August 12, 2013 - MTW - Africa - Bordens

Dear Minstry Partners,  

Thought you might like to see this 'hot of the press' MINTS newsletter which just came out, since two of the three featured articles are on MINTS-Africa! [MINTS is in 62 countries worldwide.]

The center article: I had the privilege of visiting and teaching at our key MINTS study center near Eldoret, Kenya, led by Pastor Abraham Kogo (also featured in one of our previous newsletters) the last two Aprils, and plan to return there again next April. 

Abraham is also helping me initiate and develop several other MINTS training centers throughout Kenya as well, one of which just began last week by the Reformed Fellowship Church of Kenya (RFCK) in the region of Kisii!  I am so thankful that he was able to travel there to officially open the center and teach the first course.  My goal of networking all the MINTS study centers in each African country as they develop is working best in Kenya, thanks to this faithful and gifted servant-leader! 

"MINTS in Malawi" article - I am so grateful that MINTS East Asia coorindator Allan vander Pol could visit Pastor Joster Jumbe in Zomba, whom Allan has been personally tutoring online on a post-grad level for the past few years. I will be visiting and teaching at this thriving MINTS center in Malawi Nov. 17-22, as well as at our two other centers there in the two largest cities in the country, Lilongwe (the capital) and Blantyre. This will be my first trip to Malawi; please pray that the Lord will use this trip to encourage the three local coordinators, help them in leading their traning centers, equip the students further in the Word, and hopefully network the three centers there so they can assist and encourage one another (as is happening in Kenya).

PRAYER REQUESTS: I leave for Uganda Sat. Aug. 17 and arrive back Mon. Sept. 9.  Appreciate your continued prayers as I teach God's Word to pastors and other church leaders first at Westminster Theological Seminary in the capital city of Kampala, then at our MINTS center on the other side of Kampala led by a faithful pastor/teacher named Isaac Mugerwa, next at an existing center in the western city of Mbarara recently started by MTW couple Don and Fran McNeill, and lastly at a new MINTS center in the town of Masaka started by a pastor friend of Isaacs who trained at Westminster (Kampala).  Please also remember Patty and Lydia in your prayers while I'm away.

MINTS continues to grow in various countries in Africa, including several francophone ones, and at my request MINTS is looking and advertizing for someone fluent in French to oversee/coordinate MINTS in these countires (Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Cameroon, and several countries in West Africa). At present, several courses are being translated into French.  Please pray for the Lord's provision of the right person to help as the vast English-speaking parts of Africa are challenging enough for Jeff to coordinate. I.e.: we need more staff!  And pastors, we can always use folks to help teach courses!  Please let me know if you are interested.

FAMILY UPDATE: our son Daniel (28) was just married (by yours truly, a bit emotional!) to Melissa Little on July 27 in Mechanicsville, VA.  We praise God that they both are following and seeking Him, and please pray for them to stay Christ-centered in their new union with one another!  We are so grateful to Knox Presbyterian Church there for allowing us to have the rehersal dinner in their lovely building, and for Pastor Clyde Bowie of Knox PCA and his wife Ginny for their kind hospitality - in God's providence, they live directly across the street from Melissa's parents!  What a "coincidence"! 

Another praise: Matthew's internship in Integrated Pest Management at Longwood Botanical Gardens in PA is going very well.  Please pray for good Christian friends for him and a good church home, and please be sure to look him up if you visit there - it's a beautiful place! 

Blessings, Jeff, Patty and Lydia Borden

MTW, MINTS-Africa Coordinator

PS Hope to see some of you at the PCA/MTW Global Missions Conference Nov. 8-10 in Greenville, SC!  www.mtw.org/gmc 

MINTS INTERNATIONAL SEMINARY WORLD NEWS   Join the 50/50 plan of world evangelism Thank you to those who have joined us. You support is invaluable to this ministry. If you haven't yet then join our 50/50 plan for world evangelization. How do you reach the world? By teaching the people of every language, tribe, and nation to reach their own people. MINTS does exactly that. We are seeking 50 people, churches, businesses, or foundations to pledge $50 per month for a year. $50 a month for the 5 billion who need to know Jesus. We will use your support to continue the development of pastors and church planters around the world so they can reach their own people. It works. MINTS started with a single school in Miami in 2001 and now has 220 schools training national believers in 62 countries and over 2000 graduates speading the word.. But the work isn’t done yet. Will you be a 50/50? Click the blue globe on the lower right or access the Support MINTS button on our webpage –www.mints.edu A report from Abraham Kogo in Kenya Teaching from Julian Zugg, Jeff Borden, and Don McNeill This is an excerpt from the newsletter sent out by Kenyan Abraham Kogo about their school, Vineyard College, in Eldoret.      “In April this year, we were happy to have Dr. Julian Zugg for one week. He taught us Johannine Literature. The class was very interesting because we had a good time to interact with the professor based on what we were learning from the course.” “During the second week of our classes in April, Rev. Jeff Borden taught us Introduction to Theology in the African Context (ATR). This also was a very enjoyable class because the course was fully contextualized into our African context. Most of the students realized that the kind of ATR teachings they have been reading in Mbiti’s book was incorrect. We saw that Nyirongo’s book and other ATR books written by reformed authors are the best. In this class, most of the students realized that much is to be done on what the Africans believe in conjunction with what the bible says. The bible should be our guide because it is an inspired word of God. It is authoritative and has no errors.” During our last week of classes, we were blessed to have Rev. Don McNeill (Don and Fran work with MINTS through Equipping Leaders Intl) who taught us wisdom literature, primarily Ecclesiastes. We learned a lot about Qohelet, his arguments as to why life is meaningless and how without Christ life is meaningless."       MINTS in Malawi On the road with  Allen Vander Pol In Zomba, Malawi with MINTS study center Eschol Theological College .  On 22 June I landed in Blantyre, Malawi to teach at ETC.   I was picked up at the airport by 3 teachers of Eschol Theological College: Rev. Klaas Klopsma of the HHK mission; Rev. Joster Jumbe, a student of mine in the MINTS M.Th. program and head of Eschol Theological College; and Rev. Banda, a senior pastor in their denomination, who has studied in Scotland for a year and gives a very mature expression of the Reformed African perspective. Throughout the week I stayed at Rev. Jumbe’s home.  We had time to discuss some of his writing assignments. I gave advice on using the computer for writing. After corresponding for four years, we enjoyed getting to know each other better. On Sunday I preached in two places where Pastor Jumbe usually preaches. The two preaching centers, which form one congregation, have grown slowly but steadily. They exist in the middle of Muslim people. The first service began with a one-hour class on the Westminster Confession. G. I. Williamson’s commentary served as the teacher’s basis for his comments. On Monday Pastor Jumbe showed me Eschol Theological College. It was impressive, though it did not conform completely to the MINTS model as they have a located campus. The facilities include a library which houses mostly a collection of books which the courses recommend for reading. Students attend class 1 week per month, and now in its second year, they have two classes. Each year they will add another until they teach 4 classes and currently there are about 20 students per class.