June-July 2024 Ministry Update

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Greetings from Arizona,

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. Philippians 2:4

It’s a joy to celebrate all that God did in the lives of Indian Bible College (IBC) students this past school year. To see their lives transform through spiritual growth is truly a gift. We had an amazing time of honoring the Lord and celebrating our graduates in May.

Please pray for our two Baccalaureate grads, Mikal and Kornell. Mikal will be joining the Native Rise ministry in Flagstaff and Kornell will be pursuing further education at Phoenix seminary while serving on staff at IBC as Facilities Manager. We saw four students receive their Associates of Biblical Studies (ABS). May the Lord continue to guide Jianna and Johanna as they continue their pursuit of the Bachelors of Biblical Studies degree. The eight Certificate of Biblical Studies (1-year program) students were honored as well. Over half of them will be returning to IBC this coming fall to seek their ABS degree.

Summer and Fall

Many of the IBC students are engaged with summer youth camps, ministry internships or working in order to pay for the upcoming school year. Two of our upperclassmen are also working as Admissions Counselors to recruit future students. (see page 2, which was a part of the IBC spring newsletter). Please pray for all the students to stay grounded in their faith and to be shining brightly for the Lord wherever they are this summer. Speaking of the upcoming school year and fall semester, we’re already beginning to write course syllabi, order text books and plan for classes.

Please pray for the incoming freshman class. Satan is once again doing his worst to keep new students from coming to IBC. Despite more time and money being invested in recruitment than ever before we only have THREE new full-time students accepted for Fall, two of whom have taken classes at IBC before. We DO have a lot of inquiries and prospects, however. Native churches and ministries are always asking for IBC graduates, but we must have new students in order for them to turn into graduates!

Please pray for 10-15 new full-time students to join us on August 28th for New Student Orientation!

Personal

For a month of my summer, I worked about 1 day a week using the rest as my vacation time to try and rest from the exhaustion and fatigue I’ve dealt with from my illness (hypercalcemia). In addition, I’ve needed the time for a very packed season of over 70 hours involving more than 2 dozen medical appointments. Traveling to Mayo Clinic in Phoenix is a 4-hour round trip drive, but I’ve seen it as a blessing to be able to visit my dad at the memory care facility more often these past 2 months, as well as my sister and nieces.

Unfortunately, there’s still no answer as to why my body is producing too much calcium. There’s one final test on the docket in September. In the meantime, a month ago I started “empiric therapy”, a treatment as if I had an auto immune disease. The medication has begun to improve the kidney function and allowed me to feel a little more energy. I’m also receiving voice therapy for my shortness of breath and voice hoarseness. I am grateful for your prayers!

God bless you,

Linda

Prayer Need

Pray for Prospective Indian Bible College Students

To protect the privacy of the individuals mentioned in this article, names and identifying details have been altered.

God is opening up doors for the gospel all around the United States. Billy Graham once said of Indigenous peoples in America, “The greatest moments of Native history lie ahead of us if a great spiritual renewal and awakening should take place. The Native American has been a sleeping giant. He is awakening. The original Americans could become the evangelists who will help win America for Christ!”

The Enemy, Satan, knows the potential Native American Christians have for living and sharing the gospel. I think that’s why recruiting students to Indian Bible College can be challenging at times. Take Lena for example—Lena attended a conference and felt God’s calling in her life to learn and grow in His Word. She heard about IBC and started the application process. Lena was officially accepted and was only days away from moving onto campus when financial responsibility for her entire family was suddenly shifted to her. At 18 years old she was asked to provide financially for her mom, grandma, and siblings. Lena felt the pull of cultural responsibility to care for the family and abandoned her aspirations for pursuing a biblical education.

Ethan is another story—Ethan was four years sober and focused on making a difference in his community. After being accepted to IBC, he prepared to fly to Arizona to start the school year. The night before his arrival he stayed with some friends and discovered alcohol in the cabinets. The temptation was too great and Ethan fell off the wagon. He went missing for days— even his family didn’t know where he was. Ethan never made it to IBC as a student. The Enemy robbed his calling.

Lionel is another man who felt called to IBC with his wife and kids. He wanted to become a pastor in his home community. He had been in the application process for months and was about to be accepted as a student. Lionel shared with his church and community that he was going to Bible college, expecting affirmation and encouragement. Instead he faced intimidation, threats and discouragement. Some said, “Why are you leaving your community?” Others said, “Those Christians are the ones who brought abuse to our people.” After months of hearing this, Lionel withdrew his application and left the church.

Most recently, Lisa was excited to bring some prospective students to IBC for Preview Days. This was an opportunity for these high schoolers to learn more about IBC as they prayed about their next steps following graduation. The night before the event, Lisa’s brother, who lives with her, went on a drinking binge and began to threaten others in the house. Lisa was afraid not only for herself but for her brother as he threatened to take his own life. Lisa didn’t sleep that night. By the time an uncle managed to take the knife away from her brother and calm him down it was already morning. Lisa was unable to bring the high school students to IBC and was deeply disappointed with the lost opportunity.

The journey from prospective student to full-time student is not an easy one. The Devil is a roaring lion. Many prospects face threats, temptations, deaths in their families, and cultural pressures to fulfill. The staff at Indian Bible College is praying for a student body of 75, including full-time and part-time students, by 2025. Please join Daniel (Director of Admissions) and the Admissions Counselors (Aaron & Karen) in praying for prospective students. May God keep these potential students and their families safe.

Thank you for being an advocate for these men and women by joining us in prayer.

Daniel Esplin, Director of Admissions