Bible Institute Opens!

he group arrives to help teach our first classes at the Bible Institute. From Left to right: Dr. Dan Yaw, Dr. Dan Lewis, Mrs. Long, Dr. Ron Long, Shaun and Lien.

For some who are not aware of our call to Vietnam, I will take a moment to clarify it and explain the process in which we have become missionaries to this special land at this special time. I have gone back and forth to Vietnam for several years and the Lord had impressed upon me years ago that the most significant thing that is lacking at this time here in Vietnam is adequate Bible Training for Pastors and Leaders. Then in 2012 the Lord called my wife and I to move here as full-time missionaries to offer the training needed. As I laid the calling down before the Lord, I really wanted to understand clearly what it was He was calling us to. So here it is.
 
One of the main purposes of SALM67 Ministries is to establish a Bible College/Bible Institute that eventually will be entirely operated by Vietnamese pastors. The Lord has supernaturally provided the land and facilities as well as the curriculum through a partnership with BTCP. In
addition, Luther Rice Seminary has committed its help in teaching the curriculum and will offer a certificate of graduation to all students. Our very first class was scheduled to start in mid-January, and to show their support, a team from Luther Rice came over to help us get the institute off to a great start. What an incredible blessing it was to have this team travel nearly 36 hours to be with us - in good shape and ready to teach!

Dr. Ron Long, the missions director at Luther Rice University and Seminary.

Dr. Dan Yaw (Pastor of Northside Baptist Church, Lakeland, FL)

Our first day Dr. Ron Long, the missions director at Luther Rice and our key contacty for our partnership with the university, opened up the session with a word on behalf of the Seminary and the Lord. It was a powerful message that spoke of how the Word of God should be lived out in the life of the pastor. Dr. Dan Yaw (Pastor of Northside Baptist Church, Lakeland, FL), Dr. Dan Lewis (Chairman and Advisor for IAGM) and myself were the teachers for the first session on Hermeneutics - the study of how to properly read and study the word of God
 
As we taught through the three full days of the first session, it was amazing to watch the students hang on to every word from the mouths of their professors. In most schools and in most classes, students would be dropping off as the material they were studying became more difficult, but that was not the case here. We have a total of 20 pastors and leaders officially registered for this first class of the Institute, but on the first day more than 30 students showed up and by the last day, there were 36 students total. The additional people were coming just because they loved hearing the Word of God and learning how to read and study the Word of God. Just a testimony on how the Lord is moving on the hearts of the people here.
     
I had the honor of teaching the class on the Power of God’s word and it was amazing to be able to pour into the people of God the understanding of just how powerful God’s Word is and how important it is to preach that word accurately.This truth is well illustrated in this passage from Hebrews.

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

— Hebrews 4:12

I spoke about how His word penetrates the hearts of those who hear it and how it causes a response. The author of Hebrews says, the Word is alive, it is active, it is sharp, it pierces and it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. When it is properly studied and powerfully preached, it causes some amazing things to take place in the life and heart of those who hear it.

Shaun teaching on the power of God's Word.

The next three days we spent walking the students through their text books on how to read, study and apply the powerful word of God in their life and ministries. We believe whole heartedly this is the beginnings of a dream come true. 

The entire group from our first session. 

New Years Day Celebration

New Year's Day Event with the Youth Group at the beach

New Years Day is already upon us. It is so hard to believe that 2013 is all in the past. I praise God for the dramatic changes that have taken place in my life and in our ministry this past year. This past year presented a lot of ups and downs. I was able to experience some amazing gains in relationships and opened doors and yet experience some amazing loses in loved ones and closed doors. However throughout it all, I realized the hand of God upon my life and my family. Truly He is my Shepherd. 

To celebrate the New Year, we had an amazing time of worship with the church youth group. It started out as an encouragement to the youth group on how to live in harmony as the body of Christ, but it ended up being much more. Several young people who had never heard the gospel before showed up and took part in fellowship. At the close of the message, the youth gathered in small groups to pray for each other for the New Year.  These small groups gave the Christian youth an opportunity to share the Lord with the non-Christians, and as a result at least 2 prayed to receive Christ into their hearts. 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

— John 13:34

It was wonderful time in the Lord and a great way to start off the New Year. Jesus reminded His disciples of this.

Learning the Vietnamese Language

When I was called to the mission field here in Vietnam I was told by a very dear friend that I did not need to learn the language. Well, that was probably one of the worst things that anyone could tell a missionary. For to show any care or love for the people or the culture in which one will be ministering, they must desire to learn the language. I have been back and forth here about 11 times over the past 5 ½ years and have picked up some phrases but I have never really been serious about learning the language until now

So upon my arrival, one of my goals for the time I was going to be in country was to learn Vietnamese. It is a musical language that requires the ability to hear pitches and tones. For most of you that know me, you know that I can not hear either a pitch or a tone. In fact, I am unable to properly speak my own native language let alone learn a foreign language. My friend that I grew up with came to listen to me preach a few months back and said, “Man you still have a way of redefining the English language.” So, this challenge of learning a hard foreign language will not be an easy one for me. 

However I can tell you that it will be well worth it. For once the language is learned, the people to whom I am ministering will recognize the effort that had to be put forth to learn their native tongue and they will realize my sincere love for them. It is not enough to tell someone that you love them, for true love usually is accompanied with a sacrificial act. Just listen to how the Lord describes His love, “God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son.” Once I learn the language I will be able to communicate with the people without a translator, which means it will become more personal. This also is true of the Gospel. Because of Christ's work on the cross, we do not need a translator to communicate our heart to God. Through Christ, we have become a priest who has direct access to God. It is personal. 

This young pastor is teaching me Vietnamese.

The young Pastor who is helping me learn the language has been a good friend of mind since the first time I arrived. I have spent hours upon hours with him and another young man teaching them English, and how to study the Bible. So this relationship that we have has now taken a little shift, where I am the one gleaning from him and he is the one depositing in me. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of, Where we both have something to offer to one another and without each other it would be nearly impossible to become what God has called us to become.  This is the picture of the body of Christ that each member is unique but without the other members it simply does not function well at all. 

New Believers and Bible Studies

There have been so many people being saved over the past several months that they had to start offering New Believer’s classes four nights a week. After the new believers finish their classes, they are baptized at the beach as a witness to their faith. For the first time I was able to baptize three new believers and what a joy it was to have this opportunity. The day we were baptizing, the beach was especially crowded, and people everywhere were wondering what we were doing, baptizing these young people in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Afterward we prayed and worshiped the Lord while they just watched. In addition to the New Believer’s classes and other weekly Bible study classes, there are Wednesday night House Church worship services.  This is a joyful time of worship when most of the church members not in other classes, cram into one family’s small home to praise God and ask the blessings of the Lord upon that home. What a powerful time.

Youth Group

The Youth Groups meet on Saturday nights to worship and have Bible study and fellowship. The youth have grown in number and in their spiritual maturity as well and it is so obvious that the Lord is rising and stirring the young generation to serve the Lord in a powerful way,  bringing revival to this nation. So many young people in this group are interested in going to Bible College, not only to learn more about God’s Word, but also about ways to serve Him through ministry. It is exciting to witness this move of God within the younger generation.