Volume: 2 • Issue 9 • September 2002                   

It is with great anticipation that I pen this newsletter to everyone involved with CCBI. As your new president I want to take this opportunity to thank the Board for their leadership, the faculty and staff for their dedication to the student body, and to everyone who has been involved with CCBI either by volunteering time or giving of their finances to see this ministry succeed. May the Lord Himself bless you according to your deeds.

The goal of this ministry has been to educate the laity for the works of ministry so that they would “rightly divide the Word of Truth” ( 2 Tim. 2 - 15) and therefore, we at CCBI are committed to fulfilling the words of Jesus who said, “Go into all the world . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19 - 20). At CCBI we are dedicated to give the students a quality education at an affordable price which will continue under this presidency.

I look forward to meeting everyone in person at the Fall Conference in October.

Till then . . .
Dr. Rose
President

CCBI Fall Conference plans are developing rapidly!

Since a majority of Faculty and Board members live in the vicinity of Cookeville, we are expecting most of them to attend this year at the Cookeville Rescue Mission. It is very easy to find by taking the Cookeville/Sparta exit off I-40, go south toward Sparta about 1/4 mile passing the movie theater, and look right for Marsh’s Chapel and Cookeville Rescue Mission. Meetings will begin in the church building at 7:00 Central on Friday night with the annual Halleluia Hoedown and CRM Director Rev. Larry Self leading the services. The tentative schedule is as follows:

Saturday services will begin at 9 a.m. in the Family Life building at the Rescue Mission compound, with lunch served around noon in the same building. The Board of Directors are asked to meet at 1:00, with graduation for Wayne Adkison to be held at 3:30 in Marsh’s Chaple church. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. in the Family Life building with a preaching service to follow. The Varga and Ross Family Singers will be featured during several services along with the Tylers and others.

Since the Cookeville Rescue Mission is an active ministry working with the needs of people as they occur, this tentative schedule is subject to change as needed by Bro. Larry.

Reservations should be made right away for overnight guests at Executive Inn, which is north off the I-40 Sparta/Cookeville exit just past the Shell station. CCBI guests have a special rate and breakfast is included.

New Caribbean Directors

Three Caribbean divisions have new directors who are hoping to spark enthusiasm for Bible studies in their areas. Belize, on the western coast of the Caribbean Basin, was the original and only location for CCBI for the first few years. Those early graduates are now preachers, missionaries, church leaders, and teachers, with two being part of the CCBI faculty. When Jeff Nickell resigned to become Chaplain at the prison he was replaced by Manuel Cowo, who introduces himself below.

I’m Manuel Cowo, National Director for CCBI Belize, and this is my assistant director, Indradeo Mohabir. God has blessed me with a very loving and supportive wife and three wonderful children. His blessings and faithfulness are amazing every day toward us, and I give Him glory for it. We appreciate the newsletter and are happy to be a part of it.

that there is much to be done, and the extent of it is tremendous. I asked myself, “Can I do it? And how?” The answer to this is “Yes, I can.” Yes, we can if we allow the Holy Spirit to do it through us.

The early disciples probably asked themselves these very same questions. Jesus knew the extent of the command. He knew what it would cost them and us. He knew what was necessary to accomplish this task, so He told them to wait for the gift the Father had promised. He said, “You’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Before attempting to comply with the command, they were to wait for the promise. This they did, they returned to Jerusalem as the Lord had instructed them and they all joined together constantly in prayer. “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” -Isaiah 40:1-2

St. Lucia’s new director, Pastor Nicholas Philbert, also received his bachelor degree from CCBI and is interested in pursuing his Masters degree. Missionary Dr. Lee Miller has been Pastor Philbert’s mentor in St. Lucia, but since the Millers are relocating to Missouri, Pastor Philbert will be fully in charge of CCBI in his country.

CCBI is grateful for these men who are coordinating the Bible college in their areas, and we do request prayer for them in this challenging responsibility.

Desmond Khanoo, one of our graduate students in Suriname, has been visiting the States recently and has ministered in the jail in Cookeville, Tennessee. Desmond ministered to the male inmates on a Thursday evening and 27 men made a profession of faith. When he ministered to the female inmates, 8 women attended. All eight professed a relationship with Jesus Christ, but made a re-dedication to Him. Praise God for using Desmond in this way! Desmond will be sharing more about his ministry and family in a future newsletter.