God uses an amazing number of people to accomplish his purposes. WEI is just one tool God utilizes to lead people to Christ. Stories in this edition of WEI Update illustrate how God can use you to save people around the world who are spiritually lost and can’t find their way.
Consider, for example, David and Lola Crouch. David is the retired Director of Public Relations at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Lola is his devoted wife who works closely by his side. Together, they serve the Lord.
God is using the Crouches to promote world evangelism through WEI. David teaches classes and speaks to church leaders about how virtually all of us can use WEI to fulfil the great commission. He demonstrates on his computer how easy it is to use this non-threatening evangelistic tool to introduce people to Jesus in every nation. He and Lola are active WEI Internet teachers, and they rejoice together when one of their students is baptized into Christ.
Not long ago, Lola received from Marcella Baily an Internet student in Tanzania by the name of James Mnkondya. When James came to faith and decided to be baptized, Lola started searching for someone in Tanzania to teach him further, baptize him, and integrate him into a local congregation.
Lola says, “In response to my request for a contact, John Kachelman told me about Howell Ferguson. Howell told us about Brother Christopher Mwakabanje who happens to live in the same city as my student James. Below I will copy the exciting email from James just 3 hours ago.”
James wrote, “Dear Madam, I’m glad to tell you that, at this moment, I am at the house of Mr. Christopher. Really, I’m happy, indeed cherishing and rejoicing that I’m going to die with Jesus. My sin is going to be washed away. Thanks a lot for everything you have done for me. God bless you.”
Later James wrote, “This day is an inspiring day to me forever. I can’t believe that I have been baptized. Thank you Lord for blessing me. Amen. My tears are dropping down when I remember the long journey that has rescued my life from Satan and made me free from sin. Truly this is wonderful beyond human capacities. Thanks a lot for this wonderful moment of joy and gratitude and amazing blessings.”
Two years ago, WEI Internet teacher Brad Forgy began teaching Arthur Tatara, a young man from Papua New Guinea. At that time, Arthur was studying at the Singapore branch of Sunset International Bible Institute.
Arthur wrote, “My intention was to study English, but instead, I learned something far more precious than English. For this reason, I don’t want to keep this wonderful knowledge of God for myself. There are many young folks out there like me who need to hear this awesome story. That’s why I really want to introduce this material in Papua New Guinea. It has had a huge impact on my life. Praise God Almighty!”
After writing those words, Arthur completed his studies in Singapore and returned home. Now, true to his word, Authur is using WEI materials to teach more than 100 students in three different high schools in Papua New Guinea.
Arthur writes, “Yesterday, I registered two students in another school to study WEI materials. There are currently nine students studying the materials [in this school].”
During the short time Arthur has been teaching WEI students in Papua New Guinea, he has baptized about a dozen of them into Christ.
Prabhu Kumar, Director of WEI-India, reports that eight more people have been baptized. On May 25, Brother Durairaj, WEI teacher in Kalathru, Chittoor District, baptized two students from Kalahru and one from KVB Puram.
On May 24, Bro. Chakavarthy baptized four of his students at Tiruttani. Moreover, on June 5, Bro. Abraham baptized one of his students at Punadipadu. WEI-India continues to bear fruit.
Internet teacher Vicki Murphy writes, “Rejoice with my sister, Ann Argo. She has been teaching with World English Institute for three years and has just experienced the joy of having one of her students baptized.”
“[Her student] Atem lives in South Sudan, one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world. Nearly all of the Christians in that country have fled to refugee camps in Uganda and Kenya. Most of the churches and the clinic which we started after independence was gained from Islamic Sudan have been destroyed.”
“It took seven people in three countries to find someone who could baptize Atem and then nurture him. The Lord’s church is amazing. There is always someone who knows someone who knows someone who can help. You just have to keep praying and trying.”
Phil Palmer of WBS East Africa wrote, “Sister Argo: Here are pictures of Atem’s baptism in the Nile River. In the first picture, Atem is on the left. Patrick is in the middle, and another evangelist is on the right.”
While grieving over the death of her beloved husband, Suzie Winham wrote these beautiful words about him:
“Steve was a career educator working his entire adult life with students who were learning English as their second language. So, Steve knew the value of the WEI courses.”
“Recently, I was in touch with Aaron Condes, one of the first WEI students converted in La Paz in 2003. He now serves as the preacher for the La Paz congregation. He and his son Andres do the preaching and song leading. Aaron said they have 30 to 40 attending. BARNEY AND STEVE PLANTED GOOD SEED IN LA PAZ USING THE WEI MATERIALS AND THE WORD OF GOD.”
“Steve said the entire time he was critically ill (Nov. & Dec., 2017) that no matter what the Lord had planned for him, it would be a win-win situation. He totally and completely surrendered himself to God’s will. His beautiful spirit has now gone home to glory, awaiting his promised crown.”
We share Suzie’s grief, and we also share her optimism about the future. Steve’s physical death marked the end of life on earth, but it also marked the beginning of a glorious life with God.
With God’s blessing and with the help of God’s people, Aniefiok Akpan has established Rhema Christian Academy and the Campus Church of Christ in Uruk Otong, Nigeria. Two years ago, he established a preacher training school.
Aniefiok writes, “We set up a training school called World English Institute & School of Ministry [WEISOM] as an evangelism ministry of our campus church in Uruk Otong. After one year of English and Bible studies and ministry training, we organized a soul winners (fishers of men) training workshop in December last year. During the workshop, we inaugurated our evangelism team and started to use our ministry students for house-to-house evangelism. Now the gospel is spreading like wildfire across our community.”
The men in training in WEISOM are already preaching for churches in and around Uruk Otong. They have baptized dozens of people into Christ, and the best is yet to come.
Beginning January 1, 2019, the WEISOM evangelistic ministry is set to explode in four directions. This third year of training will be devoted to mission work. Aniefiok writes, “Sixteen villages that are without congregations have been earmarked to be evangelized. We have four villages in each of the four regions North, South, East, and West of Uruk Otong. Our goal next year is to plant at least one new congregation in each of the four regions. We will do that by setting up a WEI study center in each region. The study centers will likely become our new worship centers in those locations. We will carry out house-to-house evangelism and open-air preaching throughout the four regions.” To succeed, the WEISOM mission plan needs support.
The Bethlehem church in Lebanon, TN sponsors Aniefiok and his family in their ministry at the Campus Church of Christ in Uruk Otong. The Bethlehem church has been faithful to its commitment and has gone the extra mile to supply Aniefiok’s needs. It plans to continue this sponsorship and support, but it is not able to supply the needs of the WEISOM outreach ministry.
Therefore, Aniefiok hopes that a strong, mission-minded congregation in the U.S. will sponsor and support the WEISOM preacher-training, soul-winning, and church-planting ministry. This mission opportunity will give some church or group of churches a huge bang for their buck. If interested, contact Dick Ady.
One Sunday, after I had spoken about world evangelism, a brother came to me and said, “Why should we be so concerned about people overseas when there are so many lost people here at home?” I replied, “It is true that there are many lost people in our neighborhoods, and we should diligently try to save them. However, our concern should NOT be limited to our neighborhood. Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of ALL nations’ (Matthew 28:19). He also said, “Go into ALL the world and preach the good news to ALL creation” (Mark 16:15). According to Peter, “The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). If we don’t have world vision, we don’t have God’s vision.”
Why, then, do so many Christians avoid the subject of evangelism? There have been times when people got up and walked out of the church building when I started talking about missions. Why? Why do so many WEI newsletters end up in the trash can when they are all about things God is doing through his people all over the world? These things are exciting to Christians whose hearts are in tune with the heart of God. What is the solution to this problem?
Phil Miglioratti has challenged our thinking with the following formula: “The Great Commission plus the Great Commandment added to the Great Commitment, multiplied by Great Collaborations results in Great Communities.” What is he saying? Simply this: When we follow the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and follow the Great Commandment to love God and others as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40), and demonstrate the Great Commitment by loving our enemies and praying for those who falsely accuse us and persecute us (Matthew 5:11, 44), and multiply Great Collaborations by meeting and working together to please God, the result is a Great Community of believers that cover the earth and bring honor and glory to God.
Such a formula ignites a fire in our bones and stirs within us a passion for telling “the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love.” We love you.
—Dick and Maudine Ady
Luis Camacho, a member of the Mongolia mission team, writes: “After four years of mission trips to a place known as “The Land of the Eternal Blue Sky,” the Lord’s work continues to blossom. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is a place where, every year, the Lord adds new faces to this mission work whether it is a new soul coming to know the Savior or those who come to help edify the church.”
“In 2018, two new faces joined the mission trip for the first time: Zane Copeland and Pam Stewart. Zane is the son of two very godly parents, Hyman and Joyce, who trained him from a very young age to be evangelically-minded. He is currently preaching fulltime in Leedey, Oklahoma. Pam Stewart is the wife of Bill Stewart and has been a blessing in the lives of many souls over the years. She joined this year’s team primarily to work with and encourage the women in the church. Both Zane and Pam did a fantastic work that left a favorable impression on the church in Mongolia.”
“This year’s trip to Mongolia was different from the other years. In order to extend the time of the work done, each team member arrived separately. This gave us more time to spend with the church in Ulaanbaatar.”
“During this year’s mission trip, five souls obeyed the Gospel, and a countless number of daily Bible studies took place in the course of about 45 days.”
“This year’s team consisted of Bill and Pam Stewart, Adam Dollen, Zane Copeland, O.B., and Luis Camacho. To God be the glory. Please visit our website at: www.MissionMongolia.org.”
In the first quarter of this year, we added to our WEI Internet Student Receptions by hosting receptions in three major capital cities of the world: Bucharest, Romania; Tirana, Albania; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Now we are planning a reception for WEI students in Chisinau, Moldovo on August 11th.
Nearly 1,000 WEI students in Chisinau have registered on our teaching website over the last several years. We decided to host a reception for these students in partnership with the Bear Valley network of preachers who planted the church in Mongolia using our WEI students as initial contacts.
Just a few weeks ago, Bill Stewart, the leader of the Bear Valley team, received news that a small Church of Christ is meeting in Chisinau. The evangelist’s name is Serghei Corcimaru, and he is eager to partner with us hoping that several WEI students will obey the gospel and grow the kingdom of God in this impressive Moldovan city. We regard this as an answer to prayer and are looking forward to assisting our brothers and sisters in Moldova by sharing the gospel to lost souls there.
Here are excerpts from an email written by Brother Serghei explaining the state of the church of Christ in Moldova: “There are four small congregations in the four major cities of Moldova. At the moment, there are 9 members and 3 regular visitors in Chisinau; 8 members in Benderi plus 1 visitor; 4 members in Balti, and 4 in Tiraspol. The church in Chisinau is the oldest, and it was established in 1997. Things got started, with God’s help, in 1995 when I returned to Moldova after my studies in Russia. I committed my life to Jesus in 1994 and became a member of the church of Christ in Moscow. Since I moved back to Chisinau, I have been trying my best to preach the Gospel to anyone interested in hearing the Word! It was very exciting to hear about the great number of potential Bible students you have contacted! The saints and I will be more than happy to do anything we can to encourage them spiritually in any possible way!!!! With much appreciation in the Lord, Serghei.”
Please keep this effort in your prayers. We love and appreciate all of you who pray for and support the WEI Great Commission ministry.
—Tom Langley
We once heard Tex Williams tell of sitting in an airport, watching the crowds of people coming and going, and wondering how many were going to heaven and what could be done to help them.
Another person wrote that the thing most lacking in the church today is a sense of urgency. Do we feel urgency when we think of the millions who do not know Jesus?
The Internet has been described as the Roman Road of our day. Roman roads were built for soldiers marching to conquer the world for Rome, but early Christians walked on them to conquer the world for Christ. The Internet was not developed for the spread of the gospel, but we can use it to “go into all the world.”
Daily, dozens of people register on the WEI website where we then have the opportunity to teach them the good news about Christ. It may be the first time they have ever heard it; it may the last time they will hear it.
Yes, it is easy to become discouraged when students drop out. The apostles and other first century Christians were also undoubtedly discouraged. But THEY DIDN’T STOP!
In Matthew 13, we read of the different kinds of soil. “But some fell on good soil where it produced a crop.” We are not responsible for soil condition, but we are responsible for sowing.
During the past quarter, good soil has been found in several spots around the world. One was Len Hardaway’s student, Marie Claire Ingabire, a Rwandan refugee now living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Another was Mary McKinney’s student, Michelle, an aeronautical engineering in Nairobi, Kenya.
ISA 55:10-11. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
—Bob and Jan Towell
