Connect

Newsletter

May 7, 2025

📰 In this month's issue:

‣ Tutoring program for at-risk students expands impact in Zambia.

‣ Convicted by Christ partners with BIC Foundation for new property.

‣ Three congregations + three languages = one mission.

‣ Help us celebrate recent baptisms across the U.S.!

Quick Links

💼 We're hiring! The BIC Foundation is searching for an Assistant Controller.

📝 Registration is open for 2025 Impact Seminars, kicking off in October.

🙏 Pray for Leadership Council and the BIC Foundation board; both are holding their Spring meetings this week.

Scripture Meditation

If I do not love...

📖 READ

1 Corinthians 13:1, 3 – If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

🙏 REFLECT

1 Corinthians 13 is most commonly read at weddings, but it is a continuation of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on the gifts of the Spirit. He identifies love as the most important and even compares the use of spiritual gifts without love to an overwhelming, annoying percussion instrument.

Is this greatest gift your priority in your day-to-day interactions? In what ways do you demonstrate love? Do you need to ask God to shift your priorities in any way?

Tutoring Program for At-Risk Students Expands

In Choma, Zambia, the Piccolo School of Excellence helps at-risk children catch up in school and pass their middle and high school entrance exams.

The program has been highly successful, and several students have taken big steps forward in their education journeys!

However, as more students continued to high school, a new need has been uncovered:

The fees and expenses associated with secondary education proved prohibitive for some. Without help, students may need to drop out again, even after all the hard work it took to re-enter school.

To meet this need, the program is expanding to help cover basic high school costs, including tuition and uniforms.

By completing high school, more opportunities open, and Piccolo’s students can envision a brighter, more expansive future!

“You’ve got what it takes. You’re doing a good job. I’m proud of you."

Time and time again, Brian Myers has witnessed the transformative impact of these simple affirmations.

Brian leads Convicted by Christ, a BIC congregation that ministers to men and women re-entering society after incarceration or recovering from addiction. In March 2025, they purchased a permanent property with a loan from the BIC Foundation.

We recently connected with Brian to hear more about their experience with the Foundation, how owning the property has impacted ministry opportunities, and their dream for the future.

BICF: Tell us about Convicted by Christ.

Brian: In 2011, I founded Convicted by Christ (CBC) with my friend Byron Boyd. Byron had been incarcerated for 16 years, and we saw the need for re-entry support. Today, Convicted by Christ primarily serves people recently released from New Mexico’s jails and prisons and people in various stages of addiction recovery.

BICF: How did you connect with the Foundation to purchase this property?

Brian: As a BIC congregation we wanted to take advantage of the BIC Foundation loan options to purchase the property. CBC wasn’t sure if we could obtain a loan from the bank, and the remodeling and insurance costs created a bigger financial strain than we expected.

BICF: What was working with the Foundation like?

Brian: The Foundation staff were very helpful in answering any questions we had. They were very professional, flexible, and timely in helping us complete the loan application process.

On the Blog: Collaborative Congregations

They might not share a language, but they share the Holy Spirit.

On a warm Sunday in July 2023, while Grace Nepali Church met for the very first time at the Mt. Rock Worship Center, people from Ríos de Agua Viva – the Spanish-speaking congregation that also meets at Mt. Rock – slowly filed into the back of the room.

With heads bowed and hands raised, they quietly prayed, interceding for this young congregation.

At the Mt. Rock Worship Center in Shippensburg, Pa., three churches - who each speak a different language - have found life is better together.

While they worship individually, they are united by the common goal of reaching their community with the Good News of Christ.

This unique structure, shepherded by Pastor Brad Stutzman, formed organically as their rural community shifted to welcome new cultural groups. “God has brought the nations of the world to our community,” Brad says.

Figuring out all the details hasn’t been simple. Questions and challenges arise from unexpected places. But wrestling through them is worth the effort for the Mt. Rock Congregations.

Across North America, cultures are colliding for the first time in communities like Shippensburg, and local congregations have a unique opportunity to become a place where these cultures can find unity in Christ.

One last thing...

Recently, we have seen many photos of baptisms at BIC congregations across the U.S., and we want to celebrate as a larger church family!

If you want to be part of the celebration, reply to this email and attach a photo of your 2025 baptism – we may share it on our Facebook page.

Blessings,

-The BIC U.S. Communications Team

Baptism at New Trail Fellowship Cowboy Church's tent revival service!

Abilene, Kansas, April 27, 2025

Want more from BIC U.S.?

Follow us for weekly stories, videos, resources, and more!

Employment Opportunities | Blog | News | Contact Us