20th Anniversary Sunday - 1,560 in attendance - Jan. 25, 2015

View from the balcony - Jan. 25, 2015

Overflow outside the building - Jan.25, 2015

                                The Maskeys in Nigeria

February 2015

Dear Fellow Laborers,    

Port Harcourt Independent Baptist Church is 20!

When we first came to Nigeria in 1994, it took us several months to find a place to rent for our house and the church and to get it ready.  Finally, on January 29, 1995 we held our first service in the living room of that house in Port Harcourt, and 53 people came that Sunday morning.  During the invitation, 27 of them came forward to receive Christ as their Savior, and God has blessed every week in the church since then.  This January, to celebrate our 20^th anniversary, we awarded different prizes each Sunday to those who brought visitors, such as Bibles, Christian music CD’s, and shirts and umbrellas with our anniversary logo.  Our people really got involved and brought over 1,000 first time visitors!  The last Sunday was an especially wonderful day.  To God be the glory, we had a record attendance of 1,560 in the morning service, with 496 visitors and 223 saved during the invitation (see the pictures on our website:  maskeysnigeria.blogspot.com).    It really was a great day and a great month, and once again God did “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”,  just as He has done in the last 20 years here with over 150,000 souls saved.   We are praying and expecting God to do even greater things in the years ahead.  Thank you so much and God bless you for your part in our ministry to help make all this possible.

More praises and prayer requests...

1.  On December 14, we had our annual “Deaf Special Sunday”, and our people worked hard to invite them and have special activities for the deaf all that week.  We even had a deaf choir that day and had a record attendance of 97 deaf.  Many deaf in Port Harcourt have been reached for Christ through this ministry and we thank God for it.

2.  Presidential elections this month and increased terrorism from Boko Haram in the North have given everyone here cause for concern in recent days.  On top of that, falling oil prices worldwide are having a negative impact on the Nigerian economy and that is also a problem.  Please pray for continued peace and stability in the country.

3.  Things have been moving forward for us to start a new church in the town of Omoku in April.  There has been, however, some unrest and in-fighting there recently, and that could slow us down or stop the work if things get worse, so we need your prayers about that as well.

Thanks again for your prayers, gifts and faithful support, especially to those who have stood with us for the last 20 years.  We thank God for you!

                                             Yours for His Service,

                                              David Maskey & Family