This Friday night is our Nigeria Packing Party. Boxes of Bibles, Bible study aids and Bible reference works are beginning to stack up in our foyer. We will be sorting, labeling, boxing, weighing and securing these works for pastors and ministers in Nigeria. God has blessed, and we ask that you offer up sincere and fervent prayers for both the safe arrival of this precious cargo and that God would use it in a powerful way. These volumes are not given out in a haphazard manner but go to specific ministers for specific purposes. These men have proven themselves to be committed to God’s holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God, and it is our privilege to equip them for this ministry of the Word of God. In most cases, these leather study Bibles, imprinted with their names, exceed their monthly salary.
A Precarious Call http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20141305 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24604586 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24353555
The above links to BBC coverage of the rise of violence against Christians in Nigeria give you an idea of the need for prayer. We ask that you offer up sincere prayer for my safety as I travel, for the safety of the pastors and ministers who will be traveling to and from this conference and for God’s protection of this conference. As you can well imagine, such a large group of pastors and ministers makes an inviting target for satan. By your faith and fervent prayers we will be kept safe from the evil one.
National Marriage and Family Conference for Pastors and Ministers This conference will be attended by pastors, ministers and student workers from across Nigeria. I have spoken at the conference many times in the past, and it is a joy to be once again invited to minister to these godly ministers.
One difference between this and former conferences is that my longtime friend and fellow minister Udobong Idemetor will not be there. Udobong is now a Nigerian missionary to the country of South Africa. I rejoice in his call but will be missing the fond fellowship and iron-sharpening which always takes place when we are together.
On the other hand, there will be a reunion with my good friend Dr. Tekdek who hosts this conference every year. Dr. Tekdek is an instructor at the college of Veterinary Medicine in Jos, Nigeria and has a heart for the marriages and families of ministers. As a result, he arranges each year for this conference to take place to build up the marriages and families of God’s servants across Nigeria.
When Dr. Tekdek invited me to speak, I immediately suggested that Dr. Stanley Mukolwe of Nairobi, Kenya be included. Dr. Mukolwe serves on the GCI Board of Directors and ministers with the Navigators as Country Leader of Kenya. He teaches the FDS throughout Africa and is imminently qualified to co-labor with me. When John the Baptist’s disciples asked him about the ministry of Jesus, he replied, “He must increase, while I must decrease.” This is how I feel concerning Dr. Mukolwe and the ministry of Family and Marriage in Africa.
I close this email, as always, with a deep and abiding thankfulness for your sacrificial and effectual prayers, which empower and drive this ministry ever forward in the cause of Christ.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Grace Community Int. – Preparing for departure to Nigeria