Because of your support and countless others like you, this happened on Wednesday…
BFA Opening Ceremony 2024-25: 270 students with parents serving in over 50 countries begin another year of being inspired and equipped to follow Jesus and His call for them on their lives.
Four weeks after returning to Kandern from the USA, we are still processing the number of our supporters - prayer, financial, and invaluable encouragers - we had a chance to meet during our brief Home Assignment. Despite our limited time and travel budget, it was a huge privilege to be able to spend time with so many of you - some planned, some spontaneous - individuals, couples, groups or supporting church. Still, we are aware that this was only a fraction of the many who take interest in our work and we truly wish that we could have connected with you all. Spending time with those we could drove home how amazingly varied you all are and how grateful we are for each one. We didn’t exactly make it to all four corners of the country but we weren’t far off, meeting friends, current supporters and potential supporters in Virginia, Washington, Texas and Tennessee. The time may have been short in each place, but it was deeply meaningful as we grew in our relationship and as it gave us the opportunity to further explain our work at Black Forest Academy.
There’s an old saying in Africa that “it takes a village to raise a child.” The same is true of Kingdom work - it takes a community. Whether you realise it or not, your place in our ministry team is invaluable. You may not travel with us to his small corner of Germany, but as “Senders” the significance of your role goes well beyond the giving of a monetary gift or adding another photo to your fridge door to remind you to pray for us (although both of these are, of course, of immense importance). “Senders” are partners with us, and this is a two-way relationship…
…Firstly, just working together as God’s Family honours Him as it reflects His perfect unity.
…Partnership also shares the wonder of what God is doing, enabling us all to catch a glimpse of what is happening in places beyond our immediate communities. As you witness what God is doing here, we trust that your faith will be strengthened and your understanding of God’s character expanded in ways that will hopefully inspire greater wonder and closeness to Him. Likewise, our relationships with you are opening our eyes to how God is at work in your lives and communities as well.
…Partnership also presents you with an opportunity to steward the gifts of resources, time and concern that He has entrusted to you. It is an exercise in faith as you look to God to meet your daily needs as you help provide for ours. By using your resources well, far more people are involved in strengthening initiatives that seek to bring His Kingdom to our world than may initially meet the eye. Those of us who are more visible at the front are only the tip of the iceberg.
This year’s fabulous team of staff and volunteers at BFA
Take you, our Ministry Partners… now multiply this by 150 (the number of staff and volunteers serving at BFA) and you have hundreds, even thousands, of people backing us! Every person in the photo above represents a team of unseen partners supporting them through prayer and funding and accountability. And BFA is just one of several mission organisations based in Kandern (they’re located here because of the school), and this is only one small area of Germany…and now you begin to see the scale of the global role you play - that this is no small part at all!
The Olympics have just taken place relatively close to us in Paris, and while they obviously showcase a great deal of human talent and unimaginable hard work, I have been inspired by the recognition that each athlete, no matter how gifted, did not get there in a vacuum. They didn’t do it alone but over a long period of time with a team of trainers, nutritionists, physios, sponsors and more… people who helped the athlete to identify the steps they needed to take in order to achieve their goal and who held them to their rigorous training schedule, people who kept them at their peak level of fitness and helped them to heal when something had been injured in the process, people who encouraged them to keep going with a word or a hug on a hard day. Likewise, we do not do this alone but through the strategic support and guidance of our Sending Mission - TeachBeyond - whose years of experience enables them to guide us through the logistical requirements for living and working outside our home countries. They also provide us with moral and spiritual accountability alongside the BFA Board and our sending churches, ICF Nairobi and Blue Ridge Bible Church, VA.
But that’s only part of the story. What does your partnership mean for us? A healthy team requires everyone to do their job well, and so having each one of you in our team is of great value. Individually and collectively, you…
…keep us accountable to the work we have been called to,
…keep our vision and purpose before us as we seek to communicate it to you clearly and concisely,
…prompt us to take time to recognise how God is actively at work in our lives and in those around us,
…provide opportunities for these stories to be heard by additional people to be prayed for and rejoiced over,
…enable us all to learn and grow together as we see God’s power transforming lives,
…cover us on our good days and difficult seasons in prayer,
…sustain us with timely words of encouragement through emails, calls and notes,
…build our faith as we trust in the Lord’s provision for our everyday needs,
…and you literally keep us on the field doing what we do.
We cannot do what we are doing without you. So, again, thank you!
Please be in prayer for us to remain sensitive to the Lord’s guidance which brings wisdom and boldness to lead well. Pray, too, for us to support and nurture one another with joy and discernment within our family.
Enjoying family time in Virginia
Sharing about BFA at Blue Ridge Bible Church, Purcellville, VA
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