November 2003 Update

Dear Friends and Supporters of Nigeria-Ijaw Mission,

On Dec. 29th Daniel Bernard and I will be returning to Africa with a very full itinerary. We will spent the first few days in Lagos at the High Impact Christian Center headquarters church, with Wilson Okotie. They are near completion of construction on their 2000 seat facility and are already holding services there. After a few days Wilson and I will leave Daniel in Lagos as we travel down to Ijaw Land to begin ministry among our village churches. Daniel will remain at Lagos to conduct services, Pastor training and a special dedication service of the new headquarters facility. Then he will join us in Ijaw Land.

Completion Of Our First Church Facility

I will be preaching in our 4 Ijaw village churches. Since my last visit we have, through your generousity, built our first church complex in the village of Abere. This is the village I visited last year and had the distinction of being the 2nd white man to ever go to that place (the first being a British census taker in 1959). We established a new church in Abere just 2 days after my holding a crusade there last year. Several chiefs are members of our congregation there, now. The church facility we have built there includes a parsonage and store for conducting retail business to support the Pastor's family. I will be dedicating that new facility when I am there.

Special offering From Countryside Christian Center

On Oct 5-8 NIM participated in the 14th Annual Missions Conference at Countryside Christian Center here in Clearwater. Along with other missions groups, we were invited to set up a display and share the vision and progress of our missions outreach. During the conference Pastor John Lloyd gaciously invited Wilson and myself to share briefly with the assembly. We were unable to attend the final service on Wednesday the 8th due to our commitment to be at Faith Christian Church for our mid-week service. It wasn't till over a week later that we learned that Pastor Lloyd had taken up a special offering for our church building projects. Wilson and I were stunned and overjoyed to learn that Countryside Christian Center had raised $12,000 for NIM! Our deepest expression of gratitude goes out to Pastor Lloyd and the congregation at CCC. The funds were deposited into the NIM account and resrved for the building of 2 Ijaw churches.

Building Our Second Church facility

Last month I sent another $6,000.00 with Wilson, for the building of our 2nd church facility. This is the first church being built with the special missions offering from CCC. This one is being built in the village of Ajakurama, where our first church was established by Wilson several years ago. There is the possibility that this facility may be completed by the time I arrive in early January, and I may be conducting a dedication of that facility as well.

The impact of our church building/planting projects cannot be underestimated. The Ijaw and their communities are being overwhelmed by the ministry efforts of Wilson Okotie (HICC) and Nigeria-Ijaw Mission. The Egbema Kingdom of the Ijaw - where we are operating - comprizes a half a million souls, and the Lord has handed us the keys to this kingdom, to make it His! Through your help, our efforts are swiftly materializing into fruit for Jesus' glory.

Supporting Ijaw Pastors

There are presently 4 Ijaw Pastors overseeing the Ijaw churches we have planted in Ajakurama, Ogbudugbudu, Abere and Obunighaga. Additionally, 3 more Ijaw pastors are in training under Wilson in Lagos and being prepared for release into full-time ministry in Ijaw Land, in June of 2004. Nigeria-Ijaw Mission provides the complete salary support for the Ijaw Pastors and their families. Before you began to give to this work the Ijaw Pastors lived off the meager generosity of the villagers where they ministered, without their own homes and possessionless. Today, thanks to your support, they are salaried without having to worry about their basic necessities. Additionally, their wives and children are provided a special support of finances and clothing through the diligent efforts of the Women's Ministry of Faith Christian Church.

9 Churches By 2005

The Lord has given Wilson the ambitious goal of establishing 9 churches in the 9 primary villages of the Egbema Kingdom, by the end of 2005. With your help, Nigeria-Ijaw Mission will be involved and supporting this entire effort, and building the facilities. Please make this goal a matter of prayerful intercession, as we are praying that the Lord will preserve these 500,00 souls from infiltration by self-serving preachers who would come in after we have broken ground and established churches, and seek to sway the people for self-gain. As crazy as it may sound, this is very common in Nigeria, even in remote impoverished regions such as Ijaw Land. These "prosperity-preachers" were never able to obtain an inroad among the Ijaw before we broke ground, and obtained favor. But now that the Gospel is welcomed among the Ijaw and the church has been birthed, there is the inevitable afterbirth: the intrusion of self-seeking profiteers. We covet your prayers that the Lord will keep out those who would spoil the people; until we have successfully estabished the gospel among them, to the extent that they themselves can discern the false from the true.

Supporting the Upcoming trip

My tickets are purchased and other than travel expenses, our preparations are completed. for this upcoming trip. We have purchased a small digital videocam to record the progress of the church construction as well as the Chiefs and Ijaw villagers and their expressions of appreciation to you for your support. Specifically, our travel expences involve food and accommodation to and from Nigeria and in country. Do to the tightness of our schedule, while in country I will be flying in and out of Ijaw Land by local airservice, which I will need to book once in Nigeria. While among the Ijaw, we customarily make financial contributions to the Pastors' work there, such as purchasing bicycles or other basic necessities. So I carry a little extra cash with me for that purpose. If you would like to make any special contributions towards the expences of this trip it would be welcomed.

You have been faithful in supporting a great and unique missions effort that is directly winning unreached people with the Gospel of Christ. Thank you, and look forward to bringing back a great report in January.

In His Yoke With You,
Nick Champlin
FaithChristianChurch.net
NickChamplin.com