September 2025 - My Missionary On-Line

September 2025

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Dear friend of IBC and the Koppens,
What an incredible spring semester and summer we’ve had at Indigenous Bible College! Here’s a snapshot of the highlights, testimonies, praises, and prayer requests from our community.

The annual Christian Family class final exam (at my house in mid-May) was unique this year, in that it was all men (two female students had dropped out earlier in the school year). But what a joy to invest in these young (and no-so-young) men. The three young men in the middle are all single, and the two older men on the left are parents and grandparents!

Our oldest daughter Abby graduated high school—as valedictorian! Her commencement speech was on God’s goodness in the midst of suffering. Sarah and I are so grateful for the Lord’s grace in her life. She is living at home while attending Northern Arizona University this coming year.

The annual Student Ministry Showcase (held the night before graduation) was a massive success-with a totally packed house! What a delightful celebration of all the Lord is doing in students’ lives! The Christ-centered creativity of IBC students was on display.

IBC’s Commencement was an incredible celebration with six Bachelors graduates—including my dear wife, Sarah! You can watch at http://bit.ly/3JDcddr Make plans to join us for next year’s Celebration Weekend May 22-23, 2026!

I led my first group using the new Native Mending the Soul materials with these two Native men—Luckie and Luke. What a privilege to pour into these men January-June.

In June I filmed my first podcast with IBC’s RezRootz podcast; you can watch the episode here: http://bit.ly/47wCkwP

In each of the four Sundays of July I spoke in four different churches in three states (two in Nevada, then Washington, and then back in Arizona). You can watch the message I gave in Spokane here: http://bit.ly/4oTPSIC.

Student Testimonies from Ministry Immersion Trip (MIT) and Freedom Chapel:

Each spring, the student body embarks on a one-week journey called the Ministry Immersion Trip (MIT) to incarnationally serve a Native community alongside local churches and ministries. In April, the MIT was held in southern Colorado, just outside the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation at the Christian Discipleship Center (CDC). You can check out the recap video of the trip here: http://bit.ly/4ma5zce.

Student highlights from MIT:

Giving control to the Lord and enjoyable worship times
The amazing part was that God didn’t make a mistake for the CDC experience. We accomplished a lot, but God also spoke to each one of us and we made connections with the people/staff at CDC.
The prayer drive was inspiring and helped us to be prepared to serve those people. I was compelled to talk to the Lord about the condition of suffering there, feeling compassion for their lives. I was prompted to pray for redemption and appreciated the opportunity to pray.
It broke my heart to see the living conditions and reminded me some of those back home. Meeting people at the church was special, as they were shining brightly even though lost. I saw that God was present and working.
I felt led to pray for the people I met at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting

IBC and myself are invested in helping CDC get back up and running in order to provide a gap year program for young people who are looking to prepare for what’s next in life and find grounding in their faith between high school and college. I am personally leading the “ministry council” to design the way forward for this ministry. CDC now has a new name, THRIVE, along with a mission statement and values as they prepare to launch this program. Please pray for the development of the gap year program and for the Lord to provide the right person to be the director of the THRIVE ministry.

Freedom Chapel:

One of the most uplifting times of the school year is hearing students share—in the last chapel of the year—about how Jesus has helped them to heal from past emotional wounds and abuse.

Upperclassman lead other students through the “Steps to Freedom” when they’re ready, which is a necessary step to let go of the bondages of the past in order to find out how to live an abundant life of spiritual freedom. Here are some reflections from those who found freedom:

I grew closer to the Lord through the power of vocalizing truth and denying lies. It provided a necessary time of confession. After prayer I felt lighter and slept 8 hours that night for the first time this year.
I know I had already been forgiven, but God brought to mind others that hurt my family and hurt me indirectly. I was able to give them to God, and not take vengeance, but forgive. It was freeing to let go of something that I didn’t realize I was holding onto.
It was a rewarding experience, to confess our sins to one another (James 5:16). I was exhausted afterwards, but felt empowered. My walk isn’t over but just getting started.
I appreciate the staff and mentors who offer the students grace and kindness in our journeys. I face a daily battle of unforgiveness, hurt feelings and bitterness, but now I’m learning how to forgive and reconcile with the Holy Spirit.
I had a lot of traumas at home growing up and didn’t fit in. The steps to freedom helped me a lot. And I’m thankful for my spiritual formation mentors and life coach for believing in me.

Other students, further along in their spiritual growth, shared about going through the Native Mending the Soul (NMTS) workbook:

I didn’t realize the abuse and trauma I experienced from people earlier in my life, but this was reflected in what I thought about myself. However, now I am believing in my identity in God. Jesus is my living hope.
Now I’m more free and filled with the Spirit of God. NMTS brought me a lot of healing.
In my upbringing I realized that I was traumatized by witnessing conflict that happened in my family. Now I have to take the next step to ask for forgiveness from those I hurt and to forgive others.

(Gratitude to IBC faculty member Linda Kitchen for compiling these lists.)

New Native Staff Members:

Another highlight of the summer was the onboarding of Tim Key as IBC’s new Director of Fifth Wind and Karen Begay as IBC’s Administrative Office Manager. Both Tim and Karen are 2025 Bachelors graduates and represent two of the thirteen Native graduate staff members now serving the school. We are thrilled that Native believers now make up more than half of IBC’s staff and pray we will continue to see this trend gain momentum in coming years.

With this exciting development comes the need to offer financial support to the Native people on our staff who are working hard to fundraise their salaries in challenging contexts. The Native Staff Development Fund (NSDF) exists for this purpose and is now more essential than ever with eight individuals currently relying on it for salary support and/or financial assistance in pursuing a master’s degree for their role at the college. Would you consider making a gift to the NSDF as the Lord leads? You can use the QR code below or visit www.indianbible.org/give and select “IBC Giving Opportunities”.

Select “Native Staff Development Fund” from the dropdown menu after scanning the QR code.

Praise and Prayer for the New School Year

Praise God for a full campus with 13 new students for 29 total full-time students. This is the highest full-time enrollment since 2019 (and COVID). Our campus is packed—even with the rental of an adjacent home! • Praise God for the A-Team—I work with an amazing group of Vice Presidents on the Administrative Team (pictured right). These four leaders bring a wealth of wisdom and experience to IBC, and our approach to collaborative leadership is bearing “much fruit” for IBC students.
We’re praising the Lord for the completion of our 14th fiscal year in a row “in the black”! We are grateful for everyone’s faithful and sacrificial generosity.
Pray for the Lord’s blessing on our efforts to take the Christian Ministry Certificate (the “extension studies” program) entirely online.
Pray for the Lord’s guidance and provision for the growth of the Native Mending the Soul training. We have requests from three different states to go and train groups of people in using the materials!
Pray for financial provision for all the Native staff that are raising support. Native Americans have both economic and cultural challenges in raising support, and it can be a long, slow process.

A Word on My Family

I am a grateful husband and father. It is amazing to see the Lord’s blessing upon the six of us through the changing seasons. Sarah is working hard in Mending the Soul, investigating master’s programs, and preparing to hike the Grand Canyon this fall. Abby (18) is now a freshman at Northern Arizona University. Lizzy (17) is a high school senior and just got her driver’s license. Angie (15) is a sophomore and playing volleyball. David (14) is a freshman and taller than everyone—except for dad! Thanks for your continued prayers for the Koppen family!