The Holmes Family: July/August '13

On the third Sunday in July, during our evening service, I received word that there was a problem at our house. Upon arrival at our property, we learned that the battery inverter (used as an alternative to electricity) had caught fire inside the home in which we had lived for only four months. Very little was destroyed in the house, but everything inside sustained smoke damage. It was humbling to see the response of our church, as the following day, and for the next four weeks, multiple women and teenage girls showed up to wash all of our clothes, kitchen items, and children's toys. A few men took off work, joining with our youth to scrub and repaint the walls and also clean, move, and restore furniture. Representatives from our ladies fellowship often came to cook for all the workers. With miraculous timing and generosity, another missionary family in the same estate allowed us to use their home while they were on furlough. In total, we were out of the house for five weeks and spent more than $5000 for the damages to the electrical system, ceilings, and windows. Ultimately, we are thankful for several things: our family is safe, the house is still standing and now looks better than before the fire, many churches and individuals responded to our email announcements with prayers and support, and the church I am privileged to pastor showed how much they love our family.

Before and after our house fire [sitting room pictured above], we enjoyed hosting three fellow missionary families as one was leaving for furlough, another was just "passing through," and the third came to visit his student in our college. Towards the end of August, we celebrated Brian's sixth birthday; his little brother, Noah is now 18 months, and Victoria and Joseph will have their eighth and tenth birthdays in December [boys pictured]. Sabrina started their home-schooling in early July, so that they will hopefully be finished by the time of our furlough in mid-March of next year. If you would like to schedule our family for a furlough meeting, or if you wish to give us your email address to be informed of any urgent news in the future, please use the contact info on this site, or find us on Facebook (facebook.com/markandsabrina).

In keeping with our ministry goal of training people for the purpose of multiplying churches and furthering our movement, we now have the following three schools: a part-time institute (37 graduates), a full-time seminary (15 graduates), and a recently introduced correspondence college. Revivals Christian Correspondence College (see "Correspondence" page on this blog) utilizes an exclusively DVD curriculum that we have gathered from two Bible colleges in the U.S. We are hoping that this will help some national pastors complete or further their training, along with giving an opportunity for their members to study from home. For several churches, this curriculum will help them start a Bible institute of their own. Please pray for the potential reach of this new ministry.

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 '13

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