July/August '08

July brought the completion of our curriculum for Temple Baptist Institute that has been developed over the last couple of years. Within the next two months, we will have a combined graduation and ordination service for the first four graduates of this ministry training school. We now have six teachers at three different locations and are enjoying the blessings of God upon our schools.

We celebrated Brian’s first birthday [pictured] on the 20th of August. The 2nd was my birthday, and our seventh wedding anniversary was on the 4th. Two small at-home parties and a mini-vacation for Sabrina and me (during a break in our Bible institute) commemorated the events. I also enjoyed calling my grandmother for her 87th birthday on the 16th of the same month.

Truth Baptist Church is continuing to mature while experiencing growth in several different areas. The offerings from our church members are now paying the salaries for an assistant pastor, a treasurer, and our bus leader. They also supply the funds to pay the electric bill (and generator usage), conduct the various children’s programs, and run our church van for each service (along with rental buses on Sunday mornings). We’ve seen an increase in attendance at the mid-week prayer meeting and our three different soul-winning times, and the church has approved the upcoming ordination of our first two deacons [one, Mr. David Oghene, pictured with his wife].

Sabrina and I want to conclude this letter by expressing gratitude to our many financial supporters. Usually, I feel obligated to fill our letters with only ministry and family news, but we want to also say, “Thank you.” Since October of 2006, almost $29,000 has been donated for buying the property and completing the buildings for our upcoming Bible college. Plus, during the first half of 2008, our ministry added eight new supporting churches, and another eight of our churches increased their support. My family definitely notices. It would be easy for us to sit across the Atlantic and complain about the weak dollar (our buying power for Nigeria decreased 20% in two years, and food prices have skyrocketed), but we do realize that the declining economy affects American pockets too. We greatly appreciate the concern that our churches have shown us missionaries by sacrificing more so that we can continue doing the work on the field where we’re called.


Below is a letter from one of our supporting pastors, Dr. Ken Shinn of Lighthouse Baptist church in Columbia, Mississippi:

Dear Friends,In early July of 2008, I was privileged to travel to Abuja, Nigeria to be in a Preachers' conference with Dr. Mike Wells and International World Wide Evangelism. This conference was hosted by the Truth Baptist Church and Pastor Mark Holmes.

Our church has supported Brother Holmes since before he and his family went to the field, and I was very excited to see the work first hand. Of course, since most of the secular news we get from Nigeria is regarding someone blowing up pipelines and such, I was a little apprehensive about the trip and what we would encounter there. But we had absolutely no trouble of this nature, and most all the people we encountered were very pleasant.

The work that Pastor Holmes is doing was most impressive. The church is growing rapidly. They are aggressively reaching people with the gospel. They are starting a Bible college to train the many men who have surrendered to the ministry. The people are excited about reaching out and starting new churches in Nigeria and beyond. Pastor Holmes has a great vision and is successfully passing on that vision to his people. Nigeria is ripe to be reached with the gospel and I believe that Truth Baptist Church will be key in turning Nigeria to Christ!

Pastor Ken Shinn

The next letter is from Evangelist Dr. Dave Douglass of All Nations Outreach Ministries, under Pastor Dr. Ken Pledger. He has 2 videos detailing our Soul Winning & Leadership Conference on his blog: www.missionarydavedouglass.blogspot.com. They are titled as: Interviewing Pastors in Abuja, Nigeria & Nigeria Trip, Part 1 :

Dear Bro. Mark,
Thank you for your wonderful hospitality to myself and our team at your first annual Pastors' School and Soul Winning & Leadership Conference in Abuja. It was my privilege to be part of the team with Dr. Mike Wells, Dr. Ken Shinn and Dr. Dave Baker. I was so blessed by the great turnout of 40 national pastors and the visitors and their response to the teaching and preaching. I have already received e-mails and phone calls from some of them in Nigeria since I have been back in the states.

Last evening in my home church, Calvary Baptist in Middleburg, Florida, I showed the first video of our trip there to Abuja, Abeokuta, and Lagos. Our church family was thrilled with the report of Truth Baptist Church.

What first impressed me was the amazing organization and preparation you had done prior to the conference which made everything run smoothly. I was also impressed with your close friendship with all of the African preachers. The respect they have for you and for Bro. Gensaw was obvious. I pray that many will send their preacher boys to your college for training. God has certainly blessed you with amazing facilities, and the work you are doing on it is very exciting. Your own church members were examples in leadership as ushers and helpers in the auditorium and the ladies doing the cooking. Brother, I have never before eaten food like that, but it was good and nourishing. Your first message, beginning the conference, set the stage for these pastors to open their hearts to be teachable as they realized that no one was trying to build a denomination or an organization. The singing was thrilling to hear. Africans can really sing. The choir numbers from each of the churches and the solos were excellent and professional. It really was not what I expected from my first trip to Nigeria. It was unique how you had several men share their ministries so that others could be helped. I was very blessed by Missionary Ron Gensaw's message during the conference also. It is wonderful that you men work together so well and are such good friends. Dr. Wells, as always, put together a balanced schedule of teaching material and Dr. Baker's lessons on music and finances was a major eye opener to the African pastors. Dr. Shinn always blesses my heart with his down-to-earth biblical logic in preaching and counseling. By the way, out on the streets, I took several good video clips of the national pastors winning souls with our team. I was honored that you would give me two opportunities to preach during the conference. Thank you for arranging for me to preach at Bible Baptist Church on Sunday with Pastor Simon. He is a great African preacher and has a tremendous knowledge of scripture. His church blessed my heart. We had 28 saved that day in the services. Please be sure to extend my sincere appreciation to your wife for all her sacrifices in preparing meals and being such a great hostess. I was amazed at your family's adjustments to living with the heat, mosquitoes, traffic, and only a few hours of electricity per day. We are spoiled here in America and your sacrifices were very obvious to us. With malaria and typhoid being such a big problem there, I know you face many hardships but show so much joy and contentment at being in the Lord's will. Your three children are precious, and they, kind of, adopted me as a grandfather!

Bro. Mark, just the visible decisions of 22 young men surrendering to full time ministry that last evening was precious itself, but many of the men allowed me to interview them on camera telling of the many decisions they had made in their personal ministries that week. The churches they pastor are going to be blessed and changed in many areas, lining up with the Word of God. You will be encouraged hearing how they were helped by the conference. Not only have these men promised to come again next year but to encourage other pastors to join them. I know that each year your Pastors' School and Soul Winning & Leadership Conference is going to grow. Thank you for arranging for me to drive to Abeokuta with Bro. Waley and his family and for picking me up at the airport when I flew back from Lagos. We had great evangelistic meetings there with 1,823 people trusting Christ. I also want to thank you for lining up 2 schools where I was privileged to preach there in Abuja. My prayer and hope is that the Lord continues to bless you and your precious family and Truth Baptist Church.

Happy in His harvest,
Dr. David P. Douglass

May/June '08

July 14, 2008

After conducting a great revival meeting in March; our church topped that with its first-ever Pastors’ School. Truth Baptist Church hosted a Soul-Winning and Leadership Conference July 7-10 with Evangelist Dr. Mike Wells of International World Wide Evangelism. Another evangelist and two of our supporting church pastors joined him, and we also welcomed more than 40 independent Baptist pastors from all over Nigeria for the gathering. Over 200 people attended each night service that featured two sermons (Bro. Ron Gensaw and I joined our four American visitors to be the preachers for the week), and the morning sessions incorporated three hours of teaching. Our visitors preached in each of Abuja’s four independent Baptist churches for two Sundays, spoke in several schools throughout the week, and visited the village ministries (two churches and five chapels) that have been started outside of the capital city. As a result, more than 800 people were saved during the 10 days of activities in the conference, schools, churches, villages, and personal soul-winning.

Because much money has been invested into the buildings on our church property, we were able to house 27 visiting pastors during the conference, along with seven additional families. Our Ladies Fellowship did an outstanding job of feeding almost 100 out-of-town visitors three meals each day (Monday evening through Thursday afternoon). The attendees were presented with eight unique ministries based in several places throughout Nigeria led by different pastors that seek to be a blessing to the independent Baptists; our Bible college (with plans of starting in August 2009) was also featured. Many free materials were given to each delegate, there was plenty of time for fellowship and Q & A, the congregational singing and song specials were exciting, and the preaching was spirit-filled, evidenced by 20 men on the last night surrendering themselves to be preachers of the Gospel! Several pastors told me it was the first pastors’ conference they had ever been invited too, and others told us that it was the best!

In May, we were privileged to host a single lady visitor [Joy Bowman pictured with Victoria] from the coast of Mississippi who has known our family and our sending church for several years. She is completing her training at Crown College and visited us as a part of her internship requirement. In more than two weeks she taught Sunday school, conducted Bible clubs, lectured to the Temple Baptist Institute ladies, went soul-winning, and even sang in our choir. Sabrina and I never tire of having American visitors, and there is always something to keep them busy!

Below is a letter from Miss Joy Bowman, a senior at Crown College in Powell, Tennessee:

Staying in Nigeria for 16 days, from May 16 to June 2, taught me many valuable lessons. Once in Nigeria, I witnessed the day to day life of the Holmes’ family. I learned that missionaries are just as “human” as we are in the United States. They have their ups and downs, joys, disappointments, and challenges. Their children behave just like any other child.

Missionaries need prayer on a daily basis. While I was there, Mark’s broken car radiator was used to try to discourage him. This showed me first hand that many foreign countries do not have all the modern conveniences that we Americans take for granted. This incident was definitely a test in patience.

It seemed to me that the “challenges” Mark and Sabrina face can be magnified, due to the adjustment of living conditions and conveniences they remember and once enjoyed. During the first week, I had the privilege of experiencing electricity for four hours a day. This gave me a greater appreciation for electricity, candles, and the many comforts in America. One thing that impressed me about Mark and Sabrina is that I did not hear them complain one time about the different situations they encounter including the warm weather. They have learned to make the most out of every circumstance.

“Where God guides, He provides”. The Holmes’ family is a living example that God has blessed them with good health, even in the midst of a malaria filled country. God has protected them from getting this disease. Mark and Sabrina only took malaria pills for the first six months in Nigeria. Their children, Joseph, Victoria, and Brian, are healthy, vibrant, and full of energy.
I was glad to have been apart of the ministries of Truth Baptist Church. For two weeks, I taught the pre-school Sunday school class under an oak tree. This was an experience in itself! I thoroughly enjoyed teaching God’s precious Word to all twenty kids. They were so well behaved! I learned that having children ministries is a way to reach the entire family with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many times, parents would visit the church just to allow their children to attend the children’s programs.

The first week, I had the privilege of being Sabrina’s soul-winning partner. I am so grateful that the Lord allowed us to lead two ladies to Him. I am praying that God will send more people to Nigeria to co-labor with the Holmes family. Each week, I was involved in Bible clubs. I thoroughly enjoyed going to the orphanage and witnessing first-hand the children’s thirst for God’s Word and His love for them. The children were so welcoming. I also conducted two more Bible clubs in the local neighborhoods.

In addition to ministering at the two churches, Mark drove me, along with some of the men from his church, to the surrounding villages. This was the test of endurance! I did not realize how exhausting a two hour trip over rough terrain would be! After we reached our destination, Mark had the privilege of baptizing fifteen people from the village churches, including the wife of one of the village pastors. The baptism was held outside in a pond of knee high water. Mark cautiously stepped in the water to make sure there were no “friends” waiting for him. I soon learned that there were five village churches in need of a pastor. I am thankful that Mark is training men in his Bible Institute to become pastors of these churches.

Being part of the Holmes family for two weeks made me see the need to consider some things. I learned that making your home as comfortable as possible with American conveniences will help with the cultural adjustment and alleviate some of life’s stresses. I am so thankful that God led me to visit Nigeria; I am also grateful to Mark and Sabrina for allowing me to stay with them. They were such gracious hosts.

March/April '08

May 12, 2008

Yesterday, Truth Baptist Church celebrated its 2nd Anniversary. We broke our previous record of 217 with an attendance of 280 in the morning preaching service! Almost 90 came back in the evening to hear our guest speaker again. Earlier in the month we held a special Sunday School program with refreshments, and in a couple of weeks we will use a few promotions and start a series on marriage to try and further boost our Sunday night Bible Study crowds as part of our month-long commemoration.

The church set a different record before our anniversary by averaging over 165 in the morning services for March and April. Sabrina recently started having children’s choir practice on Sunday evenings, which has encouraged more families to come for the Bible study, raising our regular crowd to above 60. At our mid-week prayer meeting we continue to have about 75 in attendance (including our kids’ Bible study program).

After three years in Nigeria, we’ve found the easiest, least expensive, and most effective way to get visitors at our young church…Baby Dedication! Just before Christmas, Truth Baptist Church held one such service for six babies including our son, Brian, and gladly welcomed about 20 guests. We had over 40 first-timers in March when I prayed over three of our church’s new children. Last month 17 new folks came out because of one family’s ceremony for their daughter; the father even provided refreshments for our whole church. Sabrina and I bring a gift to each of the families involved, so it has given us a unique opportunity to do something special for these new parents and to preach the gospel to many of their friends and relatives.

We have been busily preparing for both our first-ever Pastors’ School (Soul-Winning and Leadership Conference in July) and also next year’s opening of our Bible college. We are making ready 20 dormitory rooms [1 pictured last year with 2 visitors from Florida, Ted Williams & Ben Senior], expanding our auditorium, drilling a well for water, installing restroom facilities, and adding many lights and fans. I’ve sent invitation letters to 63 independent Baptist national pastors, many others have heard by word of mouth, and we have received calls literally from all over the country with preachers expressing interest in our special meeting. We are truly excited about what this conference may do for the cause of the Great Commission.

Below is a letter from one of those visitors pictured, Ben Senior, deacon at First Baptist Church of South Brevard in Melbourne, Florida

Thanks again to you and your family for your hospitality while we were surveying the Aba and Abuja areas. I had an enjoyable time, and I was blessed to see the incredible work that you are doing with the building of the church and the Bible Institute.

It was such an eye-opening experience to travel out into the “bush” and see the work that Pastor Ron Gensaw and you are doing with villagers for the purpose to which God has clearly called you. There is more to compassion than to simply experience a feeling of compassion. In seeing your work being done, one can truly appreciate the words in the New Testament describing how Jesus "saw the multitude and was moved with compassion." The action of the word "moved" used in the New Testament to describe the compassion of Christ cannot be ignored in that we, like Christ, must be active in our compassion for others.

I look forward to when we report to our Church about our trip throughout Nigeria . I am excited to see how our Church might do more for the Nigeria Project.

Benjamin Senior

January/February '08

March 7, 2008

Last night was the final service of the first ever week-long gathering among our four independent Baptist churches in Abuja. Truth Baptist Church conducted a Revival Meeting with missionary-evangelist Yinka Fasinro, who has newly arrived from the states to begin his full-time ministry in Nigeria. Our church showed their excitement on the very first night by setting a new record for Sunday evening attendance with 98 present. The next four nights were capped off by a crowd of 180 at our Thursday mid-week service as three sister churches brought vanloads of their members to be a part of the conference. In the thirty-three months of being here, I’ve never experienced a better spirit than we had for the preaching, praying, and singing during this first week in March.
During the revival, Missionary Ron Gensaw and I brought the evangelist to a village church with two recently added chapels that have been growing. It was a two-hour drive through dirt roads [and creeks, on video] to reach the first village. The results were worth the trip, however, as Bro. Fasinro was able to baptize 27 that had been saved through the outreach ministries.

At the beginning of last month, I traveled eight hours to Ogbomoso with the two independent Baptist national pastors in our city where I was privileged to conduct the 4th Anniversary Service for another national pastor. The day after, a pastors’ fellowship was planned, and I was able to preach to over twenty pastors after telling them about our work and future ministries. My goal is to schedule a meeting like this at least once a month to encourage our Nigerian pastors and also “spread the word” about our Bible College plans.

With the success of our Revival Meeting, our church members are already anticipating the other conferences we have planned for this year. I had a church calendar printed mainly to serve as a reminder for our faithful folks to pray for the ministries and upcoming Pastors’ School (July), Missions Conference (August), and Music School & Revival (November). My family is definitely looking forward to hosting the American pastors and evangelists who will be coming for those meetings. The kids [pictured] and I have already been encouraged by the good news we received from Sabrina’s doctor about last month's appendectomy (the test results showed that the procedure was definitely needed), and she is feeling much better.

November/December '07

January 7, 2008

Today, I brought Sabrina home after she had her appendix removed on Friday at Abuja Clinics near our rental house in the capital city of Nigeria. Sabrina had been experiencing pains since Christmas Eve, and her doctor scheduled her for an appendectomy. The surgery proved successful; her stay in the clinic was normal (I’ll try to put into words one day what “normal” is in a Nigerian hospital; for now we’ll just say, customary for West Africa), but her body was going through plenty of soreness. Turning on our computer today was like having the postman show up with a bag full of “get well” cards; thank you so much for responding to our three e-mails with notes of encouragement, messages on our phone, and assurances of prayer more than ever before. Please pray that Sabrina will not have the same aches after she heals from the surgery; we will not find out if the problem was her appendix until we get some test results several days from now.

November 1st was the day our family (Sabrina, Joseph, Victoria, and I) returned to Nigeria with Brian Michael, and I resumed our Temple Baptist Institute almost immediately with six new courses. I am continuing to instruct on Saturdays at Pastor Ron Gensaw’s church, as a national pastor we trained brings a course on Tuesday (while Bro. Ron is in the U.S.). At Truth Baptist Church [pictured left], I’ve started Teaching on Preaching on Tuesdays, and New Testament Survey is being delivered by a national pastor near us on Saturdays. A great help has also been given by Miss Beth Joss [pictured right], a Christian school teacher from Ohio who has joined us for the next three months. She is giving lessons on Child Evangelism to our ladies at both Bible institutes and also helping in our Sunday schools and conducting several Bible clubs.
[Church members preparing to cook "pounded yam" for Beth when I brought her to see our village works]

Christmas and New Year’s gave me a chance to “catch up” from our travels to the U.S. as the Holidays are always a very slow time in our city. Abuja’s practical status as the working capital city of Nigeria has been less than ten years; so virtually everyone who lives in Nigeria is from a different state, and many will visit their home place during Christmastime. With fewer people in the Federal Capital Territory, our electricity is more constant, our internet is faster, and the automobile traffic is much lighter. We canceled Bible Institute for two weeks, and I had a lot of time to spend with the family and also get some extra work done. We had a special service on Christmas day with carols, the Christmas story, and some refreshments. New Year’s Eve was a chance for us to hear testimonies from our members and also share some plans and goals for a successful 2008.

Below is a letter from Mrs. Beth, who has since married and is serving with her husband Aaron, an assistant pastor at his father's church in Muskegon, Michigan:

Dear Churches,

My name is Beth Joss from Truth Baptist Church in West Salem, Ohio. I had the unique and privileged opportunity to work and serve with one of your missionary families, Pastor Mark and Sabrina Holmes, ministering in Nigeria, Africa. I just wanted to share with you how the Lord is blessing and working in the church and future seminary there.

I stayed with the Holmes family for three months and was able to see first hand how true missionary work is done. One of the most exciting aspects of the Holmes’ ministry is their Bible Institute. We were able to start a ladies’ class teaching the subject, Child Evangelism. This class taught the ladies how to teach memory verses, songs, Bible lessons, how to use puppets, and even how to make visuals. The most important lesson they learned was how to lead a child to Christ. Combined with another missionary work, we averaged around seventeen ladies. It was encouraging to see so many ladies desiring to learn how to better serve the Lord. With the help of another missionary lady, the ladies’ classes in Temple Baptist Institute have continued.

Another area of growth in the Holmes' church was their Sunday School Department. During my stay there, the Holmes were able to start three new Sunday School classes. A couple of new classes are now taught in tribal languages ministering to those who do not speak English. They are trying to start a class for three, four, and five year olds, so these little ones will have a class based on their own spiritual and academic needs.

One of the cultural problems that Pastor Holmes has to deal with is the lack of strong families. Due to poverty, it is very common for children and wives to live separately from their father and husband. Pastor Mark spends much time trying to strengthen and bring families in his church together. During my short stay there, they were able to see two families joined together.

Another area of service was Bible Clubs. I was able to work alongside of a national pastor, and together we were able to start several Bible Clubs. This is an important ministry as there are so many children in Nigeria. It is the most effective way of reaching the children of parents that attend churches that do not preach the Gospel. We were able to see many children saved through this ministry. Nyanya, the area where the Holmes' church is located, has even more children than usual. There have been three national men at Truth Baptist Church that have started Bible Clubs in which they have been very faithful.

An exciting ministry that Truth Baptist Church wants to strive to continue is a ministry to widows. There are so many widows in Nigeria due to cultural situations, and they many times have no source of income and assistance. We have strived to meet this challenge by having a meeting just for widows in which they hear the Gospel and are taught from the Bible and then presented with gifts of food.

One of my greatest surprises while I was there was when I realized that Truth Baptist Church was not even two years old yet. The Holmes are running a church that has the ministries and the strength of a much older church. I believe the secret to this is the love and trust that the Holmes give to their people. They love and trust the Nigerians, so the Nigerians in return trust and love them. The result is nationals that follow the preaching and have a great desire to serve their pastor and Lord.

As you can see, your church has made a wise decision in supporting the Holmes family and their ministry in Abuja, Nigeria. So many souls are being reached, and just as important they are getting the discipleship and training they need to serve God in return. I hope you will be as excited as I am about this ministry and the great future of it!!

Under His Wings,
Beth Joss

September/October '07

[My navigator, Joseph, pictured] Our journey to the U.S. proved successful in more ways than the most important, the healthy birth of our third child, Brian Michael, on August 20th [pictured at 2 months]. Another great blessing was the privilege I had of representing our ministry to 39 churches from July through October. I traveled to California twice [pictured with Pastor A.D. Hampton], along with a trip to the Midwest and East Coast, and six weeks of “local” meetings around the time of Brian’s due date. The biggest objective that I presented during our short furlough was the plans for our main strategy of starting churches—a Bible college. Our goal is to complete the existing buildings (we are currently roofing now) on our property for the purpose of a Bible college while our church members are already contributing to a building fund for a new auditorium on the second half of the property. We are so grateful that the leader of our mission board, Dr. Jack Schaap, has pledged to match whatever contributions we get towards the development of our Bible college! Please prayerfully consider sending donations designated “college building fund” to FBMI on our behalf.

During the many times that our family has boarded a plane in our travels between the United States and Nigeria (three flights each way), we’ve never been forced to delay or cancel a flight. At the end of October, that almost changed. I mailed the Nigerian visa application for Brian just before our family traveled to California for two weeks of meetings. When we returned home to Louisiana on the 26th, five days before we were to fly out, everything was okay until I opened the postal envelope that Friday evening: the Consulate of Nigeria had returned our application and refused to give the visa due to a new policy. Their offices were already closed for the day, so there was only one thing to do. I preached in my home church in Gulfport, Mississippi on Sunday night, and at five the next morning, I was off to the Consulate office in Atlanta. Once I knew their office was opened, I called to let them know I was on my way. The receptionist then informed me that they no longer take “walk-in” applications, but after some pleading, she said I could “show my face.” When I arrived at the office, one of the directors, after seeing my flight itinerary, kindly told me that I could return for the visa in the morning. I drove away feeling relieved that we would get the necessary paperwork, but still stressed by the fact that we would be flying out in two days. Before I could even stop for lunch, the same director called me to come and pickup Brian’s passport with the visa inside! What normally requires a five day waiting period was granted in less than one hour! I then prepared for our flight with a renewed confidence that God hears my prayer!

July/August '07

Though born 2 ½ weeks before his due date, Brian Michael Holmes came into this world as a healthy 7-pound baby at 5:24 p.m. on August 20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Our third child is carrying the names of both of his grandfathers. The one he's never met was my dad (who died in 1989); his middle name was Michael. Brian is the first name of Sabrina's dad who was in the delivery room when we named our boy. I was with Sabrina at a regular 2 p.m. appointment as the doctor voiced some concerns and said it would be best to have her surgery that day rather than the 31st. Taken by surprise, Sabrina handled herself greatly through it all, and we thank God that both Mama and Baby are well.

My last Sunday in Nigeria was the first Sunday in July, and it was one that gave our family a great image to remember our ministry while we are gone for almost four months. Our morning attendance was 158, and I had the privilege of baptizing 11 after the service. The a.m. sermon invitation was also very memorable as six men stood for the first time signifying that they believed God was calling them to preach. That gives us 16 men that have surrendered to the call of God in the 14 months since we started Truth Baptist Church.


Several have asked who will be overseeing our ministry while we are in the U.S. The way that seemed best was for us to outline every responsibility of the church and to “plug in” a faithful man for each aspect. Our church members will hear 19 different preachers during the 17 weeks that we are away. Truth Baptist has 13 men that preach regularly [several pictured], Bro. Gensaw (the other missionary in Abuja) will preach several times along with four of his men, and a local national pastor (Bro. Simon) will minister some. Pastor Simon will also be continuing the progress of our Bible Institute for three months. When I return, if the Lord will, we plan to work together and double the course load of our curriculum.

Please allow me to make a small request as we are in the States. Before we went to Nigeria, a church gave us 60 books of Soul-Stirring Songs & Hymns (the old green ones). Our people really enjoy them, and we need more. If your church or a ministry you know would be willing to donate some to us, it would be a big help.

May/June '07

As Sabrina and I made acknowledgment of our second year in Nigeria, Truth Baptist Church successfully celebrated its first Anniversary Service on May 13 with a record attendance of 217! It’s been the only time that we’ve eclipsed 200 during the morning service. Another part of our special month was the conducting of a public Film Showing on the 25th at the main soccer field in our town. The biggest one-day meeting in which our church had been involved saw our people excited to count over 300 spectators with more than 60 receiving Christ by the end of the night. I was very pleased to observe many of our young Christians distributing stacks of tracts to those who passed by the venue not far from our church.

After averaging 100 in attendance for the first time in April, our regular turnout increased to over 150 for May and June. We also made a big deal of new members in the month of June. We featured two special Membership Services where 65 faithful folks joined Truth Baptist Church.

Our fourth unique gathering of the two months was a Thanksgiving Service on June 24th. This is an annual event in most Nigerian churches when specific needs are presented and met, and a big offering is taken for the church. During our particular version, I revealed to the church that we had completed negotiations for the second half of the property we were purchasing. I then challenged the members to be willing to sacrifice and give for the building of an auditorium solely for Truth Baptist Church on the newly acquired portion of our property [view of Nyanya pictured from the top of our plot]. To conclude, we took a special collection for purpose of a future auditorium.

This service also was the culmination of my recent twelve-week preaching series on giving. I initiated the use of envelopes for our members where they could record tithes for regular church expenses, offerings for the building, and missions money for Nigerian men who desire to start works in other nations. It’s our goal to see missions continue even on the mission field! Please pray for continued growth of the church and for traveling mercies as we plan to arrive in the U.S. on July 3rd for the birth of our third child.

March/April '07

April saw the Truth Baptist Church of Nyanya-Abuja reach another milestone at the end of our opening year of existence. For the first time, we averaged over 100 in attendance during a full month (104, to be exact). In the last two months, several of our faithful people have started three soul-winning and visitation groups [group pictured], in addition to our weekly church-wide evangelism on Saturday afternoons. Also, we have added a separate children’s choir to the adult choral group that’s been active since the fifth month of our ministry.

Sabrina and I are glad to formally announce that we are expecting our third child. My wife is officially due on September 5th, and, in keeping with doctors’ recommendations, we are scheduled to fly back to the U.S. on July 2nd. The already-Mother-of-two has done amazingly well in keeping the home and helping in the church during her time of being with child. Sabrina plans our music program (congregational, special, and choir singing), serves as the church pianist, and trains our children’s Sunday School teachers. She also now teaches the teenage girls’ class [pictured], one of our newest church program additions which gives us a total of seven Sunday School classes. Ultimately, she has her hands full with Joseph (3 years), who talks clearly and can ask a variety of questions, and Victoria (16 months) [pictured at 9 months], who is finally walking well and reaching almost everything she wants!

At the beginning of March, Sabrina and I signed up for something that I’ve wanted to do for some time. As we started our church last year, we noticed that most of the people in the Nyanya area spoke one main local tongue, Hausa (pronounced “house-ah”), in addition to the country’s official language of English. Hausa is a dialect that is native in at least four different countries, and is predominant in the northern part of Nigeria. My wife and I are now enrolled in two-hour language classes three times weekly for three months. We have already benefited from the training, and our church folks deeply appreciate our efforts. When you study the language of a populace, you learn not only what they speak but how they think. We are certainly enjoying this opportunity to be acquainted with our people better.

January/February '07

The New Year saw us starting a second Bible Institute, this time at Truth Baptist, our church that began last May. We prayed for twenty students and were blessed with that exact number on the opening Tuesday night! The first class is Personal Evangelism, and we have averaged about twenty-five excited pupils. Music and Song Leading is the course I am now teaching on Saturdays at the other Bible Institute along with Missionary Ron Gensaw (he teaches the Tuesday class there).

Truth Baptist Church continues to grow despite my increased load of leading two Bible Institutes, developing our newly-purchased property, and planning a future Bible College. God placed a desire in two of our most faithful members to have a Men’s and Ladies’ Fellowship. This group has been meeting every Sunday after the morning “Teaching and Preaching” service, and I have used the opportunity for teaching soul-winning and follow-up to the folks who stay, often numbering over thirty. Now we have about ten different men and ladies who conduct visitation on their own, in addition to our regular evangelism time on Saturdays. The fellowship has developed a great vision to contact visitors, meet members’ needs, and pray over specific requests.

In January, we had a group of seven young men and one pastor travel from Mississippi and Louisiana (the home states of Sabrina and me) to see our work. I have heard of no larger delegation that has visited an independent Baptist missionary in Nigeria. Each young man had been trained to do Bible Clubs by the Summer Missionary Institute for Training in Evangelism that is held every year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; it’s a week-long meeting that Sabrina herself attended for over ten years. Our eight visitors preached, won souls, and conducted Bible Clubs (consisting of a Bible story, missionary story, spiritual songs, and a Gospel presentation) at schools and neighborhoods around the three independent Baptist churches in our capital city. In 11 days they were in 30 schools; over 11,000 heard the Word, and over 7,000 professed their faith in Christ!

In the middle of February, I had the absolute privilege to travel to Ghana and be a part of the 1st Annual Africa Pastor’s School conducted by the FBMI Missions Team from First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. The pastor who ordained me, Dr. Jack Schaap, was the main speaker for the three-day conference. He brought thirty American visitors that included some of my former Hyles-Anderson College professors and several men with whom I graduated. The Sunday after the conference saw the four-month old church in Kumasi, Ghana, have an attendance of over 2,100, and the week’s soul-winning total for the team and the visitors was more than 4,300 professions! It was refreshing to see God’s obvious hand of blessing upon another ministry in West Africa.

Below is a letter from Pastor Sidney McGuffee of Ambassador Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana; he is also the founder of STAFF (SMITE Training Applied on Foreign Fields) and arranged for the group of 8 to come to Abuja:

March 28, 2007
To those who follow the ministry of Missionaries Mark and Sabrina Holmes:

I wanted to take this opportunity to relate the experiences we had recently on the mission field of Nigeria with the Holmes family.

I was honored to lead a group of eight to Abuja, Nigeria, from January 20, 2007, until February 1, 2007. The seven young men that went with me were aged 15 to 22. Just getting us there was a great task for Bro. Mark. At the first, the Nigerian officials refused to grant visas to the group. We had to reschedule the trip from November 2006 to January 2007 in order to gain the necessary approvals. Bro. Mark persevered with the officials in Africa while I worked on the officials in the Consulate General’s office in Atlanta. Bro. Mark sacrificed time and effort in spite of a tremendously demanding ministry. Without his diligent, consistent efforts over a period of months, the trip would not have been possible.

We were in Nigeria for about 12 days. We divided the team into two groups. Each group stayed in the Holmes house for about half of our stay. All eight of us had the opportunity to observe Bro. Mark and Sis. Sabrina in their daily life and ministry. We were unanimously impressed with what we witnessed.

Bro. Mark has provided a modest, but safe home for his family. Although they had only been in Nigeria full-time as missionaries for a few months, the Holmes (including their children) had acclimated excellently to the culture and hardships of Africa. The Truth Baptist Church that Bro. Mark had founded was remarkably established, sound, and maturing. It was apparent that very much work had been accomplished on the church facilities in a short period of time. Bro. Mark’s vision for future facilities was encouraging and inspiring. We observed attendance on Sunday services well over one hundred. The church had already established a ministry institute with over 20 students in attendance. The church operated one church-owned van and employs others for transporting people. Soul-winning was the highest priority in philosophy and practice. All the preaching and teaching that we observed was timely and targeted. Bro. Mark had an excellent working relationship with other missionaries and local officials in the Abuja area. The ministry appeared to be effectively administered with a frugality of finances.

In addition to the burden of a dynamic, growing ministry, the Holmes made us feel important. Their hospitality was exemplary. They made sure our every need was met. They made us a priority without neglecting their people or responsibilities. Bro. Mark transported us everywhere we needed to go except for occasions when the use of public transportation was expedient. Bro. Mark, with the help of some of the Nigerian national church members, coordinated our efforts to do children’s ministry work in schools (private and government) and as Bible Clubs.

Bro. Mark and Sis. Sabrina are doing an admirable job as missionaries to Nigeria. They are worthy of financial and prayer support. Thanks to their assistance, our team was able to return to the United States and report the following results.

In about 12 days, we were allowed to speak in 30 schools to crowds ranging from 50 to over 2000. Also, we were able to do four 5-day Bible clubs. We know that over 11,000 heard the Gospel and believe that over 7000 were saved. We know that many teachers and faculty members of many of the schools were included in the number saved. We conservatively estimate that over 100 Muslims were among the new converts. Members of our team personally baptized 31 converts in two different villages. In addition to the numbers above, each team member, paired up with national church members, went soul-winning almost every day. Many more dozens were saved in personal soul winning, but were unaccounted. Most of the young men in our team have now surrendered to be missionaries or re-confirmed an existing calling to the foreign fields. Praise the Lord!

Graciously His,
S. J. "Sonny" McGuffee

November/December '06

November allowed us the opportunity to host the first visitor from our sending church in Mississippi. Brother Eddie Holt was my deacon when I was called to preach twelve years ago in my hometown. It was a special privilege to have someone who has known me since the beginning to come and see what the Lord is doing for our family and ministry now in Nigeria.
On November 26th, the second Sunday that Bro. Eddie was here, we planned what I called an “Unveiling Service” to reveal to our people that we were purchasing the church property. A record attendance of 168 came to discover what my secret announcement was, and their ensuing excitement about the land was thrilling. In the message, I assured the members that our investment in the work meant Sabrina and I were there to stay; then, I also challenged our faithful to be ready to sacrifice and give so that the land could be truly theirs someday. Please pray as we are continuing to raise the $50,000 that I mentioned in October. So far, our supporting churches and friends have given about $15,000. Many have gotten involved, and we greatly appreciate your contributions.


A great custom that has been enjoyable to learn is the “naming ceremony” practiced by families in our area. Traditionally, when a baby is born, the Nigerian mother and father wait about eight days before they name their child. I recently performed my first such ceremony when one of our new converts, Shekinah, gave birth to a baby girl. On Thursday, before our regular weekly prayer meeting, the mother’s family and friends were waiting for me at her home. I gathered them outside, prayed, explained about the Biblical importance of a name, and received an envelope from Shekinah. Inside that envelope was a name that had been prayerfully chosen by this new mother. When I saw the paper, I was startled, yet delighted, to see that the first name there was ….. Sabrina! Our grateful young convert had shown love and appreciation to her new pastor’s family by naming her child after my wife. A month later, I baptized Shekinah after our morning service. God has really begun to knit our heart with those of our church members.

Below is a letter from Bro. Holt describing his visit:

Abuja, Nigeria Trip Observations (Arrived November 18 and Departed December 05, 2006)

Pastor Dan Carr (Mark Holmes’ sending church Pastor) recommended to some of the men that we should support our Missionary Mark Holmes’ Family by visiting them from time to time. Being retired allowed me the opportunity to be our church’s first representative. My purpose defined to Mark was to be a set of helping hands with his activities and definitely not as a tourist. Mark’s suggested time frame was for three Sundays.

Although I was aware of the land acquisition and good progress, I was amazed at what I observed. Not only souls being won for the Lord’s service and His Heaven, but much more. Even with my limited vision, it was apparent that a God-blessed scriptural pattern was being established to reach the lost. It was no less than supernatural in how Mark had so quickly yielded to many of their cultural characteristics. This obviously allowed God to use him in making warm and fruitful connections with the nationals. This included their languages, cultural interactions, driving, and much more. I shared with Sabrina that all that he needed was some pigment alterations to be a Nigerian. It was amazing, or actually God’s miracle, in progress.

The Lord’s supernatural help for Mark, per Mark, and by observation included the outstanding support and cooperation of Ron Gensaw and family with their eight year’s experience. Yet, per Ron and observations, Mark was likewise a mutual compliment and another of God’s gifts to Brother Ron’s God-called work. In addition to both having churches, they are corporately teaching a Bible Institute for Nationals toward training effective servants, including pastors, and establishing village churches. Also they have other nationals involved in ministry that routinely are arranging outdoor meetings for Brother Ron and Mark to preach the gospel. I saw hundreds receiving Christ under Brother Ron’s preaching at a single meeting that I was privileged to attend.

My comment to them both was that it appeared to me that they were not trying to be original but were simply copying the scriptural pattern establish by Apostle Paul. My observation was that the contrast in ministering in Nigeria as compared to America was akin to going from grade school football to the National Football League. Both Brother Mark and Ron are students of other missionary activities and are using their successes and failures as learning tools. In talking with both, they still use their home pastors as their pastors. This is both scriptural and important, and my opinion is that all missionaries should function in a like manner of accountability and humility—or their support stopped.

The Sunday on November 26 at Truth Baptist Church was extra special. The theme was “Taking Possession,” as Pastor Mark announced to the members about their ownership of the property. The compound was to be their Church, Baptist College, School, Pastorium and other areas as the Lord leads. So very much, so very quickly, and, as Pastor Mark shared, “exceeding, abundantly, above” per Ephesians 3:20. This was exciting and their high attendance day of 168.

I have shared with Pastor Carr and congregation that I pray that we assist as needed in getting God’s vision of national pastors established in a church and pastorium in reaching their people. About $3,000 is what is needed to build a church and pastorium once God has a pastor and village or sight ready. God is abundantly blessing, as usual, in this God-given vision. This one page and my limited vision only captured little of what God is doing.

Serving Christ,
Eddie J. Holt
Church Administrator

September/October '06

In the middle of September, we had the special privilege of hosting Sean and MariJo Alvis [pictured with 2 chiefs] for their survey trip to Nigeria. It was a delight to show them around the city, introduce them to our ministries, take them on a tour of village works, and be considered a “veteran” by these “rookies”! The day after they arrived, we had a record attendance at Truth Baptist Church. There were 113 present, and we baptized three after the service. Our people really enjoyed hearing Bro. Sean’s testimony during the mid-week prayer meeting. Please pray for the Alvis family as they will begin full-time deputation next year.

One of the reasons we had such a good turnout on that particular Sunday (September 24) was the start of a new phase of our bus ministry. The town directly beside ours is actually in another state, and because there is a boundary like that dividing us, it is perfect for a bus route. We already have our church “bus” (18-passenger van) running into one of the villages of the aforementioned town. In August, when one of our church attendees asked for a bus to be sent to her area, a Bible study was started. Over the next four Saturday evenings, 20 different people came to hear me give a short Bible lesson at her house, and 11 people were saved. On September 24th, we rented a bus for about eight dollars and brought 18 people from the locale of the Bible studies. We will be teaching our Institute students that conducting Bible studies would be a very effective way to start churches.

In addition to overseeing our church, running a Bible Institute, purchasing property, as well as making time for my family, the Lord has also opened the door for this missionary to be an influence to the dozens of national pastors in Nigeria. I’ve been developing an itinerary whereby I can travel once monthly to preach in a different independent Baptist church. Bro. Ron Gensaw and I are even starting to schedule some meetings together to try and encourage the men who are reaching their own people in this spiritually needy country. These existing pastors, along with the future ones we are currently training, are the ones that will change this nation.

July/August '06

Going into our fourth month at Truth Baptist Church, God has already given us some miraculous victories. Our attendance has eclipsed 100 during the morning service in four out of the last six Sundays. This trend was initiated by our first baptism service on July 12, where we had our highest turnout of 113 people. We've since conducted another such service in August and have immersed 23 people total. With the help of a fellow independent Baptist pastor in the area, a children's program has been started in conjunction with our Thursday Evening Prayer Meeting. Not only was it responsible for our church breaking the century mark in attendance for the first time (117 total people on July 8), but the mid-week activity has witnessed the salvation of almost 200 kids. That pastor is now training some of our members to run this evangelistic tool successfully. The end of August was exam week at Temple Baptist Institute, and our Bible classes saw very noticeable growth during the recent twelve-week session. Where we had averaged less than 25 on Tuesday nights before, there were several instances during our Baptist Distinctives course that we observed an audience of over 40 students. Excitingly, almost 50 pupils at times attended the Saturday sessions taught by Missionary Ron Gensaw (New Testament Survey I). Also, key members from our new church visited TBI and have shown interest in the teachings. Please pray for continued spiritual growth among our people.

When I mentioned “miraculous” in the first sentence, I was leading up to this announcement: we have been able to sign an agreement for the purchase of our church property! After setting up our home for my family’s comfort and then starting the church and Bible institute, my main priority became the obtaining of land for our church and eventual Bible college. The land with unfinished buildings that we have been leasing was originally designed to be a hotel, and it would be perfect for a full-time college to train pastors; if we complete the buildings according to plan, there would be ideal dormitory accommodations (40 total rooms on two floors) and additional rooms for offices, classes, and a chapel. Plus, there is another foundation already laid [pictured below] that we could use to build a large auditorium for Truth Baptist Church.

With money that we saved from deputation, we have already used over $10,000 for a down payment, and our home church immediately sent us $3,000. The purchase agreement gives us until the beginning of next year to raise the remaining $50,000 needed for purchase. To me, that is a lot more money in a small amount of time; yet if each church that receives this prayer letter could give $250, then the need would be filled. Would you consider sending an amount designated for “land purchase” to our mission agency so that Truth Baptist church may have a permanent site for its ministry?

Over four years ago, Sabrina and I announced to our home church that we were going to Nigeria, and then we were approved as missionaries with FBMI. We have directly asked for money only one other time, and that was during the preparation to ship our container. As you have been so gracious to us during our enjoyable and rewarding tenure as missionaries, please allow us to make this request of you during such an important time in the life of our ministry

May/June '06

It’s here!!! The container for which we asked donations last May, over which we requested prayer while packing in December, and of which we expected an entrance around March 1st finally arrived at our home on the 11th of June. Miraculously, our shipment was cleared through customs in less than two weeks, and seemingly everything we packed has been accounted for. Needless to say, we have been very busily and thankfully unloading, moving, and situating all of our household goods and many needed items for the new church. Speaking of the church, we have averaged over eighty people every Sunday morning, and our other services have not gone below forty in attendance. Sabrina has been teaching the children’s Sunday school class since the grand opening, and we already have a children’s church preacher from within the membership. Our Bible Institute started new classes in the middle of June, after our previous two courses saw over twenty-five registered students.

Psalms 133:1 & 3 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
…as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing…

I wanted to wax spiritual as I announce another important and especially biblical arrival to Nigeria—Mountain Dew! Yes, the highly-caffeinated and disturbingly green Pepsi product that helped me make it through college has made its way to West Africa. Though we don’t have the “dew that descended upon the mountain” in Abuja yet, it has been sighted in Lagos and is being heavily advertised throughout the country. American things are rare and much appreciated here, and enjoying a favorite (whether it be soda or Hershey’s chocolate syrup that we packed on our container) is like a mini-vacation for us missionaries.

At the end of June, we received our last visit from Sabrina’s father, as he is completing his contract with Exxon-Mobil in Nigeria. Bro. Brian was able to stay three days and was very excited to see the progress in both our home and the church building. His departure from Nigeria was filled with mixed emotions: of course he will enjoy arriving in the U.S. again to be with his wife and daughter (Ashley), but what he has witnessed and accomplished in West Africa has been very eye-opening and, at the same time, fulfilling. My father-in-law’s next assignment is in Russia for six months; at the end of this year he may be through with world traveling for a few years!

Sabrina has been working very hard to keep me well-fed and also arrange our home with some touches of America. God has given me a wonderful wife who is also a great mother and teacher of our children. Victoria (six months) is an exceptionally quiet and content baby, but she enjoys competing with noise and during the church services tries to out-preach Daddy! Joseph (2 ½ years) can sing many of our church songs, confidently counts to twelve, and is learning with enthusiasm his ABC’s. “My boy” prays every night, and while he does, Mom and Dad are reminded of and grateful for all of you who are supporting our ministry and remembering us in prayer.

[Victoria on Sabrina's lap trying to eat an apple from Joseph's hand]

March/April '06

May 15, 2006

Yesterday, the Truth Baptist Church at Nyanya-Abuja, Nigeria conducted its Grand Opening Service. Without electricity, restrooms, P.A. system, or even windows and doors, the attendance was 95, and there were 34 decisions for salvation! Special thanks goes to Pastor Simon Nyam (he's the founder of another independent Baptist church in town) for conducting our children’s church [pictured right], and to Pastor Ron Gensaw for sending all of his soul-winners to our area during a Saturday before the church opened. In the evening, 67 souls gathered, and over 20 were saved! We greatly appreciate your prayers concerning the repairs on our rented church property; the roof was completed two days before our first service, and much work will be continuing throughout this month.

Since our last letter, we’ve moved into a rented house in Gwarinpa-Abuja. Though we are still earnestly awaiting the arrival of our container, Sabrina and I are very grateful to have our own house for the first time in almost three years. Also, Joseph loves all the space God has given us where he can run and play.

Just last month, one of Bro. Gensaw’s church members named Emmanuel (who had received Christ while I was out soul-winning during my first trip to Nigeria) brought Abraham, a customer of his, to church. Emmanuel informed me that his friend was Muslim and would have some questions for me after the service. We prayed together that God would work on Abraham’s heart during his visit to Pilgrim’s Independent Baptist Church. Immediately following the message that Sunday morning, I went to this follower of Allah and began discussing with him about the Lord. Emmanuel’s friend began to tell me that he had been searching for the truth for some time and had actually visited several different churches. He’d already decided that he would “give his life to Jesus” if a church could ever be convincing with the message of Christ. Abraham then exclaimed, “This is the first church I’ve ever been to that didn’t preach about money; I’ve heard the truth. I’m convinced; I’m ready to trust Christ!” He simply had one doctrinal question that I was able to answer from the scriptures; then we bowed our heads together, and he prayed to receive Christ as his Saviour! Just like Emmanuel, Abraham has been faithful to the church services since his conversion.

What a unique experience it’s been to have Sabrina’s dad [pictured with Victoria at 6 months] visit three different times since we have returned to Africa. If you remember from a previous update, my father-in-law was able to get a contract to work in Nigeria with his employer, Exxon-Mobil. Last month, I was able to travel with Sabrina and the kids to visit him at the area where he’s been working since January. Of course, “Papa” has been excited about being able to see his grandkids during this time, but I believe the pinnacle of his trip was what occurred yesterday as he witnessed our church conducting its first service. You see, for years Bro. Brian has prayed that each of his four children would become missionaries; Sabrina is the oldest and the first one to go to a foreign field. So, not only has God specifically answered his prayer request, but He has also worked it out for Bro. Brian to see his daughter’s place of service while his company is paying him to do it! We serve a great God! Please pray for his continued safety as his work for this project continues through July.