In April, we were privileged to have some guests from Nigeria come teach our teens, staff, pastors, and Bible college students about starting Bible Clubs. These guests were American missionaries, Mark and Sabrina Holmes and Sonny and Dianne McGuffee, and two Nigerian pastors, Adewale Adesina and Babatunde Ajayi. They shared with us a program entitled “S.M.I.T.E.” Dr. Holmes explains S.M.I.T.E. and their time with us as follows:
“S.M.I.T.E. Africa is now international! The Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism held its first youth camp outside of Nigeria in Ghana with Fundamental Baptist Church of Kumasi. We were thankful to work with missionaries from our mission board, Fundamental Baptist Missions International, in training their young people and seminary students to conduct children’s Bible Clubs throughout their area. There were 76 campers who attended classes each morning for 5 days; in the afternoons, they teamed together for 14 Bible Clubs, where a total of 946 children were enrolled, and over 500 responded to the salvation message.”
Our team missionary, Charles Osgood, works with our youth. He summarizes well the benefit of the S.M.I.T.E. program: “One of the great blessings of this program is that it teaches the youth that they can serve the Lord NOW. Because of the instruction and motivation that our teens received, several of them have continued to conduct Bible Clubs in the area and are reaching children with the Gospel!”
Bible Clubs Continue
As a result of the Bible Club training, as least 15 children came to our church for the first time the Sunday after S.M.I.T.E. camp. (The 11 who attended the preaching service are pictured below.) We know of at least 9 Bible Clubs that have been started and are still continuing as a result of the camp. In the 2 months since the camp, 95 more have professed faith in Christ, and 22 more children are now attending church. Above is a picture of Isaac Boateng, our Bible college student, conducting a Bible Club in Joma, a developing township of Accra.
Team Family
The Christiansens just wrote about the Bible Club ministry in their most recent prayer letter, making their family a perfect choice to be featured this month: tinyurl.com/ChristiansenLetters. The Christiansens oversee our Christian school and our children’s department. They are making a difference in the lives of children–and their parents–here in Ghana.
Yours for souls,
Ted Speer
Team Leader
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- Bible Club Kids at FBCI for the First Time
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- SMITE Ghana Participants
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- Bible College Student Conducts Bible Club