God at Work in Your Work with Us

Missionaries John and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”

January 14, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thank you for your prayers and generous support. Judy and I are doing fine and are thrilled to see God at work.

Yesterday afternoon we left Galen, Tammy and Holly Gerig at the Toulouse airport to begin their return to Ohio after having spent a wonderful five days together. They have supported us for years and we enjoyed their company as we were able to introduce them to some of those whose life God has touched.

Your work with us enables us to have regular Bible studies in six different locations as well as the regular Sunday meetings here in Plaisance du Touch. Judy and I also spend time counseling believers to help them learn and apply God’s principles to their personal and family lives. There is also regular pastoral work such as visiting the sick. Our Savior often uses human difficulties to lead individuals to understand their need of Him.

We are delighted with those that the Lord has added to our congregation this past year. Among them is a couple who are believers with a two-year-old son and another child on the way. The husband started Bible study with Judy and me about 12 years ago. After studying the Bible together for about a year, he trusted Christ as Savior and followed the Lord in baptism. He later moved to Germany and met a girl there from El Salvador. She started going to church with him and trusted the Lord as Savior. They were married in 2018 and lived in Paris until last year. When they moved back to our area last year, they began participating in the church here.

A young lady about 20 years old was saved and baptized about a year and a half ago. She is active in church, youth meetings, ladies’ prayer meetings and Bible study with our granddaughters Camille and Emily. She also meets regularly with two friends who are interested in Christ for Bible study. She does all of this while going to Engineering school and working.

It is a delight to see what God is doing! We are glad to have you as part of our team.

Your brother and sister,
John and Judy Hatcher

Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Opportunities to Present BGB Seminary at Brazilian Conferences

The Hensleys have served the Lord in Brazil, South America since 1996. They have worked with orphanages, started mission points, established churches, and are presently conducting a seminary to train Brazilian pastors.

January 10, 2025

Dear friends and family,

I hope all is well with our families and friends and that a wonderful time was had by all during the Christmas season. Now, we’re looking forward to the new year of 2025. We were blessed this year to have our family all together for the first time in two years, both from Kentucky and from Brazil. God is so good and AWESOME.

So, to all: I hope your New Year’s resolutions come to the conclusion you have wished, dreamed, and prayed for this New Year!

With these celebrations and holidays behind us we can say this has been a wonderful year for the B.G.B. Seminary also. We have been in Brazil 3 or 4 times this year with Mission Conferences in São Paulo, Brazil and in Manaus, Amazonas, with the Bible Baptist Fellowship. In those two conferences we had over 300 in attendance at each conference. We were able to present the B.G.B. Seminary to those who were present. And through them, we have been able to increase the number of students interested in our seminary.
Now for January 2025, we are invited to participate with perhaps the largest convention of Baptists in all of Brazil. There will be more than 2,500 (YES, 2,500) pastors in attendance, many of whom are interested and desperate for affordable theological education. As of now, we have been invited to set up a kiosk with literature about Bluegrass Baptist Seminary. At some time during the conference, we will have a slot to speak to the group about our goals and objectives for the seminary. This will be the 104th assembly of the Brazilian Convention in Fortaleza, Brazil. The dates are January 29 to February 2. I will be traveling on the 28th of January with Dr. Derek Coleman, one of our principal professors, and we covet your prayers.

While there, we will be interviewed by 3 different Brazilian seminaries about our seminary. These seminaries are interested in our Masters Programs to help them with advanced degrees they do not have. Please pray for this trip, as with the other conferences, we have seen an increase in the numbers of students in our seminary. So with this being the largest conference we have participated with, we are in high expectations! GOD IS AWESOME!!!!

This year we have 37 students for our March semester. This is our rebuilding after COVID. Keep the seminary in your prayers. With this conference there is great potential for more students for B.G.B. Seminary. GOD IS GOOD.

Remember in our last graduations we had 9 students (pastors) who received the Masters of Arts in Pastoral Ministries and 13 others received Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies—AWESOME!!! And we have 6 students in the PhD program. Within these 6, we have one student who is two years into the program. He is a missionary to the Jews in São Paulo, Brazil, so keep him in your prayers along with myself and Barbara, our professors (there are 5 of them, all of which are volunteers), and the students. Pray also for the traveling we will be doing this year, and for our health and finances.

In His service,
Aj and Barbara

CONTACT INFO

AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Recovering from Surgery; New Term Started

The Tates have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.

January 10, 2025

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

First, let me give you all an update on Julie and her health. If you remember, Julie had to be rushed to the emergency room last month and, after being admitted to the hospital, ended up having surgery to remove her gall bladder. She came home a couple days later and spent the majority of December recovering from her surgery and from having an organ removed. She is recovering nicely, although with Chloe around she wasn’t able to rest as much as we would have liked (Chloe can be a little demanding). Anyway, Julie is mostly recovered from her surgery. I don’t think she is experiencing any more pain, but she still is getting tired quickly so she’s not quite at 100%. But we thank God for watching over her and that she is almost back to full strength. Thank you all for your prayers.

In other news, we have started a new term at the school. I am still the Finance Manager of the school. I find this position challenging because most students constantly struggle to pay their fees. To a westerner, their fees are small, but to them, their fees are large and overwhelming. As Finance Manager I have to balance helping these beloved students stay in school and continue their Bible education with also ensuring that they pay their fees. It is definitely stressful for both them and me. To date, I have never made a student leave the school because they couldn’t pay their fees. God has always helped us to together come up with a plan to cover their fees. This term has been a bit different, though.

Way too many students are not able to pay and it is causing me a lot of grief and heartache. I stress over and over to them that my goal for them is to mightily serve the Kingdom of Christ and God’s people. How can they do that if they drop out of school because of finances? God, please help us.

In Class news, I am teaching Pauline Epistles and Basic Theology 1. Pauline Epistles is a new class for me to teach but what a joy and privilege to teach these beloved students the things that Paul taught his first century churches and believers. Basic Theology is a course I have taught before. Why teach these students theology? It is not just to fill their young minds with information even though Peter did say to “grow in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and Paul instructed Titus to “teach sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).

Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, & Chloe

CONTACT INFO

Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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News & Reports – January 2025

The Online Edition of the January 2025 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/letter on our website.


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Scenes of Christmas in São Paulo

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Jud and Raquel Hatcher are third generation missionaries serving the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.

Our “Um Sonho de Natal” had 406 in attendance, 89 cast & crew, and 16 decisions.

Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Day Camp for Kids & Teens from the Mission in the Multirão Village

Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.

December 17, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This year is coming to an end and it is hard to believe. We praise the Lord that we are closing the year with wonderful things happening in our ministry.

We started the bus ministry again. At the mother church, “Pedras Vivas”, a group volunteered to help in visitation and picking them up on Sunday morning. Also, one of the ladies of the church who is a teacher took the responsibility of the Sunday School Class. She is training others to help her. One of our teenaged girls helped Sunday for the first time. She loved it. The teacher put together an

presentation for the kids to do in the church. This was the first time and they did well. The teacher wants to do more things with them. This teacher has a great passion for working with kids. Please pray that God will keep these people encouraged and bring others to help as the ministry grows.

The mission at the Multirão village is also doing well. This last Saturday we brought the kids, teens, and some adults to our house to spend the day. There were 45 who came. They had a great time.

We are fixing an area at our house where we can have more activities with the kids and teens from the different villages we work with.

We are excited about the beginning of next year. May God continue blessing the ministries and encouraging more to get involved.

We thank each one of you for your prayers and support. This is an important part of our ministry. May God bless one of you.

Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy Barros

Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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Delighting in God’s Work Through Bible Studies Across France

Missionaries John and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”

December 13, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior. We are getting along fine and hope you are as well. We are excited to see God at work and to have you as fellow servants and supporters.

Judy and I just returned from a visit with Patricia in her home. You may remember our request for your intercession on her behalf in our last letter. Frankly, I did not think she would be able to return to her apartment. I was wrong. She is receiving nutrition through a stomach tube as she is not able to swallow. A medical worker comes to her place each evening to load and activate the feeding mechanism. Barbara, one of the ladies from our church, has spent numerous hours visiting Patricia and seeking to help in the administrative aspects of her care. Please continue to pray for this needy lady that she might clearly understand and trust Christ as her Savior.

In the Fall of 2022, we began a new Bible study in the city of L’Union. The hostess was the only person besides us who was a believer. She wanted her friends to come to Christ. There are now usually 9 people at this Bible study. As perceived in their conversation, understanding of the Bible and regular worship service involvement, two seemed to have trusted Christ, though they have not yet made a public profession. The hostess followed Christ in baptism this past summer and we now have another believer from our church participating. God is at work and we are delighted. Please continue to pray for this Bible study.

Our Bible study in Mazeres is growing and last month a young army officer who attends professed his faith in Christ.

We have started a new Bible study in the City of Auterive and there are 10 people participating. These are believers or individuals who are very interested in studying the Bible.

This week, a lady with whom Judy and I have been meeting for about a year and a half trusted Christ as Savior. The history of her life is a wreck. However, in retrospect it is obvious that God has been intervening for years in her life to draw her to Himself. Our first contact with her was three years ago through her chiropractor who is a member of the church that meets in our home. This new believer has a son in first grade and a husband who both need Christ. Please pray for her.

Our Father is at work in many other ways around us and we are very encouraged. Let us all express our thanks to our Lord and continue to intercede for those who need a Savior and for believers in their spiritual growth.

We are delighted to have you ministering with us.

In Christ,
Judy and John

Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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More Important than Grades; Surgery & Prayers Needed

The Tates have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.

December 10, 2024

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

I’m trying to get this newsletter out at the latest possible date. I usually do get my newsletters out late but this month I have a legitimate excuse. Last Wednesday evening Julie became very sick. I ended up taking her to the emergency room where we spent the night. By the next morning, she was admitted to the hospital with suspicions about her gall bladder. After extensive tests and a couple of days in the hospital the doctors decided it was indeed her gall bladder and that it needed to be removed.

She underwent some kind of surgery, the technical/medical name of which I cannot remember. The bottom line is that she had her gall bladder removed and spent the next couple of days in the hospital. When the doctors saw her gall bladder they knew they had made the right decision to remove it. It was severely inflamed, contained many stones, and was fraying/flaying/fileting (I can’t remember what the doctor said or how he pronounced it but the bottom line was that the tissue was very soft and beginning to come apart). It definitely needed to come out before it became very dangerous. I was able to bring Julie back home from the hospital yesterday and she is now home slowly recovering. Four nights in hospital in Kenya is no fun, let me tell you. Hopefully removing her gall bladder will help with some stomach issues she has been having lately. We shall see. Please pray for a full recovery and a future better health condition for my wife. Julie’s surgery occurred during term break, which I suppose is a blessing.

This past term I began to learn something very important about my students. I learned that to many of them, the grade they will get in my class is too important. For many of them, getting a good grade is of utmost importance. To me, however, the grade is just an assessment of whether they are possibly learning the material or not. Many of my students become obsessed with grades. I suppose that is typical among students worldwide. I tell them that the grade is important, but not all important. I have been telling them that the learning of the Bible is important. I stress that their learning of how to minister to God’s people and God’s churches and God’s Kingdom is really what is important. That is what they are here at this school to learn and the grade is more my way of telling whether they are importing and processing the information in the best possible way. I want them all to get a good grade. However, more than that, I want them to learn how to minister the message of the Bible, the gospel, and the love of Jesus to God’s people. I tell them that when they are done and “out there” ministering the gospel to God’s people that nobody is going to ask them what grade they received in Mr. Tate’s hermeneutics and interpretation class. It will be important, however, for them to interpret and teach the Bible correctly, which Mr. Tate’s hermeneutics and interpretation class will help them do. Nobody is going to care if they got an “A” in Mr. Tate’s General Epistles class. However, they will care that these students and future pastors can help them in their suffering the way Peter teaches in his letters, or help them work out their faith in action the way James teaches in his epistle, or help them love one another in word and in deed the way John teaches in his letters. My beloved students, keep your eyes on the prize – not a grade, but the ability to minister to God’s people and glorify God in doing so.

Please pray for me, beloved. I am really struggling with Chloe right now. Her whining, screaming, and throwing things is really starting to wear me down and I feel anger rising up within me that I need God’s help to control. Even in the middle of writing this newsletter I had to stop because Chloe was mad and threw a big container of powdered, pink paint on the dining room floor. I don’t know where she got it, but it exploded and powdered, pink paint was everywhere. To add to the problem, before she threw the paint, she threw a full bottle of shampoo, which also exploded. The powdered, pink paint mixed with the shampoo to make an extremely hard to clean, pink sloppy mess. I spent the next hour on my hands and knees trying to clean it up (all while fuming in my heart and muttering under my breath). God, please help Roger to have patience and to care more about Chloe than he does about himself.

Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe

CONTACT INFO

Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com

For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.


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