Posts Tagged ‘ministry’

“The heart of a man plans his way, the Lord establishes his steps.”

Posted by Mandi Brower on Saturday, February 18th, 2012

(Proverbs 16:9)

    This is not the first time, and probably won’t be the last time that we let you all know of our changing course. If there is one thing we have learned in the last couple years, it is that the Lord is in control and we are along for the ride.

We told you all this last summer that our plans for moving to Florida were on hold for at least 3 years while remaining at the Bible School. Our biggest reason being finances. Well, it became evident a couple of months ago that the move is more crucial than we had known and we are seeing that, because of the low prices on the housing market, the financial side is not as dire as we had thought.

While we thought that splitting Josh’s time between his duties at the Bible School and his work for New Tribes Mission as a whole would be doable, we are seeing that this is just not so. Much to our surprise, he apparently is not Superman and when there is too much to do, nothing gets done really well.

It is also becoming more and more evident that his communication with those he works with on a daily basis in Florida will be much improved if he is able to work in an office down the hall, instead of half way across the country. Go figure. There are also those frequent flights to Florida that we as a family wouldn’t mind him eliminating.

This was not an easy decision because we love where we are and being a part of what is going on here at New Tribes Bible Institute. We love having students in our home and talking through what they’re learning in class and everyday life. We have enjoyed keeping up with graduates and look forward to seeing where God leads them down the road.

There are EIGHT unreached people groups who have heard the Gospel for the first time in 2011 from NTM missionaries, many of whom are graduates from this school. We are excited to see what God does through the students that we’ve gotten to know these past 3 years. We love that we have been able to invest in their lives, watch them grow and grow from our interaction with them as well. And yet we know that we now have an opportunity to serve them, and many others, in a new way.

For a summary of exactly what role we will have while serving at the Home Office in Florida, and our needs, please click here.

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“Master, to whom shall we go? You have the You have the words of eternal life.”

Posted by Mandi Brower on Friday, February 17th, 2012

(From John 6:68)

North Wahgis hear of God's Grace

Many unreached people all over the world have heard God’s words of eternal life for the first time in 2011 and many of them have believed! It’s been an exciting year for us in New Tribes Mission, as we see works that were started years ago beginning to bear much fruit. We have prayed for these groups and have kept up with the progress of the missionaries as they learned the language and culture of the people they hoped to share God’s Word with. While we rejoice with them, we are sure it can’t compare with the joy they feel after many invested years among these people they’ve grown to love.

Thank you for all of you who prayed for these people groups. The following are the names of the tribes who now have heard the Gospel in their own language. Please join us in continuing to pray for these new believers:

Siar, Bulongish, Akolet, North Wahgi and Mwinika.

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Alex & Erin

Posted by Mandi Brower on Sunday, February 27th, 2011

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Alex and Erin are one of the couples we’ve had to say good-bye to after December’s graduation. We got to know Alex when he started coming to our open house coffee night and we’ve enjoyed spending the last year getting to know them both. The following is a short interview with Alex about his time here at NTBI. We hope it will give you a glimps of his past two years here.


What made me come to NTBI?

I heard Brad Buser speak at a youth conference about 6 months after I had graduated high school. I was planning on going into youth ministry (just because that seemed like what everyone did who was going into full time ministry as a pastor or what not). I was attending the local community college for Gen. Ed. stuff just to get it out of the way cheap. Well I heard Brad speak and was shocked that there were even people out there who had yet to hear the gospel, especially 2,500 languages! I decided that I could go to NTBI to see what it was all about and if I didn’t want to be a missionary I would have two years of Bible debt free. Quite a few people thought it was a bad idea because it wasn’t an accredited college but like I said, two years of Bible and I’m debt free when I’m done. If I wanted to do something else, it wouldn’t be a problem.


Have your plans changed since you first attended NTBI? How?

Yes! My wife and I are planning on continuing the training with NTM to become missionaries! I also got married! That changes plans of course… (for the good to say the least).


What is the most memorable thing you learned in class?

This is a tough one… I think the overarching ideas taught in every class are the basic hermeneutical principles may be the most memorable. This wasn’t the most life changing thing I learned but may be one of the most important. Hermeneutical skills taught at NTBI are helping me to continue to study the Bible in an effective way.

To put my finger on one most memorable thing I learned in the life changing arena is difficult. I’ll have to say Rom. 6:11 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” It wasn’t just the fact that we read this verse but how we were able to discuss it with so many people to finally grasp the concept. This was true of any topic. One of my favorite things about NTBI is how small it was. I could talk one on one with teachers, deans, and any staff.


How did you two meet?

Well we met and New Tribes Bible Institute! Apart We started to hang out with some other people and I became interested in her because of her character (she’s really cute too). Nothing super romantic… Just thought she was a great girl so I spent more time with her and eventually asked her out.


What are you’re future plans?

Right now we are in Keizer, OR taking a year off between NTBI and the NTM Missionary Training Center. Our plan is just to take some time out of training to grow as a couple because we were just married in August! In January 2012 we plan to attend the MTC. We’re not really sure where God would have us in all the different roles in NTM. We hope by going through MTC that we will gain a greater understanding of what we are naturally inclined to and where in the world we may end up. Both of those things are in the air. We know that we want to be involved in reaching the unreached with the gospel. We’re just not sure what or where that will be.


How would you sum up you’re 2 years?

The most profitable two years I have had in my life. I don’t have that many years to compare but it set the bar pretty high. It was a great environment to be able to study God’s word. I had a great time with my roommates and classmates. The work load was very manageable which left time for work or building relationships. Outside of class there were so many great opportunities to spend time with staff and students. NTBI far exceeded my expectations.


We are so glad that God brought them into our lives and look forward to seeing where He takes them in the future.

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And So It Begins…

Posted by Mandi Brower on Saturday, August 29th, 2009

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Here we go, the beginning of a new semester at NTBI…and our very first on staff! I have to admit that its a lot different from when we were as students. We can tell that is going to take some real effort on our part to connect with the students. It was one thing when we were single and living in the dorms,  and another thing living outside of the building down the street.  It doesn’t seem like it would make that big of a difference, but it does. But we’re already scheming. We have great plans in the works. It will just take some time.

To kick off the semester, the students sat through two days of orientation (which sent me back a few years) and participated in different “get to know you” events.  There are about 80 new students and around the same number of returning students, so it has been nice to see the halls alive with student life.

Please pray for us as continue to get to know students and staff here at the school.

-Mandi

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