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Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
NIV
John 20:10-16
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside
the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and
saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the
head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they
have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means
Teacher).
NIV
Learn More
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Aniefiok & Etang Akpan
WEI
Director, Nigeria
Chaplain, Obong University, Nigeria
Email:
weiafrica@yahoo.com
Phone: 234-802-396-9331
Postal Address:
Box 973,
Abak,
Akwa Ibom State,
Nigeria, West Africa
Mission contacts:
Bethlehem Church of Christ
Lebanon, Tennessee
Philip & Carolyn Poston
Email:cposton@genesco.com
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The church in Nigeria...A GROWING MINISTRY
1. Aniefiok was baptized at the age of 10 in 1984 and became a student-preacher
at the age of 12 in 1986.
2. His full-time preaching ministry began in 1986 when he served as the
chaplain of Obong Christian High School for four consecutive years, and
about 20 students were converted.
3. In 1992, Aniefiok became the first resident preacher of the newly established
congregation in Ikot Akpa Idem, Ukanafun where nearly 30 baptisms were
recorded.
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History continued 4. In 1996, Aniefiok began a six-year ministry with the Garage Church of Christ, Ibio Nung Achat as the first resident preacher and over 70 souls were won
for Christ.
5. While serving at the Garage church, a new congregation was planted in Rumuodogo, Rivers State in 1997 where
Aniefiok served as a visiting preacher and
baptized 48 persons under one year.
6. A new congregation was planted in Uruk Ata Ikot Akpan where Aniefiok
visited every other week and witnessed over 40 baptisms.
7. Aniefiok was also involved in planting new congregations at Ikot Ekperikpe in
1998, Ikot Ebenwan in 1999, Ukanafun township in 2000 and a total of over
50 baptisms were witnessed in these congregations.
8. In 2001, Aniefiok began a seven-year full time ministry with Ikot Ubo Church
of Christ where over 80 souls were baptized & restored and pioneer elders
& deacons were ordained.
9. While serving with Ikot Ubo brethren, a new
congregation was planted at Nkek Idim where Aniefiok served as a visiting preacher and
baptized over 40 persons.
10. In January 2008, Aniefiok returned home to plant a new congregation in
his
hometown, Uruk Otong where over 70 of his people have been won for Christ.
11. Over 100 persons have been baptized into Christ in various places
across Nigeria through the WEI ministry.
12. Our WEI ministry in Cameroun & Sierra Leone has yielded over 30
baptisms.
13. During the past 25 years, Aniefiok has witnessed over half a thousand people
surrender their lives to Jesus.
14. Presently, Aniefiok has just begun an exciting and promising ministry with Obong University Campus Church of Christ.
15. Aniefiok is presently a university graduate preacher with a wife & three children to
take care of.
16. The newly inaugurated university campus church with 12 pioneer
worshipers does not have the financial strength to support Aniefiok and
his
family.
17. The responsibility of building and growing the campus congregation at Rhema Academy
rests on their shoulders with a present dependency upon support from the
US.
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Using a Stone
to Kill Two Birds
Suddenly, we discovered that we were 'using one stone to kill two
birds.' Our students improved significantly on their knowledge of the
English Language. Our pioneer students recorded 100% success in the Junior
School Certificate Exams administered by the education ministry. Our
students learned the truth of Jesus at the same time.
God Sponsors
His Work
We did not know how to acquire WEI materials for our students. So
we mentioned it in one of our reports. Nancy Gonzalez, after reading the
report, introduced us to brother Tom Langley. With the support of our
sponsoring congregation, the Bethlehem church, brother Langley sent the
first parcel of WEI materials to us at Rhema Academy. The President,
Richard Ady then took over the responsibility and later confirmed our WEI
ministry in Nigeria.
The
Harvests of Souls
A short while after we began using WEI materials, our
students began to respond to the gospel. Within a short time, many of our
students accepted Christ and were baptized. Many responded to the call for
baptism during our daily chapel services. In fact, God added new souls to
His Kingdom almost on a daily basis until our high school was suspended in
December 2008 for accommodation reasons.
Damaging
Controversies
Initially, the churches of
Christ in our area reluctantly accepted our WEI converts who desired to
place membership in their congregations. Some brethren thought it was
unscriptural to make disciples for Christ through WEI because they did not
know WEI as a ministry associated with the churches of Christ. Most of our
converts were confused and some returned to the denominational groups they
came from following the controversy.
Remedy
to Controversies
Initially, we did not know what to do about the situation. So, we called
for a one-day fasting & prayer meeting at Rhema Academy. After the prayer
meeting, God gave us the wisdom to set up a campus church at Rhema Academy
so that our converts and others could meet to study, pray and worship
without any controversy. The inaugural worship service of our campus
church which had ten worshipers in attendance was held on January 06,
2008. Within a year, membership strength increased to over 70. Thus, we
were able to gather the Lord's harvests successfully and our campus church
has witnessed a rapid growth since then. Although we lost most of our new
converts when our high school was suspended in December 2008, other souls
(villagers) who accepted Christ and were baptized replaced them. We look
forward to a time when we will be able to complete our permanent school
building so that we can re-gain our high school for greater harvests.
Three
Successful WEI Conferences
After our first annual WEI
Nationwide Conference & Graduation in 2008, other gospel preachers in
Nigeria began to use WEI as a tool for evangelism. The results have been
so impressive. Over a hundred souls have been won for Christ in Nigeria
through this effort during the past three years. The controversy about
making disciples through the WEI ministry ceased after the maiden
conference and the churches of Christ in our neighbourhood now accept our
converts willingly.
Nationwide
Campaign
We have intensified our WEI
nationwide campaign in Nigeria. As I spoke at lectureships, seminars,
workshops, and gospel meetings across the nation, I carried the message of
the WEI ministry along. By phone calls, text messages and emails, we are
able to reach out to areas where we are not able to go in person. By these
methods, we have registered hundreds of students in Lagos, Calabar, Port
Harcourt, Uyo, Ibadan, Abuja and other cities. Our WEI City Office &
Teaching Center in Abak helps us to better co-ordinate our WEI activities
in the different zones. We have also extended the tentacles of our WEI
Ministry to Cameroun where several souls have also been won for Christ.
The 4th Annual WEI Conference in May 2011
The 4th edition of our WEI annual nationwide conference at Rhema Academy
will hold in May 2011. We recorded a total attendance of 520 participants
in our previous conference. By that time, we had about
| WEI students in
Nigeria that we taught personally. Presently, with the emergence of
American postal teachers and great increase in the number of students
which now exceed 1000, we are expecting more participants at the
conference. We are also anticipating more harvests during the 2011
conference.
The
Most Pressing of Priority
Needs
Presently God has helped us
overcome some of the initial obstacles we encountered in our WEI
campaign. There is, now, only one big obstacle which has greatly
hindered the progress of this wonderful ministry in Nigeria:
TRANSPORTATION. We look forward to a time when we shall be blessed with at
least one vehicle to meet the needs of our WEI campaign and mission work
at Uruk Otong. A strong vehicle like a Toyota Hilux truck will be a great
asset to our work as it is suitable and adaptable to our bad jungle roads.
We pray that a family or congregation would come to our rescue and donate
a fairly used or a new truck, or the fund to acquire one here in Nigeria.
Partnership
& Prospects
It is our conviction that WEI will help to win more souls in Nigeria than
any other ministry in the next couple of years. Over the years, we have
been looking for the right bait to use in our fishing for souls. The
Chinese people have an adage that says 'to catch a tiger, one must bait
the trap.' The English lessons of WEI has proven to be one of the most
effective baits for our work as fishers of men. It will be great and
encouraging to hear from you and to enjoy your fellowship and partnership
in this great worldwide evangelistic ministry
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May 2013
Dear Brethren,
Greetings! We hope this report finds you doing well each day. Kindly
exercise patience and read through so that you may have a good grasp of the
nature of mission work we are involved in. We will be glad to answer any
question you may have.
A NEW DAWN WITH WEI
We established a Christian school called Rhema Academy in 2005 to bring
Christian education to the door-step of our people. After the school
started, we were fervently praying for resources we could use to teach our
students the Bible effectively. By God’s providence, WEI came to us in 2007.
We used the WEI materials to teach our students both English and the Bible
effectively. Within one year, many of our students were baptized into Christ
that it became necessary to set up a campus church. The inaugural worship
service of the campus church at Uruk Otong was held on Sunday January 6,
2008. The church grew rapidly with more students being baptized on a weekly
basis. Following an aggressive house-to-house evangelistic campaigns by the
campus church, many of the villagers were converted as well. In December
2008, our high school was suspended by the education ministry for inadequate
accommodation and facilities – leaving us with only the nursery & primary
arms of the school.
RESTORING THE PAST GLORY
We laid the foundation of our permanent school building since September
2006. Our greatest challenge now is to complete the school building so that
we can restore our high school and begin again to teach our students English
and the Bible on a daily basis using the WEI resources. This is the best way
we can guarantee greater and regular harvests. We shed tears each time we
recalled what a significant progress we were making in the ministry before
the devil obstructed us. We recorded so much success in those days that
brother Dick Ady remarked that we were involved in one of the most exciting
mission works in Africa. We desire to return to that mode of operation. All
we need is a roof over the school building and we will rekindle our fire of
aggressive gospel campaigns using WEI as bait. Please share our concern with
the Christians and churches around you.
WEI MINISTRY IN WEST AFRICA
In addition to using WEI resources to teach our people English and the Bible
personally, we also use our network of Christian connections to introduce
WEI ministry in other regions of Nigeria and other West African countries.
With the help of American postal teachers, people are learning the truth in
Cameroun, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Senegal. Presently, we are making effort
to establish a link in Togo (another virgin ground very receptive to the
gospel). We are making plans for a mission work in Togo in the near future.
MARRIAGE & FAMILY SEMINAR
We started a seminar on the Christian home some years back. Fielden & Janet
Allison came all the way from Tanzania as the guest speakers of the
inaugural seminar. Every year, we gather Christian couples and singles and
teach them the biblical principles on marriage and family life. This year’s
seminar was held in Uruk Otong on May 5. I personally delivered a keynote on
“WHEN COUPLES DISAGREE.” It was indeed a great lecture and well received by
the participants. The next edition of the seminar will be held on May 4,
2014, God willing!
WEI ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Another wonderful gospel event we conduct is WEI Conference. We could not
organize the conference last year due to several factors including
insecurity and insufficient finance. This year, the conference will be held
on November 1-3. We teach Bible lessons only during the conference. In order
to raise fund for the conference, we are planning to produce tickets and
encourage Christians and churches to purchase the tickets especially for
those who are not yet converted to attend the conference. By some doing, we
will have the right audience and cut down on unnecessary expenses. We will
encourage our US postal and internet teachers to work towards buying tickets
for some of their serious students to attend the conference. Each ticket
will cost ten US dollars ($10). This will cover seven meals and
accommodation for the three days and conference materials.
WEI ZONAL SEMINARS
As a pre-requisite to the big conference in November, we have made plans to
conduct monthly WEI seminars in Ekparakwa, and other strategic locations in
order to reactivate our dwindling WEI ministry. Most of our students are
discouraged because of the delay and loss of their materials through the
postal system. We need to meet with them in their different locations and
rekindle their interest in order to prepare them for their studies and the
big conference ahead. Etang and I have conducted the zonal seminars with
excitement in the past. It avails us the opportunity to meet new prospects
and to interact with our WEI students. Reports of the seminars will be
published in our subsequent newsletters.
NCA ANNUAL LECTURESHIP
In addition to our ministry in Uruk Otong, we are working with the churches
of Christ in our area on a regular basis. We are involved in conducting
monthly gospel meetings and youth Bible seminars which rotate among the
churches in our area. I preach at a funeral, lectureship, wedding almost on
a weekly basis. On Thursday April 25, I attended the Lectureship organized
by the Campus Church of Christ, Nigerian Christian Academy (NCA), Uruk Ata
Ikot Akpan. I delivered a lecture on RECONSIDERING & RESTORING THE PATTERN
OF THE 1ST CENTURY EVANGELISM. It was nice to be at NCA, the Christian
school I served as the principal teacher before I left for my BA (Religious
Studies) Degree studies. It was great to meet Dr. Edu Okorie, my master in
the faith after a while. He is doing fine and the school is growing.
RHEMA ACADEMY BEGINS
Please permit us to mention that Etang is now the Director of the nursery &
primary arm of our Christian school, Rhema Academy. She is doing fine
directing the school. School re-opened on April 29 for the final term of the
2012/2013 school session. We will vacate in July and return in early
September to commence the 2013/2014 school session. We are doing our best to
teach our pupils about Jesus, God and the Bible. We believe that it is the
best to catch them young.
DORCAS GARDEN
Sister Dorathy Japhet of our campus church in Uruk Otong has been appointed
the Manager of our Christian farm settlement to assist our Christian widows.
She is a faithful and dedicated Christian worker. She is having a difficult
time now that her husband who assisted her in the work at Dorcas Garden has
gone blind. She has to work real hard to take care of her family of five
children without the help of her husband. Yet, she is still very strong in
the faith, and her faith encourages us. We have been at the University of
Calabar Teaching Hospital three times to see the Doctor about Japhet’s eye
problem. We will be there again sometime this month. Please remember him in
your prayers.
Thanks for reading through and remain blessed.
In Christian love,
Aniefiok & Etang Akpan
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