December & January

It has been an action-packed couple of months!  We started right away with a Local Church Teaching Module (LCTM) December 5-8 with Green Mountain MBC in Rutland, VT.  There's a pic below, but you can see more by following this link. Pastor Bill Crouse, his wife Kelli, and the entire church were great hosts, and we feel we had a productive time with them.  My pastor, Joey McDermott, joined me, John Chandler (Associate/Youth @ Second Baptist) and Jerry Grimes (Pastor @ Living Faith in Fort Smith) and we taught lessons on Church Administration, Youth Ministry, Discipleship & Disciple-Making and The Kingdom.  We prepared dinner each evening, which is part of what we do for the local churches who invite us to conduct a LCTM.

To see the December report, follow these links p1 p2

The end of December 2023 brought a close to our 12th year of working in and with the people of the Solomon Islands.  As January 2024 came into view, we began a new 4-year cycle of instruction with the remaining students, began making preparations for a 2-year cycle of instruction for the graduates and also began the transition in earnest to see the seminary in the Solomon Islands become an indigenous self-supporting work. This has been our goal all along and we are excited to see and know that it is soon to be a reality.  Soon is, of course, relative to the 12 years already spent working there.  Barring any major disturbance, we anticipate them being able to fully handle the entirety of the responsibilities associated with keeping the school functioning and solvent within the next 2 years!  They still have much to learn, but if we're honest, the rest of us are in the same boat!

The teaching module held this month began with the normal flight delays and setbacks.  It has become so commonplace, that I almost expect it to happen!  I made it to the Solomon Islands only one day later than I'd planned, so that is a plus. On this trip, I was blessed to have Nathan Luellen and Joseph Stacks join me and serve as instructors.  For Nathan, it was his first trip to the Solomon Islands, and I think he had a great time.  I know the students and graduates were very glad to meet him and he did a great job during the week.  He was also an asset to me, and the work as a whole.  Nathan is the pastor of the Stockwell Road Baptist Church in Bossier City, LA.  Joseph is the pastor of Forest Grove MBC in Taylor, AR and this was his 3rd trip to help.  As always, Joseph was a blessing to have on the trip and he was also a blessing to have along. The students always enjoy him being along and benefit greatly from his service to them.

To see the January report, click HERE and to see more pics of the trip follow this link