April 6, 2017
by Tom Langley
In the first quarter of this year we hosted WEI Internet Student Receptions in 3 capital cities of the world: Bucharest, Romania; Tirana, Albania; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This model is used to make personal contact with thousands of WEI Internet students who reside in a single urban area.
With the help of local congregations we select a date and venue location. We then issue invitations to all of our Internet students located in that city and surrounding cities and towns. The students register and submit an RSVP online thereby giving us an idea in advance of how many to expect. During the program we thank them for being students, give them a brief history of WEI, encourage them in their pursuit of English language and Bible learning, and give them a brief history of the restoration movement. Following the reception students are invited to sign up for personal Bible studies, and are also invited to the worship services of the church. We conclude with fellowship and refreshments.
In 2015 Mongolia was our first attempt at using this model. For two weeks following the reception, five preachers from the Bear Valley Bible Institute network and one evangelist from China conducted personal Bible studies with the students. During that time, 17 souls were baptized, and a church of Christ was planted in Ulaanbaatar.
In 2016, studies resulted in 6 more precious souls being added to the church. This year we hosted our 3rd annual reception, and God blessed us with 4 more immersions. Unfortunately, many of these converts have now returned to the world or their denominational churches. Luis Camacho and Bill Stewart do an impressive job of Skyping worship with the faithful every Saturday night in the States which is Sunday morning in Ulaanbaatar.
One of the Christians is an Elementary School Principle. The small gathering uses one of the classrooms in her school as a meeting place.
We desperately need a mature missionary family or team to go to Mongolia and work with this young church full time. If you’re reading this and you feel something tugging at your heart, perhaps that is the Lord calling YOU to Mongolia.
Our first ever WEI receptions in Bucharest, Romania and Tirana, Albania were both successful this summer. We were able to introduce our Internet students to Christians in the church of Christ and inform them of the time and location where the church meets. Many of the students attending the reception in Tirana signed up for personal WEI classes during the summer short-term mission period.
The attendees in Bucharest were also introduced to the Christians, invited to worship services, and encouraged to continue their Bible studies. The fellowship following both receptions was happy and endearing, and there was electricity in the air. Students stayed visiting with the Christians long after the formal program concluded.
I wish every Internet teacher could attend one of these receptions and listen to the students’ expressions of pure joy and gratitude. Most of them love their teachers dearly, and they love the life-changing attitudes they are learning from the Bible lessons. Our Internet teachers are making a big difference in the lives of so many souls by simply sowing the seeds of the truth of God’s word.
