe he is going to make a good preacher.

Stephen Ngosa is one of the former graduates who is putting to use the knowledge he got from BVBI-Zambia. Stephen is totally committed and he is working closely with the youths at Luanshya Central Church of Christ in Luanshya District of the Copper Belt Province. Since his wife left him for another man, he has proved to be devoted to the work of God. Please pray for Stephen that he finds a life partner who can understand him and his work of preaching. On the other development Austin Musonda and Hornbye Mupengu have done a good Job this month by teaching the Sundays school classes as you will see in the pictures, Brother Cephas Mwamba has visited their respective congregations to see how these brothers are doing and indeed it is a great work.

Vinicent Simwanza, one of the devoted servants has been preaching and restored three souls back to the sheepfold. He got engaged to Twiniss Chanda who was a Pentecostal believer, Vinicent preached to her and she has since become a Christian. We believe they will make a good couple, we invited her for a short course, and she has proved to be a lady to support her future husband and his work. Pray for this upcoming Christian couple.

As mentioned in our previous communiqué that the students had a very successful survival gardening workshop with Brother John Dube from Zimbabwe. Brother Dube is the country coordinator of Healing Hands for Zimbabwe. It was a full packed one week of survival skills taught by Brother Dube. He taught gardening and entrepreneurship to the students and other members of the Church in Luanshya who attended the workshop.

The 2019/2020 school year starts with the following courses of the first quarter: “Church History” and

“Old Testament 3b (Study of Wisdom Literature: Psalms - Song of Songs)”. These two courses will be taught by Brother Cephas Mwamba and “Life of Christ 3 (The ministry of Jesus)”and “intertestamental History” will be taught by Brother Fred Kanangu.

We are also looking forwarding to having Donnie Estep come later in the quarter to teach “2 Corinthians” as a short course. And Brother Kennedy Mukuka will also teach “Marriage and Family Life” as a short course during the same quarter.

Our hearts are truly thankful to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for financial support and all the encouragement in this good work. We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Special seminar in Zambia

June 2019

REPORT

Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters! We always give honor and glory to God who gives us the rare opportunity of working in His Vine Yard. We also thank Him for this privilege of sharing what is happening here at BVBI-Zambia.

The institute had a joyful month and the 4th quarter came to a close with students having a short course on “Leadership” that was taught by Brother Kennedy Mukuka. This course started on 24th June 2019 and ended on 28th June 2019. A week prior to their short course they had final examinations in their normal courses. Besides our busy schedule in class we always finds time to do practical in Evangelism and this intake has also proved that they do love to preach as we went on weekends at Roan township here in Luanshya. This was a good preparation to our major gospel meeting of June.

Our Copper Belt Province gospel campaign in Ndola of all the Churches of Christ for this year was a success, the meeting became one of the school’s highlights of their activities. This meeting stated on 27th June 2019 and ended on 1st July, 2019. We had a good participation of our students in all the activities. Brother Cephas Mwamba was one of the main speakers during meeting. The theme of the meeting was “Christian Living in the 21st Century”. He did a tremendous job and encouraged many to run away from sin. Brother Fred Kanangu coordinated with leadership to make sure that a four (4) days meeting was a success. There were also other lessons that were taught by other Brothers from the copper belt and beyond.

And at the end of the Gospel meeting the following statistics were recorded: 445 were in attendance, 19 baptisms and 167 restorations. We had a number of good confessions during this time as people were restored and we give God the glory for this!

It was a very sweet surprise to see Brother Keith Kasarjian visit us on 21st June, 2019. In spite of his short visit we were very happy and blessed that he came our way. Indeed he really made our day!!

At the time of writing this report, our students are engaged in a workshop with Brother John Dube from Zimbabwe. As our next report will show.

Our hearts are truly grateful to Bear Valley Bible Institute International and to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the financial support and all the encouragement in this good work. We will continue likewise to pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Active students in Zambia

Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters!! We give honor and glory to God who has given us the opportunity to work in His Kingdom.

We continue to thank our God that the current students are clocking a year studying at BVBI-Zambia. The crop of students that we have, have not only impressed us in their academics but they have also overwhelmed their local congregations with their improved work in preaching. As mentioned earlier, they have proved this to us in their daily performance in the courses that they are taking. They are taking four regular courses and one short course this quarter. These courses are as follows:  

Personal Evangelism 2, this course emphases the importance of Church planting. And it is being taught by Cephas Mwamba who is also teaching Worship of the New Testament. In this course the emphasis is placed on the principles, doctrine and practice of the New Testament Church. The remaining regular courses of this quarter which are textual studies are being taught by Fred Kanangu. These are 1st & 2nd Peter, Jude, and then 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. 

The short course on the Book Galatians or on Leadership will be taught by Brother Kennedy Mukuka. The suggested emphasis on the course on Galatians will be placed on the relation to Hebrews. And Leadership course will furnish the students with leadership styles that God would want His servants to have.

Apart from their class performance, students are busy doing personal evangelism. This is also to fulfill their partial requirements of their course on Personal Evangelism 2. They are translating what they are learning from the class to the real world. We are very glad as a school for these men and indeed the programs and we are happy to report that through these programs Mathew Chisupa, Misheck Chileshe and Twiness Chanda have been baptized and restored back three souls. We as the Institute for this month have concentrated much on three districts here on the copper-belt, namely Luanshya, Kitwe and Mpongwe. On the other development brother Cephas and Kennedy were in Lusaka and taught the gospel and Royd Kabonga a police officer gladly submitted to Christ in Baptism

The school was also invited by Wusakile church in Kitwe to participate in their city wide gospel meeting that started on Friday, 24th May and ended on Sunday, 26th May 2019. The team of the Gospel chariot for World Bible School from Malawi en-route to DRC was also part of this Gospel meeting. Brother Cephas Mwamba was one of the regular speakers invited to speak during these meetings. He with the BVBI-Zambia students braved the coldness to participate in all the proceedings of these meetings. Though no Baptism but only restorations recorded we had a good experience.  

The school has continued being recognized by the congregations in the Copper Belt Province of Zambia and beyond. This is evidenced by many invites that the school receives from these congregations. Copper Belt churches of Christ hold an annual Gospel conference between June and August. And for the time the school has been in existence it has been invited to participate in teaching during these conferences. Brother Cephas Mwamba will be one of the Keynote speakers during this year’s conference which will be held in Ndola. He will be speaking on “Sin”. This meeting starts on the 29th June 2019 and ends on 1st July 2019. We continue soliciting for your prayers that all the meetings succeed and that through these meetings many will come to the full knowledge of God. 

BVBI-Zambia has continued to work with our former students and through Stephen Ngosa we have baptized 7 souls in this month. We witnessed the conversion of these seven souls from two families, Grant Chisenga, Chrisford Chisenga, Chrispine Chisenga, Peter Chisenga and Memory Kaulai, Thandiwe Kaulai, Kingslee Musonda. Stephen is preaching at Baluba Church of Christ, here in Luanshya District. 

Joseph Musonda is still in Mansa, Luapula Province of Zambia where he is doing a very commendable job. He is currently worshiping and working with Mansa Central Church of Christ. He has so far converted one soul and restored back to the Lord three souls. He also reports that the Central Church, Mansa had two gospel meetings in the space of two weeks. One was held at Chipili at which a new congregation has been stablished and another at Mano at which the Institute has been invited to help in evangelism. Albert Phiri is actively working with a congregation in Myengelwa, Mpongwe District. He also reports that he has continued conducting Bible studies and door to door personal evangelism with some brothers at Myengelwa, though this place is 65 Kilometers south of Luanshya the Institute is constantly in touch with Albert to encourage him with his effort to preach.  We had thirteen (13) baptism and six (9) restorations and one New congregation planted.  

Please continue to pray for the overall work that we are involved in here in Zambia. Pray for the Word of God to continuously have an impact on our lives and also the lives of those we are teaching.

Our hearts are truly thankful to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for financial support and all the encouragement in this good work. We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you are all involved in as well.

For the sake of Christ,

Cephas and Fred

Nationwide gathering in Zambia

We greet you once again from Luanshya, Zambia! Our prayers are that you and the rest of God’s family there are doing well both in your health and work.

We are also doing well and the work of the Lord is going on very well. We are very glad to report to you that we had a very successful gospel campaign which was held in Lusaka from 19th April, 2019 to 22nd April, 2019. We had a good number of both young and old from different Provinces of Zambia participate in program. The theme for the meeting was “Living the Calling” and each lesson taught emphasized the importance of living out the calling each one has received from the Lord. We also asked three of our former students Clive Kabika, Andrew Mwila and Albert Phiri to accompany as during this evangelistic tour. We were particularly impressed with Albert Phiri who has so far this year baptized two (2) people in his efforts of preaching Christ. We included the trio in our team because we believed that they could be a great encouragement to our current student body as they evangelized. We had a good experience for the work was well done and the students worked together in partnership with brethren from across the country. The meeting served as a reminder to all the youths who were present to be enthusiastic in their Christian living.

Brother Fred Kanangu was among the four keynote speakers who spoke during the meeting. And the lesson that was assigned to him was “Self-Examination”. Brother Cephas Mwamba in his capacity as Dean was asked to make a presentation about the school. In his presentation, Cephas explained the process of application and general entry requirements at BVBI-Zambia. His talk excited both youths and men who asked a lot of questions which he ably handled. At the end of the meeting the following statistics were recorded: Ten (10) souls were added to the Lord's body through water baptism, these were Prosper Kapinga, David Mulenga, Ruth Phiri, Mary Kaniki, Kama Zyu, Sela Nalomba, Stephany Chanda, Agatha Simukonda, Linda Kalebwe and Felix Mpundu. In addition twenty-two (22) peoplewere restored back to the Lord. Most of those who were restored had strayed Pentecostalism and Seventh Day Adventism. On Sunday during the worship assembly attendance we had 1,230 in attendance.

Our students participated immensely in most of the activities of the meeting including leading in singing and small group discussions. They represented the school very well. We will soon make arrangements for our next gospel campaign meeting; such meetings are helping very much on our practical work. We have already received a Macedonian call from Northern Province and we intend to do more on the Copper-belt Province where we are.

We continue to sincerely thank Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the financial support and indeed their constant prayers for the success of the work here in Zambia. Without these the work of the school here will be very difficult to do and accomplish.  

We love you dearly and may God richly bless you all!

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Evangelism in Zambia

Report

March 2019

Greetings to you all Brothers and Sisters in the Lord! 

We are always humbled and thankful to God for the great privilege He has given to us to work for Him. Once again it’s that time we make a report on what has emerged at BVBI-Zambia.

It has been another busy month both for students and Teachers as we just concluded the third quarter, the students have gone on a two week break and when they return they will be completing their first year of studies at BVBI-Zambia. It is indeed unbelievable that time is running so fast and these students have grown both physically, mentally and spiritually. The vivid example of this, their busy month of studies have also turned in good evangelism which has resulted in five souls added to the Lords Church. We are so excited to announce the spiritual births of Matha Mwape, Izukanji Ngosa, Patricia Banda, Innocent Lukwesa and Patrick Banda. Inocent was one of the strong holder of Denomination teaching called Seventh Day Adventist and he finally surrendered to the true teaching of the Lord’s Church. Please pray for these souls as we continue to grow and share God’s loving words. 

On the other development Kenny Kondowe a student at BVBI-Zambia who just relocated from Ndola to Luanshya fourteen months ago. According to him, Kenny was not a very active member of the church while he was in Ndola. But when he met Brother Cephas and started going to Mikomfwa and enrolling in the school, he has become active to the church. He is also active and committed to his studies here at BVBI-Zambia. He is the oldest student in class and he is not letting his age to impede his studies. He is very studious and remains committed to complete what he has started. Kenny’s intention is to go back to Ndola and strengthen the Church in His area upon graduation. This can also be spoken concerning all the students that we have at present. They are all equal to the task.  The one word that can be highlighted in all this is growth. 

As indicated in our previous communiqué most of our students attend their Church services in Mikomfwa and Luanshya Central congregations while they are here at school. But we have other students who opt to go back to their respective congregations every other week for their Church services. And to this end, we have kept on receiving very good reports each week from their leaders concerning the steady progress that these students have made in their preaching, presiding on the Lord’s Table and leading in singing. They are even able to lead a profitable Bible study. 

As mentioned in our past report the National Youth Conference for Churches of Christ is fast approaching. The Institute is invited and Brother Fred Kanangu will be speaking during the conference. There will be evangelism going on at this meeting and the Institute Administration is expected to give guidance on the process of application and enrolment. Brother Cephas Mwamba and Kennedy Mukuka will be in-charge of this process. We look forward to this meeting that starts on 19th April 2019 and ends on 22nd April, 2019.

We continue to be very grateful to the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the continued support of the work here, and the Bear Valley Bible Institute at Large. Without which the work that the school is involved in this part of the world would be very difficult to accomplish. Moreover, all your efforts and prayers for the work are highly appreciated. We rejoice with heaven.

Brotherly, 

Cephas and Fred

A guest teacher in Zambia

The month of February was filled with a lot of activities that we can gladly give a report on. To begin with, it was very great to have Brother Donnie Estep come and teach a short course here at BVBI-Zambia. He did a tremendous job as he taught the Book of 1st Corinthians. We are truly thankful to him for the job well done!

The students are working very hard as far as their studies are concerned. They are also involved in the evangelism programs that the school has started for every week-end. Bible studies appointments  have been set with different people due to these programs.  And as a result of this effort we had a soul (Isaac) added to the church on 27th February, we also had three souls restored back to the sheepfold at Mikomfwa Church of Christ.

Hornbye Mupengu and Joseph Ilunga who are students at BVBI-Zambia, worked tirelessly at Mupengu’s farm during the last school break. This farm is located in Masaiti district of Chief Mikambo of the Copper Belt Province of Zambia. Apart from cultivating and doing other farm works, they also did a lot of evangelism among the neighboring farming communities. Each Lord’s Day they invited the neighbors to come to the farm for worship services. They did this the entire time they were there. The whole district of Masaiti has no church at the present moment. When the school is in recess again, Hornbye and Joseph have committed themselves to go back and continue where they had left.   

Brother Cephas had been studying with Kinsley kawala a gentleman who finally requested to be baptized. He wanted to be baptized the very Tuesday night of 19th February, but his baptism was delayed until the next day. Brother Cephas asked some students and Brother Fred to accompany him to baptize this man. We are very grateful to God that another soul was added to the Lord’s Church. There are many activities like these that we hope and pray will yield positive results.

Our Institute has a program to interact with leaders of the churches of Christ here in Zambia which has begun to yield results, as a result of this program, we have received a request from one of the largest Churches in Livingstone requesting for two trained preachers from BVBI-Zambia to work with them. This will be on a fulltime basis. Livingstone is a town in Southern Zambia.

In another development BVBI-Z is gaining more recognition and her purpose is being realized; we have been invited to attend the annual national Youth Conference to be hosted by Lusaka Churches of Christ. Our Director, brother Fred Kanangu will one of the key speakers at the conference. The national Youth Conference starts on 19th April, 2019 and ends on 22nd April, 2019. The Institute will take the opportunity once again of showcasing to the congregants among other things, what the Institute is all about and what the enrollment requirements are. We look forward to being at this annual event. We continue asking for your prayers that all the operations of the school turn out to be successful. 

Thank you once again to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for their financial support. We also thank you for your prayers and indeed moral support. We will be remembering you as well in our daily prayers.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred   

Evangelism in Zambia

Greetings!

It is again that time of highlighting some activities that the school was involved in during the month of January, 2019.

The class resumed in the first week of January, 2019. Four long courses and a short course will be offered during this quarter. And these courses are Old Testament 3 and Old Testament 3a being taught by Brother Cephas Mwamba. In addition to these Brother Fred Kanangu is teaching “World Religions and The life and Teaching of Christ. Brother Donnie Estep will be teaching the book of 1st Corinthians this quarter. We are always grateful to Donnie for coming over and teach a class. The students are upbeat and are very committed to their studies.  

 The school took a field trip to the Town of Chingola in the Copper Belt Province of Zambia. This trip was an invitation from the brethren in Chingola. Chingola have three congregations and all three were represented. They organized a workshop and asked Brother Cephas and Fred to teach on Conflict management and conflict resolution. Evidently, all three congregations in this town had issues against each other. That is the reason why they invited the school to go and help to resolve some of these issues. We are truly thankful for the confidence that the congregations in the Copper Belt have in the school. At this meeting we had a restoration of 18 members.

BVBI-Zambia exists to train faithful men who will in turn be able to introduce other people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And in doing so, we always need to be challenging ourselves together with these men to reach people in our communities. To achieve this, we have through brother Cephas started teaching our students how to raise chickens (boschveld) to able them acquire some survival skills in self-support. Also we have maintained an outreach evangelism program each weekend for all the students.   

The school has continued receiving the updates from the alumni of BVBI-Zambia. Albert Phiri reports from Mpongwe district that the congregation there continues to fare well. He also reports that the Bible studies he helped to start in the area have started bearing results. He says that a week ago, 3 souls were added (baptized) to the Lord’s Church as the result of these Bible studies. The line of his work in this congregation is specifically working closely with the youths. He has organized quite a number of activities to cater for the youths in the area. And as the Institute plans are under way to camp there and help him with such great effort in evangelism. Another vibrant Evangelist, Joseph Musonda is very active in Baluba area where he continues to teach and preach. He briefly left Baluba and went to Mansa to pursue a short course in Bricklaying. While in Mansa he worked closely with Central Church there. The Preacher of Central Church reports to us that because of hard work and effort that Brother Joseph put in the church activities, they managed to baptize two people and four souls were restored back to the sheepfold. Joseph was in Mansa for two months and he is since gotten back to Baluba where is still active. In Baluba the Institute has already camped there and done evangelism to motivate him.

Please continue to pray for the overall work that we are involved in here in Zambia. Pray for wisdom, support and perseverance and for the Word of God to continuously have an impact on our lives and also the lives of those we are teaching and training.

Our hearts are truly thankful to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for financial support and all the encouragement in this good work. We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Classes resume in Zambia

Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters!! We wish you all happy holidays and a very prosperous 2019!!! We give honor and glory to God who has given us the opportunity to work in His Kingdom.

We have received confirmation from all our students that they are ready and cannot wait to report back to school. Two more new students have also affirmed their readiness to be part of the school body. 

The school resumes on 7th January, 2019. And this will be the third quarter in their first year. The courses that will be offered are as follows:

Old Testament 2 is a course that covers the history of the Jews from Joshua to Esther. Brother Cephas Mwamba will teach this course. And he will also be teaching Old Testament 3a.  This is a study of Wisdom literature with special highlights on the book of Job. Brother Cephas is also teaching Greek language (1) for one year, we have noticed good progression in students understanding of common Greek of the New Testament. We believe this helps to our students who would want to further their education in the Bible.

Life of Christ 2 is a course that deals with the life and teachings of Christ. This covers the Sermon on the Mount, Parables of Jesus Christ and Judgment. This course will be taught by Brother Fred Kanangu. And he will also teach the World Religions.

Brother Donnie Estep will also teach 1 Corinthians as a short course during the quarter.

We have added five more class chairs and tables, we have also added two more bed bankers during the school break, in addition, good fruits have come up with the work of Teachers, brother Cephas and Kennedy went on the evangelistic trip to a nearby Township of Mufurila on the copper belt, as a result a 37 years old man George Chileya was baptized. And Cephas has continued teaching and restored three more men back to the sheepfold. Brother Fred and Cephas had time to travel to Chingola on the copper belt were brother Fred had time to speak to the audience at the funeral.

On the other development Joseph Ilunga one of our students from DRC. Has reported that fighting in many places of Congo has continued and it has become extremely dangerous for anyone to travel there. This is due to the fact that the country just had general elections, let’s continue to pray for his safety returns as class resumes.

We have three students who come from villages bordering DRC. These are Gilbert Mulubwa, Daniel Kasonkomona and Fred Mwansa. They all confirmed what Joseph says. And they added that even the Pedicle road which is the short-cut route from their villages passing through DRC coming here is temporally closed. Brethren, we solicit for your prayers that peace and stability returns to this area.

As our third quarter resumes we anticipate more evangelistic efforts in 2019 and truly thankful for your financial support and all the encouragement in this noble work. We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

In His service,

Cephas and Fred

Zambia Directors earn Masters degree

We (Fred and Cephas) have just returned from Chimala Bible Institute in Tanzania, East Africa. We had enrolled in the Masters program that Bear Valley Bible Institute offers here in Africa. We finally completed all the prescribed requirements and graduated on 24th November, 2018. The graduation was supposed to be on 30th November, 2018. It was indeed a momentous occasion for all the thirteen students that graduated. This class composed of eight men from Malawi, one woman from Tanzania, and two men from Zambia (i.e. Cephas and Fred). As the saying goes “Success in church or in any other business demands both knowledge and zeal. Take away one and you ruin the other. Zeal without knowledge is runaway energy, and knowledge without zeal is useless.” We want to keep the flame of enthusiasm burning here as we do the work of the Lord. And with His help and your prayers we are confident to succeed in this noble task here at BVBI- Zambia. Brother Cephas and Fred were involved in evangelism during their study and as a result seven souls were restored back to the church in Kimani Village.

While we were studying at Chimala, Brother Kennedy Mukuka was also in Mbeya, Tanzania conducting some workshops for ten days. He also had an opportunity to preach on one of the radio stations called Big Star FM. The station covers seven regions of Tanzania and has a population of over 16,000,000 listeners.

All our students are busy with teaching and preaching in their respective areas. In addition to preaching and teaching, some of our students are also involved in farming while others are advancing in other professions. Joseph Musonda is our alumnus who has been offered a place to study brick laying at Mansa Trades Training Institute in Luapula Province; this is the Institute at which we had our meeting in August this year for three days. This opportunity has given him also time to preach there and he has so far restored three of his friends back to the sheepfold. We believe more work will be done through him before he completes his course next year. We have also received reports from our two Alumni in Central province who are also studying to add to their preaching career Clive and Andrew. Clive has been involved in preaching besides their busy schedule at School and has since restored two older men from the nearby compound. Clive is studying auto mechanics and Andrew is doing bricklaying. They are determined that upon their completion they want to do more in serving our Lord.

We have received from Solomon Moyo report that since his return to Malawi for this break, he has been studying with a number of people. And he gladly reports that he has so far baptized four (4) people of which three are men and one lady. Solomon’s desire to just wanting to do more for the Lord should be promoted and as a school we shall do all we can to adequately prepare him for his calling. The church has appreciated much of his efforts and we have also received more interested prospective students from his place. He hopes and prays that more will be added to the Lord through such efforts before the school resumes next month.

Joseph Ilunga and Hornbye Mupengu joined forces as they went back to teach and preach in the Ndola area. They have started some Bible studies in different homes. They report that the potential is very high to have many people be converted.

Austin Musonda also reports that his congregation has stepped-up the program for home Bible studies. And through this effort three (3) people have since been baptized.

Brother Mulambia Komani lives in Nakonde, a town bordering Zambia and Tanzania. Mulambia started studying Bible at Chimala Bible Institute but the language barrier there caused him to stop his studies. We have given him an opportunity to join our intake raising the number of our students to 17. This is more than our budget covers but we are willing to take the sacrifice for him. We are very impressed with this brother’s spiritual progression and the potential of him preaching to his home town. Nakonde is a busy and vibrant business town but with a very small church. His training will help the church grow in Nakonde.  

We are sincerely grateful to Woodland Oaks for the financial support given to the school. We also thank you, brethren, for all the prayers and every encouraging word given for the work here in Zambia. May God richly bless all of you!

Cephas and Fred.

A special guest in Zambia

We bring warm greetings from Luanshya, Zambia to you Brothers and Sisters!

It is always a great pleasure to write and inform you brethren in this report about what is happening here at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia.

The month of October started on a very high note.  We had Brother Donnie Estep who came and taught the students from 1st October to 5th October 2018. Brother Donnie taught the Prison letters. It is always a great delight to have Brother Donnie come over and teach. We forever look forward to his visit. He is a great encouragement not only to us but to all our students. And all his visits will indeed make an indelible impression on the work of the Lord in this part of the world.

The students are on long break. The break started on 12th October, 2018. This allowed our students to go back home in good time for farming activities. The early rains have already started in some parts of Zambia. November and December are months that the rain is expected to be in full swing here in Zambia.

Gilbert Mulubwa one of our students, reports from Chiengi district in Luapula Province that three members of the Church perished on Luapula River. These members were from his congregation who wanted to cross and go on the other side of Luapula River to visit their relatives. Transportation remains a challenge to most of the people living in some of these areas. They sorely depend on water transportation. We pray for God’s comfort and strength to the bereaved families during this difficult time. We are planning to have on evangelistic campaign in this district next year.

On the other good news, we would like to announce the birth of the New family in the house of the Lord. The entire family that is, husband and wife including their lovely daughter were on 21/10/18 put on Christ. Mathew Sampa and Lilian Sampa and their Daughter Brender are the new born babies in the Lord.  We also had two Old women in their late sixties restored back to sheepfold of the Lord on 7th October, Matha Mubanga and Grace Chanda both of the same compound here in Luanshya had wondered away for the past thirteen years from the Lord and now they are back and active. On 27th October brother Cephas Mwamba Spoke on a funeral of the late Pilius Mwewa of Mikomfwa at the graveyard two members were restored back making the total number of restoration to four (4). We would also like to mention Joseph Musonda one of our former students, he is doing recommendable work for the Lord while working as a bricklayer to keep his family. He is currently enrolled at Mansa Trades Training Institute to advance his building career.

Frederick Mwansa one of our students from Luapula has also continued to heal from his swollen knee. And he prays to join the rest of his fellow students next quarter. Fredrick injured himself after coming from the school campaigns in Mansa, Luapula Province. His injury caused him to miss most of the classes. But he is very much eager to return and continue where he had left. This can also be said about Stanley Masambani who happens to be the oldest student at school. Immediately after coming back from Luapula campaigns, Stanley’s daughter became critically unwell in Lusaka. She was consequently admitted to University Teaching Hospital. Stanley rushed there to be with his daughter. This caused him to miss most of the classes. His daughter has completely recovered, and Stanley looks forward to join his fellow students in the next quarter. He has expressed his gratitude to all the brethren for the thoughts and prayers offered during his daughter’s illness

The rest of our students continue to fare very well in the service of the Lord in their respective congregations. As administration of the school, we will be visiting some of these congregations as a way of encouragement to them.

We are sincerely grateful to Woodland Oaks for the financial support given to the school. We also thank you, brethren, for all the prayers and every encouraging word given for the work here in Zambia. May God richly bless all of you!

Brotherly

Cephas and Fred

Continued progress in Zambia

Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters! We always give God the praise and honor for granting us this rare opportunity to work in His kingdom. We always depend upon His unfailing grace and His eternal Word as we strive to humbly serve Him.

The students are back for their second quarter. They reported back from a two week break on 6th August, 2018. In the first two weeks of the quarter, they took their short course in Personal Evangelism with Brother Kennedy Mukuka. And now they are taking five normal courses of the quarter.

Brother Cephas Mwamba is taking them in the Life of Christ 1 and the Book of Acts. He has also continued teaching them Koine Greek. Brother Fred is taking them in Homiletics 1 and Hermeneutics 2.

Friday afternoons are dedicated to personal evangelism for all the students. This is the time given to the students to do practical work of evangelism because we believe that people learn better by doing than just listening. So we are trying as much as possible to engage our students in practical ministry so that when graduate they will fully prepared for work. In addition to ministry related activities, the Institute has decided to involve her students in other activities that can help them survive as they do God's work. On Saturday mornings students help with projects that the school is currently involved in to help students acquire survival skills. The school is molding some bricks for a chicken-run (poultry building) to be built on the premises of Mikomfwa church of Christ. This is in line with the school program of survival skills development. Additionally, the school is working with Cephas Mwamba at his vegetable garden just near the church building. These ventures will definitely supplement the school budget.

The Institute is privileged to go out on 29th August, 2018 for a five day National Men's Conference to be held in the town of  Mansa in the Luapula Province of Zambia. The conference will give the Institute a great opportunity to meet with men in the Church from all the provinces of Zambia that will be represented at this meeting. We are taking all our students to participate in this meeting which starts on 30th August 2018 and ends on 2nd September 2018. A meeting like this one gives the school an opportunity to be known by the churches of Christ in Zambia. This meeting is intended to strengthen working relationships of the Church and serves to be a good platform for the institute to be known throughout the country. We believe something good is going to come out of this meeting. This is our first major campaign we are involved in since the school reopened. Mansa is 168 km North of Copper Belt Province. We know the trip will be financially costly but it's worth the sacrifice. During the meeting, students will have a chance to preach the word as they have been taught so far.

We thank God every day for our brothers and sisters at Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for their continued support of the work here and for the partnership we enjoy with our sister Institute in Denver. Moreover, all your efforts and prayers for the work here are highly appreciated. 

God bless you all. 

In His service,

Cephas and Fred   

Continued progress in Zambia

Brethren,

Once again we bring to you greetings from the heart of African Zambia! Our first quarter ended gloriously with two souls (Joseph and Blessings) submitting to the will of God in baptism. Blessings Mudolo has already expressed interest in enrolling and studying at BVBI-Zambia in his quest to know more about the Lord and be faithful in the Lord's Church.

Students have so far easily worked well in teams an indication that they can be team workers with the opportunity given to them here at BVBI-Zambia. They have shown a great spirit of cooperation in all that they have been involved in at the Institute, be it physical or spiritual. Physically, they have been actively working in the small garden at the Institute premises as shown in the pictures below. Spiritually, they have been participating in local church Bible studies and teaching in chapel. We have not unleashed them to evangelize the"world" yet as we want to first prepare them adequately before they start going out in communities. Currently, school is on a two week recess and classes will resume on the 6th August 2018. As we begin the second quarter we believe it is going to be more exciting.

During this short break, regardless most of our students being peasant farmers busy with farm work, we have received good reports of their involvement in the spiritual well-being of their respective congregations. Their good works started even before they went on break. We were so delighted by the teaching of Austin Musonda at Mikomfwa Church of Christ in his sermon “Christian Commitment - let us teach by example how to live in Christ and how to relate to our fellow man.” His teaching resulted in the restoration of three souls. 

BVBI-Z got a real thrill  when she received two leaders from her nearby town (Kitwe) who just came to say, "Thank you for the work you are doing and the impact you are making on the lives of our children." We would like also to thank Brother Donnie Estep who introduced us to World Evangelism in Winona, MS. The tracts which were sent to us from World Evangelism were given to our students which they have been distributing as they teach the Gospel. 

We have our three students from Luapula Province of Zambia which borders with the eastern part of D.R.Congo, report that within this short break, they have set up numerous Bible studies centers from the door knocking campaigns that they have done between July 16-30, 2018. Their activities and reports have been  very interesting and as an Institute  we are planning to go and camp there to evangelize for two days in the month of August; actually we would want to be there for at least four to five days, but due to limited funds for such work we can only manage two days. The church is not quite strong in this part of Zambia, but we believe that with vigorous activities such as these, the church will definitely gain momentum and convert many to Christ there. As an Institute we plan to have one Gospel campaign in this province to help the Church grow.

We are eternally grateful for the partnerships that we have in the Lord and the financial support that we have continued to receive from Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. May God be glorified

In His service,

Cephas and Fred

Excitement in Zambia

The school has entered its sixth weeks since the studies begun and we will be changing the quarter in two weeks’ time. We continue to be very grateful to God for such an opportunity of teaching these men. Zambia is well represented by this intake, having six married and the rest single students.

Our last report we did not mention two more students who have since reported to bring our number to fifteen; Frederick and Simon.  Fredrick Mwansa is a native of Samfya District of the Luapula Province of Zambia. Brother Fredrick is married and has four children. He is one of the leaders at Munuchi church of Christ in Samfya. In spite of him being older than the rest of the students, he has proved to be a force to be reckoned with. He is much focused and understands what he needs to do as a student of the Bible and also as a preacher of the gospel of Christ. We are happy to have Brother Fredrick as part of the student body here at BVBI-Zambia.

Simon comes to us from the city of Kitwe, Copper Belt Province of Zambia. Brother Simon is a member of Wusakile church of Christ in Kitwe. He is single and very eager to learn. He came late because he was preparing to rewrite his GCE (General Certificate of Education). Simon’s interest in advancing his education is commendable and can be used to further the Lords Church. 

Students have easily adapted to all the programs of the school and they seem quite eager to learn. Such eagerness is what we need as a church in Zambia to mitigate for the lack the church has. We have noticed with concern that paucity of trained preachers in our nation. For a long time congregations have been planted and left alone at a time they were still in infancy and in need of guidance and spiritual support from Evangelists. BVBIZ – Zambia is here to take care of such a disparity.

BVBIZ – Zambia, in a bid to offer practical training to students, has embarked on weekly outreach programs. Through these efforts, we have help revive a congregation that was taken by Pentecostalism with a Membership of eighty six (86). This ambitious evangelism program is being spearhead by Brother Cephas Mwamba. All the students are expected to go for evangelism every Friday afternoon in neighbouring townships. Students have been teaching the Bible to people which has resulted into one Baptism at Mikomfwa Church of Christ. While doing evangelism, the students are accompanied by the instructors. In addition to evangelism, on the 22nd June, 2018 (Friday) the students visited Husitine Simuyemba’s family. Husitne is one of our students. Brother Husitine's father suffered a partial stroke. And the students felt duty bound to visit him and offer support as they sung and prayed together.

The first quarter will end in the second week of July.  Brother Kennedy Mukuka will be teaching in the second quarter “Personal Evangelism 1”. This course is indeed very important because it will equip the students with some skills on how to conduct Bible studies (one on one). This course will be given uttermost attention considering that we want to take our students even more in vineyard of our Father. 

Our students have so far taken the following courses:

Scheme of Redemption –Brother Donnie Estep

How we got the Bible – Brother Fred Kanangu

Old Testament 1 - Brother Cephas Mwamba

English 1 and Greek 1 – Brother Cephas Mwamba

Cost of Discipleship – Brother Cephas Mwamba

Christian Evidences – Brother Fred Kanangu

Personal Evangelism 1 – yet to be taken

The following courses will be taken in the second quarter:

-Biblical Interpretation 1 (Introduction to Hermeneutics)-Brother Kanangu

-Life of Christ 1 (Overview of Four-fold gospels) – Brother Cephas Mwamba

-Public speaking 1 (Intro. to sermon preparation and presentation) - Brother Fred Kanangu

-Acts- Brother Cephas Mwamba

Short Courses- the New Testament Church (One True Church) & Personal Evangelism 1 –Brother Kennedy Mukuka

We continue to give thanks to our God for the financial support and all the encouragement in this good work we have continued to receive. We will likewise pray that God will bless the works that you all are involved in as well.

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Graduation in Zambia

The First Graduation for Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia

The first graduation ceremony was supposed to be on 14th October 2017 but it was postponed to 14th December 2017. We are very grateful as a school to see a sizable number of brothers and sisters come from around the Copper Belt Province to witness the honoring of our first graduates. It was also a very joyous moment to the six students that graduated.

Andrew Mwila came specifically for the graduation from Lusaka. He wants to settle in Lusaka and work as a bricklayer while he does his preaching. Since he finished his training here he has been a tool to some congregations in the capital city. As he goes back, we have no doubt that he will be used to the growth and glory of the Kingdom of God.

Clive Kabika and Joseph Musonda have already positioned themselves to work with Roan congregation. They have been involved in evangelism programs at Roan Church of Christ. Albert Phiri is making his living through farming in Mpongwe district where he has a small piece of land. He is a very valuable tool in this area where there is only one active congregation. He has a plan to establish more congregations with the help of the one which is already there.

Boniface Sianjina the oldest and the only married student among the graduates is also doing some farming to support his family. He preaches on a regular basis at Mikomfwa church of Christ. And Stephen Ngosa who happens to be the youngest among the graduates wants to stay in the city of Ndola where most of his family lives. He is looking for a job to support himself and he is also planning to get married as soon as he settles down. He preaches regularly for a congregation in Ndola.

We really honor these men for the sincerity and commitment they pledged at the beginning of their training. They have proved to be so and we continue praying that the Lord will help them to remain so.

We were also very happy to see all our ten new students witness the honoring of their colleagues. It was indeed a momentous time. This will really leave an indelible impression upon our lives and that of the school.

We are very thankful to all the elders and all brothers and sisters on the Copper belt Province of Zambia who found time to come and grace the occasion with their presence. Brother Thomas Nzobo one of the elders at Kitwe Central Church of Christ was our quest of honor.

The gifts (Bibles and T-shirts) from Brother Donnie Estep for the students added value to the graduation ceremony. We continue thanking him for his generosity and his commitment for the work here.

Training of these men could not have been possible without the financial support of Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. We are truly grateful to them for their commitment.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Graduation upcoming in Zambia

Greetings!

We bring Christian greetings from Bear Valley Bible Institute- Zambia. We are always happy to share with you concerning the work here in Zambia, and Luanshya in particular. The work of the Lord continues to grow from one degree of glory to the next. And we grateful to God for the opportunity we have in this noble task.

The six out of the ten students have finished their two years of study with Bear Valley –Zambia. For the past two years, we have seen these men on every curve of their spiritual growth. We can say with all our hearts that these men have turned to be very able preachers. And it is undoubtedly they will indeed make a meaningful contribution to the profile of the Kingdom of God. This has only been possible because of the existence of BVBI- Zambia. We have set 13th October 2017 as a graduation day for these men. Preparations are underway for the success of this day. 

Recruitments of new students have intensified. With two refuges from Angola wanting to be trained, We have so far interviewed fifteen prospects students. All things being equal, we would love that all these come and be part of the student body here at BVBI-Zambia.

Some of these of grandaunts are traveling with the rest of other men in Zambia to Kalomo, Southern Province of Zambia for Men’s conference. This meeting starts on 31st August 2017 and ends on 3rd September 2017.

We are eternally grateful to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the financial support that comes to us each month. May God continue blessing you in all your endeavors!

Thank you once again.

In His service,

Cephas and Fred

Zambian students making a difference

Greetings!

This is again another opportunity to write and report about the school activities during the month of July, 2017. 

It is incredible to see that in the next two weeks, our students will finally complete their two years of study here at Bear Valley Bible Institute Zambia. They are now busy preparing for their final examinations in four remaining courses. These courses are: Christian Ethics, the Book of Revelations, Denominational Doctrines, and Church Development. They are really excited to finish and eager to go out and preach. 

Apart from the demands of these courses, they are also tirelessly laboring with the surrounding congregations of Luanshya and Mpongwe districts. Students have been active in visiting the sick at the two hospitals that we have here in Luanshya. These are the places where much of our evangelism efforts have been made and students have set private studies after class hours. We have not spared our students because we need them to be more practical before their final completion of training this quarter. Each student has made tremendous progress in what they are doing now. 

Albert Phiri is regularly preaching at Mgengelwa Church of Christ in Mpongwe district. Before Albert came to school, this congregation depended mainly on regular members for preaching each Lord’s Day. And this type of arrangement made this church to stagnant in growth for many years. But since Albert begun helping, we can safely say that there is a steady growth both spiritually and numerically. Looking at what this young man is doing to foster growth of this congregation; it is without a doubt that a lot will be achieved even when he graduates from Bear Valley Bible Institute Zambia in two weeks time.

Clive has positioned himself at Luanshya Central Church of Christ in working with the Sunday school children. He wants to help the church by working with young children. He together with the leadership of Luanshya Central has formulated a plan that will continue catering for the young ones not only at Luanshya Central, but throughout the Copper belt Province of Zambia.

Boniface continues working with Mikomfwa Church of Christ in Luanshya. It is worth noting that this congregation is the one Brother Cephas Mwamba, one of the lecturers at BVBI Zambia, is working with. We are very glad to report that these brethren are working very hard to see that Mikomfwa church grows both spiritually and numerically. It is also worth to note that, this month they have taught and baptized four new members at Mikomfwa church. The profile of the Kingdom of God can only expand through such efforts. We thank God for results like these!!

Stephen and Joseph are also very busy helping with Baluba Church of Christ in Luanshya district. Again and again, the entire student body has been asked on several occasions by the brethren from Roan congregation here in Luanshya to help them in building the church building. Most of our students are not only super students in academics and preaching but they are also good bricklayers and plumbers.  We can humbly boast that these students will really make visible influence in the world when they graduate from the school.  

We continue to be very grateful to the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the continued support of the work here. Moreover, all your efforts and prayers for the work here are highly appreciated.

Zambian Team

Student reports from Zambia

Greetings!

It is great once again to update you about what has been happening at school during the month of June. The school is back in full swing from a short break and all our students reported back on time. They are much geared up to wrap up their final year. From the explanation of each student, we can easily conclude that each one of them had a very fruitful break as far as the expansion of the Kingdom of God is concerned. The following are some excerpts from their reports:

“Apart from doing my personal evangelism in Mikomfwa township of Luanshya, I studied with Matthew, a younger brother to my sister-law, who later become a Christian two weeks ago.”(Clive Kabika, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia) 

“I visited the family of the late evangelist Mubanga in Walale. We had Bible studies and one of the daughters of our late brother gave herself and asked to be baptized. We made some arrangements and she got baptized the week that followed.” (Boniface Sianjina, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia) 

“During the holiday, I was able to visit and preach to some Churches in Kafue area of Lusaka Province. Just like Aquila and Pricilla I met one brother from one cup church and I explained the doctrine concerning this issue correctly.”(Andrew Mwila, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia) 

“During my holiday, I did personal evangelism as I visited my relatives in Mpongwe. I was privileged to teach the gospel to my family and my friends.” (Joseph Musonda, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia) 

“I preached at Myengelwa Church of Christ during the school break and I studied with the members in their homes and also at Church”(Albert Phiri, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia)

“I did personal evangelism in Kawama, Ndola, and I had an opportunity to study with my family about the true Church and the true doctrine. At the moment my family goes to Christian Church” (Stephen Ngosa, Student at Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia)

And on another development, Cephas Mwamba had the opportunity to teach and baptize two people and also met with Brother Josiah Masiye who came from Livingstone in Southern Province. The two brothers met in Ganaton, Kitwe, which is the next town from Luanshya of about 85 kilometres northwest from the School. The two had a fruitful meeting were they taught and Baptize one head of a certain Family and as a result we anticipate to start a new congregation in Ganaton very soon.

It is unbelievable that in the next two months, we are clocking two years since the opening of BVBI-Zambia. We can look back in these two years as a school and be encouraged that we did not just throw away the time. Students have not only grown in their age but they have also grown spiritually during the period they have been here. They have become better in their preaching and it is our prayer that they continue improving in this noble task even after they graduate. Training these men is indeed a worthy cause!!

These results would not have been possible without the constant and unvarying support of Woodland Oaks church of Church. We are truly grateful to them and we pray for the blessings upon everything they do.  

The next class which will open in September will be a little bit larger compared to the one which will be graduating. Thank you once again for everything! 

Brotherly,

 Cephas and Fred

Campaign success in Zambia

Greetings! We bring Christian greetings from the heart of Africa, Luanshya, Zambia!

VISITING TEACHER!!!

The month of February was packed with events. First, we were very privileged to have Brother Donnie Estep come and teach and of our short courses. He taught the book of Romans and the students have continued talking about it. This is an indication that he really did as always a superb job! We are blessed to have men like Brother Donnie come and teach our students. We applaud the work that he is doing for God!  

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES REPORT

Bear Valley Bible Institute – Zambia (BVBIZ) students were engaged in practical evangelism in Roan Township of Luanshya from February 21 to February 25, 2017.   

The outreach program involved students distributing Gospel tracts to the residents of Roan Township of which our target was Section 9. The distribution went on very well as people gladly accepted the free tracts. Tract distribution was employed as a way of opening doors for evangelism activities. Appointments were made on the first day for Bible studies.  

On the second and third days, follow ups on appointments were made. For the most part, appointments were honoured with some awesome Bible studies taking place. Some students encountered some hostility when they were rudely asked to leave. On one occasion they were nicely asked to leave as the owner of the house said he does not have time and will never have time for church things. In evangelism, you meet different types of people.   

RESULTS

In the process of tract distribution, one old woman could not hide her surprise and joy to discover that she was being approached by members of the church of Christ. “Church of Christ!” she exclaimed. “I was a member of the church of Christ together with my whole family. I was baptized at Makoma (a dam in Roan Township) and was very strong until I went to Kasama (a headquarter of Northern Province of Zambia) and joined another church. I was there in the Kaunda times. I think I will start coming because this encounter is not by accident.” Hopefully this will be the beginning of her restoration.    

Moreover, several families have agreed to be having continuous Bible studies with students so that they can know more about God and some families have pledged to start attending church with the Roan congregation.  

In addition, students having been exposed to real life evangelism have gained a great deal of confidence which they will desperately need when they graduate. Amazingly, this whole exercise cost a paltry $100.  

OBSERVATIONS

Students showed high levels of enthusiasm for work and openly wished they had been doing this longer 

Students easily worked in teams an indication that they can be team players when need arises and opportunity given. We at Bear Valley Bible Institute – Zambia believe that Ministry training should be holistic: head, heart, and body. This is an old, tried, and trusted method of training which was skilfully employed even by the Lord Jesus.  

Head training: this involves what most schools do – having daily classroom teaching. This is important to impart knowledge in the heads of learners. But left alone it achieves very little in 

Changing the lives of those being trained and usually produces preachers with “big heads” (the arrogant we-know-it-all kind of people). 

Heart training: this involves serious chapel time and specific prayer times for students. This kind of training prepares the heart for God’s work and when the heart is trained it can keep the head in check. Most schools neglect this and end up with a large number of graduates whom nobody can be proud of. Jesus trained his disciples’ hearts by taking them to the Mount of Olives and even to Gethsemane.   

Body training: this involves practical ministry. Ministry is like the medical field, no nurse or doctor will ever be employed if they don’t have an adequate number of hours of practical work (in fact they cannot even be allowed to graduate). The Lord Jesus saw the importance of body training hence he engaged his disciples in it before he gave them the Great Commission (their graduation). A boxer who never boxes is not a boxer no matter how much knowledge he has about boxing. A runner who never runs is not a runner no matter how much knowledge he has about running. Equally a Gospel minister who never ministers is not one no matter how much Bible he has in the head.   Our belief is that BVBIZ trains her students fully the Jesus style.  

We are eternally grateful to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for financial support as we labour together for the cause of the cross. 

In His service,

 Zambian Team.

Good news in Zambia

Hearty greetings to you all brothers and sisters! We give honor and glory to God our heavenly Father who through His grace and the love fully expressed in Christ has granted us the opportunity to work in His kingdom. We are but mortal vessels who should strive to draw closer to God and imbibe on His eternal Word even as He uses us for His purpose.  

The men’s Conference in Lusaka

It was on Thursday, 29th September 2016 that together with other 13 men, we arrived in Lusaka. The reason for this trip was to attend the annual conference for men. The three days was indeed jam-packed with good lessons and wonderful fellowship. The theme of the conference was “Man That Leads.” All the Provinces of Zambia were represented with exception of North-Western, Western, and Muchinga Provinces.  There were 254 men in attendance, and at the end of the conference there were four (4) baptisms and three (3) restorations recorded. The Men’s National Organizing Committee ended its five (5) year mandate and another committee was chosen during the conference that will stay in office for the next five (5) years. The next conference for men will take place in August, 2017 in Western Province.  We were very glad to be given a slot also during the conference to talk and advertise Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia.

Ordination of Elders

On 30th October, 2016, the School was invited and asked by Chiwempela Church Christ in Chingola, to perform the ordination of their elders and deacons. This congregation has never had any elders and deacons since its inception almost twelve (12) years ago. The town of Chingola is about 40km south of DRC. We have many nationals from DRC living both in Chingola and other towns of Copper Belt Province. There are only few known churches of Christ in the entire DRC. The political instability there has made the establishment of both churches and mission points almost impossible. 

We have two known congregations near the DRC border. These are not big congregations, but they can serve as stepping stones for aggressive evangelism inside the DRC. Our purpose and determination is to work with these existing churches and raise men who can eventually work in Congo.

 The advantage that we have is that these people living near the border of DRC know and speak the language of DRC fluently. So it won’t be any problem when it comes to communication.  

Evangelistic Trips that took place this year

  The institute have had opportunity to strengthen local congregations here in the copper belt and outside the Copper Belt Province. The work has extended as far as Kawabwa in Luapula Province and Lusaka the capital of Zambia.  And as a result of these efforts three souls have been added to the Kingdom and four (4) have been restored back to the kingdom of God. As we enter 2017 we anticipate another good year of teaching and preparing those who want to be in Church leadership. The school have been invited to go to Mumbwa for series of evangelistic campaigns in April, 2017.  This town is in Lusaka Province.  Brethren in this town (Mumbwa) have been pleading to visit them from the time they heard about the school. This calling and pleading seems to be like the “Macedonian call” and we pray that this land is spiritually fertile.  

 Some happenings during holidays

The school is on break, and we took the rare opportunity to travel to Chimala Bible Institute in Tanzania for short courses of master’s program. Having previously taken the introductory work to graduate program last year, it was indeed a very intense two weeks of hard work. We covered the book of John and Advanced Hermeneutics. Brother Jerry Bates took us in both courses. He really did a terrific job! These two weeks flew just like two days because of the velocity of the program.

The students at Bear Valley Bible Institute Zambia are also on break and we have heard good things coming directly from all of them. They have reported that they have been quite active and very busy in several evangelistic preaching in their areas.

Boniface Sianjina went back to Kafubu Farming Block area within Luanshya district. As the name suggests, many residents of this area are primarily farmers. And Boniface has been doing a little bit of farming to sustain himself and his family while he is not at school. He is also active in spreading the gospel whenever he is not farming.

Albert Phiri is back at his home congregation in Mpongwe district some 50km from Luanshya town.  Joseph Musonda went back to Baluba where he is also preaching and he is helping his mother with a little bit of farming. He is also a bricklayer and sometimes he is hired to build in his area. Stephen Ngosa is also from Baluba and the report we have is that he is also very active with the church work especially on Sundays when he preaches, leads songs and serves on the Lord’s Table. Josephat Kantu is trying to support himself by working at one of the construction companies here in Luanshya. He comes regularly at Luanshya Central Church of Christ on Sundays.

Another interesting report comes from Andrew Mwila in Luapula Province of Zambia. This Province also has borders with DRC. He (Andrew) reports that he is very busy preaching and converting some people to Christ. When we read of another Andrew who brought his brother to Christ in the Bible, we are encouraged that our Andrew here is just doing the same, i.e. bringing people to Christ!!! Yes, Andrew is a little known man who brought a prominent man to Christ. He is overshadowed by his brother in every way, but yet he brought that brother to Christ. He did this because he had love for the lost. Equally Brother Andrew Mwila has the love for the lost.

Andrew is one of our best students here. We are so amazed to see his spiritual devotion and the depth of his maturity. He is a very serious student and he is highly respected by all his fellow students. Since he is also a bricklayer, he has started building a church building of one of the congregations he helped to start in his area. 

There is no question or doubt that lives have and will eternally be changed spiritually and enriched physically because of the efforts of these young men.  

We continue to be very grateful to the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the continued support of the work here. Moreover, all your efforts and prayers for the work here are highly appreciated.  

God bless you all. 

Your Partners in Christ, 

The Bear Valley Bible Institute Zambia Team