The Holmes Family: March/April '10

Our family arrived safely back to Abuja on April 3rd, in time to have a wonderful Easter

service at Truth Baptist Church, which was full of people eager to welcome us back to Nigeria. Before we even finished unpacking, I became extremely busy finding, securing, and renting for two years a larger house that is closer to the church and better for our family. We all are very thankful for a fulfilling furlough and, with the successful move-in to our new home at the end of April, a triumphant return to the field.

The second semester of our Bible College got underway on April 19. With an increase in our student body, there are now 20 people involved in this full-time ministry training. Each of our six interns returned with fantastic testimonies of how the Lord worked through them at different independent Baptist churches. I would like to include a testimony and prayer request for one of our Bible college students, Isaac Samson [pictured middle]. On the way

to enroll in our school last year, the taxi in which he was riding experienced a terrible accident. Isaac woke up in a police office as the lone survivor of the crash in which the driver and three others died. He had some serious cuts and his money was gone, but he still did everything possible to be in class for opening day. He has healed well and is a blessing to our college. We ask that you pray for him as he has many upcoming decisions, not related to the accident, that require great wisdom on his part.

Please allow me to end with an appeal to our supporters. At the end of June, we will host our 3rd Annual Abuja Pastors’ School. This Soul-Winning & Leadership Conference will feature at least two guest preachers from the U.S., and has the potential of drawing more than sixty of the eighty independent Baptist pastors in Nigeria. Several pastors that attended our first two meetings have told me that it is the greatest thing happening amongst our Bible-believing churches, and many have remarked that it is the best conference of which they have ever been a part. Beyond the preaching,

teaching, music, and resources that we make available, our church also delights in taking care of the visiting men of God, their families, and the church members that accompany them. We use as much space as possible on our property for beds, and our ladies [pictured cooking] provide breakfast, a late lunch, and an evening snack to every person who comes from outside of Abuja. Last year, it cost us more than $1,200 to feed everyone for the 3½ day gathering. Would you prayerfully consider contributing to what will be the biggest and most influential event in Truth Baptist Church this year? Please earmark your donation for “Pastors Conference.”

Who We Are

Mark Joseph Holmes was called to the ministry at the age of fifteen, five years after he was saved. He went to Hyles-Anderson College to receive his training and graduated summa cum laude in 2000 with a degree in Pastoral Theology. During Mark’s senior year, God placed on his heart the desire to reach the people of Nigeria, so he spent an extra year in preparation by taking missions courses. Mark served on the same bus route each college year, as captain for three years.

Sabrina Michelle (Hopkins) was saved at the age of eight and surrendered her life to God five years later. While at Hyles-Anderson College studying music education, she served in the Bible Club and deaf ministry and also traveled one summer with a tour group. After graduation with a Music Education degree, during the year before their wedding, Sabrina taught fourth grade at her home church’s Christian school—Central Baptist in Baton Rouge.

As newlyweds, Mark and Sabrina served at their sending church where Mark oversaw the bus ministry and helped in the youth department, Sunday schools, and junior churches. He was privileged to start a children's church and young adult class during his two years of service, and he also regularly preached at a prison ministry and taught for a local Bible institute. Sabrina taught private piano for two Christian schools; she played often in the church services and also taught the beginner Sunday school class. Mark and Sabrina started full-time deputation at the end of May, 2003. Mark Joseph, Junior was born on December 4th of the same year.

In June of 2005, the Holmes family began their first term as Fundamental Baptist Missions International missionaries in Nigeria. Soon, Truth Baptist Church along with Temple Baptist Institute was started, the church now averaging 220 on Sundays with 42 graduates from the ministry training school. Property with buildings was purchased, and Providence Baptist College & Seminary opened its doors in August 2009 and has now produced 30 graduates. 35 churches have been started by those who have been trained or ordained by their ministry, including one of the most recent, Grace & Glory Baptist Church in Abuja, in which the Holmes family is also involved. Mark and Sabrina have returned to the U.S. for the birth of: Victoria Noel 12/14/05
Brian Michael 8/20/07
Noah Preston 2/3/12

LaDonna Elizabeth 7/3/14
For nearly a decade, Truth Baptist Church has been the home of a national pastors' conference, an annual youth camp, a full curriculum DVD correspondence college, and the City of Refuge recently became their newest ministry.

Where We Are

The Niger River is Nigeria’s most remarkable physical feature, as well as the source of its name. Formerly a British colony, Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 and became an independent nation of three culturally distinctive regions and at least 250 different language groups—more than any other African country. Home of the world’s largest black population, it is estimated that almost one out of every six Africans resides in Nigeria.

Upon independence, Nigeria inherited a currency that was more valuable than the U.S. dollar at the time. Yet the country has consumed itself with the sell of oil and other natural resources and all but abandoned its agricultural sector, leading to Nigeria’s diminished currency value and heightened reliance upon imports and aide from other countries. Military coups, ethnic tensions, a thirty month “civil war” that claimed over a million lives, and economic corruption have been the driving forces behind Nigeria’s instability of the last forty years. In 1998 a democracy was established, ending fifteen years of military rule.

Baptists have enjoyed a presence in the country for over 150 years with the Southern Baptists growing their own national convention and an estimated Baptist population numbering more than 3.5 million people; the former President of Nigeria was a claimed Baptist. However, Muslim influences are growing greater, indigenous beliefs are still popular, and many existing Baptist churches have abandoned biblical doctrines. There is a great need to reach the rest of the more than 170 million people of Africa’s most populous and possibly most influential nation.

The Holmes Family

March/April '10

No comments:

Ministry Pages

All Updates

Profile

Contact Us

Who We Are

Where We Are

What We Believe