Bethany students in the Philippines

HEPBURN, SASK.

Third-year students from Bethany Bible Institute travelled to the Philippines in February under Church Partnership Evangelism (CPE), a ministry of several evangelical churches under the partnership of MBMS International. Eighteen students, along with faculty member Doug Heidebrecht, joined ten other North Americans to work with local churches in three door-to-door evangelism campaigns. The students saw people respond to the gospel in Davao, Cebu and Roxas.

"The trip was definitely a highlight of my year," commented Jennifer Schmidt, "people in third world countries are hungry for hope and good news. That made our job easier as we went door-to-door to share the good news of Jesus Christ."

"Part of the value of such a trip for students is the experience of seeing believers in a totally different culture," noted Heidebrecht, "and then reflecting on our own values and attitudes in Canada."

Tamara Palmer remembers, "The very first house we went to was a neat experience. We were fairly nervous, but the woman, Alma, was very open to hear. She accepted Christ as her personal Saviour and then accompanied us to her neighbours' houses. Both neighbours caught Alma's enthusiasm and prayed to receive Christ. It was great to see how Alma cared about her friends and wanted them to experience the same joy and freedom that she had."

Students were overwhelmed with local churches' hospitality and generosity towards them, the willingness of believers to boldly share their faith with neighbours and the commitment to surround the ministry in prayer. Local churches expressed a real desire to follow up those who had responded to the gospel.

This was the fifth year BBI sent students with CPE to be involved in cross-cultural evangelism. The trip is an integral part of the third-year program at BBI, which seeks to broaden students' awareness of what God is doing around the world. In previous years, students travelled to Nicaragua, India and Paraguay.

BBI release


Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 37, No. 10 Home Page