In July we sent a team to Tabora, Tanzania to minister alongside our missionaries there, Andy & Margaret Andersen (pictured below). Bob Ketterling, longtime Church of the Open Door (COD) member and the current chairman of our elder board, was one member of that team.
Earlier this summer we sent a team of 8 to Tabora, Tanzania. They partnered with Church of the Open Door missionaries Andy and Margaret Andersen for a couple of weeks—building relationships, visiting churches, sharing the gospel using a yo-yo presentation, and more.
For over 20 years we have had the privilege of partnering with the La Pine Community Church in La Pine, Oregon. It started when now retired Church of the Open Door (COD) missionaries Loy and Dian Wiggers invited us to come and spend a week ministering with them as they pastored the small church.
What does it look like when the next generation chooses to follow Jesus? At our Camp IDRAFOJE here on campus just a few weeks ago, we saw students and young adults serve tirelessly giving up sleep, stepping out of their comfort zones, caring for campers, carrying burdens, solving problems and doing it all with joy.
Back in 2020 we started praying a Breakthrough Prayer for an unreached people group in Africa—the Nyamwezi. For over five years we’ve been asking: Father, use us to build a Christ-centered reproducing church among an unreached people, the Nyamwezi, by 2030.
This year we are celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America. In the scheme of history 250 years is only a blip in time. On July 4th in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was set forth to notify King George and Great Britain that a new country had been formed and would no longer be subject to the King or his country.
On the outside at face value, Vacation Bible School (VBS) seems to be an outreach program for others. But after putting a bow on one of my favorite weeks of the year, I would argue that VBS is actually is a health check and team building exercise for God’s church, leaving God’s people stronger than before.
Since the start of this decade, we have been asking the Lord to use us to build a Christ-centered reproducing church among the Nyamwezi people of Tanzania by 2030.
Though we usually don’t know all that is happening behind the scenes, I’m excited to share with you one peek behind the curtain—one way we see the Lord answering that request.
It is a joy to have so many ministry opportunities this summer! From our on-campus events with hundreds of kids to our off-site youth camps to our mission trips to Oregon, Arizona and Tanzania, we are thankful to the Lord for these chances to be His witnesses.
One of the most powerful moments in our college ministry each month doesn’t happen during the message or during our worship sets. It happens when a ton of college students suddenly appear the moment food is ready.
