10 Feb Blue Rock UB Sending Group to Honduras

A group of 11 persons from Blue Rock UB church (Waynesboro, Pa.) will travel to Honduras Friday 11-19, 2011. They plan to finish pouring the deck at the conference camp outside of La Ceiba, and to hold a Bible school.

31 Jan Introducing Bishop John Pessima

Jeff Bleijerveld (left) praying for newly-elected Sierra Leone Bishop John Pessima (right) following his confirmation at Sierra Leone National Conference in December. Billy Simbo, now bishop emeritus, is in the middle.

On Sunday, January 16, John Momoh Pessima was consecrated as the new bishop of Sierra Leone Conference. The service was held at the AU Memorial church in Kissy, a neighborhood on the east end of Freetown. Rev. Pessima had been pastor of this church. Rev. Henry Allie, the first national superintendent of Sierra Leone Conference, also pastored this church when he was elected to that post in the 1980s.

The Council of Ordained Elders, which consists of all United Brethren ordained ministers in Sierra Leone Conference, recommended Rev. Pessima to become the new bishop. Their recommendation was referred to the National Conference meeting in December, where it was unanimously approved.

Bishop Pessima succeeds Billy Simbo, who now carries the title “bishop emeritus.” Rev. Simbo served three years in Sierra Leone under the umbrella of Global Ministries, during which time the conference began using the term “bishop” for its highest leader (the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica also use that title). Rev. Simbo has now returned to the United States.

Rev. Pessima is a graduate of The Evangelical College of Theology in Sierra Leone, where Rev. Simbo was once his professor. He just recently received his graduate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Sierra Leone.

28 Jan Progress at the Malvern Camp

Working on the new building at the Malvern Camp in Jamaica.

The building begins to take shape.

Owen Gordon writes regarding progress at the Malvern Camp in Jamaica:

“Raymond (the project manager) stopped by today on his way from Malvern and shared some photos of what is happening: The work is progressing nicely and we have much to be thankful for. Special thanks to our US work team and the Jamaicans who have been working alongside them. In the words of Nehemiah: we are doing a great work and we cannot come down!”

25 Jan Delmas UB Church Nears Completion

Inside the new Delmas 33 church in Haiti

It’s been just over a year since a devastating earthquake leveled most of Port Au Prince, Haiti. Yet our United Brethren churches have been busy rebuilding lives, schools, and church buildings. The Delmas 33 Church, a keystone to our 33 United Brethren Churches in Haiti, is nearing completion. The church houses a school for 120 children that was established with the help of our partners CH Global and the many people who participate as child sponsors.

Funds were also provided to rebuild one of the two churches destroyed in Cite Soleil. Due to unrest and the outbreak of cholera, we were unable to send teams to help with this effort. However, funding was forwarded to the field so the congregation could move forward. The other church in Cite Soleil is working to fulfill the requirements necessary for funding to be released, but we hope to see it rebuilt soon. These two churches are both locations where we would like to open additional schools with the help of CH Global.

13 Jan A North Korean, and the Gospel’s Cost

Here is a compelling testimony from Cape Town 2010 (the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization), which I attended in October 2010. This inspiring story challenges us to consider the price we would be willing to pay to see lost people come to Christ.

06 Jan Billy Simbo Awarded Honorary Degree

Dr. Billy Simbo (left) and the honorary degree.

Billy Simbo, bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Theology degree from the Evangelical College of Theology in Sierra Leone (a school for which he once served as president). The degree was bestowed on Saturday, December 18.

Dr. Simbo will conclude is wrapping up his three years of service in Sierra Leone and will return to the United States on January 14, 2011.

04 Jan 2011 Global Ministries Trips

Global Ministries is sponsoring two mission trips during the summer of 2011:

June 17-25: Honduras Medical Trip. This trip is open to medical personnel and a limited number of support personnel. It will be led by Robert and Fonda Cassidy, who are from the Mt. Olivet UB church of Mt. Solon, Va. Cost: $600 plus the cost of airfare.

June 24 – July 5: Poland English/Sports Camp. This trip is open to high-school aged students through adults. Participants will work with Polish teens in a camp atmosphere to improve their conversational English skills. There will also be time for informal teaching of basic sports skills. Cost: $700 plus the cost of airfare.

03 Jan Christians: A Good Reputation in Muslim Turkey

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

In early October, I traveled to Turkey with Kurt Uhen, a member of Emmanuel and a member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team. We were investigating opportunities for United Brethren involvement. I previously explained why we were looking at Turkey, and about I.N. Network, an organization which provided entrée to the country.

We spent the majority of our time in Eastern Turkey, which isn’t an area most ministries focus on, though IN Network does. We found some unique opportunities.

If you’re a Christian in the east, it seems that people notice. We found that among many of the Muslims we met. They would tell us stories like this: “When I was a little boy, my dad sent me to town to get farm implements. He told me to go to the Christian down the street, because he wouldn’t cheat us.”

One pastor in the east, whose congregation has its own building—it’s very important to have a physical presence—told us Muslims regularly come to the door. First, they want Bibles. Second, they want to know if any Christians at the church need a job, because Christians are trustworthy and don’t tell lies.

Moving a Turkish couple into a new community to start a church and set up a business might be a great opportunity. They could support themselves. Being able to do business with integrity in the community might be one of the most meaningful ways to have a witness and impact the community.

We received an invitation from a community leader who had been in prison numerous times over the years, a Muslim of Kurdish background. He threw the doors wide open to us. In a public gathering with press coverage, he said, “These people with us today are Christians, and they are good people. We need to make room in our community for them to work here.” We were surprised by the openness.

Interestingly, we heard reports that many Kurds are fed up with Islam. They complain, “What has Islam ever done for us? We’ve been repressed and persecuted, and Islam has held us backward in so many ways—socially, economically, globally.” They’re ready to throw it off, and many are interested in knowing about Christianity. It’s not like huge numbers of Kurds are coming to Christ, but there is increased receptivity.