December, 2025

Dear Friends,

I’ve just returned from two weeks in Kitwe, Zambia. What an awesome time! Although we have many Congolese pastors and evangelists who are grateful for the theological training we provide, sometimes I feel some of the advanced training that we offer could use better local long-term structure and support. But providing this kind of structure is a challenge, and any attempt to do so has been complicated by the recent surge of civil strife in the eastern Congo. Quite out of the blue, God answered our prayers in September by introducing us to Central African Baptist University (CABU), in Kitwe, Zambia. They have an amazing passion for reaching the deaf with the Gospel! Not only do they have several deaf students enrolled (and full-time interpreters on staff), they also offer a 2-year Deaf Ministries program for their hearing students. I’ve never heard of such a thing in Africa! We don’t run into anything remotely like CABU in the countries where we minister to the deaf; it seemed almost too good to be true. What an exciting reminder that God’s plans are better than my own!

Not only is CABU an excellent accredited institution, but their doctrinal standards are impeccable, and their vision for evangelism and church planting humbled me. I attended their EQUIP conference in the first week of December (featuring speakers like Conrad Mwebe, Tim Challies, HB Charles, and more), and in the 2nd week, I taught a block class to the students in the Deaf Ministries program. I had about 35 students in the “Foundations of Deaf Ministries” class, and it was a fun mix of lecture and hands-on practical application. We explored methods of communicating complex doctrinal material to deaf audiences with limited vocabulary- which is typical for many deaf believers and pastors alike.

CABU also has a Theological Seminary by Extension (TSE) program, bringing theology classes to remote churches across Central and South Africa. The material they’ve developed for this program looks like it will be a good fit with several programs that we’ve been developing for our deaf ministers.

I’m excited at the prospects that lay ahead of us as we continue to forge a deeper relationship with CABU, and start preparing some of our deaf leaders to enroll!

Truly, your prayers are coveted.

Tim Foster
Director