Tim Beavis: Training Leaders, Correcting Falsehood, and Encouraging the Saints
Training Leaders, Correcting Falsehood & Encouraging the Saints
We hope that you are well and are having the opportunity to enjoy the summer so far. We are thankful for each of you and count it an honor to partner with you in the amazing work of the gospel, for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Despite the ongoing lockdown and its impact all around the globe, we are grateful to still be engaged in serving and equipping the global church. Would you invest a 5 minutes to read about our recent work below. We promise you'll be both encouraged and informed as to how you be praying for believers around the world.
We'd also love to hear from you! Please let us know how we can be praying for you and if we can serve you in anyway.
Tim & Lisa Beavis
Training Leaders via Zoom
Tim recently had the opportunity to train a group of leaders via zoom. He taught a systematic theology course to a group of 17 pastors and church leaders in the Middle East. Most of these joined the call from Lebanon but several others from Egypt also took advantage of the live translation into Arabic.
This was Carey’s first fully online course, and while nothing beats the kind of interaction that live in-person teaching affords, we are thankful for the technology that allows us to serve even when we can’t physically be there. During each day of the 6-day course, the pastors logged on from their own homes (lockdowns continue to be in effect in this region like many others) and engaged in the study of God’s Word together. Just as many of us have become accustomed to there were a few occasions where the screen froze, somebody’s child came walking in to view, or where the translators power went out due to common rolling blackouts in their region. Nevertheless, we are grateful to the Lord that there were no major technological challenges and or delays in communication.
While teaching for multiple hours a day over zoom is tiring for both the teacher and the students, it was encouraging to see all 17 leaders fully engage in discussions every day. Eli Berro a Lebanese church leader wrote after the course saying,
"Thanks doctor, may the Lord bless you. I just want to tell you that I really enjoyed studying with such a Godly talented teacher like you. I did not feel bored at all. May God bless you and your family and your ministry abundantly, looking forward to meeting you another time. Many blessings"
We particularly thankful to have been able to hold this zoom training for these pastors in Lebanon as last November and again in January, we had to cancel our training there due to security issues caused by political and economic unrest.
Although this zoom course in the Middle East went well, and we are looking at the possibility of holding another one later in the year, most of the other regions in which Carey works do not have stable enough internet access for us to use this teaching method more broadly.
Correcting Falsehood
As we equip leaders we frequently find that it isn't simply a matter of teaching them Biblical truth, but it is also about correcting false doctrine.
In each different field that we work in we encounter different challenges and deceptions, from the spreading prosperity gospel, to the influence of various cults and many forms of religious syncretism where mystical beliefs from false religions are married with Scriptural truth.
As an example of this, Tim dealt with several false teachings during the recent training in the Middle East.
1. Concerning the Holy Spirit.
It is common in Islam for a Muslim to accuse a Christian of worshipping 3 gods because of our belief in the doctrine of the Trinity. What's more, many Muslims have a misunderstanding over who Christians are referring to in the Trinity (many wrongly think that it is God, Jesus and Mary). Especially for those who come to faith in Christ for a Muslim background, it is not unusual for this misunderstanding to continue and to creep into the teaching of the church. Even those who don't fall into this error still frequently wrestle with the relationship of the Trinity (after all it is challenging even for those of us who have studied in depth!!). One of the questions that Tim addressed was, "Since Jesus was conceived in Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, we should actually refer to the Holy Spirit as Jesus' Father, right?"
2. Concerning those who die apart from faith in Christ.
Another question that arose came out of a mystical teaching that has become more common in parts of Egypt... "It is taught in our churches that when an unbeliever dies they are claimed by Satan and immediately become demons who stay on the earth doing Satan's bidding. So everyday there are more and more demons being added. Is that true?"
What a sad deception that the enemy is using to mislead people and to discourage believers by having them think that he is more powerful than he is.
Sometimes the issues that we face are subtle, other times they are blatant and aimed at the very heart of the gospel. What a joy it is to be able to take people back to the Scriptures, to show them truth, to loosen them from bondage, and to help them be equipped to go back into their churches rightly dividing the word of truth!
Praying for Christians around the globe
Even though we can't physically travel to our many training centers right now, Tim is frequently in contact with our key leaders in each of our ministry fields. Would you join us in praying for some of the needs that have been shared with us recently.
Holguin Cuba: While the lockdown is beginning to loosen, many are still unable to get the basic necessities to provide for their family. Our regional coordinator, Jatniel has been busily engaged in food distribution, especially to the families of pastors who were already struggling because of government restrictions targeted specifically at pastors and churches. The latest update as of this morning: Much of the community has been evacuated because some sort of accident at a nearby military base has cause munitions to ignite and rocket to launch over the village. While local residents are being forced to evacuate (immediately and without any provisions), they are not at this time being provided with a safe location to go to.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Samuel our coordinator there wrote within the past few days saying, "The virus here is having a terrible impact. Our government is very slow to make test but still the results are very bad. Our Churches and pastors are starving by famine without foods and as I am overseeing hundred of churches, trying to help." He goes on to report that the disarray with the government response has only been intensified by ongoing border disputes in the region, and that extreme Hindu and Buddhist groups are using this time in increase the level of persecution against Christians there. Nepal already has an anti-conversion law which makes it illegal to publicly preach the gospel or share Christ with someone who is not already a Christian. Pray specifically for Pastor Keshav Acharya, who has been in jail without trial for the past 3 months for preaching Christ.
Cebu, Philippines: Pray for Pastor Ricky, a gifted young man who serves as our coordinator there. Ricky shared with me that he is having difficulty sleeping as a second and more severe lockdown has been imposed in his region. He has been tirelessly working to come alongside and help struggling pastors and churches, many of whom, because they cannot meet together are facing severe economic hardship. Ricky asks that we pray for him and his wife Joyce, along with their children. He is asking the Lord for wisdom to know how to serve the churches when he cannot meet with them.
An intensified hunger for training: Pray also for our team. Tim has been inundated with new requests from all around the world, asking us to come and train pastors. We ordinarily receive a steady flow of requests, but the number has exponentially increased. While we are excited about the new doors that the Lord seems to be opening, it at times feels frustrating to not be able to do much (yet) to respond. Pray that we will have wisdom and discernment to know where we should go as well as when we can safely go. Pray also that the Lord of the harvest will raise up more laborers for the harvest field.
