New Church Plant in Uganda
Shortly after claiming over 4,000 WEI students, Jim Wagner decided to take a break from teaching online. Then, he decided to claim just a few more. He claimed 13 students because 13 has been a special number of his for years. One of the 13 new students was from Uganda, a country where he had had great success working with another WEI student.
Jim Wagner, a former elder at Maryville Church of Christ, TN, refers to his student as Joseph. Joseph loved the Bible lessons so much that he started studying these same WEI Bible lessons with 30 other people in a group meeting in his home. He is a farmer and has a large family. Some members of his family were a part of this group along with other individuals in this farming community.
In March 2020 Joseph wrote to Jim and said he and 20 others from this group wanted to be baptized and become Christians.
At this time, the coronavirus hit Uganda, and the government imposed extreme lock down measures on its citizens. It was nearly impossible to find an evangelist able to legally go to this township and study with these individuals, but Jim continued sending WEI lessons online, and Joseph continued sharing these Bible lessons with the group.
Finally, a church of Christ evangelist from Uganda named Mubiru Samson was able to travel and meet this group of 30. From his meetings and his discussions with them, 23 people were baptized into Christ on Sunday, October 18, 2020.
Jim recommended that they continue meeting and worshiping in Joseph’s home. Every Sunday they now are gathering for worship and Bible study in this new brother’s home.
A new bride of Christ is meeting in Uganda as a result of studying the Bible through the WEI lessons. Praise God for good soil and for great WEI Bible teachers like Jim Wagner!
Editor’s Note: The preceding article, and the next two articles, were written by WEI President, Tom Langley. Thanks, Tom.
WEI Student Spotlight
Anderson Mukuti is a serious and mature WEI student who lives in a township near Nairobi, Kenya. Anderson has four children (3 daughters and 1 son) ranging in age from 9 years old to 23 years old. He is a professional driver for a transport company and earns a salary of $250 a month. He has been an outstanding WEI student demonstrating a keen understanding of scripture in his written answers to the WEI Thought Questions.
Anderson has an evangelistic spirit and has expressed a serious interest in starting a church in his village. He is now taking the final course in the WEI curriculum, “How to Become a Christian and Start a Church of Christ.” His WEI teacher will continue to follow up on his progress as he seeks to fulfill his vision of starting a new Bride- of-Christ in his community.
Here are some quotes from a recent letter that Anderson submitted to WEI:
“The WEI course has shaped, enlightened, and made me focused in the work of ministry. I have learned a lot in the WEI courses, and I feel well- equipped to tackle the work of ministry (begin a church). My motivation for opening a church is because I want to witness to people that Jesus is the Son of God, the hope of the world that leads to eternity. After winning these souls to Christ, I want to teach them the Word of God, as I am already teaching two families now.
“I will be encouraged, if I can manage through hard work, to buy a small public address system and hire a small hall where we can be meeting for prayers and studying the Word. My house is a single room and cannot accommodate more than five people.
“I really thank WEI for equipping me with the relevant materials and certificates, free of charge.
May God bless you abundantly for your endless efforts. Loving brother in Christ, Anderson.”
It is so encouraging to receive these types of communications from some of our students. There is so much good soil in the world. Our job as teachers is to keep claiming students and sowing the seed. If we are persistent and do not lose heart, the seed will eventually land on fertile soil, and it may very well produce a crop thirty, sixty, a hundred times what was sown.
INVITATION:
We invite you to include WEI in your 2021 church budget. Please join us in a concerted effort to lead the whole world to Christ.
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.
A Message from Tom Langley
2020 has been a very unusual year—a year that many of us have never experienced and hopefully will never experience again. For many, it has been a year of loneliness, anxiety, despair, and grief. Yet, in spite of the suffering and isolation that we have experienced due to the pandemic, God is still in control, and we can be sure of his constant presence and eternal promises.
Last year, as I pondered our unusual circumstances, I found no relief in human explanations. I turned to this passage in Isaiah 55 where the Lord speaks through the prophet, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 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” (Isaiah 55:8-11).
As we prayerfully and eagerly look forward to 2021 hoping to return to a more normal life routine, we give thanks to God for the surprising opportunities 2020 provided us—little hidden treasures during times of uncertainty. Because of the pandemic, more Christians found the time to become WEI teachers, and they began sharing the truth of God’s word and their faith with students from every country of the world. Likewise, individuals all over the world found themselves in the same isolated situation, and we had more student registrations than in all previous years. To God be the glory.
Souls all over the world were, in some way, touched by the truth of God’s word through the WEI materials. This growth would not have been possible without the dedication of our 700+ loyal volunteer teachers.
We give thanks and praise to God for all these opportunities he graciously provided WEI in 2020. In 2020, statistics show that 37,898 WEI Internet students studied 228,679 grammar lessons and 338,390 Bible lessons. In short, 37,898 Internet students in 200 nations were drawn to Christ while studying 578,069 lessons under WEI teachers. This represents a growth of nearly 100% since 2018.
We are deeply thankful for all our prayerful and financial supporters. Without your generous gifts, this non-profit Great Commission ministry would not be possible. Thank you
Tom Langley
W.E.I. THANK YOU!
Your contributions and donations allow WEI to continue to reach people in all nations with the word of God.WEI Reaches Beyond the Internet
As Tom Langley has pointed out, the WEI Internet ministry is a powerful world-wide soul-winning tool that God is using to spread the good news about Christ in every nation on Earth.
However, we should point out that billions of people do not have access to the Internet and cannot understand English. These people can be reached most effectively by English-speaking national preachers who can translate the WEI lessons and teach them in their local outreach ministries. Moreover, without the help of national preachers, it would be virtually impossible for WEI Internet teachers to follow up on some of their students who have come to faith and have requested baptism.
I can think of national preachers in Albania, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Romania, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ukraine who are using, or have used, WEI materials in their local outreach ministries. National preachers who have studied the WEI courses on the Internet and are teaching others what they have learned are baptizing untold numbers of people who are not included in our reports. Only God knows all of their names.
Through the years, our WEI newsletters have been filled with stories about people who have studied the WEI Bible courses online and then used what they have learned to lead their friends and neighbors to Christ. The front-page article in this newsletter is a case in point. Now, let us look at two more examples.
Example 1: Edwin E. Vicente
Edwin E. Vicente has been featured in the last four issues of this newsletter. Edwin was born into a Catholic home in the Philippines. He spent twenty-four years teaching ballet dancing and training teams of ballet dancers that won international awards. Yet, Edwin felt empty and unfilled. It was not until he enrolled in WEI and studied under Rocky Thurman, that he found what his heart had craved.
Edwin wrote, “In the end, I found that it [WEI] was not only an English course but a road to meet God and become closer to him—something that was missing in my spiritual life.”
Edwin had an insatiable spiritual appetite. After completing all of the courses on the WEI website, he studied Blessed Assurance with me by email. He also studied with Steven Prime while he was in the Philippines on a short-term mission. On February 7, 2020, Edwin was baptized into Christ.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Philippines, Edwin lost his job, but he did not remain idle. He gathered a group of thirty children, teenagers, and adults in his community and started teaching them the WEI Elementary English and Bible courses. He is now teaching his second group of students in San Fernando with the assistance of two volunteer coordinators and his daughter, Amerah Claire “A.C.” Perez. He has also expanded his ministry to a village outside the city where children and young people are too poor to pay school tuition.
Since Edwin has practically no income, his friends are providing food for him, and he is living in a cheap one-room apartment that leaks when it rains. Yet, he dreams of renting an inexpensive house in San Fernando that will provide living quarters and space for teaching students. That is his mission.
Edwin has found a house near the center of San Fernando that is affordable and perfectly suited to serve his purposes. The owner is totally in favor of what Edwin is doing, and he has offered to lower the rent substantially.
According to Edwin, $300 a month will cover the rent and pay for utilities and living expenses. He is praying that a church or mission-minded individual will join him in this effort to lead people to Christ in the Philippines.
Example 2: Arthur Tatara
In 2016, Arthur Tatara (a native of Papua New Guinea) was studying to be a preacher at the Singapore branch of Sunset International Bible Institute. He was also a WEI Internet student and was being taught by Brad Forgy.
Arthur wrote, “My intention was to study English, but instead, I learned something more precious than English. I don’t want to keep this wonderful knowledge of God to 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.”
When Arthur completed his studies at Singapore in 2017, he returned to Papua New Guinea and began teaching WEI lessons in a local high school. This high school ministry continued until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the school and robbed him of his income. Athur and his family have suffered privation during the pandemic, but their faith in God has never wavered.
In our last newsletter, we posted a photograph of a large group of young people who had invited Arthur to be the guest speaker at their Youth Camp. Arthur’s powerful Bible lessons stirred their hearts and resulted in 20 baptisms.
Arthur was also invited by churches of Christ in the Waria Valley (some 100 miles south of Lae) to preach in a valley-wide gospel meeting.
Following the meeting, Arthur returned home and reported, “There were 400 participants in the gospel meeting. Twenty Christians turned back to the church. . . I love preaching and teaching the word to lost people in Papua New Guinea.”
Once again, a WEI Internet student has become a WEI teacher and an effective gospel preacher.
W.E.I. NEEDS YOUR ASSISTANCE!
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.
New Births in Nigeria
In spite of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Nigeria, God and his people are still bearing fruit for Jesus.
On December 24, 2020, Aniefiok Akpan wrote, “Another RCA [Rhema Christian Academy] junior high school student, Emmanson Emmanuel Etibeng, accepted Christ and was baptized last Sunday, 20th December, 2020.”
Then, on January 5, 2021, Aniefiok wrote, “Greetings & Happy New Year to each and every one of you. . . Despite the difficulties we have encountered, many good things have happened to help strengthen our congregation.
“Our son, Sediongde, marked his 12th birthday anniversary on the 12th of December. Shortly before that date, he gave his life to Jesus and was baptized by me, his father. Sediongde has already started his duties as a faithful Christian worker as an usher at the RCA campus church.”
Four WEI Students Saved in India
Prabhu Kumar, Director of WEI-India writes: “By the grace of God and by hard work, Bro. M. Babu at Remidicharla, baptized four of his [WEI] students into the body of Christ on the 10th of this month. He has been teaching the class regularly along with the congregational activities.”
WEI Student Baptized in So. Sudan
Approximately one year ago, Aniefiok launched a continent-wide evangelist ministry called World English Institute International Digital Evangelism for Africa (WEI-IDEA). His vision was to train Africans to teach Africans using the WEI website and the Internet. The WEI board approved his plan on the condition that all potential African teachers study the WEI courses online under the direction of highly qualified American teachers.
Several of the prospective teachers that Aniefiok chose had already been teaching the WEI courses locally and were familiar with the materials, so WEI-IDEA was launched quickly.
In his January 5th report, Aniefiok wrote, “One WEI student in South Sudan, Mawien Piol, accepted Christ and was baptized during the last week of December, 2020. WEI-IDEA is bearing fruit to God’s glory.”
Obed Anthony, Mawien Piol’s WEI-IDEA teacher, gives more details about his student. “Mayen Mawien Piol registered as a student with WEI in February 2020. He lives in Juba, South Sudan. He promptly submitted his assignments and requested the next. He became inquisitive when he got to the studies on baptism when I told him, ‘Baptism is the only way to enter Christ, and it is by immersion.’
“After defending his beliefs about baptism, he resorted to excuses that there was no one to baptize him, then later that the water was too far.
“I kept encouraging him and admonishing him until he finally decided to be baptized in October 2020. Our greatest problem was how to get someone to baptize him. Finally, a student of Terry Hickerson linked up with him and got him baptized December 2020.”
Honorariums and Memorials
Bennett, Sherrill & Suzanne
In Honor of Noris & Sallie Cline
Dugger, Leland
In Honor of Art and Bonnie Edwards
Blanks, Julia Ann
In Honor of Tom and Pat England
Blanks, Julia Ann
In Honor of Jerry Johnson
Bodine, Gary & Brenda
In Honor of Ruby McClean
Moss, Michael & Virginia
In Honor of Howard and Janice Rosser
Moss, Michael & Virginia
In Honor of Larry and Linda Samuels
Jordan, Mary
In Honor of Ted and Diane Sekeres
Moss, Michael & Virginia
In Honor of Bob and Jan Towell
Towell, Dick
In Honor of Ellen Walker
Tate, Van & Jean
In Memory of Bascom Allen
Allen, Jimmye
Allen, Lee & Jan
In Memory of Dwayne Allsup
Adams, John & Ginger
Allen, Lee & Jan
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Draper, Ann
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
Harris, Randall & Judy
Jennings, Roger & Regina
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Gary Altmiller
Skinner, Darrell & Ruth
In Memory of Judy Anders
Groves, Bobbie
In Memory of Anna L. Beach
Cloyd, Maxine
In Memory of Doris Bear
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Haynes, Rodney & Linda
In Memory of Homer Benson
Benson, Norma
In memory of Marie Berry
Hale, Ruth
In Memory of Bill Blanks
Blanks, Julia Ann
In Memory of George Blythe
Blythe, Letha
In Memory of Clyde Boyd
Mitchell, Elizabeth
In Memory of Marian Brickel
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Jim Carr
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
In Memory of Albert Butch Cook
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of John Cook
Edwards, Art& Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
In Memory of Joe Downey
Allen, Lee & Jan
In Memory of William Eastman
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of Betty Edmundson
Tate, Van & Jean
In Memory of Jim Ferguson
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
In Memory of Mary Free
Skinner, Darrell & Ruth
In Memory of Phillip Gongre
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of James Googe
Gough, Sean & April
In Memory of June Graves
Adams, John & Ginger
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Maryville Church of Christ
In Memory of Harold Hailey
Hailey, Margaret
In Memory of Tom Hazelwood
Adams, John & Ginger
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
Haynes, Rodney & Linda
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Maryville Church of Christ
Allen, Lee & Jan
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Arel Henry
Skinner, Darrell & Ruth
In Memory of Ann Hughes
Adams, John & Ginger
In Memory of Steve Kay
Wall, Philip & Lois
In Memory of Linda Law
Havens, Kelley
In Memory of James Lee
Allen, Lee & Jan
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
In Memory of Larry Lewis
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of Jon Lollar
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
In Memory of Jim and Virginia Lovett
Bradley, Thomas & Dolores
In Memory of Lisa May
Edwards, art & Bonnie
In Memory of Jim McTeer
Allen, Lee & Jan
In Memory of Brenda Richardson Mills
Murphy, Robert & Bonnie
In Memory of Bill Morgan
Allen, Lee & Jan
In Memory of Emily Nunn
Adams, John & Ginger
Allen, Lee & Jan
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Dooley, Joseph & Betty
Draper, Ann
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
England, Tom & Pat
Fleeman, Arvle & Helen
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
Haynes, Rodney & Linda
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Metzer, Robert & Cathryn
Moore, Mike & Joan
Nunn, Danny
Pittman, David & Presty
Puryear, Randy & Libby
Rodgers, Eric & Angela
Samuels, Larry & Linda
Spencer, Danny
Sugarman, Norman & Janice
Terry, Bill & Carolyn
White, Diane
In Memory of Wes Paddock
Adams, John & Ginger
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
Harris, Randall & Judy
Haynes, Rodney & Linda
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Joyce Parker
Adams, John & Ginger
Allen, Lee & Jan
Blanks, Julia Ann
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Draper, Ann
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
England, Tom & Pat
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
Harris, Randall & Judy
Haynes, Rodney & Linda
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Samuels, Larry & Linda
In Memory of Marvin Peterson
Blanks, Julia Ann
In Memory of Jimmie Pittman
Jennings, Roger & Regina
In Memory of Opal Pruitt
Dale, John & Janet
Outlaw, Judith
Skinner, Darrell & Ruth
In Memory of Larry Raburn
Shirley Raburn
In Memory of Clyde Richardson
Murphy, Robert & Bonnie
In Memory of Kayla Skelton
Skinner, Darrell & Ruth
In Memory of Suzanne Blanks Snow
Blanks, Julia Ann
In Memory of Deborah Stinson
Stinson, Catherine
In Memory of Don Strong
Adams, John & Ginger
In Memory of Toby Whitehead
Edwards, Art & Bonnie
