This year is nearly half over, and what a year full of excitement and opportunity we have seen! And so far, it has been a year of fruitfulness in the Lord’s vineyard. After all, one of God’s first commands was to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28) God expects us to be fruitful. This is His goal for us.
How do we account for such fruitfulness? In John 15:2, we find that if any tree or plant is going to bear fruit, it must be pruned! Well, there’s been a lot of God’s pruning of the students going on at the Bible College. We heard about God’s pruning of certain attitudes some had. We heard about God’s pruning of habits that weren’t conducive to being conformed to the image of Christ. What did we see as a result? In our one-on-one conversations with the students, we were so impressed with their maturity and the depth of their understanding of the things of God. We stood amazed at the work the Lord had done in their lives.
From John 15:4-5, we also learn that to be a fruitful Christian, we must also abide in Christ. The word, “abide” in the Greek means to stay in a given place, or state. It means to continue to dwell or to endure. These definitions give the implication to stay even when we are tempted to get up and walk away. Several of the students recounted to us how they had felt like giving up, either from financial difficulties, illness in themselves or in their family, or from losing sight of their desired end. These students told us how their instructors had encouraged them, and how the Holy Spirit had ministered to them during the chapel services. They endured, and as they endured, they passed through and bore much fruit during this past semester.
What fruit did we observe?
Fruit: Graduates from three academic programs.
It takes endurance on the part of any student in Ghana. When we hear of the living conditions of some (10 sleeping on mats in one room), or the distance they travel, we realize that committing for two years is a huge commitment. It often means having to stop working, or to lessen the hours of their work. But twenty-two completed their course of study and earned their two-year diploma. To add another two years to complete the four years for a Bachelors Degree is an even greater commitment. Ten students earned their Bachelors Degree, completing all four years. To one student, Mary gave an “Endurance Award: The lady studied one year in the Saturday program, switched to the two-year full-time program, and went on to complete her Bachelors Degree. Five years! She started at age 65, and is now 70! That’s endurance!
But think about keeping your full-time job and coming to school every Saturday from 7 am to 3 pm for 3 years in order to earn the equivalent two-year diploma of the full-time students! But fourteen did it, and we congratulate our first three-year diploma graduates from the Saturday Ambassadors for Christ Program.
Congratulations, 2009 Graduates!
Fully Accredited Bachelor's Degree '09
Two-Year Diploma of Theology '09
Three-year Diploma of Theology--Sat. Program