We know that many of you have had to endure the longest, coldest winter in many years. We remember those days very well! While you are finally getting to enjoy some warmer weather, we are into our summer months here and are very busy reaching out to the lost and discipling new believers.
We work to keep soul winning as the heartbeat of our ministry; and, so far this year, our church’s soul- winning efforts have seen over 3,000 saved. Our Sunday morning average attendance in April was over 200, and 116 have been baptized so far this year.
Our Bible college is finishing up another year of schooling, and we praise the Lord for the growth that we are seeing in our 14 students. Thirteen of our students are a result of the ministry here at International Baptist Church of Dumaguete, and it is amazing to realize that some of our best soul winners have only been saved a couple of years. I enjoyed teaching college courses entitled Child Rearing I and II, How to Study the Bible, and Biblical Foundations.
IBC had a one-day Youth Rally, with 165 young people attending and 20 saved during the services. Many important decisions were publicly made, and we are seeing big changes in many of their lives since then. Please pray, as the Devil always attacks after such victories; and, as you know, he does not “fight fair.” For example, recently we have seen the deaths of a brother of a Junior Church girl, a 17-year-old niece of one of our adult church members, and the stepfather of a new teen convert. In dealing with the grieving families, we are grateful that more than a score have been saved.
We also have news regarding our children “back home.” Our son Amos graduated from Hyles-Anderson College and is now engaged to Lacey Hisler from Maine. They plan to be married this August. Another son Joel has also become engaged to Crystal McClure from Michigan, and they are planning a wedding in October. Our son Micah and his wife Abbie are preparing to begin deputation for serving with FBMI in Ghana, West Africa. Caleb, our youngest, is getting ready for his senior year at Hyles-Anderson. God has been very good to us in watching over and encouraging our kids to marry well and serve the Lord!
Thank you for all the sacrifices and prayers on our behalf that make it possible for us to work on the foreign mission field. We are looking forward to seeing our college students serving as fundamental Baptist pastors and missionaries wherever God will lead them.
Yours for souls,
Scott Christiansen
