Dear
brethren and friends,
It was a gathering of the saints at Batibo
community hall, North West Region where Christians from 27 congregations of the
Lord’s Church respectively gathered to participate in a first of its kind three
days Bible seminar hosted by the Church of Christ, incollabration with the
Cameroon Institute of Biblical Studies, Batibo, from the 20th to 23rd
of July 2011. Some brethren who arrived the seminar venue as early as 5:00am on
Wednesday 20th July, 2011exchanged greetings and travelling experiences
However, there was great expectation as
many had promised to come on Thursday which marked the official start of the
seminar which commence with lectures.
The
welcome speech from the CIBS Dean of studies Brother Ji Mathias gave all participants
the opportunity to have a feel of the expectations awaiting them in the course
of this seminar.
Next
on the program was an introductory talk on the book of 1 Corinthians, presented
by the administrator of the Kumbo Christian Bible College at Nso; Brother Paul
Kee. He acknowledged the scholastic level of the seminar and that it will serve
as a proper orientation to some of the problems faced by the church today.
Focus here is to demonstrate that the book has relevance to the contemporary
Church. Its applicability should not be based on any bias intentions. This book
can only be properly understood if imagine that Paul was writing to the Church
of Christ in Cameroon.
There
after, each speaker took turn one after another to present their lessons on the
various chapters of the book of first Corinthians .It was an expository seminar
on this book with special emphasis on the problems and solutions found in the
Corinthian church’s, which is similar to the problems we are facing in the
Cameroon congregations today. It was an opportunity of addressing such problems
with possible biblical solutions to it. All the speakers did a good job by
linking their lessons with the theme of the seminar which was tagged, “God’s
solution to problems in the Church”.
The Director of the Cameroon Institute of Biblical Studies giving his speech .
In
between the seminar was the matriculation ceremony of the Cameroon Institute of
Biblical Studies first batch of students on Friday the 22nd of July
2011 from 11.00am till 1.00pm. Present at the occasion were some invited dignitaries
such as , the Paramount ruler of Batibo community, the Divisional officer of Batibo and a host of others to
mention but a few. Amidst the event which took place during the matriculation
was the presentation of the proposed student of the CIBS by the Dean of studies
to the CIBS Director for acceptance, the Director’s speech, a pledge of loyalty
by the students, a speech from secretary of the board of Trustees of the Church
of Christ in Cameroon, a word of advise to the students by the administrator of
Kumbo Christian Bible College at Nso, a word of advise to the students by the director
of Cameroon Bible Institute of Wotutu, a speech by the Paramount ruler of
Batibo community, and a brief speech by
the Divisional officer of Batibo,etc.
A
total of 12 students who successfully pass the entrance exams were matriculated,
thou one of them serves as both student and staff and teaches Computer studies.
We regret that four of our proposed students could not matriculate due to one
personal problem or the other.
The
seminar continued immediately after the matriculation ceremony and eventually
came to an end on Saturday the 23rd of July 2011 at about 1.00pm. From
the lessons presented, we were able to come to compromise on certain issues
that were almost tearing the Church in Cameroon apart due to opinions, for
instance; issue of Lord’s Supper time, head covering and women silence in the
congregation’s. To many, the seminar was an eye opener, though we regret the
poor attendance, 87 persons attended the seminar from 27 congregations. We have
high hopes that more brethren will benefit from this seminar next year by the
grace of God since the program has come to stay as a yearly event.
We
highly appreciate all those who supported for the successful hosting of this
seminar in one way or the other, you have sacrifice a lot for us despite hard
times, once again we say thank you.
I
struggled all through the program with sickness and I returned home on Saturday
the 23rd after the program in a more serious health condition. I was
immediately placed on drips since I was diagnosed of typhoid fever and malaria,
and was not able to get up from the bed for about three days. I was not able to
attend worship on Sunday the 24th and brethren were sent to visit
and pray with me after worship. I am getting better, though still on medication,
thanks be to God. My wife Margaret and kids are equally in His care. We solicit
for your continual prayers for good health and our mission in Cameroon. God
bless you and your undertaking.
Prince
O. Ituen
CIBS
Director
P.O.Box
73
Batibo,
North West Region
Cameroon.
Tel; +237-75-19-0238, +237-98-01-4010
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