Do not build your faith on anyone. Do not build it on a pastor. Do not even build it on the people you love most.
Build it on Christ and His Word.
On our wedding day, I told my wife in front of witnesses, “I will fail you. Do not rely on me. Rely on Jesus.”
That principle reaches far beyond marriage.
Biblical ministry should never make people increasingly dependent upon the minister. The servant should become less necessary as Christ becomes more clearly known: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
The goal is not to build your name, platform, reputation, or legacy. Serve faithfully, even if that means disappearing into obscurity.
The gospel does not exist to make us known. It proclaims Christ.
If people leave your ministry impressed with you but still dependent upon you, did you actually point them to Jesus?
We are grateful to God as He continues to raise up and develop leaders among the Tiale people. Tiale men are now teaching not only in their own villages, but also assisting other missionaries, in other churches, among other language groups, and even on other islands.
Others are beginning to recognize their growth, their increasing confidence in Scripture, and their ability to teach faithfully while remaining humble..
Lastly, next year we will be in and out of the country, and would love to connect with new potential churches, if you know of any, please contact us. Thank you very much and God bless.
Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu, Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes.
The purpose of training men is not simply to fill pulpits. It is to develop a church capable of reproducing itself and carrying the gospel beyond itself.
Pray for these two men as they continue training and prepare to assume greater responsibility in the local church. This transition will allow one of our most mature believers to focus increasingly on evangelism, taking Course One throughout the Tiale villages and, Lord willing, into sister-language communities and other language groups.
The pattern we are pursuing resembles Antioch: a maturing local church develops leaders, releases mature workers, and participates in sending them outward (Acts 13:1–3).
The goal is not permanent missionary dependence. It is a healthy, autonomous, self-replicating church reaching beyond itself toward the unreached.
The missionary may help establish the pattern. But ultimately, local believers must become the ones carrying the gospel to their own people and beyond.
If everything still collapses when the pastor or missionary steps away, did we build a mature church, or merely a ministry dependent upon us?
Biblical training should produce more than students who have completed lessons. It should produce men increasingly capable of teaching others.
One pastor has now taught through Courses 1–4 and nearly the entire New Testament epistle curriculum, with only Romans, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, and Revelation remaining. Another has completed Courses 1–4 along with 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Ephesians. Two additional pastors in training have already taught Courses 1–2 and are now working through Course 3.
This is not merely information transferred from missionary to student. The goal is truth entrusted to faithful men who become able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2).
A healthy ministry should not remain dependent upon the missionary to do all the teaching. Maturity should increasingly reproduce itself.
If years of preaching produce listeners but not mature believers who can teach others also, are we actually making disciples, or just filling seats?
Over the past two months, I have had the privilege of teaching nearly 60 Bible lessons. Opportunities like this allow us to teach foundational truths consistently and build upon them without long interruptions, which could same churches years to get through the content.
Over the years, this labor has grown into nearly 600 lessons covering more than 30 topics and every New Testament epistle. Yet the goal has never simply been to produce material; it is to equip faithful men who can teach others also.
We are thankful for the opportunity that the Tiale ministry brings, and we do not take it for granted.
We are excited to share our August Newsletter ministry update! God continues to grow the Tiale ministry as students become teachers, leaders are developed, and His Word continues to be taught. We are incredibly thankful for what He is doing and for those who faithfully stand behind this work. There are many things to pray for, and many ways to get involved. Thank you for your involvement.
Contrasting ministry overseas with ministry in the States reveals many similaritiesand yet, in practical terms, they are often not comparable. The distinction is not merely geographical. Serving within established infrastructure and organizational support is fundamentally different from serving independently in an isolated setting where much of that infrastructure simply does not exist.
Serving in isolated missions has a way of turning ordinary tasks into something far more complex than they would be at home. I remember being on my roof recently, doing the kind of work that in the States might mean a quick call, a ladder, and perhaps someone stopping by to help. Instead, I was alone, looking out over an endless stretch of jungle canopy. The sun was dropping, there was no one to call, no one “on standby,” and no quick solution if something went wrong.
As I worked, inconvenience became calculation: What happens if I slip? How far is the nearest hospital? Who would even know I was hurt? How long before someone realized something was wrong? Is there even a vehicle available tonight to get me to town? These were not abstract concerns. They were the ordinary calculations that come with realizing that, in a very practical sense, you are on your own.
Even simple mistakes carry different consequences. Forget a supply? That may mean a 7-8 hour round trip; assuming the item is even available. If it is not, the question becomes whether it must be shipped into the country and whether that process will take weeks or months. There is no Amazon prime in this country. What is a minor inconvenience in the States can consume an entire day or even delay an entire project in an isolated setting overseas.
Ministry itself does not change with geography. Regardless of country, culture, or language, people need Christ, the gospel must be proclaimed, believers must be discipled, and churches must be strengthened. The mission remains the same; the mechanics can be radically different.
The inconveniences are real. The isolation is real. The risks are real.
But the cross is worth it. Christ is worth it. The cost may change with geography; the worth of Christ does not.
We have been in Vanuatu for over 10 years now, and discipleship has been the lifeline of our methodology. I have discipled one pastor throughout that time, helped develop other pastors, and am currently discipling two more men who, Lord willing, will become pastors next year. Discipleship takes work. It takes time. It does not happen in a classroom, and it certainly does not happen by accident.
So what does a disciple actually look like? I believe Scripture gives us two defining evidences:
•They are progressively conformed to the image of Christ, putting sin to death through faithful obedience.
•They make disciples who reproduce disciples.
All disciples are commanded to make disciples. If our “discipleship” successfully transfers curriculum but never produces disciples who themselves make disciples, we should be willing to ask the uncomfortable question: Have we fulfilled the Great Commission—or have we simply educated Christians about it? If the process never reproduces disciple-makers, perhaps we should stop calling the process discipleship.
Nearly 600 lessons over three years. The students are now “coming down the mountain.” They’ve reached the halfway point, and it’s exciting to see their burden for the gospel taking shape.
One student, in his early 50s, wants to spend the rest of his life sharing the good news with his family and street preaching anywhere he’ll have the opportunity. Another hopes to return to his own island—his own language group—to witness to his family and community. One day, he may be the only gospel witness among his people.
Please pray for the continued discipleship of the pastors, the growth of the students, and the ongoing development of the lessons.
