Students in Christ’s Service



Promoting Avenue CoffeeVolume 12, Issue 3December 2013 | Venezuelan Outreach | 662-781-3221Venezuelan Outreach is the ministry of Brent and Yoisa Linn who served in Venezuela for 17 years as church planters. Brent is currently ministering with the Mid-South Christian College in Memphis, TN as Professor and Director of Student Services.ContentsSpecial Interest ArticlesKids in College 2Mid-South Christian College News 2Students Serve in Churches 3MSCC Academic Dean Leaves a Legacy 4Students Preparing Avenue Coffee shopStudents in Christ’s ServiceMid-South Christian College is not just about time spent in the classroom; it is about training students to serve by encouraging them to serve and coaching them through the process. Many of our students are already active in ministry and others are planning their ministry projects. Let us take a look at some of what is happening.Avenue CoffeeSome of our senior students this year are part of a ministry project called Avenue Coffee, which involves opening a coffee shop located close to the campus of the University of Memphis, and seeking to provide a place where young people in their twenties can feel comfortable discussing their questions about spiritual things and real life issues. They are close to opening the shop, only waiting to finish up health inspections. They hope this ministry will be self-sustaining once the business is up and running. See more at the “Friends of Avenue Coffee” Facebook page. (Continued on page 2)Student Ministry Projects(Continued from page 1)Real LifeSome of our juniors this year are preparing our spring youth retreat called Real Life. The project they have chosen is to help recruit students for MSCC and for Christian service in general. Church Plant – MemphisSome of our current sophomores are planning to plant a church in the greater Memphis area. They are in the stage of choosing the area and learning what needs to be done.Christian CampSome of our freshmen are dreaming about organizing a week of camp to reach out to young people in the area. I travelled with them recently to visit a possible camp they could rent, but they are just beginning the project.(Continued on p. 3)Iglesia Cristiana – East Win Christian ChurchSeveral of our students have been involved in beginning a Hispanic ministry connected with East Win Christian Church in Memphis, and three of them continue to be actively involved. Jesús Calabazo works with the youth and helps coordinate worship services. Andrés Alonso plays bass in the worship band and works with the youth. Lizi Bliffen plays drums in the band and helps with children’s church. This is the work my family is involved in leading music. See more at úl and LilianaThis young couple of Hispanic students has been helping with the youth at the local Iglesia de las Americas, and recently Paul has begun preaching for a small Hispanic church that meets at the College. See the facebook page at of our young couples are serving the Christview Christian Church in Southaven, MS. Robert and Wendy Lambert lead the children’s ministry while Sam and Austa Massey lead the worship ministry. See more at BranchTwo of our students have been helping to lead worship at Olive Branch Christian Church in Olive Branch, MS.YetThree of our students form part of a heavy metal rock band called Yet, and they are reaching out to young people through their musical style. At the present time they are recording their first CD and might have it done by the end of the year. If you know someone who might be interested, check them out at Students Prepare Ministry ProjectsWe recently returned from Kansas City, MO and the ICOM missionary convention. The President this year is a Hispanic man of Mexican descent, and there was a Hispanic flavor to this annual convention. Naturally, they emphasized the need to reach out to the estimated fifty million Hispanics in the USA right now, making the US the second most populous Hispanic nation, with only Mexico having a larger Hispanic population.(Continued on page 3)Focus on Ministry to Hispanics (from p. 1)Yoisa, Andrea and I continue to lead worship at Iglesia Cristiana – a ministry of East Win Christian Church. Christopher runs the PowerPoint and Andrea also helps with Children’s Church. We (the church) celebrated our one year anniversary in October, but the real celebration was when five people were baptized into Christ and four others transferred membership. I also continue to help out at a local Hispanic Bible Institute when time allows, so I taught a week-long course on the Pastoral Epistles in early August before classes began here at Mid-South. I also preached at a wedding at the same congregation.The Hispanic ministry also took a new twist as I was able to translate for one of the main sessions at the ICOM missions’ convention. Interestingly, most of the people I was translating for were from Venezuela. Some had come with my cousin David Linn while others were living here in the USA. I translate quite a bit for our chapel services and other events, but this was a bit different. I also helped as one of the decision counselors at the end of the main sessions.Focus on Ministry to Hispanics in the U.S. PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 2When I mentioned to someone that I had three kids in College, he asked if I was suffering from “mal-tuition” (instead of malnutrition if you didn’t see the humor in that). The truth is that God has provided for our family and each of our three oldest kids has had the opportunity to continue their education. Daniel has transferred to Northwest Mississippi Community College and is studying Computer Science. Andrea is also attending there pursuing a degree in Biology. Both of them still live at home and commute the short 10 or 15 minutes to class each day. Stephanie is a freshman at Cincinnati Christian University seeking a degree in Psychology and eventually Counseling and I cannot wait to have her home for Thanksgiving and Christmas! She is also working at the Cafeteria in the College. Daniel works at Cracker Barrel while Andrea is a lifeguard at a local YMCA.Christopher studies at home and participates in a bowling league as well as in a choir.Yoisa still works at Walgreens where they have her in the Photo Department, and she tries to manage the household as well!Kids in CollegeSome of our current sophomores are planning to plant a new church in the greater Memphis area.The fall semester at MSCC is quickly coming to a close, and the positive trends we have been seeing in recent years are becoming even more evident. The campus is being improved, enrollment is up, students are active in ministry, and finances are stabilizing.The process of accreditation has been a major factor in forcing us to improve as a College. We recently hosted a visitor from our accrediting agency, the ABHE (Association for Biblical Higher Education), and he encouraged us and challenged us as we move toward full accreditation within the next two years. We also turned in our “self-study” this fall, which forms the basis of the agency’s evaluation. The next steps in the process is that 1) our self-study will be evaluated by a committee of the ABHE, 2) we will host a visiting team from the ABHE next fall for a week, and 3) we will appear before the Commission on Accreditation of the ABHE in February, 2015, where they will decide whether or not to grant us full membership in the Association.Due to our Candidacy status with the ABHE we are now recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and our students can receive PELL grants if they qualify. As you can imagine, this is a great help to our students who are often unable to pay on their own. Other News: I had the opportunity to speak at a back-to-school youth retreat at a Mississippi camp in August. My daughters went with me and together with Lizi Bliffen led music.Labor Day provided the perfect excuse to head to Ohio and visit Stephanie at CCU. We kept on heading north and spent time with Grandpa and Grandma, and shared with the Pleasant Grove Church of Christ.Also in September I took a group of 10 students to help at a food distribution event in Southaven, MS. Over 600 households were served and over 50,000 pounds of food was distributed at the event.Mid-South Christian College News2385060277241000MSCC Students1 Baptism at Iglesia PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 3Iglesia Cristiana - East Win Christian ChurchStudents Serve in Churches (cont. from p. 2 – Student Ministry Projects) PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 3Venezuelan Outreachc/o Debi EplerP.O. Box 645Mt. Vernon, OH 43050662-781-3221[Fax number][E-mail address][Company slogan]Find us on the Web:[Company URL] Wray Graham - MSCC Academic DeanOn Thanksgiving Day, Wray Graham, who had been MSCC’s Academic Dean for at least ten years, passed away. His death came as a complete shock to everyone, and leaves a gaping hole in the Mid-South family. He leaves a legacy of solid Biblical teaching and tireless administrative work. When Wray was not teaching, he was handling our technology needs and serving as Registrar. He leaves his wife Barb, four children, and two grandchildren who are in need of our prayers. Wray had previously served in mission work behind the iron curtain and serving in Toronto, Canada, as well as preaching in several local churches in the Memphis area.Serving with JoyI was recently asked to speak at a local Hispanic congregation on the topic of “Serving with Joy.” Most of the 40 or so in attendance were leaders or potential leaders in the church, and I had taught them in classes at their Bible Institute. We approached the topic from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and talked about reasons and practical ways to serve God with joy. I was reminded that it really is a joy to serve our Lord, and specifically to serve our Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ. MSCC Academic Dean Leaves a LegacyCONTACT INFORMATIONWe would love to hear from you and as always we covet your support and prayers. Please make checks out to Venezuelan Outreach and mail them to:If you wish to contact us personally our home address is:Brent Linn7169 Willow Point Dr.Horn Lake, MS 38637Cell phone: 662-357-8933You can also contact Mid-South Christian College directly at:P.O. Box 181065Memphis, TN 38181Tel: 901-375-4400Website: Contact us if you are interested in a friendly visit, a short-term mission trip or work trip, speaking engagements, or other projects where we can help more people get involved in mission work. Most of all, keep us in your prayers that God might continue to use us in His Kingdom.Venezuelan Outreachc/o Debi EplerP.O. Box 645Mt. Vernon, OH 43050 ................
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