DEM & GLORY

DEM & GLORY

They are both doing well but Dem had to have a C-section so her recovery will take a while, probably 3 months. We are thankful that they are both okay. We do miss Dem at the Baptist House/Abuja, especially her smiling face. The Baptist House continues to be a busy place.

MORE PICTURES OF THE KADUNA AND ABUJA CONFERENCES

Akila worked harder than all the rest of us during the conferences. On the left is a picture of him translating into the Hausa language as Dave Dawson spoke. That is not easy and he was drained at the end of the day. The middle picture is a picture of Dwain Camp speaking at the Abuja conference. He is a missionary from the USA serving in Saudi Arabia. He came down to help us with the conference. The picture on the right is a picture of the participants of the Abuja Conference. I am meeting with a group as a result of the conference and will be starting several other groups with pastors and church elders. We praise the Lord for all that he is doing.

Two Discipleship Zonal Conferences

ECWA LEADERSHIP DISCIPLESHIP CONFERENCES IN KADUNA AND ABUJA, 2007

Dave Dawson & I, along with the ECWA Discipleship Ministry Team saw the Lord use all of us as we taught in large meetings and smaller workshop times. Dave taught with passion as the Holy Spirit used him at both places. In Kaduna over 750 pastors and Church leaders attended and in Abuja around 350 attended. We could all sence that the Lord was opening the hearts of many as they were chellenged to consider what their role is in their churches. Many purchased a tool for establishing people in their relationship to the Lord and which also lays a foundation for some of the basics of discipleship.

In the Abuja Zone I will be following up over 30 pastors who indicated they wanted someone to disciple them. I am in the process of contacting them and starting groups in this zone. This will give us a way to reach into the churches and encourage them to launch a ministry of disicpleship in their church.

We once again are blessed to be here and to see the Lord create more of a vision for discipleship in the hearts and mind of His people that he has called to make a difference. Of course they will face challenges of doing this, so we all covet your prayers.

NO, WE HAVE NOT GONE BANANAS YET

Are we going bananas yet? No, but in a few weeks we should be enjoying these bananas and many more like them. Our backyard has about 15 bunches growing right now and when they rippen we will be feasting on them for awhile.


We are also enjoying feasting on the Word of God. The past two months have been very good for that as well as opportunities to share the gospel. We have gotten use to doing a lot more traveling just to get around the Abuja Zone. Jos city was easy to live in in many ways but Abuja is proving to be a big challenge in terms of travel.

We also have been making some good contacts. Judy has met some other expat ladies and they are even starting a study together. They are doing a study by John Piper called, 'Don't Waste Your Life'. I, Chuck, have also had the opportunity to share the gospel with some of the new contacts I have made. I have 3 men that I am meeting with now and several others I am following up. This past Thursday I was talking to one person and when asked, "What would you tell another person if they asked you how they can become a real Christian?", they said, "start doing what God says". A typical answer here. In continuing to probe they never mentioned anything about Jesus and being forgiven through Him. This is the problem we face here. Many claim to be Christians but are only religious, never fully understanding the gospel.

Of course not all claim to be Christian. Many follow aother religion and we are praying for open doors to share the love and forgiveness of Christ with them, especially during this time of the year when they are seeking and looking for forgiveness by another way and not "THE WAY".

The ECWA Leadership/Discipleship Conferences for Kaduna and Abuja Zones are just a few weeks away. Registration is going on in both places. We are expecting about 500 pastors, elders and other leaders in each location. Dave Dawson will be arriving at the end of this month and will be with us until mid October. I am anticipating that there will be lots of follow up to do after the Abuja conference. The theme of the conferences is "THE ROLE OF CHURCH LEADERSHIP IN THE BIBLICAL MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP".