Bethel International Church Update

Matthew 28:18-20:  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are thankful to have celebrated the baptisms of six young believers this past Sunday! It was a time of great celebration and joy and there was such an amazing atmosphere of Gods presence throughout the day . God is so good!

Please continue to pray with us for more and more young people to awaken to the reality of Christ and for them to fully surrender their lives to Him as Lord and Savior!

New Service Times And Location.

Bethel International Church meets on the third floor of the Beka Building located in the German Square.

Our Sunday English service is at 2:00 pm (8:00 pm local time).

Our Tuesday Amharic service is at 6:00 pm (12:00 pm local time).

Join us!

Changes and Great Strides.

Here at Bethel International Church, the past few months have been of time of changes and great strides.

Changes:  We recently transitioned our Sunday meeting to an English medium. I’m preaching in English as before, but now without a translator. Previously, our worship was entirely in Amharic, but we’re now using a mixture of English and Amharic songs.

Our reason for doing this: Our vision has always been to be an International Church. Addis is often referred to as the “capital of Ethiopia,” and there are expats from many nations living here. We have a burden and, we believe, a responsibly to reach them with the Good News of the Kingdom. Just as there were people from many nations gathered together in Jerusalem who heard the Gospel on the day of Pentecost, we believe God has brought many of these expats to Ethiopia to hear the message of salvation. We believe God will use many of these expats as missionaries when they return to countries. We also have a vision to develop young Ethiopian leaders who will one day carry the Gospel to many nations — and we believe the most effective way to equip them to do this is to train them here in Ethiopia in the context of an International Church.

We plan to continue our Tuesday teaching meeting and our Friday prayer meeting in Amharic. To better equip our church members, we’ll soon be starting an English class to help strengthen their English skills.

Great strides: We recently added a new team member named Biniyam Bekele (that’s him up top). Biniyam came on board as finance and administrative director. Biniyam’s helped us restructure our administrative system, greatly increasing our efficiency. The new structure has also encouraged our team members and brought a “fresh wind” to us all. Welcome aboard Bini, you are a great addition to our team!

The church is encouraged at this time, people are growing in their faith, people are getting saved, and God is adding people. We sense that this is a time of breakthrough for us. Please join in prayer that Gods purposes for this coming season will be fulfilled. Thank you for standing with us. Together, we’re making a difference in the lives of many young people here in Ethiopia.

May God bless each of you in Jesus Name!

Eddie

Empowering tomorrow’s leaders.

It’s that time of year again here in Ethiopia when students are beginning classes for the new academic year. As part of our efforts to empower the youth of Ethiopia, we’ve been providing sponsorships to assist students in pursuing their educational goals for the past 10 years.

In addition to our partnership with the Emmanuel Wonji-Shoa Primary School which currently serves over 600 students pre KG-9th grade, we’ve provided financial assistance and sponsorships for 24 students here in Addis Ababa. The sponsorships have provided assistance for students in both public and private primary schools, students pursuing their degrees in public universities and private colleges, as well as students pursuing doctoral degrees in medicine.

Depending on their individual needs, we’ve assisted in many different ways including providing tuition, books, school supplies, transportation, tutoring, living expenses and other costs related to their education. We’re currently sponsoring 14 students pursuing degrees in Leadership and Management, Medicine, Biblical Studies, Counseling, Engineering, as well as students in both public and private elementary schools.

We currently need to raise $8,000 USD to help cover our existing commitments for this year, as well as to be able to provide additional scholarships.

I want to ask you to pray and consider making a financial investment in the lives of the future leaders of Ethiopia, Africa and beyond.

Please visit our website at www. globalimpactresources.org and designate the 110 Ethiopian Missions Account, or make a check payable to Global Impact Resources and mail it to PO Box 3012, Greenville, NC  27836. Please designate “110 Education” in the memo.

Eddie

Image courtesy of [ddpavumba] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bethel International Church Update.

By Gods grace, I am thankful to share that we have had a fruitful and productive summer here in Ethiopia! Some highlights include:

• Through Gods faithfulness and your generous financial support, we were able to purchase the land we needed to build ninth and tenth grade classrooms for the Wonji-Shoa Emmanuel School. Extra resources came in that will be used to buy textbooks for the library, up-fit classrooms and provide for the school’s other needs.
• Our annual summer youth program was a tremendous success this year. The program ran four afternoons per week and included bible teaching, prayer, worship training, leadership development and outreach activities which included friendship evangelism, street evangelism and orphan care. We saw tremendous growth and development in our youth and witnessed lives touched and transformed through our outreach efforts.  It was encouraging watching youth who went through the program last year leading different components of this year’s program.
• We’re extremely grateful for new salvations as well as others recommitting their lives to Christ over the past couple of months.  God is good and faithful!

Please pray for us in the following areas:

• For more salvations.
• For favor and success as we initiate a new outreach initiative on several university and high school campuses. We’ve been partnering for several years with Growing Leaders to provide leadership development opportunities for youth here in Addis, and this year we’re planning to begin small groups on several campuses using their Habitudes resources. We believe this initiative will assist the schools in their efforts to develop their students, that it will help us to develop and empower many young leaders, and that it will also build bridges of relationships that will allow us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• For Gods protection for us and for work here.
• For the financial resources needed to continue to expand the work here.

I want to thank you for your partnership in the work here. Your prayers, encouragement and financial investments are critical to the success of the work. Thank you for partnering with us to reach the nation of Ethiopia!

Thank you and may the Lord bless each of you in every area of your lives in Jesus Name!

Eddie

Will you help us seize this amazing opportunit​y?

Dear friends,

Grace and peace to each of you!  I’m writing to make you aware of a tremendous opportunity God has given us and to ask you to consider helping us to seize this time sensitive opportunity.

As many of you are aware, we’ve been partnering with the Wonji-Shoa Emmanuel Church for almost 10 years to provide quality, affordable, faith-based education in the town of Wonji-Shoa.

The original classroom

Our partnership began with 40 KG students gathering in a mud hut with a blackboard and wooden benches. Today the school serves over 600 students from KG to eighth grade. The school is located in a beautiful, spacious compound, has quality constructed classrooms, a library, science laboratory, computer lab, eating area, natural areas and a playground.

Since the school began, many children have received a quality education as well as faith and character development. Many students and family members have also come to faith in Christ through the influence of the school.

The Wonji-Shoa Emmanuel Church School today

The school has received awards for its quality of education as well as its influence and social impact in the community.

In Ethiopia, high school finishes after grade 10. We currently have capacity to serve students through eighth grade. We have been praying for the capacity to continue providing education through grade 10 and God has recently opened up a door of opportunity for us.

A piece of land adjacent to the school is now available for purchase and other partners including Compassion International and local business men have agreed to build the needed classrooms if the school can secure the property. The costs involved in securing the land are $10,000. The Wonji-Shoa Church has currently raised $1,500.

Thank you for the prayer, encouragement and financial support that you have demonstrated over the years. You have helped us reach this milestone and we thank you! Today, I want to ask you if you will pray and consider helping us raise the other $8,500?   You can help us in several ways including prayer, financial contributions and by letting your friends know about this amazing opportunity.

This is a time sensitive issue in that to begin 9th grade education in the coming school year, we must secure the land immediately and begin construction of the new classrooms. We are  thankful for the tremendous growth of this school over the past years and the securing of this property will help us reach our goal of providing quality education from KG to grade 10.

If you are willing to make a financial contribution towards helping us reach our goal, please visit our website at www. globalimpactresources.org and designate the 110 Ethiopian Missions Account, or make a check payable to Global Impact Resources and mail it to PO Box 3012, Greenville, NC  27836. Please designate “110 land purchase” in the memo.

If you’re sending a contribution, please send me an email and let me know. Any contributions that come in over the $8,500 will be used to help enhance other areas of the school.

This is an exciting opportunity and we appreciate you partnering with us. Thank you and may the Lord bless you all in Jesus Name!

Eddie

Bethel International Church Update.

In recent weeks, God has been moving in a mighty way in our Church. We are thankful to see Him moving among us in such an amazing and encouraging way.

A few highlights:

• Some of our youth with whom we’ve been working for the past year are growing tremendously and stepping forward in a significant way.
• Two people recently committed their lives to Christ.
• God has brought reconciliation to some relationships.
• We celebrated the baptisms of four of our members.
• We celebrated our first wedding as a church! May there be many more!
• We’ve begun our summer youth program and kids lives are being impacted.
• Our worship team recently added several new members.
• Some needed government credentials, that we’ve been pursuing for years, are now being attained.
• There’s an amazing sense of unity and love in the church.
• There’s a new joy and expectancy in the church.

Thank you for your continued partnerships in the work here in Ethiopia. As God has been blessing us, may His blessings overflow into your lives!

We thank God for you, we love you and may God bless you all in Jesus Name!

Eddie

Wonji-Shoa Kindergarten Graduation

Had a great time celebrating the recent KG graduation. God is raising up some amazing future leaders! Pastor Tegene, you guys are doing an amazing job! May God continue to bless you and your team!

Eddie

Wonji-Shewa Emmanuel Church School Update.

I want to give you a quick update from our recent visit to the Wonji-Shewa Emmanuel Church School. It was a joyous event as 45 excited children graduated from Kindergarten. The church hall was filled with children, parents and family, church and school members, faculty and leaders, and community leaders. The program consisted of worship, skits, fun filled events, handing out of certificates, and prayer.

We also got to see the new science laboratory that was recently constructed. It was amazing to see some of the science projects that the students had created. I am confident we have many future engineers and doctors in the making!

The school is growing and is recognized as a leader in education and service to the community. This year, 110 students and family members have been saved and baptized as a result of the school. Praise God! Please be praying that many others will come to know Christ through the influence of the school.

Thanks from the children, the families, the church, the school, the community and myself for helping make this school a success and a blessing for the community of Wonji-Shewa. Children are getting a quality education, jobs are being created and people are coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! Your prayers, encouragement and financial support are critical to the schools success and we are forever grateful for your partnerships!

Eddie

Bethel International Church Update.

Here are a few highlights of what we are currently working on at Bethel:

We are continuing to pray and ask God for new salvations and we are spending a lot of time sharing the gospel in the area surrounding our church. In the past month we’ve seen three people commit their lives to Christ and one young girl also recommitted her life to Christ! Please pray that God will use us to reach many more people with the good news of the reconciling love of Christ! Also, please pray that God will give us effective strategies for reaching the lost in our community.

Our leadership team is continuing to develop. It’s exciting to see these young leaders discovering and utilizing their God given gifts, talents and abilities!

We’ve recently begun a weekly training for a new group of developing leaders in our church and it’s going well. We’ve relaunched our efforts to serve the university, college and high school fellowships around Addis. I will be meeting with and praying for a group of medical students from Addis Ababa University.

The Wonji-Shoa school will be completing construction of their new science laboratory in a couple of weeks and we look forward to visiting the children and the new lab. Thanks for your contributions which made this possible!

We’re continuing to partner with other local churches. I’m regularly meeting with other pastors concerning ways we can work together more effectively. We intermittently have other pastors serve in our Sunday meetings. I usually teach a series and then have someone come in before I start the next series. Other pastors also serve us when I’m traveling. We’ve recently had pastors from different backgrounds serving — including an Ethiopian, an American other than myself, and this week we’ll have a Nigerian. Currently, Pastor Aklilu from Mexico Emmanuel is teaching us a New Testament survey on Tuesday nights.

I will be in Mekele for 8-10 days, serving several local churches and the Mekele University Fellowship. I sense that God has great things in the coming season in Mekele and in the surrounding region. I will be training one of the churches in the areas of evangelism and discipleship. Please pray for me and for the highly unreached Tigray region.

Thank you again for your prayers, encouragement and partnerships in the work here. You are a blessing to me and to the people of Ethiopia! May the grace, hope, peace, joy, love and life of Christ be with each of you! May He strengthen and encourage you and bless you in every way in Jesus Name!

Eddie