The year 2022 began with high hopes and anticipation as we continue the Lord’s service. Our theme for this year is: Pressing Forward for a Higher Calling, with text from Philippians 3:1-14. Calvary will be turning 60 this year, and as such, we are taking a retrospective look at how far the Lord has brought us as a church and recommitting ourselves to the church’s mission: To be a New Testament Bible- believing church, committed to the Great Commission, love for God and others, and service to man.

Our Business Meeting ended early February. Some of the major resolutions were, commitment to reach our church community with the Gospel through home visitation, the preaching of the Word, continued support to all our national missionaries and evangelists (10) around the country; resume works on the downstairs of the church edifice, complete the plastering of the Todee school, do a survey for a new church plant in Todee near the military camp, etc. This update reviews some of our activities for the past three months.

My Family Ours is a typical African-Liberia family, with 10 persons living in our home. The ages: 1 1/2 (grandson), 7, 14, 16, 19, 20, 28. Yes, in Africa, our nest is never empty. Besides, Rose (my wife) and I care for more than 25 children (mostly orphans and abandoned) that we help to support in school and provide other basic necessities. Since the civil war ended more than 18 years ago, there are many orphans and abandoned children roaming the streets. We started the Orphans Children’s Care Ministry to help care for some of these children. One of the boys we help, Eddie, is at the University of Liberia. Most of them live with single moms while we support them. We praise the Lord, all the kids are in school. Thanks to all our supporters who continue to help us with the orphans. Our elder son, Mac, 34, is studying in Kigali, Rwanda, East Africa, doing his master’s degree in development study. Rose has not been well this year. Her back pain has started again since she fell at the church in February. In 2013, she underwent back surgery in Accra, Ghana for a severe back disorder. We are praying and planning to send her back to Accra for a check-up this year. Praise the Lord my health is relatively good. I had my last check-up in February, and things look kind of good. With my age of 64, the blood pressure (hypertension) is under control, no malaria or typhoid, no diabetes. In December of last year, our car’s engine was damaged and has been down for many months. This has put extra financial strains on our budget especially so when the children have to go to school.

Church: As the result of the weekly outreach and preaching, many trusted Christ, with 10 persons in baptismal class. The average attendance for our two services is 365. We still hold two services, and the attendances are good. The AWANA program has resumed with many kids converging at the high school in Fiamah every Saturday. We just launched the AWANA Book project to print 100 AWANA Books for the kids (USD$1,000). We have close to 70 AWANA kids Worship service at the upstairs edifice In February, we moved to the main upstairs edifice for worship services in order to make way for the tilling of the ground floor. The doors of our fellowships and new churches are opened and functioning. Calvary supports 10 local missionaries and evangelists (church planters) around Liberia. We give these men monthly stipends. One workshop was held in February for our worship teams. In March, we dedicated a new church plant in the Boys Town area in Marshall, Margibi County. The new church was established by Pastor Abraham Chea, a graduate of the Jake Memorial Baptist College.

Church Building Project: In 2017, Calvary embarked on the reconstruction of its edifice. The old church was demolished in order to build a bigger building that will hold the growing membership. Ideally located on the main street of Monrovia, when finished, the two-story structure will hold up to 1,000 worshippers. Presently, we are tiling the ground floor. The project was stalled in 2021 due to the third wave of the Covid outbreak, coupled with a bad economy of our country. The congregation is 70 percent young people, many of whom are students (high school and universities).

Christian Day Schools: The Calvary Baptist Church School System has been one of our major ministries since the early 60s. The system has four schools in various parts of the country. The enrollment this year is about 800 students. The school is supported through tuition and fees collected from parents, which is a serious challenge for many parents who are unable to pay fees. This has adversely affected our operating budget for this academic year. Our newest school in the system is the Todee School, a project undertaken by the men’s department of the church. Since the roofing of the school, we have not been able to plaster the walls and the floor. The kids (about 100) are sitting on rough benches on dirt floors, with no chairs or desks. The school is part of our outreach ministry for the people of this community (two towns and many villages), where we first built a Baptist church in one of the towns to reach the people with the Gospel.

Jake Memorial Baptist College: The second draft of the document for the elevation of the Jake Memorial Baptist College to offer full bachelor’s degrees has been completed for submission to the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE). This might take some time before the College is elevated from only offering AA degrees to bachelor’s degrees. Meanwhile, the tilling of the floor has been done, with windows being installed. Classes resumed in January. Many of our students are not in school due to lack of funds. The effect of the coronavirus is still being felt here with many out of jobs. Jake is the higher degree granting and accredited independent (“fundamental”) Baptist College in Liberia.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for the following requests:

1. Good health and the Lord’s protection

2. Funds to take my wife, Rose, back to Accra, Ghana for a medical checkup. We are trusting the Lord to provide USD $2,000 for the tickets, medication, and hotel.

3. The completion of the Todee School. We need USD $3,000 to complete the plastering of the floor and walls, and the making of additional desks and chairs.

4. The elevation of the Bible College

5. AWANA Book project ($1000)

6. Our vehicle repair ($850)

 

Submitted by: Rev. Dr. G. Larque and Roseline W. Vaye

Calvary Baptist Church

Monrovia, Liberia