WOLBI News!

Why not take a minute or two and read up on the Discipleship that takes place here on campus. The Bible Institute's website has posted an article written by Jonathan Ward, the Associate Dean of Students and Professor of Bible Survey. The article discusses not only what discipleship looks like here at the BI, but also the lasting impact it has on the lives of the students. It includes some testimonies of just a few of the students whose lives have been changed by this incredible ministry.

Check out the article here!


Also remember to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Jon & Melissa Ward also have a Facebook Ministry Page for more up-to-date news.

MIA: Ministry in Action

Look for these posts to learn more about the awesome ministries that the students will be taking part in this year at the BI.

This time of the year involves the start up of all the ministries here at WOLBI.

Already in motion are plans to form the various ministry teams that the students will be a part of this year at the BI. These are the various teams and their purpose:

        Testify: This is a group of students that travel to various churches and perform special music and also lead worship services.

 Testify performs at Word of Life Missions Conference in Schroon Lake, NY.

        Edify: This is the children's ministry team. Several students take time to plan and prepare for a special kids night and then host it in various churches. This year they plan to travel to Olympian groups in Ontario.

Edify 2010-2011 (left to right) Lindsay, Evan, Kevin, Jonathan, Benjamin

       CEO: This team plans out and organizes events for the student body to participate in that would involve oppurtunities to witness.

        Declare: Drama becomes ministry for the students on this team. They prepare skits for events on campus, such as chapels and snow camps.

        Praise Team: This team leads worship in Director's Chapels and Sunday morning services and is involved with Snow Camp praise team as well.
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Praise Team 2010-2011
(left to right) Jaramie, Carmen, Magalie, Bethany, Jamie, Lynae

 

     













        Local Church Ministries: Many of the students will have a weekly ministry in one of the surrounding churches in Owen Sound and Meaford.

       Missions: The Missions team promotes missions to the students, maintaining communication with missionaries and hosts prayer meetings for missions globally as well as locally.

        Missions Trips: Members of our student body will have the opportunity to participate in two mission trips during March Break. One trip takes them to the island country of Jamaica where they minister to the people their in various ways. The other missions trip will actually take place locally. The students will take part in a Vacation Bible School at the Saugeen Native Reserve. For both of these trips the students are required to raise support in order to fund for the expense of either opportunity. Prayerfully consider becoming part of this ministry and donating towards either trip.

Contact Info:
Phone: 519.376.3516     Owen Sound Bible Institute
             800.461.3503     Toll-free number

Fax: 519.376.9893 Owen Sound Bible Institute

Please be in prayer for these teams as they have the chance to not only encourage other believers but also be a witness for Christ. If you would like to be a part of these ministries by having one of the travel teams come to your church please call 519.376.9516 ext. 214.

BW

                                                                           

SUMMER CAMP 2011 WEEKS ONE TO THREE UPDATE

FROM TEEN TO JR. HIGH SPORTS CAMP... 

...STUDENTS  WERE  MAKING  SIGNIFICANT  DECISIONS  OF  LIFE  CHANGE!

  

218 campers joined us for our first three weeks of camp, and during our teen weeks we saw a 24% increase in camper attendance (over 2010).  That's something we were very excited to see.  Scott Foreman was privileged to share with the week 2 campers during 'Bible Hour' from the book of 1 Thessalonians.  In our study together we saw that believers can live for Christ in the midst of persecution, and that we need to live godly, pure lives while we wait for the Rapture.  Gary Stairs was our week 3 speaker and shared timely messages from the timeless life of Daniel.  Gary spoke on the importance of a Word-centered life and choosing the right friends.

We also conducted a guy/girl split session during the first two weeks of camp.  In the guys' session we discussed the importance of personal purity as men.  We had testimonies from our staff on how they have been able to live out the Word of God in this area of life.  It was awesome to see guys stand at the end of the session saying they wanted to live a sexually pure life.  Rachel Foreman shared with the young ladies the importance of a life that finds total security and contentment in Christ.  Many of the young ladies were able to identify with the themes Rachel presented having to do with self-image and adopting a perception of self that aligns with the Bible.  

One young lady made this comment to Rachel after the session:  

"I attended week 1 and 2 summer youth camps and I really found your talk on searching for security very helpful. I realized that I had been trying to find security in things other than Jesus Christ. I had been going to friends, guys, and things I really shouldn't have."

As we shared the gospel on Monday nights of weeks 2 and 3, 21 teens called on Christ to save them!  Praise the Lord!  Also, 42 campers dedicated their lives to the Lord at our Campfire Dedication services.  We also saw 25 students make a decision to stay sexually pure. 

What a privilege it has been to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of Canadian young people!

SUMMER CAMP 2011 WEEK ONE UPDATE

SUMMER CAMP 2011 WEEK ONE UPDATE
TEEN CAMP #1 - CAMP SPEAKER: JON WARD

Summer Camp is off to a great start!  Students arrived back for training and are now pouring themselves into their various ministry roles.  We start out with 2 weeks of high school teens then roll into 3 weeks of junior high, and then 2 weeks of kids.  We have seen God do some pretty amazing things, from working in troubled teens' lives to watching record returning camper numbers.  It's amazing to be involved in a ministry like summer camp where ministry is unfolding before your eyes literally every day. 

On Monday nights this year we share the gospel with our campers.  This is a change from previous years where we were sharing the gospel on the first night of camp (Sunday).  Why the change?  Because our Canadian youth culture is becoming increasingly "post-Christian", meaning,  they're no longer coming with a Christian frame of reference for their life.  So, we, Scott and Tyler, take the first night of camp to talk about the fact that there ARE absolutes, there IS authority and there ARE answers for life.

As Scott shared the gospel on Monday night, 6 teens trusted in Christ to save them from eternal separation in a real place called hell.  6 may not seem like a lot, but that was 10% of our camp that week.  Either way , we rejoice that the gospel went forth and that we had the opportunity to participate in the Great Commission.
 
We also saw God work at our Tuesday night drama, Wednesday night campfire dedication service and Thursday night split (guys/girls) Purity session. 12 kids indicated on Wednesday night their desire to a live a life of dedication to Christ, and 18 decided to live a life of sexual purity.  We praise the Lord for how we saw Him work.

Thanks for taking the time to read this update.  Please take some time today to pray for the continued ministry of Word of Life Youth Camp and may you be blessed!

Also see Introducing Word of Life Youth Camp

VBS with Saugeen!!

Sunday, March 20, 9 WOLBI students arrived back on Campus a week early from their March break. No, not coming back to start a week early on our studies, but to take part in an intensive week of children's ministry.
We had been recruited to do a five day VBS Children's program at a church at the Saugeen Native Reserve.
After months of planning and practicing Bible stories, crafts, kid's praise songs, and games for these native children in need of the gospel, we re-gathered to begin a grand adventure. We had heard before hand that the kids would be rambunctious, but we really had no idea what awaited us during this week of ministry.
Clad in our custom-made tie-dye staff shirts, we started out on our journey on Monday afternoon. Our first day was held at the Saugeen Recreational Centre gym. We set out the snack and prepared as the kids were being picked up from school. Our whole program was going to be held in different corners of one big gym.
25 kids burst through the doors and our program began. Kids were running rampant, and parts of our program didn't run as smoothly as we had hoped, some things we planned didn't even happen at all because of the state of mass chaos that we were in. Some kids were quick to listen to our instructions, but unfortunately, some decided to do their own thing and didn't like being told what to do. To most of us, day one was rather a blur and one of the team members who had worked with these kids before commented "It was actually quite funny to see your expressions. Everyone was walking around with this bewildered look of shock."
Day two, we held our program at the church instead of the Rec Centre. At first we were still unsure what to expect, but we found that the program ran a lot smoother with individual rooms for each session (crafts, story, etc.). This was encouraging.

From WOLBRANOS

As the week wore on, the kids gradually started to get used to us, and some even made friendships with us, though some still kept us at arms length and would rather act up and get into trouble. Some kids needed almost constant supervision, getting into any trouble they could. They would climb things, eat things, spill things everywhere, and fight with each other.
The kids LOVED piggy backs, sitting on our shoulders, and wrestling with us. I don't think that any of us were without children on our backs at any one time. As soon as one was done their piggy back ride, another little one would run up and say "My turn!". We concluded that this meant that under their energetic exteriors, they really just wanted love.

THE activity of the week - Piggyback Rides!!

From WOLBRANOS

As we got to know some of the kids individually, we started to learn more about their home lives. Like many kids in our culture, these native kids also came from broken homes. They carried around a lot of anger and bitterness at their home situation. Knowing this helped us to understand that they really weren't bad kids but didn't know how else to react to what was happening in their lives.
As we got to share the gospel and the truth of God's word more and more, we did see some growth in some of the kids' lives. Some of them grew in their obedience skills, some developed a thirst to read the word of God on their own. We learned to love the kids with Christ's love. We would have failed at loving them if it was just by our own strength.
By week's end, 7 kids accepted Christ! Two of these from one on one conversations.
On Friday, as VBS ended and we drove the kids back to their houses, many of them were in tears and didn't want the week to end. We had mixed feelings, as we were exhausted from the week, but we had grown to love these kids and didn't want the week to end either.
We learned so much from this week. It was really great to see how God used us to impact these kids' lives and to show them Biblical love.

Please be in continued prayer for these kids. They are hungry for God's truth, and need a lot of love, more love than a week long VBS program can provide them with. It was great to see kids come to know Christ and we were privileged to be able to be good Godly examples to the kids. We are trusting that the impact we made will last a lifetime and that God will continue to do great things on this native reserve!

Some students who took part in this VBS ministry commented:

"This week really opened my eyes to the needs that are in our own country. There is a need for consistent Christ-like-love in nearby communities. I learned a lot about being unselfish and it definitely was a memorable week!" 

"I loved working with the kids and watching them grow in Christ by the end of the week."

"Showing the kids even just a small example of godly love really went a long way. I was really sore and tired at the end from all the running around and such but I wouldn't trade that week for anything!"  

"I learned that we can't give up on loving people just as Christ doesn't give up on us, even when it gets difficult." 

AP

Recharge Recap - What God has done!!

From WOLBRANOS

We have seen 22 youth groups come to Recharge this year.  That is around 530 campers and leaders. 530 + lives touched by the Word of God and the testimonies of staff and students right here on the WOLBI campus. As I have been reading the comments written by leaders and campers over and over again what stands out is how much they appreciated the sessions and the positive influence the students and staff have been on the teens.  Out of 530 people we had 31 Salvation decisions, 7 were counseled for assurance of their salvation, and over 400 teens dedicated their lives to God.

Students also had opportunities to minister off-campus at 3 Satellite Snow Camp locations.  We traveled to Huntsville, Cochrane, and Goulais River, Ontario to share God's Word through testimonies, skits, music, and messages from God's Word.  It was incredible to share God's Love with 100 teens and to see 7 young people trust Jesus as their Saviour.  God also prompted 21 teens to dedicate their lives to serving Him.  What a great ministry season it has been!  Praise God!!

"It was so awesome and incredible to be part of the snow camp ministry this year!!  Being able to watch each week what God is doing in the lives of the youth was such a blessing.  It was so sweet to be able to minister to the girls and to show Christ's love to them, and it also showed me that we all have different skills and we can work together in an organized body.  I learned that its always for God's glory and that we should never do it for the reward."

"It was a great chance to practice what we have been learning and I loved meeting the new girls and getting into their lives.  I just love camp!!"

Be sure to register early for Recharge 2012 or if you are too far away, contact us for a Satellite Snow Camp near you.

Recharge Weekend Five!

From WOLBRANOS

Wow this weekend has been just amazing! With 125 extra people on campus it was an extremely high energy, and I must admit tiring time but God is good. 

One of our students commented on Sunday during our staff meeting that he had an amazing opportunity to stay up till the crack of dawn with two campers (one was very sick during the night). He shared with us that the opportunity he had to just minister to these teens was wonderful. It was really exciting to hear how God is using the students and staff.This weekend 3 campers accepted Christ as there personal Saviour, 1 was counseled for assurance of their faith and 95 dedicated their life to the Lord!

The more that I have been around youth and childrens ministry, the more I realize how much young people struggle with assurance of their salvation. I have struggled with it too as I have grown in my faith but I am just amazed of the assurance provided by God's Word. One of the verses I love from the Scripture Memory program during my Bible Institute year was Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can separate us from God’s love. I praise God and thank Him everyday.

Here are a couple of comments made by leaders and campers from this past weekend:

“The weekend was amazing and the sessions really hit home.”

“The benefits of having a camp where student’s minister to younger teens is awesome, makes it so much more relevant for them.”

“I loved this weekend for so many different reasons. I simply get a lot out of it.”

“This weekend, I felt I really grew closer to my leaders by hearing their testimonies...”

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for our last weekend of Snow camp.

- Pray that the students and staff will be dedicated to finishing strong and to make this weekend the best one yet.

- Pray that the campers coming on property will be encouraged and challenged throughout the weekend.

KD

Recharge Weekend Four!

From WOLBRANOS

Well it has been yet another amazing weekend of snow camp!

Out of the 81 campers in attendance this past weekend, 2 teens were counseled in accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour. There was also opportunity to speak with 2 youth regarding the assurance of their salvation. On Sunday morning the challenge was given to live your everyday life for God which saw 73 campers dedicate their lives to God! Praise the Lord!

A special thanks to all of you who faithfully pray and encourage us to serve God and share His word with Canadian youth.

This week leaders and campers said:

“This was an amazing experience & the sessions were fun and taught me a lot.”

“It was amazing! Met a lot of new people and grew closer to God. Now I really want to come back here for school.”

“This weekend I realized we are all afraid to share the gospel, but I also learned that God is the one doing all the work we just tell the good news.”

 KD

Satellite Snow Camp #1

Some of our students and staff had the opportunity this past weekend to travel to beautiful Huntsville, Ontario. Riverside Baptist Church's Word of Life Student Ministry hosted a satellite snow camp. Five churches attended this event seeing 60 teens plus leaders gather for skating, tubing, snow sculptures, and piles of activities and challenges. WOLBI students helped as counselors, leaders, praise team members, and chaperons. Our Dean of Men and Professor of Bible Survey Mr. Jonathan Ward (blog here) shared God's Word and challenged teens to think about how they will win the "Game of Life" the "Battle of the Mind" and the "Battle against Temptation."
We praise the Lord for the 6 students who accepted Jesus for salvation and the 10 students that stood in front of their peers to commit their lives to Christ in the battle against sin!

This weekend was a great oppurtunity to serve the Lord. I was really excited about what God had planned. It was definitely a chance to grow as I stepped out of my comfort zone. By the end of the Snow Camp I could see some areas I needed to work on in my ministry. I'm so glad God gave me this oppurtunity and I'm excited for how He will use me next.

If your Church would be interested in hosting a WOLBI ministry team please contact Richard Heppner, our Associate Dean of Ministry.

Recharge weekend 3!

This past weekend of snow camp (Feb 4-6) was amazing. God worked in the hearts of many people, and it was such a privilege to be apart of this ministry. We had the privilege of hosting 106 teens and leaders.

On Friday night Mr. Gary Stairs shared the gospel message and 7 kids accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour. Also one of our students had the amazing opportunity to lead a camper to Christ on Saturday morning. Praise the Lord!

I have been thinking about the song “Amazing Grace” recently and these words have touched my heart “I once was blind but now I see… Was lost but now I am found.” God has been doing amazing things and we all have the privilege to be apart of it. He has been picking young campers out of the darkness and placing them into the light. Wow, eh? Praise God!!!

Along with the 8 salvation decisions, 1 teen was counseled for assurance of faith and roughly 85 teens dedicated their lives to Christ.

We also had 4 teens fill out applications to come to WOLBI.

Keep praying for us as we continue serving the Lord. Pray also for the youth groups that are coming these next few weeks.

Here are a couple of comments from campers and leaders from the past weekend:

“I always benefit going to snow camp every year. It is always good to know other Christians are going through the same things I am going through.”

“I really enjoyed this weekend. I think that it should be longer. The sessions were really good and they convinced me that I need to go home and share God’s love with my friends.”

“Great weekend!! The BI students were welcoming and friendly” 

KD

Recharge Numero Uno!

From WOLBRANOS

NUMERO UNO
Week one of snow camp is over and it was an awesome weekend!  There were 71 people here and 6 teens were counseled to trust Christ as their Saviour. A couple campers were also counseled to be reassured of their salvation and 60 made decisions to dedicate their lives to Christ.  Praise the Lord!!!
We were also very encouraged to receive 3 applications to the Bible Institute!

It started off on Friday evening as soon as people started arriving at about 6:30.  There were games in the lower lounge and a big outdoor game on the basketball court.  The meeting that night presented the Gospel through a message entitled "The Game of Life" preached by one of our own staff, Mr. Jonathan Ward.  Saturday was non stop fun starting out with the Ice Cube 'polar bear dip' to wake everyone up.  Youth groups came dressed in minimal amounts of clothing ready to jump into the freezing water (sans ice chunks this year).  Then the tube hill was opened and the tournaments began with hockey outside on the b-ball court.  There was another meeting right before lunch with praise songs and a great message.  In the afternoon the high ropes course was open and then more tournaments!  Dodge ball, soccer, and basketball.  Think we were tired by then?  Not at all!  The fun was just beginning!  There was still another meeting, the cardboard sled race and the Ice Crystal Cafe!  Whether in the gym watching the tournaments, on the tube hill all day, or even sitting at a table in the Ice Crystal Cafe waiting for their food students and youth leaders sought to encourage teens with God's truth.  God is doing an amazing work in those who were here this past weekend and who made decisions to follow Him.  How awesome it is to be a part of what God is doing!

Now we are all ready to start week 'numero uno' all over again this weekend!  Please be praying that the hearts of the people coming will be softened to hearing the Gospel and that we would be bold in talking to them as they are going to be on campus.

Getting ready for Recharge with zest and gusto!

From WOLBRANOS

This past weekend was an intense one as we prepared the campus for Recharge Snow Camp! We rehearsed a regular snow camp weekend meeting in the dining hall after supper to get ready for the campers to come. This past weekend we began our chores of putting up bunk beds, practicing music or drama, and cleaning the whole campus. All the hard work paid off as we took a break to "test" all the outdoor games that our visitors will be playing all winter. It was a great chance to see what needed to be tweaked, and have lots of fun in the meantime! The result of these tests have made us realize that this year we have some of the best outdoor games that we have ever had here in the past Snow Camps! (Much thanks to our guest missionaries from WOL Argentina - Adrian & Jessica Lovera for their ideas and hard work in preparing these games) Friday night after the games we went into the gym to have a praise and worship session with this years praise band. It was awesome to hear all the new songs and sing praises to our God as a break from all the work! Saturday morning we were all back in the dining hall bright and early to begin work all over again. Some laboured vigorously on the tube hill, which is now looking great and ready for the youth, some went to work stacking wood for the campfires, some to music practice, and others were in kitchen working out all the details on how to be as productive as possible when the loads of people arrive to devour the succulent camp food! Delish. What an awesome day! We all worked super hard and finished all our projects early so after dinner we finished the day with another praise and worship time.

It seems that the 'bugs' are worked out, program, music, and activities are ready. Now all we need are the teens and leaders to arrive. For the next 6 weekends we are going to have youth groups come and hear the Word of God from across Southern Ontario! How sweet it is to be living a 'reverse' Great Commission - the world is coming to us for fun, excitement, and to hear God's Word! We'll also be able to make new friends with the teens and encourage them and minister to them. Its going to be an intense and tiring next few weeks, but will be so rewarding and such a blessing! We all need to constantly remember that it is for God that we are doing this and if we do it by His strength then that's the only way we are going to make it through and have victory! As our Camp Director, Tim Chambers shared with us on Friday night, we must be prepared to serve the Lord "heartily" with "zest" and "gusto" as it says in Colossians 3:23.  to describe how our service for the Lord should be characterized.

Please pray for us as hundreds of teens descend onto our campus for weekends of jam-packed fun, activities and the eternal truths of the Word of God. Pray we will grow, learn, and have an impact for eternity.

Super-Bowl! (not the football kind)

From Superbowl

SUPER-BOWL
So there isn't actually bowling that is super, and it really has nothing to do with the football game you may be thinking of.  It is however, a great event that youth leaders and teens in local churches look forward to every year! An evangelistic "all-nighter" for youth coordinated by Charlie Lyons and the Word of Life Local Church Ministry Department.  Church groups get to start off the night with a hockey game at 7pm, followed by an on-ice rally where the gospel is presented. Tom D.Phillips, from our WOLBI campus in sunny Florida, preached the gospel message and many believed the message that Jesus died and rose again to pay for their sins.  There were about 700 teens and leaders in attendance.  We praise God for the 45 salvation decisions that were made.  There were also about 16 people who made the decision to commit their lives to Christ. 
The night started off watching the Mississauga St. Michael's Major's battle the Brampton Battalion at the incredible Hershey Centre.  Then the on-ice rally of games, prizes, and the gospel were followed by sports and all kinds of activities until 3am when everyone boarded the buses and headed over to Playdium, a giant arcade complete with batting cages.  Churches started loading up their sleepy teens to go home at 6am.  The whole night was a blast!  It was a tiring night but totally amazing to see the gospel shared so clearly and people receiving Christ.  The Admissions team also spoke with over 20 high school students interested in pursuing studies at WOLBI and received 7 Bible Institute applications!

Students involved in this ministry event said,  

"It was really great, I think the teens enjoyed it a lot!"

"It was fantastical! The teens dedicated their lives to Christ and it was amazing to see God work in the lives of young people."

"It was sweet to see so many Christians in the same place, and so many people hearing the Word of God."

"I survived the whole night on energy drinks :) but it was totally worth it to see what God did."