Raised in the Kano State, Sirajo’s mother died when he was 3 and he was raised harshly by his father and step-mother. Sirajo was intrigued by a nomadic group of people called the Angas who would travel from Jos to Kano to hunt wild dogs and other animals for food. He was impressed how everyone in the tribe would work together and the peace they all seemed to enjoy, but what impressed him most was their practice of prayer before each meal.

As Sirajo became more and more engaged with the Angas people, his father became concerned he was spending too much time with infidels (non-Islamic people) and they were filling his head with strange notions of the Christian religion. After repeated warnings to stay away, his father took him to the Hizbah (these are people who were responsible for executing those who converted from Islam to Christianity). Locked in a dark room and starved for days, Sirajo didn’t expect to live much longer, but one of his captors helped him escape and started him on the next phase of his journey.

Sirajo traveled for days until he arrived at Jos and was asked to be introduced to Christians in the area. Realizing he was still in danger because of the large Islamic population, they decided to send him to Lagos. From Jos he was sent to the Bauchi Ring Road Church of Christ who agreed to send Sirajo to West Nigeria Christian College. The congregation gave him letters of introduction to WNCC and to the churches in the area. Two weeks after arriving at WNCC Sirajo Saleh was baptized into Christ as started his studies at WNCC.

He interacts freely with all the students on campus, but has been particularly blessed that there are those who speak the Hausa language and have assisted him in his transition.

A few years ago I also reported to you the amazing story of Joseph Ahmed. Raised by Islamic parents, in a Muslim community, Joseph endured threats, isolation and finally banishment just to have the right to read a Bible.

Once Joseph ended up on the campus of WNCC he was taught the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, graduated from WNCC and went on to become a very influential preacher in the Lord’s church.
I often hear people say, “Muslims are not receptive to the gospel,” but that just isn’t true. We have seen time and again where sincere souls from any background, when given the opportunity to study God’s word can and will respond to the saving power of the gospel.

Sirajo & Jospeh are just two of the students who continue to do amazing things on behalf of the kingdom in Nigeria.

This year I have been conducting workshops across the United States on “Islam Unveiled” sharing the challenges that Islam poses on Christians around the world. These men when trained to preach and teach are a powerful tools for advancing the work of God’s people into areas that are often difficult to evangelize.

This year we have set a goal to secure scholarships for 25 new students. It only costs about $150 a month to sponsor a student. Can you help us this year, or ask your home congregation to help. For more information contact Trent Wheeler, African Christian Schools, P.O. Box 41120, Nashville, TN 37204, or email him at trent.wheeler@charter.net

Tobias lives in Rundu, Namibia on the border of Angola. He barely earns $100 a month and provides for his family by raising a garden and doing odd jobs in the village. For the past year, Tobias has been struggling to build a church building on a small lot near his home.

Despite the economic challenges Tobias faces, he takes enough money out of his earnings each month to purchase cement and he has been building the church building one block at a time. I can’t remember the last time I saw such personal sacrifice and commitment to the Lord’s work.

Before asking for support, or expecting someone to come and do his work for him, Brother Omotena offers the first-fruits of his earnings, his labor and Christian service to Lord.

WNCC has a Nigerian board of directors that are doing an amazing job managing the college, planning for the future and giving of their own time, talents and financial gifts. This year the school raised over $12,000 U.S. to help fund the annual lectureship, they also donated the labor and materials to complete the wiring for the new dormitory. The local board and staff at WNCC also took responsibility for tiling all the floors in the campus auditorium.

In their board meeting in August they (the Nigerian board) committed to raising over $100,000 U.S. for future projects on the  campus.  Money they  plan to  raise  within Nigeria.

The commitment, dedication and true sense of partnership that has been demonstrated by the board at WNCC gives cause for great optimism for the work in Nigeria. While it has become more and more difficult to send U.S. missionaries to the field (because of the kidnappings and violence), it is refreshing to see our African brethren taking the mantle of leadership and planning for the future. This should be the goal of every mission effort – to become self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating.

Over 60 years ago brother C.A.O. Essien challenged us to send men over to train preachers and they would take Africa with the gospel of Christ. Not only are there over 8,000 churches of Christ in Nigeria, but now we are seeing the fruits of what can be accomplished when mature, faithful Christian men take on the mantle of leadership. I have met few men as devoted and giving as those serving on the Board of Directors at WNCC.

This has been a tremendous year of blessing and growth for African Christian Schools. It has been a time of rebirth, restoration and expansion. Over the past decade mission efforts all across the continent have faced tremendous challenges and opposition as we have seen the rapid expanse of Islam, kidnappings, and terrorism interrupt important works of the kingdom (especially in Northern Africa).

As we reviewed our mission efforts we realized it was time for a new approach if we are to continue to share the gospel of Christ in a troubled world. Here are a few of the steps we have taken to insure God’s work continues:

¨ We are providing vocational training programs and taking steps to insure that our graduates will have a sustainable means to support their families and work (without the endless dependency on U.S. support).
¨ We are installing internet connectivity on all our campuses and looking for options to provide more distance learning and lower-cost alternatives to training preachers and teachers.
¨ We offered a prison ministry training workshop on the campus of WNCC and will repeat it at NCBC in May.
¨ We have created a true partnership with our African brethren who are taking on more of the financial responsibility for the work of the schools.
¨ The board at West Nigeria Christian College raised over $12,000 to fund the annual lectureship and NCBC has covered the cost of the annual lectureship and the preacher’s seminar the last two years.

One of the most exciting aspects of our efforts at African Christian Schools is our commitment to finding more effective ways to partner with our African brethren while expanding our work into new areas.

For years we have received requests to start training schools in Liberia, Cameroon, Benin, Tanzania and other regions. If we continued to follow a model of “bricks and mortar” this would be impossible. This year ACSF  helped fund a campaign to Northern Ghana that is helping set a standard for the future.

In July a team of workers went to three villages in the Muslim regions of Northern Ghana to help strengthen churches, provide leadership training for ministers and evangelize the local communities. The results from that effort saw 76 people baptized, 3 congregations revived and 1 new congregation established. In addition, hundreds of church leaders in the region received leadership training to help them in the work with the local churches.

It truly is a new era of work and partnership with our brethren in Africa. I have never been as encouraged as I was on my last trip. Our brethren understand the need to become self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating.

There is still a tremendous need for your help and investment in Africa. The addition of computer labs and internet connectivity, the recording of video classes and establishment of satellite training will be significant investments in the next few years, but investments that will reduce overhead and expand our mission to evangelize Africa.

God’s people have always had a soft place in their heart for the widows and orphans of this world. We are reminded by what James tells us, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

We now see this teaching being practiced on the campus of Tsumeb Bible College and Nigerian Christian Bible College. In both locations our preachers not only see a practical application of Christian benevolence, but they are actively involved in working with the children.

Through these actions our students gain practical experience in “pure and undefiled religion.” How blessed we are that our campuses can serve those in the greatest need and at the same time teach real-life ministry to our students.

This year we purchased 13 new mattresses for the children at  Tsumeb, but there is also a need to upgrade the kitchen appliances and to complete the addition of the National Electric Service on the campus of NCBC. Your continued help is what makes these projects possible.

In 2009 African Christian Schools was forced to temporarily close the school because of a series of threats, economic challenges and opposition we faced from various places. We took small steps in 2010 – 2011 to offer part-time classes, but now we are excited to announce that effective immediately, NCBC is offering a full curriculum of ministerial classes.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our management team in Nigeria and the generous donations of our partners here in the U.S. NCBC will once again be making a significant difference in the lives of men and women all across Southeast Nigeria.

For the past two years NCBC has continued to offer a part-time curriculum, host the annual ministers workshop in May and the Bible lectureship in August. This year 65 souls were added to the Lord’s church at the Annual Bible Lectureship.

Our dedicated staff at NCBC are doing a wonderful job, but I urgently need to raise an additional $1,000 per month to add two additional teachers and a part-time typist. Please let me know if your congregation can assist in this good work.