ENW just returned from our Ivory Coast tour. This was the first “out of country” tour since spring 2020. It was great to be back face-to-face with these dear pastors and theological students.

Dr. Rein Allweil was my traveling/teaching partner for this training. He also was very helpful in getting us all set up for filling out travel forms/documents, lining up Covid-19 testing required to travel both ways, and more. It was a blessing to have him along for many reasons. We flew out of Greenville the day after Thanksgiving and returned home on December 15th. It was wonderful to be back in time for Christmas.

It is always a joy to serve alongside Bob and Becky Mach. They have been church planting in the Ivory Coast for 25+ years. God has used them to not only plant several churches, train the national men for these churches, establish a literacy center (made up of a huge majority of Muslims), spearhead a very effective medical ministry (used to penetrate villages for potential church planting, organized along with their very competent co-laborer, Kristine McLaughlin who is a Physician’s Assistant), and also begin an institute and seminary. It is ENW’s privilege to serve as adjunct professors in the seminary as well as to conduct annual pastoral training conferences.

This tour was especially encouraging in several ways. First, the pastor’s conference was much better attended than expected. We were thrilled to have 24 pastors attend. The topic for the conference this year was “Foundations for Biblical Leadership” which was very well received by the pastors. A couple of the highlights from the training were sessions on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Leadership Principles from the Life and Work of Nehemiah. Equipping men to lead the churches of Christ is crucial for our day and is always an honor to contribute to this end.

Second, the Institute/Seminary course was “Foundations for Church Administration” and was received with enthusiasm and many great questions. These students are sharp, alert, and encouragingly inquisitive. What a blessing it is to interact with young men so eager to learn – to God be the glory! A couple of the highlights from the training were sessions on “Who I am Determines What I Do” and “Maintaining Priorities Without Neglecting Responsibilities”.

ENW is already making plans to return to the Ivory Coast for another training opportunity in May. That week will feature teaching on Foundations for Participation in Local Church Life.

ENW will also be in Uruguay and Bolivia in June. If you would like to help with travel expenses or join ENW’s team of regular supporters, please see our website for a PayPal option. If sending a check is easier, please send it to Grace Bible Fellowship at P.O. Box 1015, Somerset, PA 15501. Notate it to be for ENW support or applied to ENW’s travel expenses. Please know we do our very best to make sure the finances are invested in the way and for the purpose for which it was given. Thank you to each of you who give and regularly contribute.

One of the new opportunities for ENW is to fill the pulpit for a church in Maine. Cornerstone Baptist Church, near Portland, is searching for a pastor. Their search team has asked if ENW could help provide some consistent pulpit help as they pursue a man to fill this needed role. ENW will be helping them until the beginning of April. I’m sure they would appreciate your prayers for their search.

On a very seasonal note, Chris and I pray that each of you had a very Merry and Hope-filled Christmas. Christ is The Hope for our hurting world. May He be at the center of all your holiday activities. We are humbled and grateful for His kindness, sovereign care, and answered prayers. He is truly a Faithful, Loving Heavenly Father. May He be exalted during this season as well as throughout the year.

2018 ended with a wonderful tour in the Ivory Coast. Our ENW team consisted of Mike Faidley (team leader) along with Nevin and Christina Hersch from ENW’s sending church in PA. This was a special trip for Nevin and Christina in that they took it, in part, to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. That is amazing. They wanted to celebrate their 20 years together by serving this way.

This is the first ENW tour I have not personally led or been on. I certainly missed being with the Mach family and ministering to so many pastors and Seminary students but having men to lead and teach for ENW is part of the II Timothy 2:2 model. To God be the glory!

This report letter will be dedicated to the reporting and reflections of all three who made up the ENW team. Each will encourage you, to be sure. Thank you each one for your continued prayers and financial gifts to the on-going ministry of training next generation shepherds.

Mike Faidley:
What a great privilege it was to lead the team to the Ivory Coast, West Africa this year. My teaching partner was Nevin Hersch and this was his first-time teaching with an ENW team. I am so thankful that he went and shared these opportunities for teaching with me.

This year the Pastor’s Conference had thirty pastors in attendance. We took them through ENW’s Unit 9: Ministering to Youth. Our purpose was not only to encourage and equip these men with God’s truth, but also that they could use these truths in equipping the parents and young people of their respective churches. We dealt with every major relationship struggle and common struggles for teens. It was also our goal to help these pastors with motivation to equip their churches as a place where young people can talk about their struggles and get real Bible answers.

In the Bible Institute, we had twenty students attend the classes we taught on the topic of Homiletics and Hermeneutics. These men ranged from those who were still preparing for ministry to those who are already in ministry yet striving to become better equipped as pastors. It was our intention and desire that these men understand the principles of Bible Interpretation not only for preaching accuracy in sermons, but also for their own personal growth and understanding of the Scriptures.

Both weeks of ministry were filled with lively discussions born out of the question and answer sessions after each section. The time with these men in both the Pastor’s Conference and the Bible Institute was well invested. The men spoke often of the truth of Scripture having a profound affect on their thinking. On certain occasions, these men would tell us of their eagerness to preach these truths in their own congregations.

The Lord is certainly pleased to use the continuing ministry of Bob and Becky Mach in the Ivory Coast. The influence of their ministry has affected not only the people in their own country, but also many people in neighboring countries. Please pray for the Mach family and the ministry there in the Ivory Coast.

Nevin Hersch:
Many realities collide as I reflect on our time with ENW in the Ivory Coast.  It was a great blessing to have my wife, Christina, join me on this trip. We, along with our pastor, Mike Faidley anticipated this journey for many months.  In preparing for the teaching, it was a great blessing, personally, to work through the ENW material. The depth and breadth of the ENW teaching units became increasingly evident and my passion increased to grow together with these men as we explored biblical truth pertaining to both youth ministry, taught in the Pastor’s Training Conference, as well as biblical Homiletics and Hermeneutics which was taught in the Seminary.  Once we were on the ground, connecting with these men through biblical instruction was nothing short of AWESOME. I was very humbled to be with pastors and seminary students so hungry for and committed to biblical truth. My heart was drawn to these men and burdened to pray for them with my family as we returned home.

There were, of course, many new sights and sounds and a few new tastes that caught our attention in the Ivory Coast. The people we met and grew to love, however, were by far the most rewarding part of our trip.  Getting to know the Mach family was a great blessing as well as other missionaries that were there ministering with them. We were delighted that our arrival was in time to attend a wedding of a young Christian couple.  We enjoyed seeing the cultural differences while recognizing the picture of unity and testimony of the Gospel clearly pictured in the ceremony though we were nearly half way around the world.

We are so grateful for the many people who prayed for us on our journey and provided financially to facilitate our transit to and from the Ivory Coast.  

Christina Hersch:
It was a delight to be able to join Nevin on this excursion!  I really didn’t know what exactly to expect since I wouldn’t have an official ENW role.  While being on another continent, amidst a very different culture was exciting, as Nevin has already said, getting to know the Mach’s, and for me specifically Becky Mach, was a great blessing and encouragement.  I thoroughly enjoyed jumping into helping with the day to day tasks while learning of the ongoing blessings and difficulties of this particular mission field. Another highlight of my time there was being able to take a trip to one of the local villages with Kristine, one of the single missionary gals who ministers through medicine.  What a wonderful ministry and opportunity to provide needed service while sharing the Hope of Christ. Nevin and I both agree that while we did leave the Ivory Coast, the Ivory Coast may never leave us.

ENW has just returned from her 10th tour in the Ivory Coast. It was a huge blessing. Someone told me Sunday, “You always have a great time.” My response was, “God is always good.” That is so true and it is truly a privilege to serve God and these wonderful pastors by providing training for them.

The format of this trip was a seminary class designed specifically for pastors and/or men who have completed a bachelor’s degree. The class consisted of 25-30 men (the far majority were pastors).

The topic was “Advanced Biblical Counseling”. Brother Bob Mach, our missionary contact there, was sure this would be well attended and he was right. There was lots of interest and good discussion throughout the week.

“Advanced Biblical Counseling” is Unit Ten of ENW’s fifteen units. The unit includes the following subjects:

• Developing Good Communication
• Giving Reproof Wisely
• Receiving Reproof Well
• Pursuing a Biblical Conscience
• The Biblical Basis for Looking at Heart Idols
• Helping Angry People
• Turning Worry into Peace

ENW will return to the Ivory Coast in December to teach Unit 4, “Foundations for Pastoral Preaching” and Unit 9, “Foundations for Ministering to Youth”. Please pray as preparation is well underway for this wonderful opportunity ahead.

We are raising needed travel expenses for the Philippine tour in October as well as our great opportunity in Myanmar next January/February. $2,500 is needed to offset travel expenses (per trip) and the same amount is needed to meet the need for 50 pastors in Myanmar to be trained for a week. The average monthly salary of these dear pastors is $20. If you can help sponsor one week of training, it would be greatly appreciated.

Chris and I hope each of you have a wonderful summer enjoying the blessings of God and the God of all blessings