Ordination, On the Road & Seasons....Church Plants, Kenya, Uganda, USA

Kenya/Uganda/USA 

Greetings Family, Friends and Brethren,

Our hearts were blessed this week and another important milestone was reached by our Churches in Kenya when they ordained one of our long time faithful Deacons at the Landmark Baptist Church of Ndivisi.   We have watched Deacon Wycliffe develop into a true Man of God who has a servant’s heart.  He has been instrumental in the growth of His Church and has also been a key part in our building team to help construct the Churches on Mt. Elgon.

 It has been said that the proof of all teaching is practice and our cups are overflowing with joy to see our precious people follow the Biblical pattern for ordination and to watch them move forward in their faith independently.  3Jn_1:4  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.  In addition to the ordination, Pastor Peter and our team of Pastors Baptized thirteen of our converts at the village of Chenjengi and organized them into another Scriptural New Testament Church.   This village has been reached for Christ by Moses who the Associate Pastor and is sent out of the the Church we started at Mayanja in 2010.   These are some of the converts Terry led to Christ and the same village that she contracted a bacterial infection combined with Malaria before we left.  I know this newly organized Church has a special place in our heart.

It seems like the work of the Missionary Church Planter always involves burning the road somewhere in the world.  The process of raising support and keeping support is one that can only be described as a grueling process that will wear you down and wear you out if you let it. Within the last eight days Terry and I have traveled to Northern Georgia to pick up chairs for the Florida Plant as well as attending two deputation appointments at First Coast Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville and Thirtieth Ave. MBC in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dr. Bill Pennell, Missionary Ukraine & 30th Ave. MBC

All the while we continue to meet with our group of believers and build a team to reach Florida for Christ. Each and every step of this transitional process is done in faith as we try to share our hearts and vision for the work God has called us to do on a limited basis in Kenya and our newest Church plant in Brooksville.   We are thankful for the many ministry partners who have contacted us to let us know that “Tuko Pamoja”, which means “We are Together” in Swahili.  It brings great comfort to our hearts that most our ministry partners are partnering with Chuck and Terry Fernandez wherever God leads and not just East Africa.  Any change in life and ministry brings some apprehension; however we have trusted in the Lord for His protection and provision thus far and will continue to depend on His grace, power and wisdom as we press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.   One of the recent changes that have taken place in our life and ministry is that we have a new “Sending Church”, the First Baptist Church of East Bay in Riverview, Florida.  Pastor Tim Myers and His wife Sheila have a tremendous burden to reach the lost and particularly are interested and experienced in planting churches in Florida where they have facilitated the planting of a Haitian Church, a Spanish Church as well as another English Speaking Church.

Dr. Tim Myers & Wife, Sheila, 1st Baptist Church East Bay

They have supported our work in East, Africa from the beginning and are excited to be a part of what God is doing in our lives and ministry.   Our team is stronger than ever and still includes Pastor Tim Johnson and the Dean Springs MBC church family as the Co-Sponsor of our work.  Incidentally, Dean Springs MBC will be celebrating their 100^th Anniversary this November.   Now that is something to praise the Lord about. 

Pastor Tim Johnson & Wife, Crystal, Dean Springs MBC

Thank you for allowing us the privilege to share this continued journey of faith and thank you for your continued prayers and support. 

God Be With You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant

NOTE:  There has only been one new Missionary Baptist Church planted in Florida since 2007.

 

Kenyan Church Development, Evangelism & The Florida Plant

  

Missionary Church planters have the unique opportunity to create an awesome history for the glory of God through the birth and development of Churches unlike any other group of people.   This week has been another truly historic week for Terry and I as we follows God path for our ministry and lives.   As we are toiling and tilling new ground here in the USA, Pastor Peter and Pastor Shadrach have continued the work that Terry and I started in the village we affectionately call M-3 or Mawe Tatu and the fishing village called Misory.   As you can see from the pictures, they were able to install the posts and trusses for the new sanctuary at Landmark Baptist Church of Mawe Tatu.

Over the last six months the Church family has been making and baking bricks for their new permanent sanctuary.   It is very important for us to be reminded that each church we partner with has a significant investment into these projects and I can tell you that their investment not only included the labor intensive process to make the brick but also sacrificial giving to buy wood and items to fire them.  When you look at it relative to a people who make an average income of around $40.00 per month, it is significant.   In any case, our hearts are blessed to see another new sanctuary #14 rising from the ground to become a meeting place for God’s precious people.    In addition to construction, our Kenyan Brothers returned to the fishing village of Misory which is located at Lake Victoria for follow up and evangelism.   These follow up visits are so important to confirm the souls that were saved as well as educate those new converts.   This provides us with the opportunity to find a God called man to start a Bible Study in His home.   This is exactly the method the Apostles used and the pattern we have followed over the last seven years.    God has provided one such man name Meshach whom we led to Christ in January. 

Meshach, Pastor Shadrach (in blue) And Family

He has started a bible study in His home and we don’t know if it will develop into another New Testament Church but we do know if converts are not followed up with they will fall by the wayside.   They also saw eight more people make professions of faith in Christ at Misory.

Back on the American mission field, Terry and I have been praying and planning another Church plant in the village of Brooksville, Florida.  This tribe is a very strange tribe but this is the home our three children and our seven grandchildren and will be the seventeenth Church Plant we have been involved in.  With Terry being providentially hindered through the health issues she has experience since the day we arrived in Kenya in 2008, we have been forced to re-evaluate our lives and ministry and ask God as Paul did, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do”?   We have been blown away by what God has done with us and thru us in Kenya and Uganda since the inception of our work there but the entire time we have looked back across the ocean at the spiritual decline of our great country with heavy hearts.   We do not believe that God is done with America and we would love to lead a new and fresh Church planting movement again.   Through much prayer, God has confirmed that this is His perfect will for our lives and we are committed to doing His will, no matter the cost.   To that end, we had our first unorganized meeting with thirteen members of our family as well as thirteen friends, acquaintances and brethren who have come to us while we have been home on medical leave and expressed an interest in doing what we have done in East Africa in Church planting.

Please pray for us as we move forward with Kenyan/Ugandan Church development while planting a scriptural New Testament Church in Brooksville, Florida.
We fully understand that not everyone will share our vision and burden but please understand that we need your prayers and support now more than ever as we continue to press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.
I will also continue to travel back and forth to Kenya/Uganda to encourage our Churches and Pastors there as time and finances allow.
Thank you for your expressed love and support and feel free to email me or call me with any questions concerning the history of Church planting God is allowing us to be a part of .
Our email is the same: missionaryfernandez@gmail.com
                                   and my stateside number is (352)-277-1753. 

God Bless You,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda/Florida Plant 

Construction Update & From Pastors Desk

As Terry and I are in Florida praying and planning the next chapter of our lives and ministry, our Kenyan brethren continue to move forward with the building process on Mt. Elgon.  With the support of our many faithful ministry partners we are able to continue to encourage them in their faith while we are in the USA by providing building funds.  This is the thirteenth sanctuary we have been able to help construct and we have two more on our schedule to construct this year.  Your continued support is needed and it is important to remember that this is very much a partnership in which our Kenyan brethren give special offerings as well as providing the labor to build.  The pictures below are from the village of Cheptkurukuru where Pastor Alex Cheriembe and the members are glad to see a permanent roof going up as they have been meeting under a tent in heavy winds and rain over the last three years.   Please continue to pray for this this young Pastor and believers as they worship and serve our Lord and Savior.   Thank you for allowing us to share this journey of faith as we press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.  

In His Service,

Bro.Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez

Continued Building....in 2015

  From The Desk of Pastor Tim Johnson, 
       Dean Springs Missionary Baptist Church, Alma Arkansas

 My  three week experience with Missionary Chuck Fernandez in Kenya.  We visited each of the three regions of their ministry here, worshiped with several of the churches that have been established, and hosted a seminar for the sixteen pastors and several other preachers.  Given so much that has happened, I decided to share some of the general observations I've noticed rather than taking volumes to share all the details.

As I enjoyed attending the building dedication service at Ndivisi I noticed how smoothly everything went even with hundreds of visitors attending the service.  Everyone was greeted with refreshments and the services went very smoothly with Pastor Peter and the deacons of the church handling all the details in a way that only someone paying attention to those things would ever notice.  This speaks not only of their attention to details in the Lord's work but the training they have received from Missionary Chuck because you don't have to be in Kenya long to recognize that is not the way most things work.

Another thing I noticed as I had the privilege of teaching at the seminar was the desire the men of God here have to learn from God's Word.  They paid close attention through many hours of teaching.  They asked questions that showed a great depth of understanding even though some had only been saved a few years.  They have a great burden to see souls saved and to lead their churches in the right way and they are willing to sacrifice to do it.

The last bit I'll share deals with the relationships I've seen here.  First, there is a great spirit among the pastors.  During the breaks at the seminar I saw that as different groups gathered and fellowshipped, it wasn't always the same people in each group.  Because they have all been involved in outreaches at each others' churches, they are all invested in each other and it shows.  The other relationships that are very apparent are the ones that Bro. Chuck and Sis. Terry have with the people here in Kenya.  It's not surprising that the pastors and churches they work with love them greatly.  Each one expressed their thankfulness for this couple who had come to share the Gospel with them.  What was a little more surprising to me were the relationships they had with basically everyone else.  Ben (the taxi driver), a worker at the bank, Sebastian (the man who builds the trusses for the churches), and just about every shopkeeper we met wanted to know how Mamma Teresa was doing.  The impact they've had and their testimony for the Lord is extraordinary and I'm confident that it will continue through the work of those churches until the Lord returns.

I was asked by many of the pastors to share their thanks with the churches and individuals who have helped with the work of the Lord in Kenya.  I'll echo their sentiment and thank you for your continued support of this work and the Fernandez's continuing ministry for Christ.

In Christ,
Timothy Johnson
Pastor, Dean Springs Missionary Baptist Church
Alma, AR

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Newsletter January 2015

Batting 1000, Faithful Men & Empty Pews

This week of ministry brought some unexpected changes while some things remained on course. I have heard it said, "The more things change, the more things stay the same".   Not sure if that makes perfect sense but it does have some truth to it. We lost a member of our Mission Team this week as Deacon Phil Shemwell returned to the USA without us. I am thankful for a friend and Brother in Christ who uses his personal finances and vacation time to travel around the world to be a blessing to this Missionary and our people. Additionally, we were forced to cancel our trip to Uganda this week due to time constraints as well as vehicle issues.   That's right; we have not had a week go by that we have not had some type of breakdown or repair.  

It has been so bad that Pastor Tim said he will not know what to do when he returns home and is on his way to church and does not have to stop to get under the hood of his truck. So with regard to breakdowns, I guess you can say we are batting 1000.   One of the major events this week was the Pastors seminar we held here in Eldoret.   We had all sixteen Pastors from the Churches we have been involved in planting as well as four Associate Pastors and five outreach preaching point leaders.   Pastor Tim did an excellent job of expository teaching through First and Second Timothy while I taught on Eschatology and Fasting.

Seminary Teaching

The evening sessions would be led and taught by the National Pastors who taught on; tithing/stewardship, missions, evangelism and our doctrine.   It is fair to say that the Men of God left with plenty of food to feed the sheep of their respective congregations. We will continue to sponsor and lead these quarterly seminars as the importance of training these Men of God to be able to rightly divide the word of truth cannot be overstated.   Strong Pastors = Strong Christian disciples = Strong Churches.   God has graciously allowed us to connect these Men of God who are from four different tribes located in three different regions as well as two Men from Uganda.   While each and every Church is totally autonomous and independent, these men have grown to know and love one another in Christ Jesus. They will talk and discuss problems that I could never fully relate too and will be able to encourage and exhort one another in their faith long after the Missionary is gone. Finally, the dry season is here and we managed to climb Mt. Elgon to deliver the new sign for the Landmark Baptist Church at Kipsigon and for Sunday worship service with the Landmark Baptist Church at Cheptabrubru. The sign was important and personal to me because they have started a new Primary School at the Church and named it after our Granddaughter Kelbee.

It does my heart to see them know our family and also the honor of naming the school after one of them. We had a great service of singing praise, prayer, teaching and preaching.   This particular Church led by Pastor Alex Kimtii is always packed each and every service, however while I was teaching I noticed a few empty pews in the back. It was then, the Holy Spirit reminded me that this Church has sent out six young preachers and their families to plant five more Churches and one outreach on Mt. Elgon. 

Congregation

Prayer

LBC Cheptabrubru is a second generation Church that is birthing many third generation Churches. Now that is what we call a powerful Missionary Baptist Sending Church!   Will close for now but know that we need your continued prayers as we serve the Lord and seek His guidance and direction for this great work he has done.   Thank you for our many ministry partners who hold the rope while we do God's work.

In His Service,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda                  Pastor Alex Kimtii and Family 

Another Namesake for Terry.  We Miss U!

Finishing Touches, Challenges & Building Dedication

We have been so busy over the last week that I am not sure I can fit all of what happened into my normal short summary and I am not quit sure where to start, but here we go. Our short term Mission team started this week processing wood and then loading a truck full of pews and windows bound for the two Churches at Lake Victoria.

We would send them one day ahead of us as we wanted to try to assemble them there during our visit. These are the finishing touches with regard to our investment in these particular sanctuaries. Make no mistake about it, we will continue to teach, train and encourage the Pastors and leaders at these two Churches but there is a definite end to what we consider to be our part in construction. They have a great foundation with what is by Kenyan standards a very nice building that they are proud of, however whatever happens from here moving forward is their responsibility, ie: flooring, installing windows, etc...

                                                                 Benches

Lake Victoria Church....

While visiting the Lake Victoria we would also do evangelism at a neighboring fishing village called Misory. This is our third visit there and not only are we training these young Pastors (George and Jackson) by teaching them to be fishers of fishermen but we are also sharing our burden and vision to reach the lost. We are also beginning to sense that the converts we have made over the last year are starting to desire a work there.

                                                                Pastor Tim

Praise the Lord!
During our visit to the Lake, I also received word that one of the men I have been encouraging in the Lord died of Malaria when I returned to the USA with Terry.
It is not too often that I get personally involved in too many of the individual lives of members because that is the National Pastors work, but God put James on my heart in a big way.
When I met him in 2010 during evangelism at Wichlum he was a backslidden drunken disgraced Pastor who was living the life of a Prodigal.
I will never forget His words during that first meeting, "Missionary, will you help me find the path back to God?"
From that time forward I took an interest in His life praying for him, encouraging him to come for our teachings at the Lake, giving him study material and a New KJV Bible. Over the last four years I saw his countenance change and as he become an active Christian again.
So while on one hand we are sad to see him go home to be with the Lord, on the other hand we praise the Lord for the opportunity to help him be restored to fellowship with God and the Church before his death.
Can I get an AMEN, God is good!
On our way back from three long days at Lake Victoria we would continue to be challenged with vehicle issues.
Two week summary: Broken drive shaft, shock mount, water pump housing, alternator and cut wires going to sending unit and temperature gauge.

God has protected us and blessed us and while we have had to stop a lot we have yet to be stranded. The conclusion to this week was the building dedication at Landmark Baptist Church of Ndivisi. There were around six hundred people in attendance and it was a great day of singing, praising, teaching and preaching.
                                                Deacon Phil Shemwell Teaching

                                       Pastor Tim Johnson Preaching God's Word

Around ten Churches where represented at the service and there was a moment in time that I want to share and record. During the service as I listened and watched the Men of God speak that I have poured my life into over the last six years I started to see them in a different light. While I have always treated them with the utmost respect and have been honored to work with them and teach them, up to this point our relationship has been much like a parent child relationship even though they are grown men.
However, God clearly spoke to my heart Sunday and gently reminded me that they are mature Men of God who are leading God's people as if they have been in the ministry for many years. It may not sound like much but if you are a Pastor and or Missionary and you start to see your people in this light there is a certain amount of validation God gives you by His grace that is very rewarding. The Word of God is far more able to express this than I am:
3 John 1:4
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
Will close for now as we have another crazy busy week ahead of us with a three day seminar and a trip to Uganda.
We covet your continued prayers as we cannot accomplish all that we are doing without His power.

God Bless,
Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez
Kenya/Uganda

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Greetings Brethren, Family and Friends,

Our small team of servants have arrived in Kenya safe and sound after three days and five flights.  Praise the Lord all of our luggage arrived on schedule! 

            Missionary Chuck, Pastor Tim Johnson  and long time friend, Phil

I  knew at the outset that returning to Kenya without Terry for the first time since our initial survey trip together in 2006 was going to be tough, but the reality is that I had no idea just how tough.   It seemed that each flight was a reminder of the severity of Terry’s plight and how serious her condition was.   Her three week ordeal still haunts my memory and reminds me that I never want to see her suffering like that again.    The house here in Eldoret has her touch everywhere and I almost lost it when I closed the door to our room and saw a scarf  that she would wear to every village and service. 

For sure a large part of me is missing right now but praise God that He literally saved her life and is currently restoring her health.    Additionally, every person I have talked to without exception asks how she is doing and when she is coming back.   I am not sure I have ever known anyone who has touched so many lives in American and Kenya.    People love her because she loves people, but isn’t that the type of Christ like love we are supposed to have?   Our first trip this week would take us deep into the Kerio Valley to teach new believers at the village of Moreweris and to worship with the Landmark Baptist Church at Chepsabei on this Lord’s day.   However, our plans were suddenly altered on Saturday when I got a call that one of our faithful members of LBC Chepsabei named Rose had died and that Pastor needed our assistance to bury her.   Did I mention that it is very rare for things in East Africa to go exactly as you plan and that flexibility is one of the greatest traits a foreign Missionary can have?  So to make a long story short, we ran to the nearest trading town to collect a coffin so that Pastor could transport her body down into the valley.

Descending into the valley for the funeral was very much a picture of our sinking hearts due to the crying and waling coming from Rose’s eight young children who were crying out loud for their Mama.  I preached from I Cor. 15 about the hope we have in Christ and how His death, burial and resurrection comforts us at such a time as this. 

We rejoice that Terry led Rose to Christ several years ago and that she followed salvation with scriptural Baptism and faithful Church membership but it was hard to get over seeing and hearing those precious children with broken hearts. 

 Please pray for this family.

While children of God do not mourn as those who have no hope we still mourn the loss of those who go on before us.   This Lord ’s Day would take us from the valley of the shadow of death to the Mountain top of worshiping God with His people on His day.

In addition to regular worship service, over forty people walked dozens of kilometers from the village of Morweris to be Baptized under the authority of the Landmark Baptist Church at Chepsabei. 

Team

 Morweris is a second generation outreach preaching point that will be organized into a New Testament Church this year.   As they trickled in we took them down to the river Swam and baptized them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of Jesus death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection. 

Baptism

This would be Pastor Tim Johnson, From Dean Springs MBC first opportunity to preach while using two translators from English to Swahili and from Swahili to Pokot.   He would also baptize over thirty people from Morweris.   

We are beat from all the travel and we will spend the next couple of days repairing the truck as we experienced several issues from the rough roads that left us limping back into Eldoret on a wing and a prayer as they say. The last few days have been A typical of the mission work Terry and I have done over the last six years and our hearts continue to be blessed to see the investment we have made in these villages through the lives of people one person at a time continue to grow.

Our prayer is that the work we have help facilitate by the grace of God will someday produce over one hundred New Testament Churches within our life time where the name of Jesus will be proclaimed and His people will honor Him with their lives.

We beg you for your continued prayers and ask you to continue to remember Terry as it is as hard for her to be in the USA with me here as it is for me to be here in Kenya without her.

God Bless,

Bro. Chuck & Sis. Terry Fernandez Kenya/Uganda