God’s Work in the Dark Continent and in the Holy Land
Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo
Bible College of East Africa
The Bible College of East Africa (BCEA) in Nairobi Kenya was founded in 1965 by the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions (IBPFM), the missions arm of the Bible Presbyterian Church USA. The Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) in Singapore founded in 1962 by the late Rev Dr Timothy Tow has been in cooperation with BCEA since 2001 when FEBC alumnus and BCEA principal—the Rev Dr Mark Kim Kyung Soo—requested FEBC to offer a Bachelor of Ministry (BMin) programme by extension to qualified Advanced Diploma of Theology graduates of BCEA. BMin students take intensive two-week modules taught by the FEBC lecturers twice a year, and successful candidates are conferred the degree by FEBC.
The first BMin graduation service in 2004 saw 8 graduating with their degrees. There were 7 in 2005, 12 in 2006, 15 in 2007, 8 in 2008, 13 in 2009, and 12 in 2010. A total of 75 to date. Special mention goes to Ibrahim Kiarie who topped the class in 2004, and has been serving at BCEA since. He is now pursuing his Master of Religious Education degree at FEBC. God willing, he will graduate in May this year. Besides the Rev Dr Mark Kim (DipTh 1990, EdD 2008), we have the following FEBC alumni teaching at BCEA Kenya: Rev Stephen Masila (BTh 83, MDiv 2000), Rev Eben Yoon (MDiv 2005), Miss Bai Eunyoung (BRE 2002, MRE 2004), Lazarus Ngige (BMin 2007), and Mutai Ali (BMin 2009), not forgetting Joshua Yong (BRE 2008, MDiv 2010) who will leave tonight for Kenya.
This time in Kenya, my 11th, I taught two New Testament books—2 Corinthians and 2 Thessalonians, 16-26 November 2010. I had 27 students. I also preached a total of eight times expounding on the qualifications of a good and faithful servant of God from 2 Timothy 2. On the Lord’s Day of 21 November, I preached at the Kahawa West Baptist Church (Pastor Henry Ngige, BMin 2009). I spoke on the consequences of sin from Exodus 32. On 27 November, I spoke on the topic “Go and Preach!” (Rom 10:14-15) at the 40th BCEA and 7th FEBC BMin graduation exercises. The Lord’s Day 28 November saw me participating in the ordination of two of BCEA’s eminent graduates, David Aluvisia who is pastor of Glory Mission Church in the slum village of Ngomongo, and Amos Nganga who is chaplain of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The Rev Dr Paul Contento had said, “Without the Bible College, the Church would die.” We thank God for the Bible College movement. Pray for BCEA Kenya to train many more men and women from all over Africa to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and teach the whole counsel of God. Pray for FEBC graduates Judah Pallangyo (MDiv 2008), Apasia Moshi (BTh 2010), and Joseph Amos (BMin 2009) who teach at BCEA Tanzania. Eld Tan Nee Keng (MDiv 2008) spent two years in Tanzania, and besides teaching did much to recruit new students. Since Eld Tan’s return to Singapore, another has stepped in—Mr Kim Nam Joong, father of FEBC student Ki Yeon. Mr Kim is a BJU MA graduate. Pray also for the Rev Ephrem Chiracho (MDiv 2003) heading the church and college work in Ethiopia under the supervision of the Rev Dr Prabhudas Koshy of Gethsemane BPC. God willing, may another BCEA be raised up, this time in Kinshasa, the capital city of Congo.
Baraka Bible Presbyterian Church
Praise the Lord for 43 pilgrims who embarked on their spiritual journey to the Holy Land, 29 November-11 December 2010. It was the 15th pilgrimage organised by FEBC. The Rev Dr Timothy Tow had led the first 12 pilgrimages. In 2008, he assigned me to lead the 13th pilgrimage. Since then it has been my privilege to lead such edifying pilgrimages. I thank the Lord for my good wife Jemima who took care of travel arrangements. From take off on 29 November to touch down on 11 December, the Lord has kept all of us safe and sound escaping even the fires of Carmel. He blessed us with a wonderful time of biblical study and fellowship as we visited the various historical sites in Jordan, Israel, and Egypt.
The highlight of the pilgrimage had to be the Lord’s Day worship service at the Baraka BPC in Bethlehem. It was a joy to worship with our Palestinian brethren of like Bible-Presbyterian faith. I was asked to take the pulpit and spoke on how, in the light of biblical prophecy, Jerusalem (Isa 2:3) and Bethlehem (Matt 2:6) and the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4) and Har Megiddo (Rev 16:16) point to the soon return of the Prince of peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how we must be ready for His coming.
The Baraka BPC was founded in 1950 by Dr Thomas Lambie, a medical doctor and a missionary of the IBPFM. Dr Lambie built the Baraka Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. With the passing of Dr Lambie, the Baraka Sanatorium became Beit El Baraka, a hostel for weary travellers and pilgrims. The pilgrims led by our late founding pastor—the Rev Dr Timothy Tow—had always found comfortable lodging at Beit El Baraka with a healthy breakfast of freshly baked bread and olive spread, and a hot meal at the end of the day. The pilgrims could worship the Lord freely in the hostel, and the evenings would always end with a time of devotion when all were given a chance to share their testimonies and thanksgiving to God. It was a home away from home. This hospitality ministry has fallen on hard times and the building has since been sold.
The Baraka BPC in Bethlehem remains a testimony of God’s grace to His people in hard times. Bethlehem is one of the poorest cities in the world. Despite the economic hardships, the Rev George Awad presses on as the Senior Pastor of the Church and is assisted by his son Danny Awad who received his theological education in the Philippines. They have a congregation of about 70. On the Lord’s Day, they hold their morning service in Bethlehem and their evening service in Beit Sahour (Shepherd’s Field). The new church building in Beit Sahour was dedicated to the memory of the Rev Dr Timothy Tow in November 2009 in the presence of Mrs Ivy Tow and members of True Life BPC. Most of the funds for the Beit Sahour church property came from Life and True Life BPCs under Pastor Tow’s leadership. To help the local community, the Baraka BPC runs an Educational Centre which houses a nursery, a childcare centre, a computer school, and a little shop selling olive wood products made by church members.
The Revs George and Danny Awad are mindful of the Great Commission and hope to start a Bible school. In 2009, I conducted two night lectures on the Inspiration and Preservation of the Holy Scriptures at the Baraka Educational Centre which were very well received. This time, on 5 and 6 December 2010, I taught the doctrine of Ecclesiastical Separation and the history of the Bible-Presbyterian Church. The Awads requested for more lectures to be conducted in future. They have invited us to celebrate with them Baraka’s 60th anniversary in 2011. If the Lord will make a way for us, we hope to be there again in September this year. Will you join this 16th pilgrimage, 3-10 September 2011 (DV)? May we be a blessing to our brethren in the Holy Land.
