Praise the Lord for young men and women who answer the call to take the message of Jesus Christ around the world! A new semester is in full swing, with classes on theology, missions, and much more. Please pray for these students and faculty as important steps are taken in the direction of fulltime ministry. For those interested in missionary service, we want to suggest the Our Generation Training Center as a place of training.

Lights! Camera! Action! We are excited and so thankful to the Lord to get our new media studio up and running. As we start creating and sharing content, make sure to follow our YouTube channel and other social media posts. You will be encouraged by missionary stories, interviews, and much more.

Of course, you will only know the answer to that question once you join us for one of our many mission trips, but here are a few things you can expect on a mission trip with VBM. 1. You will create an opportunity in your life to serve the Lord and serve others. Missionaries with the VBM family work hard to ensure you will maximize your experience in the country. From eating local food to seeing

Mark your calendars! Fairview Baptist Church of Athens, TN, will host a Youth 4 the Gospel Event! We would love to see you there if you live in central Tennessee or north Georgia. There will be food, games, fellowship, and challenges from veteran missionaries and pastors to serve the Lord. Bring your whole student ministry, or come with your friends.  Various churches, in partnership with Vision Baptist Missions, host Y4G Events. For more information or to

Have you ever wanted to take a mission trip, but you have been waiting for the right time? Now is the time!  Whether you are a youth pastor looking for mission opportunities for your youth group or an individual wanting to join up with a missionary on the field for a few weeks, Vision Baptist Missions has a place for you. You have as many choices as you can imagine in South America, North America,

A new semester is upon us! In just a couple of weeks, we will be in full swing of classes and activities. Please pray for the young men and women that will be training to reach the world with the gospel. As we prepare for the fall semester at the OGTC, we know many young people are praying about their next steps. For those interested in missionary service, we want to suggest the Our Generation

It is already that time! Only two weeks left on tour and then back to Our Generation Training Center classes. While we all are looking forward to the new semester, it will be bittersweet after a great summer spent with God’s people. We have made many great friends along the way. Praise the Lord! As we prepare for the fall semester at the OGTC, we know many young people are praying about their next steps.

Friday night, eleven young people participated in the 2023 OGTC Commencement Service. Ten of them received “Certificates of Biblical Studies” for completing 90 credit hours of coursework along with 30 additional credits for a 6-month internship. One student received a “Recognition of Completion” of 45 credits of OGTC coursework. The graduates were from the last three years. We’re very proud of all these young people and grateful for their families, their home churches, and the

The following plea for laborers comes from one of Vision Baptist Mission’s missionaries serving the Lord in mainland China. It’s official. The Lord has answered years of prayer. As of Wednesday, March 15, 2023, China’s Immigration Bureau has re-opened its borders to all pre-pandemic visa types – including tourists. For the first time in three years, foreigners may once again come to China for work, business, study, and travel. The hold placed on visas issued

Rex Cobb from Baptist Bible Translators Institute wrote the following article encouraging missionaries to stay the course! Or course there are legitimate reasons missionaries must come off the mission field, but we hope, as I’m sure the author does, that this article will encourage those on the field to keep going and those who are considering missionary service to be in it for the long haul. With eight billion souls in our world, and three

Last week, VBM missionaries from all over Latin America traveled to Barranquilla, Colombia, for our bi-annual regional conference. All in all, seven countries were represented by twenty-eight missionaries and three interns. It was a time of refreshment, learning, and fellowship in the gospel. This year, we changed up the schedule and heard from various missionaries in both combined and split sessions. Multiple topics were covered, including “Practical Advice for a Life of Joy,” “Discipleship is

Weekly Highlights Latin America Regional Conference – Every two years, VBM holds a conference in each major overseas region (e.g. Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America). This past week was the Latin America Regional Conference held in Barranquilla, Colombia. The purposes of the regional conferences are encouragement and ongoing training for missionaries on the field. We had a wonderful time with 28 missionaries in attendance as well as 3 interns. It was a very encouraging

Weekly Highlights Chapel Service – Pastor Keith Hamilton from Forrest Hills at Mountain View Baptist Church preached for the weekly chapel service. His message was a great blessing on the right reason to serve God. Visitors are welcome to attend chapel services, which meet most Tuesdays at 10 am. Phone 770-456-5881 to confirm. AC Repair – One of the air conditioning units on our campus was not working properly, and a friend of our ministry

The recent tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria has left the Turkish government with a reason to detain, question, and arrest many building contractors. The devastating earthquake has claimed the lives of more than 33,000 people as of February 12. Numerous nations have volunteered recovery teams in the hopes of finding as many people alive as possible. A week after the earthquake, the living are still being freed from the rubble along with the many

In just two years, the Bulgarian people have been called on to vote five times in national elections. The most recent vote has been announced for April. President Rumen Radev dissolved the parliament in the first week of February and an interim government will be appointed until after the April elections have taken place. Overseeing the process of creating the interim government is Galab Donev, the caretaker prime minister. Bulgarians suffered greatly under Communism until

While many protests against the influx of migrants and asylum-seekers occur in Ireland near refugee centers in small neighborhoods, recently a larger protest was organized and held in Dublin. Ireland has historically prided itself on its warm welcome to strangers, however, protesters argue that the nation is running out of room to house non-Irish people. Ireland is currently facing both a housing and a homelessness crisis and many are angry that foreigners receive housing priority

On Friday, January 13, an explosion occurred in a gas pipeline that runs from Lithuania to Latvia. Fortunately, no one was reported injured. The gas supply was promptly cut off and the fire was put out, however, the damaged pipeline was unusable. The CEO of the gas company stated that another parallel line was unaffected and will be used to supply the same amount to Latvia. The recent Nord Stream Pipeline explosion has caused a

When Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party took power in 2015, it began calling for reparations to be paid by Germany for World War II. The most recent effort to begin talks on reparations was in October of 2022 and was quickly dismissed by Germany, with the foreign minister stating that the issue had already been decided. Poland’s deputy foreign minister claimed that Germany’s response showed disrespect for Poles. The estimated devastation caused to

In November of 2022, Mette Frederiksen won a second term as Danish prime minister. Just one month later in December, she faced severe backlash for proposing to cancel a national holiday. The holiday in question is Great Prayer Day, established over 300 years ago and held the fourth Friday after Easter. Frederiksen and her supporters expressed concern that the military budget needed bolstering due to the war in Ukraine. By ending Great Prayer Day and

The following list was prepared by Will Cosby, a veteran missionary of 40 years: Pray for him to understand the people he is working with, and for him to know why they do the things they do. Pray for him to have great patience in dealing with delay. Pray that God will give him wisdom in making daily decisions.  Even a small mistake will magnify in days to come. Pray that God will garrison his

On Christmas Day, an avalanche at a ski resort in Austria resulted in the injury of four people. One of the injured had been buried in the snow and required immediate medical attention. The avalanche occurred on the Trittkopf mountain around 3 p.m. on Sunday the 25th. Immediately after the incident, helicopters and search teams were deployed with approximately 200 people involved in the search. Just before 1 a.m. on the 26th, authorities announced that

As Christmas is just around the corner, people around the world are filled with the excitement of the season. In North Macedonia, however, that excitement has been replaced with fear. On December 16, the main airport, a shopping mall, schools, and hotels received personal bomb threats. Not the first, these threats were the most recent with others going back over two months. Since October, 193 institutions have been threatened and subsequently searched by anti-terrorism police.

Kevin & Beth White are currently raising funds to help buy property for a church in Pacata, Bolivia, and recently had some special offerings come in–we thank the Lord for His provision! Kevin also took a trip to northern Bolivia with a group of young men to preach, train, and encourage several northern churches who have been fairly isolated since the start of the pandemic. Continue to pray for the Whites and the ministry in

Over the past fifteen months, Vision Baptist Missions, Inc. (VBM) has gone through an intense period of growth and restructuring. After the resignation of our former president in August 2021, VBM acknowledged that other changes must also occur within our organization. As such, VBM has focused on strengthening governance, increasing accountability, improving policies, and seeking wisdom from a multitude of counselors. In October 2021, VBM established the Pastoral Advisory Committee (PAC), a group of Independent

Often called the “Father of Modern Missions”, William Carey is a well-known name in missions. He served for 41 years in India, translating the Bible, spreading the gospel, and making disciples of Christ. Carey is an excellent example of perseverance, dedication, and sacrifice in missions. Because of this, we have named one of our main training buildings at our new VBM campus the “Carey Center.” This building has several offices, classrooms, a kitchen, and a

The European Union recently voted on sending a loan worth 18 billion euros to Ukraine, but it was vetoed by Hungary. The veto was seen as a continuation of a disagreement Hungary has with the EU for supposedly “undermining democracy.” Other members of the European Union intend to still send aid to Ukraine, however, it will take longer and be a more complicated process without all the countries agreeing to the proposal. Even Hungary said

Recent excessive rainfall and flooding in Italy have led to a tragic landslide. During the first weekend of December, catastrophic mudslides claimed the lives of at least eight people on the Italian island of Ischia, to the west of Naples. At least five people are still missing. The government has allocated funds to aid displaced townspeople, and the hard work of cleaning up has begun. Many homes were completely destroyed by the landslide, as well

Stephen & Ashlee Underwood are in the midst of raising funds to purchase property for Grace Baptist Church in Ezeiza, Argentina. We thank the Lord for how He’s provided the initial down payment and are praying for the rest of the funds to come in. The Underwoods are also getting ready to hold a baptismal service for several young men who have been recently saved and discipled. God is doing a great work in Argentina!

On Monday, November 21, the US Department of Justice announced that two Estonian citizens had been indicted and arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, on 18 counts of cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering. The alleged fraud is estimated to have been $575 million. Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin were the masterminds behind this elaborate plan which involved various layers of fraud. The monies collected were the result of a cryptocurrency scheme and a fake bank, which were

Kyle & Hannah Shreve have their last missions conference and meeting at the end of November. They are currently preparing to apply for their temporary residency visas, but because Chile has recently changed and added to its visa requirements, the Shreves have to submit extra documentation. Please pray the Shreves can apply for their visas soon and head to Chile in early 2023.

The small nation of Liechtenstein, situated between Switzerland and Austria, is governed by Hans-Adam, the Sovereign Prince. While the country is technically a constitutional monarchy, the prince holds enormous power given to him by the people as recently as 2003. In 2012 a referendum was called to question the removal of some of his power, however, it was denied. Prince Hans-Adam has veto power and the right to weigh in on any political decisions. During

Miguel and Mariangela Sanabria recently held their first service at their second church plant, Refuge Baptist in Bello, Colombia. They had a total of 7 visitors come during their first week! Continue praying for the Sanabria family and this young church plant as they work on outreach activities to invite people, share the gospel with them, and disciple them.

Across the world, the winter of 2022 has been feared because of the massive increase in energy prices. Many people are experiencing a negative gap between their income and cost of living, and it has many worried about the future. In Bulgaria, thousands of people have taken part in demonstrations demanding an increase in salary to compensate for the inflation. The country’s two largest unions organized a protest outside of Parliament, during which time they

In recent weeks, climate activists have organized numerous protests throughout European cities to draw attention to their cause. Although based in different countries, the groups are affiliated with one another and have coordinated similar demonstrations. In the UK, protestors dumped soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers; at the Louvre, cake was smeared on the Mona Lisa; in The Hague, an attack was also made on Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. In Potsdam, Germany, the activists

Robbie & Lauren Prater recently got married in September and have been on deputation full time since then, presenting the ministry at missions conferences and meetings, while also preaching at youth conferences and challenging young people to serve the Lord. Pray for the Praters as they book meetings, travel, and raise support for Paraguay. Consider having them share their ministry with your church–they will be a blessing to you!

As some people near retirement age, they begin considering if they would like to move abroad during those years. In the United Kingdom, the popular internet search “best country to retire to” has increased 94% in the past year. Many retirees are searching for locations with good weather, healthcare, and exchange rate for the British pound. An estimated 12% of UK residents over the age of 50 are planning to retire outside of the country.

Miguel Murillo pastors Life Baptist Church and has recently started a second church plant. October is their missions month, and they’re planning to take on 5 more new missionaries, bringing the total to 55 supported works. Miguel also teaches at the Peru Bible College and recently taught at the October pastor’s school in Peru. Pray for him and Liz and all the outreach efforts to train church planters and start more churches in Peru!

A border dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has been an issue for decades, has recently escalated. The area in question geographically belongs to Azerbaijan, however, it is populated primarily by ethnic Armenians. In September, Azerbaijan attacked several Armenian positions along the border. These attacks led another nation into the dispute. In order to present a show of power to Azerbaijan, Iran held military drills at the Azerbaijan border. Supply chain disruptions have been a

The largest Greek island of Crete experienced torrential rainfall in October causing catastrophic damages and loss of life. On the streets of many seaside villages, everything was moved by the gushing water. Within the span of one hour, emergency services reported receiving 450 calls for assistance. Unfortunately, one man was trapped inside his car as the flooding began and did not make it out alive. In addition to this fatality, another death has been reported

Tracy Paver has been in Chile for several months now and is moving forward in language school. At the end of October, she will have the opportuniy to help another church with their community outreach by teaching an English class. Pray for people to come to this class and hear about Jesus and pray for Tracy as she continues to learn Spanish!

The World Evangelism Fellowship is an annual meeting of pastors, missionaries, and church members for purpose of collaborating about world evangelism. The event will be take place on Tuesday, November 8, at Vision Baptist Missions. This year, we are very excited to have Dr. Charles Keen, Bro. Walter Stevens, and Dr. Jim Roberts III speaking for us. Below is a bit more about each of them. DR. CHARLES KEEN Dr. Charles Keen pastored First Baptist Church in

Josh & Allie Miller recently completed Book 3 of Spanish language school and have been able to help Love Baptist Church with a children’s outreach. Josh will also have opportunities to travel and preach in several churches around Peru this month. Continue to pray for the Millers as they learn Spanish and process their residency paperwork in Peru.

Supply chain disruptions and increased energy prices have become a source of steep global inflation in 2022 and many people are struggling with the long-reaching effects. In the Netherlands during the month of September, inflation increased by 17% making it the highest it has been in decades. This comes after a leap of 13% one month earlier in August. The surging energy costs are astounding, with an increase of 114% since September 2021. In an

General elections took place in Italy during the last weekend of September. The turnout for voting was 64% — the lowest in nearly fifty years. In a speech on Sunday night, Giorgia Meloni, head of the elected leadership party, thanked voters who showed confidence in her party and emphasised her goal of uniting citizens. Meloni is set to become Italy’s first female prime minister but is facing criticism for her “far-right” conservatism. The elected party,

Earlier this year, Mitch & Jacqulyn McCormack began to help at El Salvador Baptist Church, a struggling church plant in Socobaya, Peru. They started English classes, outreach events, and even went on visitation several times a week. However, soon after, the pastor at El Salvador resigned. The McCormacks are currently leading and pastoring this young church plant. They have seen many visitors come, as well as a lady who recently made a profession of faith.

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. She had dedicated her life to the service of her people and the United Kingdom. With 70 years as monarch, she surpassed every other British ruler in the duration of her reign. The dignified and kind manner in which she presented herself made her well-loved, not only by her own people but also worldwide. Her passing initiated a period of mourning throughout the nation extended for

Courtney Mathos has been in Bolivia for 6 months now and is continuing to learn Spanish, help in a new church plant, teach children, and disciple a young lady. Please continue to pray for Courtney!

One of the ways that Vision Baptist Missions helps to equip and encourage our missionaries is through Regional Conferences. These Regional Conferences take place every two years in each of the four overseas regions (Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America). This past week, the VBM Africa Regional Conference took place in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa with VBM missionaries flying in for the week. Veteran missionaries taught several sessions. The whole team was able

This summer’s intense heat wave in Europe is continuing to leave a mark. Spain, not a stranger to hot summers, experienced record-setting heat that has greatly affected the Mediterranian regions responsible for mussel crops. Water temperatures soared, reaching 86° F, with the heatwave lasting 42 days–three times the average over the past decade. With the higher-than-normal water temperatures, the mussel farmers in the area are taking a big financial hit. It has been estimated that

While Patrick and Leslie Henry are currently on furlough in the US, the ministry in Argentina continues. They recently celebrated Children’s Day and also held a Family Conference now that the weather is warming up. Pray for these evangelistic efforts to bring fruit to Faith Baptist in Argentina. And pray for the Henrys as they travel on furlough.