BCM International https://www.bcmintl.org/ Reaching Children and Strengthening Churches Worldwide Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:17:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.bcmintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/cropped-BCM-Corp-Logo-Trans-e1440026158474-32x32.png BCM International https://www.bcmintl.org/ 32 32 Celebrating in Troubled Times https://www.bcmintl.org/celebrating-in-troubled-times/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:17:04 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224892 Hope is one thing the BCM Sri Lanka family has been holding on during the turbulent times of these past three years. The current crisis began with the April 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks on Christian churches. This was followed by two years of the Covid pandemic. Then in July 2022, the worst economic crisis since Sri Lankan independence in 1948 led to widespread protests and the resignation of the president, prime minister, and several...

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]]> A Promise Kept https://www.bcmintl.org/a-promise-kept/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:17:04 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224879 On Tuesday morning, an excited text pops up on BCM missionary Beth Wiegand’s cell-phone from Kaitlin, asking excitedly who will be at Promise Club that Friday. As she does each month, Beth responds that she doesn’t know for sure. But her answer doesn’t discourage Kaitlyn, whose enthusiasm to see her friends is contagious. Promise Club is an outreach program of Camp Promise, a BCM summer program for campers with special needs hosted since 1990 at Big Sky Bible Camp...

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]]> Online + In-person + Vacation Bible School + Backyard Bible Clubs = Vacation Bible Club https://www.bcmintl.org/vacation-bible-club/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:00:05 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224961 The above title may seem far too long and is certainly a mouthful to say. So what does it mean? Simply put, it describes a children’s outreach that combines online and in-person elements with the components of Vacation Bible School and Backyard Bible Clubs. The online portion includes singing, puppet shows, and Bible teaching. The in-person portion includes crafts, games, snacks, handbookd small...

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]]> Keeping The Faith in War-Torn Ukraine https://www.bcmintl.org/keeping-the-faith-in-war-torn-ukraine/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:00:05 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224959 Just ten months ago in January 2022, BCM Ukraine field director Tima Anokhin received the baton of leadership from outgoing director Igor Kotenko (read Still Speaking Truth in Ukraine). Covid-19 restrictions finally easing, excitement was high to resume in-person summer camps, youth outreach, and care for war orphans, the handicapped, and their families. None then could have anticipated that within a few weeks the Russian war machine…

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]]> Taking the Good News to Pakistan https://www.bcmintl.org/taking-the-good-news-to-pakistan/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:00:05 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224863 Brian and Sarah Hampshire have served as BCM missionaries since 1989 through Bible Clubs, teacher training, music ministry, and other avenues. When physical challenges in more recent years necessitated slowing down, Brian searched for other ways to reach out with the Good News. For more than fifteen years, he had developed numerous video and PowerPoint series, which he…

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]]> One Year of BCM Uganda https://www.bcmintl.org/one-year-of-bcm-uganda/ Wed, 16 Nov 2022 16:52:26 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224929 October 2022 marks one year of BCM Uganda ministry. For various urgent reasons, our focus remains empowering and training church leadership in children’s ministry. First, almost half of Uganda’s population is fourteen and younger. Though eighty-five percent of the population identifies as Christian, children have historically not been considered a priority by the church. They attended adult services, and if there was a Sunday school program, few trained teachers or materials were...

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]]> New Life for Tiny Steps https://www.bcmintl.org/new-life-for-tiny-steps/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 17:50:56 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224919 The four-volume Bible curriculum Tiny Steps of Faith was created for preschoolers ages four to five by BCM missionary Lois Haas in 1956. The material is characterized by a single easy-to-understand biblical truth per lesson combined with a practical application for that age group. Over the decades, the material has been translated into numerous languages, blessing countless thousands of small children in many countries. Its excellent Bible teaching remains as...

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]]> BCM Commissions New President https://www.bcmintl.org/bcm-commissions-new-president/ Tue, 15 Nov 2022 14:18:33 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224853 The BCM global family and International Board of Directors (IBOD) are delighted to welcome incoming BCM president Dr. Rick Rhoads. An answer to much prayer over the past year of BCM’s presidential search, Rick receives the baton of leadership from Dr. Marty Windle, who has served as president for the past seventeen years. Rick comes to BCM with a wealth of life and ministry experience, including...

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]]> BCM Nepal After Covid https://www.bcmintl.org/bcm-nepal-after-covid/ Fri, 11 Nov 2022 15:46:52 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224830 When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, BCM Nepal was still dealing with the aftereffects of a 7.8 earthquake that destroyed their central facility, Milestone Church, along with six hundred thousand other buildings in the capital of Kathmandu and surrounding region. For over four years, they met in a tent, then a temporary sanctuary built of scavenged brick. They had purchased property to rebuild when Covid restrictions shut down much of the world, including Nepal. Two years later, they...

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]]> Mobilize Goes Virtual https://www.bcmintl.org/mobilize-goes-virtual/ Fri, 11 Nov 2022 15:08:12 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224821 The post Mobilize Goes Virtual appeared first on BCM International.

]]> God’s Abundant Grace Transcends Covid https://www.bcmintl.org/gods-abundant-grace-transcends-covid/ Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:52:09 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224786 The coronavirus pandemic severely affected our country, spreading from just three cases on February 8, 2020, to almost forty-five million people across India. More than half a million deaths have been reported, though unreported deaths could push that total much higher. With the country on lockdown, BCM India ministry was severely affected since churches were closed and children’s Bible Clubs couldn’t be held due..

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]]> Trusting God’s Heart, Not Our Plans https://www.bcmintl.org/trusting-gods-heart-not-our-plans/ Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:09:34 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224737 A movie or book with a plot twist makes the story so much more interesting, doesn’t it? Just as you’ve figured out how the story will end, whoops! You discover things happening in the background that take the story in a whole different direction. Plot twists are nice, but not when they bring upheaval to large numbers of people we care about. With Covid restrictions finally...

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]]> Expanding Territory for BCM Latin America https://www.bcmintl.org/expanding-territory-for-bcm-latin-america/ Thu, 10 Nov 2022 14:46:14 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224766 In December 2021, a candidate orientation (CO) was scheduled at BCM Peru’s Lima camp for missionary candidates from several Latin American countries. Less than a week before the planned dates, the Peruvian government closed all land borders due to renewed Covid restrictions, making it impossible to enter the country except by air. While four candidates from Ecuador and Bolivia were able to fly in to join..

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]]> Still Speaking Truth in Ukraine https://www.bcmintl.org/still-speaking-truth-in-ukraine/ Thu, 24 Mar 2022 12:40:57 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224391 On January 1, 2022, Tima Anokhin took office as BCM Ukraine’s new field director, replacing outgoing director Igor Kotenko, who with his wife Oxana have served as BCM missionaries for twenty-nine years. Newly appointed BCM Ukraine director and his wife Natasha are no strangers to challenge and conflict. They have served with BCM for eighteen years. Much of their...

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]]> Uganda Joins BCM Africa https://www.bcmintl.org/uganda-joins-bcm-africa/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 18:15:44 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224374 In October 2021, BCM’s newest ministry field of Uganda was opened with Joshua Anguyo named as director. In eastern Africa, Uganda is a country where seventy-five percent of the population is under thirty years of age and twenty million are under the age of fourteen. So BCM’s focus on equipping children’s ministry workers and challenging the local church to reach children is what initially drew Joshua’s interest to BCM. Joshua was born in northwest...

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]]> Sharing God’s Love Story https://www.bcmintl.org/sharing-gods-love-story/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:52:04 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224365 Reflecting on the time of COVID-19, some might think wrestling with the challenges outweighs moments of blessings. Others might instead think of taking a moment to touch lives with God’s love story despite the challenges. As the Philippines struggled to thrive economically during this pandemic, online purchasing led to increased demands for home delivery, giving rise to more job opportunities. With lockdowns and heightened...

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]]> New Leadership for Kingdom Conquest in the Philippines https://www.bcmintl.org/new-leadership-for-kingdom-conquest-in-the-philippines/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:28:01 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224353 As BCM International enters its eighty-fifth year of global ministry, new leadership continues to step forward around the world with newly-appointed missionaries and field directors in several countries. On January 1, 2022, Rev. Ezbee Fuerte took office as BCM Philippines national director. He replaces Gerlyn De Jesus, who served as national director for eight years after the passing of her...

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]]> Taking the Next Step to Reach Latin America https://www.bcmintl.org/taking-the-next-step-to-reach-latin-america/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 18:54:32 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224341 In December 2021, BCM Peru served as host to Latin America’s most recent BCM missionary candidate orientation, a vital step towards expanding BCM’s mission of reaching children and vision for future ministry in the region. Ten candidates attended from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Guest speakers included BCM president Dr. Martin Windle, international children´s ministry...

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]]> Sharing What Christmas is About in Peru https://www.bcmintl.org/sharing-what-christmas-is-about-in-peru/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 18:14:24 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224330 Compartiendo, which means “sharing” in English, is the children’s outreach of BCM Peru that reaches a peak during the Christmas season when volunteer teams reach thousands of children across Peru. The goal is to help local Peruvian churches reach neighborhood children and their parents who may not know Jesus. The program includes games, songs, puppets, and skits with the ultimate purpose of sharing what...

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]]> No Small Harvest Field https://www.bcmintl.org/no-small-harvest-field/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:43:05 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224315 Mado Fumunguna from Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has never been one to sit idle. A pastor’s wife with five adult children and four grandchildren, she has a graduate degree in English, taught French at the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK), and serves as secretary for the Église du Christ au Congo (ECC), or Church of Christ in Congo, a federation of ninety-five Protestant denominations in the DRC. But when...

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]]> Big Sky Bible Camp Celebrates 75 Years of God’s Faithfulness https://www.bcmintl.org/big-sky-bible-camp-celebrates-75-years-of-gods-faithfulness/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:17:29 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224304 It was the year 1944 when two BCM missionaries by the names of Jean Clark and Hazel Simonton followed God’s call from eastern United States to Big Sky country in western Montana. They journeyed first to Billings, then Bozeman, and finally to Missoula, starting after-school Bible clubs where they could teach God’s Word to students of all ages. In 1947, God led these two ladies to start a Bible club camp that would allow their after-school clubbers to experience the...

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]]> New Missionaries for BCM Africa https://www.bcmintl.org/new-missionaries-for-bcm-africa/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 12:11:47 +0000 https://www.bcmintl.org/?p=224286 The chaos of the world, including Covid-19, seemed very distant as BCM Africa personnel from all over Africa gathered at Skogheim Christian Conference Centre on the beautiful coastline of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, October 2021, for training, candidate orientation, and commissioning of new missionaries. The week-long event was co-hosted by BCM Africa director Dr. John Peter and his wife Vijay. In attendance were BCM missionaries from all over...

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]]> BCM Moves Beyond Covid https://www.bcmintl.org/bcm-moves-beyond-covid/ Thu, 19 Aug 2021 20:34:04 +0000 https://bcmintl.org/?p=223813 After a year of upended plans, travel cancellations, and innumerable deaths, this verse may seem like a contradiction. Can we be filled with joy or say God has done great things for us after a year like 2020? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, BCM churches were shuttered, camps eerily quiet, a “hard stop” put on many ministries. Even more shattering was the tremendous loss of life, including within the global...

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]]> Bible Club + Covid-19 = Reinvention https://www.bcmintl.org/bible-club-covid-19-reinvention/ Sun, 27 Dec 2020 16:25:06 +0000 https://bcmintl.org/?p=223010 A few minutes before ten o’clock on Sunday morning, I sat in front of my laptop getting ready to join a Bible Club in Nigeria via Zoom. Since joining BCM as the international children’s ministry coordinator in January 2020, I’d wanted to visit Bible Clubs to learn about this signature ministry that has brought so many boys and girls to Christ since BCM was founded as the Bible Club Movement in 1936. My plan was to start visiting Bible Clubs once...

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]]> Beyond this Pandemic https://www.bcmintl.org/beyond-this-pandemic/ Sun, 27 Dec 2020 16:25:06 +0000 https://bcmintl.org/?p=222988 With the rising death toll, widespread unemployment, mental health issues, suicide, feelings of isolation, challenges of online education, and dozens of other unpleasant stories all attributable to COVID-19, it is easy to question if there remains any beauty, hope, or life in today’s world. But is there a better way to look at our circumstances as this pandemic sweeps our planet? The answer is yes. As believers, we can look at this situation through the eyes of faith because we...

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