“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)
While there are always challenges when you are serving people, we have been enjoying the blessings God gives to those who “keep on keeping on” for the cause of Christ.
August and September were busy, as I taught modular classes in our Bible college. I enjoyed teaching about Bible study methods, prayer, personal finances, and rearing godly children. We make sure to balance the classroom instruction with chapel, weekly soul winning, and weekend ministry. It is great to see the Lord at work in the lives of our students as they mature in their walk with God.
In September we held our annual missions conference and were blessed by the preaching of Pastor Gilbert Toquero from La Loma Baptist Church, Quezon City, Luzon. We had six Filipino missionary families at our conference from the fields of Haiti, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Madagascar, and India. Our students built several mission-field displays in our church foyer and sang special music for the conference. Many made important decisions for the Lord, and all were encouraged to do more to reach the lost. What a blessing to witness Filipinos reaching other countries!
Every year I have to make several trips to the immigration office, about a six-hour’s drive away from us, to extend my visa for one year. I was able to get the paperwork and fees paid without problems and am awaiting confirmation that my visa is extended again. Please pray that the rest of the process would go smoothly.
On August 17, Mike and Ruth Morrissey (Ruth is my daughter) had the first Bible study for the start of their new church in Dapitan, Mindanao, Philippines (the island just south of me). God blessed Truth Baptist Church with 43 visitors! They continue to do well and are seeing many saved in a city that is a Catholic stronghold. Praise God for all that they learned while working here in Dumaguete, especially in learning Visayan. Three of our former students are working with them as staff and are doing a great job. What a blessing to see your children serving the Lord and being faithful to the “old-time religion.”
So far this year, we have recorded 5,411 saved and 218 baptized in our ministries at International Baptist Church. When I go soul winning with our people, I usually enjoy setting up conversations and then handing them over to my partner to give them the joy of leading them to Christ. Recently I was at a park in a nearby town and was blessed to lead 4 teenagers to Christ in English. It is not unusual for folks here to thank you for taking the time to share the plan of salvation with them. What a blessing!
May God richly bless you,
Scott Christiansen
Our Bible college students singing special music for our annual missions conference at IBC