Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Dr. Richard Barcellos and I were privileged to serve our Savior in Namibia, Africa earlier this month. At the request of several Reformed Baptist pastors and missionaries, we were asked to equip pastors and church leaders in theological training at the newly formed Grace Ministerial Academy in Windhoek. Through the week of August 8th through the 12th, Rich taught a course on Hermeneutics in the morning while I followed up in the afternoon with a course on Worldviews. We had several pastors and church leaders as students as well as a few others auditing our courses. They were hungry to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and our prayer is that we helped each of them to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). One of the students made my week when he commented after one of my classes something like, “I took a class on Worldviews at [a seminary in Africa]. They taught it philisophically. You are teaching it biblically. Thank you.” I know Rich also received encouraging feedback.
Additionally, we both had opportunities to preach in local churches while in Namibia. Between the two of us, we preached several times at three different churches. Furthermore, Eastside Baptist Church in Windhoek asked me to teach twice during evening meetings at their church. Because I am a former Mormon, their pastors asked me to teach on Mormonism and witnessing to cultists during their midweek service. They also requested that I cover Decision Making and the Will of God at a special Thursday meeting, a topic that I care deeply about. After finishing my message on biblical decision making, the church where Rich and I preached on our second Lord’s Day in Swakopmund requested that I repeat my message at their church. By God’s grace, our preaching and teaching was warmly received. As you can see, these pastors and churches were clearly hungry to spiritually feast on God’s truth taught from His Word. Praise God!
We thank all of you who prayed for us while we were in Africa. The Lord definitely heard your prayers! Our travels went smoothly, we remained in good health, and our families did well while we were away. But most importantly, we were able to serve Christ and His churches in Namibia. Now we look forward to seeing the fruit of our labors. May Christ richly bless His kingdom in Namibia and beyond for His glory!
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Because of His grace,
John Divito
Member, Heritage Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY
Administrator, Midwest Center for Theological Studies
CBTS Faculty fully subscribe to the 1689 Confession of Faith, hold an advanced
degree in their field of instruction, and possess significant pastoral experience.
