Melanesia Nazarene Bible College

NEWS

Melanesia Nazarene Bible College is pleased that Dr. Silvernail has introduced an intensive Practicum program designed to strengthen local churches through Sunday School ministries and Vacation Bible Schools and start new churches in targeted areas.

All Diploma 2 and Diploma 3 students are allowed to participate in a 6 week practicum at churches all across Papua New Guinea. These students design and implement new outreach programs, Sunday School fellowships, and other ministry-oriented programs designed to bolster local churches across the country. Last year the returning students announced over 200 people having made committments to Christ during this practicum. MNBC still awaits the returning students from 2010. Please be in prayer for them as they finish their internships.

All Bachelors of Theology Students are challenged to research and then implement a new church plant. This year the Bachelor's students have supassed the challenge given to them and have started 7 new churches during their practicum period. Praise the Lord for His divine intervention in many of these church plants! Pray for the new believers (over 50 thus far) as they continue to build the Kingdom of God in these locations. Here are a few stories from the BTh class of 2010, as told by their supervisor, Rev. David Kerr:

The ride to this church is what off-road Jeep drivers dream of! It just gave me a headache bouncing around so much! The church planter for this church, Fabian Mala, had been praying for a Nazarene Church to come to this place, his wife’s as-ples (home) for four years.
When I announced the church planting project in class he knew 100% that God had given him this chance at this moment to do just that. By “chance” (do you still believe in that?) he met a man who had been leading a house fellowship for over a year and was praying for the opportunity to start a church in this village. (Interestingly, his name is Fabian too!)
Fabian and Fabian encountered some opposition from another denomination in the area, and were very concerned about the cost of the startup. Fabian knew that the ground alone would cost 600 kina (4 months wages – or $200 USD!). I told him that maybe he should just go on a research journey and worry about buying ground some other time if that was such a big deal.
But Fabian felt a strong call of God to go and actually start a church. Well, Fabian met Fabian, and an older gentleman in the village gave the ground for free (we will see if that actually continues to be free – here in PNG “free” often comes with strings later!), and came back with a half-built church and 70 people attending! More than 10 are new converts, and here that never includes the number of children!
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! Please pray for Apenda Church of the Nazarene and for denominational partnership in the area focusing on winning the many “haiden” (non Christians) who live there.

The meal after church was incredible! I had not seen such large chicken pieces since being in PNG. Then I found out the two ladies who had come to start this church had carried these by hand from the market – about a two hour walk straight up!
This mountainous country was the home of Rebecca, one of the ladies starting the church. Saina, the other lady, was the one who spoke that day. They had spent a lot of time visiting the people of the area in their homes, and showing the Jesus Film on their laptops (generously donated by a Sunday School class in Idaho!). The penalty for such visitations was a dead battery, and a four hour rugged walk to the nearest available electrical outlet!
How much physical labor does it take to start a church? How much would you (or I?) be willing to do in order to begin a new work of the Lord where people can get access to Jesus Christ? These two ladies have quietly and faithfully held meetings, helped others, recharged their batteries, and poured this energy into sharing the Gospel of Jesus.
There are four new Christians in this rugged place, and over 15 people attending their church identify themselves as “haiden” – but they keep coming back. How long do you think it will be before they accept Christ as Savior?
Please be praying for the Sengin church, and that these people will know Jesus and His saving power!

Tomba actually reminds me of Washington in the Spring. It is cool and breezy. However, similarities stop there. Three ladies in the BTh class, Rosa, Lucy and Piola, were going to start this church, and on their first day their host got hit on the head with an ax being wielded by his angry brother! After getting back from the hospital, one student was ready to head back to the relative safety of the Bible College, but the others convinced her to stay.
Because of their faithfulness, hard work, and the graciousness of God, there are over 8 new Christians at this church plant, and more than 40 regular attendees! Satan always tries to use fear and intimidation, but God gives a peace that passes understanding!
Pray for teachers in this place where no one knows how to read! We need a way to help these people get the Gospel into their hearts.

The legend is that the snakes eat the pineapples there! Many interesting legends exist in PNG – some day I will tell you how to make sure a Python does not eat you – but one thing is for sure, Jesus makes a huge difference!
Isaac Wai had all the wood and thatch covering ready to build the structure for his fledgling congregation when he was met by 8 guys in the nearby market. He recognized one as the “haus piksa”– pornography movie house -- owner. These guys told Isaac that he needed to get out of the area because Isaac was going to mess up their business. In PNG when guys ask you to leave, it’s a really big deal.
They then went on to say they had the funds to pay for the truck to come back and get the stuff for the church, and that he needed to take advantage of that offer – “hariap!” Isaac felt inspired by the Lord to stand his ground and tell them their business was messing up people, but the Church of the Nazarene was there to help people.
However, he felt very discouraged. This place had been in bloody tribal fighting for the past 30 years, and their violence was well known. Isaac felt like he had to do what he had promised, so he went back and continued the work.
The next night 18 people invited him into a house, and they all said that those eight men would not be bothering Isaac any longer. They had “spoken” to them, and there would be no more troubles from them! What a turn around!
Today there are at least 6 new Christians worshipping at the Tonglba church because of your partnership with Isaac in winning the lost souls and standing strong in prayer and faithfulness. We praise God.
Please continue praying for this place where violence has existed for so long. Pray that this church would be a radical beacon of hope and discipleship in a dark place.

“I want no money to start this church. The people must want it!” Steve Ogun of the BTh class refused help and just wanted to “make disciples of the haiden.” He would go every weekend before his practicum and just be with the people. He would “stori” with them just to get to know them. He spent a lot of time with the youth, and took young pastors in training to be with him in this remote village place.
One day a couple from that area that works at the Kudjip hospital told him that they would give ground if he would start a church on it! He was overjoyed until he found that the church was basically right next to the other local holiness church! However, all of the youth that he had met were not attracted to that church, but they would come to all of Steve’s open-air Bible meetings! Finally the practicum weeks arrived and Steve moved up on the mountain full time.
For a full week he held revival meetings and house visitation. He built a tent for meeting in. Yet no converts. He invited me to come up and show the Jesus Film. I also gave a sermon on getting freedom from sin through Jesus. I am not a great preacher compared with Steve – he is really good! – but there was one lady who had been hearing Steve’s messages, and that night the Holy Spirit gave her the courage to come forward and give her life to Christ!
After that night the Holy Spirit moved in power answering Steve’s prayer – and I believe honoring his hard work. Today there are over 25 new Christians worshipping at the Kamang Church of the Nazarene! Holiness churches must work together, and the other pastor in this place has expressed that “if God desires this church should exist, we welcome partnership in winning the haiden to Christ!” What an incredible spirit in a usually territorial place! Jesus does really make a difference!
Please pray for the Kamang Church to be a massive influence on the “pre-believers” of the Kamang area. Pray also that they catch the fire to plant another church up the road about one hour, where there are no churches yet!

Joseph Ogun is the most experienced church planter in our group. He has planted or helped to plant 14 churches in the Highlands of PNG. He has some amazing stories of God’ provision for his life, and is living proof that God’s desire is for His Kingdom to grow.
Joseph would need all the experience he had for this new test in Minj. He had identified some leaders to work with him, and he had some great plans for financing the church. As a town church this was not going to be a kunai (thatched roof) house; it needed to be fairly big and fairly modern to fit in with the city.
Things were proceeding really well, until the first night of the practicum. My family was going to a church nearby on Sunday morning when we saw a burned out car. I was getting ready to pass the car in front of me when I noticed a big crowd on the road. In no time we were hemmed in on both sides and following a super slow moving car, and all the men were carrying bushknives. This is at 8:30 in the morning on Sunday. Obviously something was very wrong.
With the choice of rolling up the windows and looking straight ahead (obviously not friendly!), or rolling down the window and being friendly – but thus exposing your face to a bushknife, I chose for the latter. The people said that a big “heavy” had come up last night and they were going to “toktok.” Soon we were through the crowd and worshipping on down the road.
Later we learned that the brother of our neighbor at the Bible College had been driving negligently, rolled off the road with a van full of people, rolled on top of a policeman from the next tribe over, and killed him and another man. He got out alive. 12 houses were burned to the ground in retaliation, and the newspapers all screamed of the ensuing fight to come. Our business manager escaped with his daughter out the back door of one of the houses as the angry crowd came.
None of this violence affected the Bible College, but this church plant was in obvious jeopardy. People did not know if we should continue on with this work or not. Then Joseph’s nephew died of bone cancer the next day! In PNG it is only proper to stay and cry for about three days. You do not leave unless it is a big emergency. Joseph said we would continue on with our plans, however, despite cultural and physical dangers. So we did.
We showed the Jesus Film at a nearby High School where the church is now meeting, and well over 200 people turned out to watch! God never ceases to amaze me with how He can turn what Satan has planned to mess up people’s lives into what brings people to know Jesus as their Savior.
There are now over 80 people attending this little church plant on a regular basis, and many many more to come. The first several weeks the church doubled every time it met! Praise God that He does not abide by the wisdom of people, but that His ways are above our ways! We praise God also that the gates of hell shall not prevail over the church, and that Christ is the one with the keys to death and Hades!
Please continue to pray for this church as it struggles with “city life.” That is kind of rough in this country, yet it is to these rough kind of people that Jesus always seemed gravitate towards isn’t it? Pray for an effective ministry, a strong church, and a good physical structure to be “Minj Town Church of the Nazarene!”