bahula-bulletin: May 2019 update

ministry update

Thank for your prayers for Horizon’s ministry. We appreciate your prayers as our team travels and ministers. We continue to have exciting opportunities to partner with seminaries who are training servant leaders for Christ’s Church. Jesus said that he would build his church. Thank you for joining his work around the world through the ministry of Horizon.

In February, I traveled to Cairo, Egypt, with my colleagues Al and Rob for the first institute of 2019. Leaders from schools in Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Alegria, and Sudan came together. I taught two sessions, one on designing interaction in education and another on the holistic assessment of learning. It was very encouraging to see theological educators eager to learn how to improve their teaching, especially in an online environment. The seminary in Cairo that hosted us has been training pastors since 1863. It began on a boat that traveled up and down the Nile River with teachers and students who studied during the day and evangelized in the villages during the evening. That innovative use of technology in theological education resulted in churches along the banks, some of which still bear witness today.

The second largest institute was held in March in Cape Town, South Africa. There, my colleagues, Al and Brian, and I joined representatives from 17 schools in 8 countries to talk about online theological education. Participants came from Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. My assigned topic of technological readiness for online education energized me. There were timely illustrations of the need for contingency planning as we had daily scheduled power outages during the institute. The contrasts of available technology for theological education were stark. On the one hand, one school only offers online courses and regularly uses video chat; on the other, another one attempting to provide off-campus courses tries to communicate with students using a “village” phone.

It is evident that God is at work, even in the midst of significant challenges in many places. Hundreds of Iranian emigrants are coming to Christ and a school that trains Persian speakers can barely keep up with the demands of the churches. Pray for these schools around the world. Pray for upcoming institutes in south-east Asia and an undisclosed location.

family update

Thanks for your continued prayers for our family. E has finished university and walks the stage soon. Pray that she finds employment. It would be even better if it were in the theatre arts. School is going well for K, A, G, and L. Their summer plans are shaping up with jobs, camps, and vacation. Thanks for praying for K. She will study visual arts at York U in the fall. Pray for her summer savings and a smooth transition in September.

praise & prayer

• Praise that our training materials have been updated in English.
• Pray for the process of translating and producing these materials in French.
• Pray for the launch of Horizon’s new Curriculum Design process in mid-May.
• Pray for the plans being made for two more institutes later this year.
• Pray for the end of year exams for KAGL.
• Pray for employment for E.
• Praise God for his faithful provision for our monthly support needs.

bahula-bulletin: May 2019 update printable pdf copy