
In 2018 our family of churches experienced an excitingfirst when three brothers from the Lagos Church of Christ in Nigeria were appointed teachers. They were Gilbert Kimeng, Fred George, and Emmanuel Emeh. This wasthe first such appointments on the continent of Africa in our fellowship. God willing, there will be several more in the coming months and years.
Another exciting first occurred in March of 2019 when Gilbert Kimeng became the first African-appointed teacher in our fellowship tocome to the United States to teach in a formal ministry training academy.Kimeng’s first stop was in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he taught anIntroduction to the New Testament course for the Midwest School of Missions, Minneapolis. Students in the course enjoyed Kimeng greatly and were excited to hear the New Testament taught from a different global perspective. Gilbert also preached on Sunday for the Two Cities Church (Minneapolis-St. Paul Church of Christ).
Following his time in Minnesota, Kimeng made his way to Chicago to take part in the fourth annual Midwest Teacher’s Summit. This year’s theme was “Deeper.” Kimeng co-taught with Michael Burns, a class entitled “All Things to All People: The Biblical Approach to Cultural Dynamics and the Dangers of Ignoring It.” Other classes at the Summit included James Becknell’s class on the golden triangle of spirituality and Dave Pocta’s class on spiritual formation. Kimeng enjoyed the weekend in Chicago and remained on Sunday to preach on Romans 8 for the Mid pointe Ministry Center of the Chicago Church.
Gilbert will remain in the United States for the remainder of March and will visit a few other churches, including Lexington, Kentucky before heading back to Nigeria. It was a great privilege for us to be recipients of the generosity of the Lagos church to share Gilbert’s time and we look forward to the continued back and forth flowing of resources and gifts around the world as we truly embrace the identity as part of God’s gathering of the nations.