First weeks at PIBC this fall

As I mentioned in our last blog entry, it is always such a joy to see the campus come alive again as students return in the fall. One returning student is Joel, from Palau. He was in my freshman English writing class when I first taught here in fall of '04, and here he is now, returning for his last year of study. Joel was part of our Thailand mission team this past summer and he was overflowing with good reports from that trip.


Indeed, the entire Thai team was energized from seeing God at work on this trip. They gave reports on their personal "insider" views of the trip, sang a couple of songs, and then showed a slide-and-video presentation in chapel last week. One student, Sonny, recently received word that a young man he had shared Christ with who had not made a decision while the team was in Thailand, has recently made that commitment and is involved in a Bible study to help him grow in his walk with the Lord. We were so happy to get such a good report. Pray for our students as they prayerfully seek God's will for future trips and possible life ministries on the mission field.

As part of the ministry here at PIBC, all staff members and several local folks gather two Sundays a month to pray for the students and staff at PIBC. Here you see us gathered at the parsonage for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Guam, a local church that has very actively partnered with PIBC and has supported the work here in a wide variety of ways. These prayer meetings are wonderful opportunities for fellowship and worship as we gather together, sing to the Lord, share God's answers to our prayers, and share the current needs and concerns of the college with each other, and then pray together.

Another area where Tim and I are ministering this fall is in being involved in a program called the Alpha course. Alpha is an outreach program that presents the gospel to those who accept the invitation to come and discuss spiritual matters and learn more about Christ and the Word of God. Several of our students are involved as a part of their PIBC evangelism course. Alpha meets once a week for 10 weeks, studying the history of man's inability to save himself, the Biblical claims of Christ as our only means of hope to reconnect with God and be forgiven of our sins, and begins new believers on a road to becoming disciples. Our PIBC "community group" is comprised of these evangelism class students as well. Check back for updates next week on our first meeting and an explanation of what a "community group" is!

Another blessing we've had in being back is returning to worship with a local body of believers we grew close to back in '04 and again in our first year of ministry at PIBC. Here you see our pastor, Jeff Johnson, leading the pre-Sunday school singing time with some of the church kids; behind Jeff is Brad Boydston, a fellow teacher at PIBC, and in the foreground, Dave Owen, who will be teaching adult Sunday school for four weeks.

Here you see some of the participants to the singing time. We love this time of music between the early service and Sunday school. Pastor Jeff is great at choosing songs that both the young and young at heart can enjoy together - many are songs that are the type we use in VBS or other kids programs - and all the congregation enjoys singing them together. After singing, the kids head off for their various classes with theier teachers, and the adults gather in 2 areas for their classes.


As mentioned above, Dave Owen is one of our adult Sunday school teachers for the next four weeks at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Guam. Dave is teaching a class on cults, and he started the series off by giving us the opportunity to determine just what a "cult" is. We found out that the definition is not an easy one to simply "nail down," since different false teachings have different ways in which their teachings are not biblically sound. It is always a blessing to have Dave as a teacher; he is clear in his teaching, intersting and engaging (the class flies by!), and we see why our students love to take his classes!

Blessings to you all! Please remember to pray for the staff and students at PIBC this fall!
Melody and Tim