NBC Graduation Celebration Report
Nazarene Bible College has hosted 7 Graduation Celebrations in the home churches of 7 NBC graduates as of today’s date. Different NBC personnel have represented the college at the Graduations. Dr. Dan Powers, NBC faculty member, was the NBC representative at one of our recent graduation celebrations. It was such an amazing celebration, that he shared all about it with the NBC family. Read further to hear all about this special day.
Dear Nazarene Bible College Students, Alumni, and Friends,
On Sunday, June 4, 2023, I had the privilege of representing NBC at the Graduation celebration for Corneille Kapuku Mubila. This celebration took place at Corneille’s home church, the Eglise Mission Evangelique Mont des Oliviers, in Dallas, Texas. What an amazing experience this was! As it turns out, Corneille is part of a church fellowship from the Congo, Africa, which is French speaking. The service started at 9:00 am and didn’t finish until about 12:25 pm. Then we had pictures taken for another 20 minutes at which time we had something like a potluck dinner with Congolese food. The singing, dancing, testimonies, and praying went from 9:00 until about 10:55, at which time the pastor Bernadette Bitshilualua (who planted the church and is also the wife of our NBC graduate Corneille) preached her sermon. After the sermon, we celebrated Corneille’s NBC Graduation.
The service started promptly with the singing at 9:00 am. I have seen missionary films of African people singing, dancing, and praying in their services. Now I have experienced it in person! There is nothing like it, and it is incredible. There were about 80 worshipers in attendance, and the Lord’s Spirit filled this service in a special way. There were testimonies, both in word and in song, and together with lifted voices the congregation praised and glorified God with a joy and enthusiasm that blessed my heart so dearly.
I have also discovered that African hospitality and honor is an amazing thing. They welcomed me into their service as if I was a celebrity in their midst. They were so welcoming, friendly, and excited that I was there to represent NBC. After the ceremony, I went to sit down, but they called me back up on the platform, where they gave me a gift of a beautiful 3-D glass figure with the logo of their church etched in the center and the words “Gift for Dr. Powers” etched into the bottom. I was so humbled by the gracious honor and respect they bestowed upon me.
When I shared this amazing experience with my family, I told them how special it was to join in a service with a group of God’s people who worship and celebrate the goodness of God with what I could only describe as “unbridled enthusiasm for the Lord.” It was nothing short of spectacular. They insisted that I should share a thought with them after the celebration right before we ended the service. I shared with them that, despite the translation they provided, there were many words that I did not understand. But I had no problem at all understanding the voice and presence of the Spirit who was speaking throughout the service. I have had the privilege in my life to worship in English, in Dutch, and in German. But on Sunday, June 4th, I worshiped with a new group of Christian brothers and sisters in French for the first time, and it was an incredibly moving experience!
I learned right after the service that they live-streamed the entire service to another congregation in the Congo. After our service and celebration ended, one of the young men came to me holding his phone and he said, “I have our sister congregation in the Congo on FaceTime. Would you please wave and say a short word of greeting to our friends in the Congo?” It was late in the evening in the Congo, but there were dozens of people I could see, and they were all waving and talking to me. The young man listened a moment and said, “They are inviting you to come visit them in the Congo. They would love for you, the Professor from Nazarene Bible College, to come to the Congo and preach and teach from the Bible for them!” What an honor it was for me to receive such a gracious invitation to visit them!
It was also exciting to see the marvelous respect they gave to Corneille because “he has earned a degree in theology!” Corneille’s achievement in earning his bachelor of arts degree in Bible and Theology was not an easy task for him due to his own cross-cultural experience of studying in English instead of his own French language. But he persevered and worked hard with the Lord’s help so that he was able to complete his studies successfully. I believe that what Corneille was able to achieve in earning his degree in Bible and Theology was nothing short of ground-breaking. After the service, two other people from this Congolese congregation gave me their information and said they wanted to enroll at NBC, too, just like Corneille did! It’s hard to say what the future will hold in this, but I was astounded by the excitement, pride, and enthusiasm with which these people responded to Corneille and to me as a representative of NBC in this celebration. It was an overwhelmingly beautiful time I had with them. I will cherish this experience in my heart forever. Praise God!
Sorry for the long story, but I had to share this unbelievable cross-cultural experience with you. God is using NBC in incredible ways to equip and train men and women for ministry. I am so thankful to be a part of this educational calling and ministry.
Blessings and greetings to all of you from me and my new Congolese brothers and sisters in Christ!
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Daniel G. Powers
NBC faculty, Director Advantage and Bible Theology Core Programs
Published: 06/09/2023
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