Serving God During the Pandemic
How can a church fulfill its mission when it is not allowed to meet together for worship and Bible study?
The resilience of the church is amazing. In the words of an old adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Another proverb is, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
During the past three months, preachers have preached to cameras and streamed their messages to congregants via the Internet. Others have produced videos and posted them on Facebook and YouTube. The Metro congregation in Gresham, Oregon is currently a drive-in church. Worship services are conducted on the parking lot, and members worship while sitting in their cars listening to everything on their FM radios.
Before we pat ourselves on the back, however, we should know that churches of Christ in other nations are just as creative.
Take, for example, the church in Korca, Albania, a city near the Greek border. We just received a newsletter from Albert Cepi, preacher for the church there. In his newsletter, Albert describes how God has used him and his wife, Jona (pronounced “Yōna”) to keep the church alive and growing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Albert writes, “These last two months have been both challenging and hopeful. The government announced the isolation in March. People could only go out for necessities—with formal permission from the government. Many families have been impacted by the closure from lack of employment. We have tried to help by providing food boxes for the blind community and other needy families.
“I was able to get special permission during the quarantine to meet people/families, to talk with them and to help strengthen and encourage their hearts and souls.”
Albert reports that in May, members of the church worshiped together online. When the restrictions were lifted, they worshiped in the church building but maintained social distancing. They wore masks and gloves, tested their temperatures, and used hand sanitizer.
Albert says, “It was a great joy to meet face to face and worship God together again. We are created to have fellowship with God and companionship with one another.
Albert writes, “Jona has been teaching and counseling the younger ladies and mothers at our apartment. Sometimes they go for a walk and talk about the virtuous woman. We have tried to use every opportunity to connect with people and share the hope, assurance, and promises that we find in God’s holy Word.”
The young people in Korca have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Their schools closed and they studied their lessons at home alone. To encourage the youth group, Albert and Jona plan activities, such as volleyball, and spend time with them walking and talking while hiking up the hill.
In June, Albert and Jona met with small groups, sitting on the grass under towering trees, studying the Bible together. Such activities served to relieve stress and to connect people with God’s word and God’s people.
Editor’s Note: Satan probably thought he had won a great victory when he made it virtually impossible for God’s people to assemble for worship and Bible study. But God is full of surprises, and he has brought good out of bad. Millions of people, when faced by the threat of death by COVID-19, have turned their faces toward God. Christians who have been forbidden to worship in their church buildings now love God and one another more fervently. During the pandemic, twice as many people as usual have enrolled as students, and twice as many Christians as usual have become Internet teachers. The church has been purified as by fire. In the words of William Shakespeare, “Great are the uses of adversity.” The victory belongs to God.
Dick Ady
A Fruitful Harvest in India
Brother Prabhu Kumar, Director of WEI-INDIA, reports that WEI teacher, Bro. Parandhamaiah baptized five people at Narayanavanam. WEI teacher, Bro. Vinod Kumar baptized a young woman in the area of Ambajipet. WEI teacher, Bro. Parandhamaiah baptized a man and his wife, both from Hindu backgrounds. WEI teacher, Bro. Durairaj, baptized a man and a woman into Christ in his area of Kalathur. Both were from Hindu backgrounds. During the last two months, the Lord has added eleven people to his church in Southern India.
Wouldn’t you like to lead someone to Christ?
Chances are you can. Become a WEI Internet teacher by logging on to our website and signing up at
www.worldenglishinstitute.org/register/teacher.
WEI Convert’s Family Suffers
WEI teacher, Katheryn Haddad, writes: “Here is an update on our Muslim convert [Hezekiah] who was on a business trip to a European country and was baptized on March 15. His colleagues disappeared. All flights were cancelled because of COVID-19. His password to his company website no longer worked. His company cell phone was cut off, and his passport was about to expire.”
Katheryn got in touch with “John Mark,” (the Christian name she gave to a Muslim student who was baptized ten years ago.) John Mark and his family have often fled for their lives whenever he preached to the wrong people. He told Katheryn, “I will never stop preaching until they kill me.”
John Mark went to Hezekiah’s house to warn his family that they were in danger, and he learned that they had moved out and disappeared the preceding night. Katheryn says, “John Mark’s son, Ananias (his Christian name) went by Hezekiah’s place of employment and was informed that he no longer worked there.”
In mid-May, Hezekiah contacted Katheryn from an immigration camp in Europe and asked her some questions about how to live the Christian life. She immediately answered his questions and started sending him the daily inspirational thoughts that she sends to all of her Muslim converts. She also sent to Hezekiah her “52 Sunday Worship Guides for isolated Christians.” She warned him not to associate with Muslims because of the manifesto against his life that was being circulated all over the world. Katheryn says, “God blessed him with a small room shared with an African and a Russian.
“Hezekiah received two letters and a magazine declaring the manifesto against his life. Now he has proof that his life would be in danger if he was forced to return to his homeland.”
Hezekiah’s family back home is suffering. He says, “My family is under pressure. No one is allowed to meet them, and they are not allowed to meet others as well. They are being humiliated and insulted while going to any necessary work in the community. Even my children are not allowed to play with other children. Community members say to my family members that I was teaching my sons Christianity, so he is a Christian—an INFIDEL. They [the family] are living in my home town. I told them to go somewhere else, but they say they cannot go anywhere else in this situation. It would be better to bear the hard situation here rather than going [somewhere else] to die by corona. They are passing a really hard situation, but I believe Jesus will help us bear all these situations, and he will show us the right way to survive.”
Katheryn learned that a Christian man and his wife live in the town close to the immigration camp. They are the only New Testament Christians in that town. Jurgen and Doris received permission to pick up Hezekiah at the camp and take him to their home.
Hezekiah wrote to Katheryn, “I have some good news for you. I have visited my brother Jurgen and sister Doris in their home. They are really kind and loving personalities. I and Brother Jurgen have decided to exchange questions and answers through email.
Jurgen and Doris wrote to Katheryn saying, “He will be given a tablet since his computer broke. Then he can study the Bible even better. Now, he’s studying the gospel of Mark.”
Editor’s Note: Let us pray for Hezekiah and his family. We can only imagine what it would be like to walk in Hezekiah’s shoes knowing that his family is suffering persecution in their homeland just because he has been baptized in Europe. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).
W.E.I. NEEDS YOUR HELP!!
More and more national preachers around the world are using WEI courses in their local outreach ministries. National preachers are our most efficient and productive partners in world evangelism. Additional funds for printing and mailing these materials are needed.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear with-
out someone preaching to them?” – Romans 10:14
Testimonials from Students
Now that my wife Angela is working as one of the WEI support administrators on the teaching website, she frequently shares with me some of the sweetest and most meaningful comments sent to us by the teachers of some of our students. It is our pleasure to share with you two of these beautiful comments.
This is an answer to one of the thought questions and comes from a 17-year-old student from India: “Yes, I do feel God’s tug of war on my heart and who cannot feel it, even Satan would have felt it once. God’s love is so great that it is spreading to every corner of the world. I did not know anything about baptism before studying your lessons, and I think these lessons are really helping me in providing greater information and beautiful things related to God. God is surely leading me towards my new birth. I am ready to change my heart and life, lead towards a God-given path and wash away all my sins. Nothing can hinder me to do such a significant and great thing and stay under God’s love forever. Ma’am, WEI and you are already helping me so much through these lessons and giving your precious time to me from which I am able to get to know more about God and Jesus. I will always be grateful to you all.”
Here is a message to one of our teachers from a student who lives in Lebanon: “Jesus book was very interesting and meaningful. It reflects a real and beautiful image of Jesus Christ. This book helped me to have the deepest understanding of Jesus’ character. I have learned that the more we learn about Jesus the more we fall in love with Him, and the more we believe that He is God’s Son. Believing in Jesus is a strong will to overcome evil in order to please Him as a nice response to what He did and is still doing for us. It’s a feeling of respect and gratitude toward Him, and a need to honor and glorify Him by being a true Christian. I hope this book will touch the hearts of a large number of unbelievers so they could change their minds and have faith in Jesus, and help believers as well to have the deepest understanding of their role as Jesus’ followers. Thank you!”
Tom and Angie
A Gift That Makes an Eternal Difference
When I think about the vision and mission of WEI, I am in awe and eternally grateful. Truly, God has blessed us with an amazing tool! Technology gives us the opportunity from the comfort of our homes to teach the Word of God to lost souls in every nation. God continues to open the hearts of thousands of unbelievers, including people from every major religion, so that we can share with them the good news of Jesus Christ. With your help, we are able to fulfill the global effort envisioned by Jesus in the Great Commission. To God be the glory!
In July 2016, we increased our Google advertising to $100 a day. God answered our prayers with incredible results. Notice the consistent rise in the number of active Internet students for five consecutive years, from 8,354 in 2015 to 15,029 in 2016 to 20,461 in 2017 to 23,611 in 2018 to 30,179 in 2019. He continues to open the floodgates of heaven and to pour out blessings through WEI. God is great all the time!
Advertising is the chief and essential component of our Internet ministry. Currently, 6,900 individuals from 200 nations are registering as students each month, and 23,000 students are studying the Bible.
Help us replenish our annual budget of $36,500 for Google advertising. Invest in this incredible tool that reaches out daily to the hurting, struggling, lost and dying world of precious souls. Please consider a gift of $25, $50, $100, or more. With your generous gift, God will continue to rescue, reconcile, and save lost souls around the world. Thank you for making an eternal difference!
Mail a check to World English Institute, 1525 NW Division St., Gresham, OR 97030, or give online at https://worldenglishinstitute.net/give-to-wei/
Jesus said, “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29).
Lee Allen
Filipino Student Becomes Teacher
Edwin E. Vicente, noted ballet dance teacher in several schools in the Philippines, is now our brother in Christ. A photo of his baptism was printed in our last newsletter. In this issue, we feature him as a WEI graduate who is sharing what he learned with children, teenagers, and adults. He is proving to be a dedicated servant of Christ.
Edwin writes, “Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, I lost my job. However, when my good friends, Mrs. Laila Pascua Sansano and her husband, Mr. Lito Sansano learned that I had finished an English course from WEI, they encouraged me to teach their daughter and other children. When I hesitated, they told me that they would support me 100%.
“I wrote to Dr. Richard N. Ady, Founder of WEI and my mentor, and asked if I would be allowed to teach kids in the Philippines as my teaching ministry. I did not expect to be granted permission, but when my request was approved, people started helping me. Mrs. Cita U. Garcia, one of the parents, helped me secure a barangay permit to conduct the class. Also, Mrs. Laila P. Sansano, and Ms. Carol May L. Macusi, and Mrs. Mary Rose B. Estocapio volunteered to help me as coordinators. Ms. Elma M. Galinato volunteered to be my photographer, and she has taken dozens of pictures.
“Initially, I had five kids in the class, but when parents heard about it, they started sending their kids. There was no recruitment. It just happened. Now, there are thirty children, young people, and adults in several classes. Even though we do not have any financial assistance for study materials and teaching aids, the parents have provided.
“I do not know if this is my calling, but I am willing to serve with the guidance of our Almighty Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.”
Etang Akpan Bears Fruit
Aniefiok Akpan is so proud of his lovely, intelligent wife, Etang, that he calls her “Queen,” and with good reason. She is deeply involved in his ministry, and she is his greatest source of encouragement and strength. We join him in singing her praises as a worthy woman.
Aniefiok writes, “Etang is not yet a WEI Internet teacher. She is still studying under sister Jan Towell as her teacher and mentor. But Etang uses hard copies of the WEI English and Bible lessons to teach a bunch of ladies of denominational background. One of her students, Maria Akanima Nsini, a married woman with children, accepted Christ and was baptized at the campus church today.”
INVITATION:
We invite you to include WEI in your 2020 church budget. Please join us in a concerted effort to lead the whole world to Christ.
First Fruits of WEI-IDEA
WEI-IDEA is an exciting new outreach ministry conceived by Aniefiok Akpan in Nigeria. The acronym WEI-IDEA stands for WEI International Digital Evangelism in Africa. The idea is to equip Africans to teach Africans throughout the continent of Africa using the WEI website.
Aniefiok says that the opportunity to study English and the Bible on the Internet, free of charge, is irresistible to Africans. The team of African teachers that he has recruited is required to study the entire WEI curriculum under the oversight of American Internet teachers.
One member of the team is Wabamba George, a gospel preacher from Uganda who is in Nigeria studying at the School of Biblical Studies. One of George’s Internet students is a brilliant man named Rogers Sunday who lives in Kampala.
After studying with George on the WEI website, Rogers Sunday wrote, “I had never believed that the true Gospel of Christ and His Church was still existing. I thank God for the opportunity to lead me into such a wonderful truth.”
When Rogers Sunday requested baptism, George contacted Brother Nkem, the preacher of the Namwongo Church of Christ in Uganda, and Brother Nkem baptized Rogers Sunday in a local swimming pool.
W.E.I. THANKS ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Your contributions and donations continue to allow WEI to reach people in allThree New Christians in Kenya
David Kipchirchir preaches for the church in Eldoret Town, Kenya. As a young man, he attended the Great Commission School in Nairobi. With the encouragement of his WEI Internet teacher, Jackie Steen, David started using WEI materials to teach a group of Kenyan young people about Christ.
The following photograph was taken of David baptizing one of his female students. Being a private person, she requested that we not mention her by name.
Shortly after Jackie received the preceding picture of the girl’s baptism, Jackie received two more pictures from David. One shows him baptizing his student, Dennis Kirwa, and the other pictures him baptizing his student, Dismas Kiplagat.
Honorariums and Memorials
Karkosky, Lewis
In Honor of Dick & Maudine Ady
Crouch, David & Lola, Foster, Jim & Rebecca
In Honor of Lee Allen
Henry, Dan & Debbie
In Honor of Tom Bonner
Starr, Jean
In Honor of Debbie Henry
Crouch, David & Lola, Foster, Jim & Rebecca
In Honor of Tom & Angie Langley
Henry, Dan & Debbie
In Honor of Bob & Jan Towell
Henry, Dan & Debbie
In Memory of All those at the Maryville Church that have passed away
Huff, David & Laura
In Memory of Bascom Allen
Brentwood Hills Church of Christ, Edwards, Art & Bonnie, Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn, Henry, Dan & Debbie, Kirby, Dan &
Glenda, Langley, Tom & Angie, McClellan, Bruce & Brenda, Smithson, John & Ann, White, Diane
In Memory of Betty Allen
Allen, Lee & Jan
In Memory of Patti Asbill
Allen, Lee & Jan, Byrd, Herbert & Resa, Harris, Randall & Judy, Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Homer T. Benson
Benson, Norma
Byrd, Herbert & Resa, Edwards, Art & Bonnie, Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
In Memory of Becky Holloway Cretsinger
Morton, Maxine Holloway
In Memory of James (Jim) Gentry
Edwards, Art & Bonnie, Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn, McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Arlene Goss
Goss, Joel & Joyce
In Memory of Ronnie Lynn
Edwards, Art & Bonnie, Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn, McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Bill Mager
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
In Memory of Jimmie Pittman
Edwards, Art & Bonnie, McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Lucille Reynolds
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of Glover Shipp
Smith, Harlan & Mary
In Memory of Don Smith
Samuels, Larry & Linda
In Memory of Calvin Towry
Smithson, John & Ann
In Memory of Vlashi Valca
Edwards, Art & Bonnie, Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn, McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
