African Missions
Dr Jeffrey Khoo
I thank the Lord for yet another opportunity (my 9th time) to teach at the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA) in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 12- 24, 2008. This time I taught the Westminster Confession of Faith using Dr Lynn Gray Gordon’s excellent workbook entitled The World’s Greatest Truths (FEBC Press, 1999). Dr Gordon was former General Secretary of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions (IBPFM) and Vice President of the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC). In his comment on the Scriptures, Dr Gordon was faithful to the wonderful truth of Biblical Preservation. In his book, he wrote, “The Holy Scriptures have been miraculously preserved down through the ages.” This is true to the reformed doctrine of the Special (not General), Providential Preservation or the Verbal Plenary Preservation of the Holy Scriptures as taught by the Westminster theologians quoting Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall inno wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” As far as the KJV goes, Dr Gordon believed that “the King James version is free from error in thought, fact, and doctrine.” The students were also taught Covenant Theology, and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and of Justification by Faith. There were a total of 49 students, and most of them did well by the grace of God.
May 18, 2008 saw the first graduation service of BCEA Tanzania. There were altogether 7 students who were awarded their Certificate of Biblical Studies by the principal—Rev Dr Mark Kim. I preached from Acts 20:26-35 on being “Faithful Shepherds.” Over 200 came to witness this event. Representing the class— Jackson Masanja—a medical doctor trained in Russia, but now a pastor, said in his graduation speech, “We, the students, who are graduating today, are so much happy in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who enabled us to go through this course successfully. We also pass our many regards to the Principal, and the staff of this College plus the donors who have been enabling this College to run smoothly. May our heavenly Father bless them all. … We have gained much throughout the period of four semesters. All the lecturers did their level best to teach the proper Bible doctrines. We dare to say openly before you all that there is a great difference between our entry into the College to this time of our departure. We have learned a lot.”
The Lord has indeed provided for all the needs of BCEA (Tanzania), the funds coming mainly from True Life and Calvary Pandan BPCs in Singapore. US$275,000 have thus far been spent on the 8-acre campus, with 8 buildings already up, and many fruit trees and flowers planted by Mrs Mark Kim. A water pipe is currently being laid to bring in good, clean water from nearby Mt Meru. Eld Tan Nee Keng (Berean BPC) and Rev Judah Pallangyo who recently graduated with their Master of Divinity degrees from FEBC will be new members of the administration and faculty serving with Rev Peter Elibariki and Mr Joseph Amos a recent BCEA graduate. Miss Yoon Ho Young, a Korean Bible Baptist missionary who speaks fluent Swahili, runs the Chemchemi (Water Springs) Kindergarten on the College grounds with 40 children, with many on the waiting list. Pray for Dr and Mrs Mark Kim as they shuttle frequently between Kenya and Tanzania to supervise the work.
Back in Nairobi, the 37th BCEA Graduation Exercises was held on May 24, 2008. A total of 29 students graduated from BCEA with their Certificate of Biblical Studies (2), Diploma in Theology (8) and Advanced Diploma in Theology (19). FEBC conferred on 9 graduands their Bachelor of Ministry degree this time. Over a thousand people came to celebrate the occasion. The Rev Keith Coleman, Director of IBPFM, gave a spiritually challenging message on “Men and Women of Integrity” which should be published for posterity. God willing, I hope to visit BCEA again at the end of the year for another round of BMin classes.
Testimony of Rev John MacKenzie
I was born 1938 at Barmera, situated on the shores of Lake Bonney, in the Riverland area of South Australia. We lived on a vineyard. My father was an Anglican and my mother a Methodist, but the only church with a Sunday School in the town was Congregational – so that is where I received my early religious training.
Completing High School at age 16, I went to Melbourne to study radio announcing – which was my life’s ambition (at that stage!). Here I continued my association with the Congregational Church, in youth leadership and Sunday School work. Attending an Easter Camp in the following year, I was brought under conviction, and believed that I should enter college and train for the Christian ministry.
I returned to South Australia, and entered Parkin Congregational Theological College in Adelaide where I studied for three years. Looking back now it was a fully fledged liberal college. Whilst in the college, Dr Billy Graham visited Australia, and all the students were involved in his crusades. This was my introduction to a more active evangelicalism.
Completing college, I was appointed to the Rockhampton Church in Queensland. From there I had some time at Booval/North Ipswich and then Southport. As I continued to read and look into church history, I was becoming more and more convinced that much of Congregationalism was liberal and apostate. It was then that I was called to Bruthen in Victoria. (Unknown to me at the time there was a small group of people praying for God’s man to be appointed to the church— these were evangelical believers.)
As I approached this church I asked that the Lord let us be a faithful church, no matter what the consequences. It was thus a delight to find a small group of people who were praying for God’s will to be done. The first thing I encountered was a flower and baby show to raise funds for the church – thankfully the deacons agreed with me, that it would be the last such show!
With this small group of believers we were able to chart a new course for the church. Attendances increased, giving multiplied and we started four other preaching places.
Then the force of the Congregational Union of Victoria was brought to bear upon me – you must only support our mission work, you must use our Sunday School material, there is no reason why you cannot have a flower show and so on. As a result, the Union officials visited the church informing me that I must do as they said. So, at a well attended church meeting, this was put to me, and I resigned, and subsequently all the SS teachers, church secretary and some others.
We left the meeting and started the Bible Congregational Church. This was my introduction to Biblical separation. I stayed with this group for over a year, then returned to Adelaide, as my mother was dying of cancer. What to do in Adelaide, as far as worship, was a problem.
I met up with a man who had studied at Highland College in the USA, and a Singaporean Charles Yeo from a BP background. The three of us formed the Bible Presbyterian Church of Adelaide in 1969, and from that time on we saw growth in many different ways.
I should mention that it was in 1967 that I started “Faith and Freedom” magazine and have edited it ever since. In 1969 we commenced Reformation Book Centre in the CBD of Adelaide.
I was married in 1970 to Christine Jury, whose family had separated form the Methodist Church many years previous. The other two men faded away when the church was constituted by Dr Lynn Gray Gordon in 1972. Slowly the work grew, and it was in 1982 that the church was able to purchase an old Baptist Church at Magill an Adelaide suburb.
The years that followed saw much encouragement until a family came to us in 1995, who had everything going for them (they had come out of new age activities and other strange ways), the father was a top surgeon, the wife a psychologist, a son who wanted to train for the ministry and a daughter. Over the following six years (as we look back now) they worked everyone of the congregation – starting with my wife and me, loading us with gifts etc. Slowly as they saw they had a power base, things began to change. Whether they were born again or not is questionable.
The crunch came in 2002, when they had the numbers to cause me to resign. Such an event was traumatic, but the Lord has overruled for good out of it. There were threats of legal action, but the Lord has kept us, also with a new church – Covenant Presbyterian, a magazine and bookshop under the title “Faith and Freedom Ministries Inc”. All we can say is summed up in the words of the Lord Jesus to His people – “Fear not little flock it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
We thank the Lord that he has cared for us, when my wife was diagnosed with cancer in 1988 we had the privilege of having four weeks in Scotland and England, expecting, as the specialists indicated, that she would come home to die – but the Lord has been gracious in so many different ways, and He has continued to preserve her. He has been a very good Father to us both over many years.
(Pray for Rev John MacKenzie as he ministers to us next Lord’s Day and at our church camp, June 9-13, 2008. He and his wife are due to arrive on June 7, SQ268 at 5.40pm.)
