The Holmes Family: July/August '10

For 33 years, the Summer Missionary Institute for Training and Evangelism (S.M.I.T.E.) has been used by God to gather teenagers and youth workers from throughout the southeast region of the U.S. and equip them to make a difference in their respective churches. My wife was a part of the youth meeting in both Baton Rouge and Natchez for 12 years, and the first time I actually met Sabrina was at a S.M.I.T.E. evening service. For these reasons and many more, we were more than thrilled when Evangelist Jerry Purtell [pictured with our kids], a missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship and founder of S.M.I.T.E., also a member of my wife’s home

church in Baton Rouge and a close family friend, agreed to bring his ideas, resources, and training to Nigeria. He was joined by “missionary-in-training” Stephen Bedwell and Pastor Sonny McGuffee, who brought seven young men with him to do a Bible club and school crusade for us in Abuja over three years ago.

The uniqueness of our Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism is that the “campers” [pictured] not only hear preaching, but also receive teaching that

prepares them to reach others with the gospel; they then have opportunity to practice what they have been taught. During the 23rd through the 27th of August, we had classes from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on these subjects: conducting Bible clubs, winning children to Christ, teaching a Bible story, showing a missionary story, memorizing Bible verses, leading a group in songs, and using evangelism tools, including the “wordless book”. In the afternoons, every teenager participated in conducting children’s Bible clubs [pictured below] throughout areas around our church with our seminary students as the leaders; the evenings were filled with spirited singing from the youth groups and great preaching from our American visitors. Our ministry was glad to welcome 70 teenagers from 15 churches, and the Bible clubs yielded over 2000 children enrolled and over 1500 people receiving Christ as Saviour!

Independent Baptist churches in Nigeria have need for improvement, namely in the lack of Bible institutes to train their members and missions programs to support ministries outside of their churches; we have attempted to address these needs in our Soul-Winning and Leadership Conferences. In addition, most of our Bible-believing works have never included a youth or teenage ministry in their programs. There is very little focus on raising young people to serve the Lord. I believe that our annual youth meeting can have a major part in developing a new generation of people who will eventually reach their own nation. Many of the young people who attended S.M.I.T.E. believe that God wants them to give their lives to serve Him in the ministry. With the training and resources they received during the week, they can return to their various churches and help their pastors establish effective youth groups that reach others with the Gospel. These programs will inspire their teenagers to eventually come to our Bible college, attend the other seminary in Ogbomoso, or be trained in Bible institutes that pastors are being motivated to develop. As churches also build up missions programs, the young people training for the ministry will be encouraged by the prospect of being supported by their church and others to start ministries throughout Nigeria. We have “a great door and effectual” open for us to influence the movement of independent Baptists!

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

July/August '10

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