BAKKE GRADUATE UNIVERSITY OF MINISTRY
REFLECTIONS AND PRAYERS
MARCH, 2007
FROM Dr. RAY BAKKE – ACADEMIC DEAN
(Ray Bakke has been visiting cities in India since 1980 and just returned
from the India Traveling Seminar, a group of 24 mostly BGU doctoral
students engaging the cities and ministries of Chennai, formerly called
Madras, and Hyderabad.)
Imagine a country where every state has its own language and culture.
That’s India. 20% of the world lives together here, up close and
personal. I’ve never been anywhere that is so “in your face” visually,
with sights, sounds and smells - some exotic, others not - with slums of
squatters pushed into nearly every vacant spot in cities like Chennai
where we visited them during our Traveling Seminar. It is a miracle
because it works! It’s the world’s largest English speaking country, the
world’s largest democracy, and now has 350 million middle class people,
which is 50 more million than there are people in the USA. India is an ancient civilization but only
60 years old as a country. The so called “backward castes” and other poor are organizing and
demanding justice. We saw that the church is now growing rapidly in Chennai and Hyderabad,
and we heard that is happening all over the country. India has long had ministries among the
tribal people and the poor. What is new today are mega Pentecostal churches in cities, some of
those churches as large as any in the USA, having simultaneous or staggered praise and
worship in several languages, for India is moving rapidly to cities, and the young churches are
responding.
Prayer Request: May the people of India experience the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, which
brings the common graces to all and the promise of salvation for those who receive it.
Ray
FROM JOEL VAN DYKE – BGU Doctor of Ministry STUDENT
(Joel plans to graduate with his DMin in 2008. He is Vice-Presidente
para America Latina for Liderazgo Juvenil in Guatemala and Director
para America Latina for Centro Para Mision Transformadora. His
ministry focuses on youth gangs.)
From the "Land of Eternal Spring" we send greetings and pray that
the awareness of the Lord's abundant grace is enveloping you in both
simple and profound ways today!! Thank you for your interest in
God's call upon our lives here!!
PRAISES
The two former gang members (Jack & Yoly) from rival gangs who
were to be married in February were in fact married, and I had the
privilege of hosting their wedding in the facility of our ministry center.
The first official training event for the Guatemala Chaplaincy Initiative was held on Saturday, Feb.
3. We had 25 ex-gang members and youth pastors in attendance and 5 more that will be joining
the ranks this month on March 10 when we hold the next part of the course.
Copy this link in your browser if you'd like to see some pictures of the Feb. 3 initial training of the
chaplaincy initiative:
http://homepage.mac.com/vandykejoel/PhotoAlbum9.html
Prayer Requests – For the Ministry & Guatemala
1) Continued prayer is needed for the Strategy of Transformation trainings I am heading
up with ex-gang members in Nicaragua (March 5-7) and in the Dominican Republic
(March 11-17). Please pray specifically for the investigative meetings I'll be having with
key leaders in El Salvador and Honduras as we look to find the right organizational
partners. In Nicaragua I'll be teaching a course on the family called, "Family Affair:
Redeeming Our Inheritance." Please pray for the Lord's presence in a powerful way for
the leaders that will be attending for their own personal family issues, as well as the
young people they minister to. Finally, things are ramping up in the Caribbean, and key
meetings and planning sessions are planned for my visit there in March. Pray for our
Caribbean director Mario Matos as he pulls together the network for the training
preparation.
2) Guatemala as a whole is in need of prayer as violence on the streets continues to rise
dramatically. Many people we know personally have been victims of robberies and carjackings. Also, in the last 6 weeks, we have had two major banks unexpectedly close their
doors because of corruption, causing panic in many and a great shortage in the
availability of cash even today.
Joel
Bakke Graduate University of Ministry strengthens ministry leaders who steward resources with and for
vulnerable people and places, by means of contextual, Christian-based education innovatively delivered
throughout the urban world.