David Huss 26
th
February 2006
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February 2007
Bible Training Partnership
Equipping God's people to make his Word known.
News & Prayer Letter February 2007
Dear supporter,
Welcome to this latest update on the BTP and its involvement in the Lord's work in Nigeria:
News from January 2007 Training Conferences
Rick Creighton writes:
“We had a really great time in Gusau – everyone was very welcoming and hospitable – and
also eager and enthusiastic to learn more of God’s word. Alanna and I really enjoyed being
able to work through Mark’s gospel for two weeks – and the clergy, evangelists and lay
readers seemed to value it too!
Prosperity
“One of the big challenges to the church in northern Nigeria is the ‘prosperity gospel’
(health and wealth teaching). This seems to have affected across most denominations in
Nigeria, at least to some degree – it is difficult to fully escape its influence, even for those
who know it is not faithful to what Jesus taught, because it is so pervasive. (Of the
Christian books we saw on sale in Gusau, the vast majority were influenced by prosperity
teaching in some way – usually extensively.) Working through Mark’s gospel together was a great way for
us to discuss what Jesus himself taught, and how this is different from the ‘heath and wealth’ gospel.
(Here’s a brief mention on the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4906974.stm
)
Politics
“Another major prayer point concerns the upcoming national elections in April. It’s only
8 years since Nigeria became a democracy, and they have had the same President
(Obasanjo) for all of that time. This will be the first full-blown transition, and no one is
quite sure what will happen. Many fear that there will be some violence – but no one
knows how much. It’s likely that many Christians from the north will temporarily return to
the south for the election period. If there is sustained violence or instability, it could have
very detrimental effects for the church in the far north of Nigeria.”
Thanks and Prayer
Items for thanks:
-
The hospitality and generosity of those in Gusau
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Their desire to serve God faithfully
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Their eagerness to learn more of the Scriptures
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Practicalities all running smoothly
Items for prayer
-
that the clergy/evangelists/lay readers will be able to use what they’ve learned as they teach others
-
wisdom for them in knowing how to resist and refute the ‘prosperity gospel’
-
Stability during the April elections.
-
July trip (see below)