BILD International

Mario Monroy, a Latin American network leader from Spain, recently shared this photo of BILD resources, translated into Spanish, being printed and assembled by church members in Guatemala. These resources are distributed among churches in the network all across Latin America to be used for the development of believers and establishment of churches.

BILD operates out of the context of a local church network, Ames Des Moines City Church. As we come alongside church leaders in North America seeking to plant new churches, we have invited those leaders to come experience our church network. To read the full story about these "Come and See Weekends" click here: https://bild.org/stories/usa-planting-churches-that-follow-the-new-testament-pattern

Meeting our partners face to face in their own contexts is vital to the work BILD does. Michael and Jeff's most recent trip included thousands of miles traveled, many hours spent meeting and discussing with partners, new and old, all toward the valuable mission of building a unified network of well-established churches around the globe.

Today we want to highlight Lilian Johnson. Lilian started working for BILD in 2019. She works in accounts receivable, processing payments for BILD and the Antioch School. She is a graduate of Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta, Canada. Lilian became involved in many ways with the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines in 1974 when it was called Ontario Bible Church. She finds great satisfaction in seeking the welfare of the city by volunteering in several organizations in the city of Ames, Iowa. Lilian and her husband, Don have two adult children and six amazing grandchildren: Isaac, Elliott, Samuel, Joshua, Lucy, and Andrew. She enjoys homemaking, reading (especially biographies and history), and tending to and propogating plants to share with others. Her care for others is evident in her interactions with all of us on the BILD team.

The dust has settled, our partners have returned to the work, and we are back at it ourselves. It was an amazing time of working to build unity around our shared work, reconnecting with our global family, and meeting new friends. We are truly blessed to be a part of what God is doing across the globe. Please be watching for more highlights from this year's gathering. In the meantime, check out our wrap up story here: https://bild.org/stories/a-meeting-of-our-global-family

The 2024 Global Summit is underway. Partners old and new are being welcomed as family. As we work, pray, eat, and play together, all is done in order to serve the purpose of establishing God's Church around the world.

Our team is wrapping up preparations and anticipating the arrival of this year's summit attendees. We are looking forward to reuniting with our partners from around the world for a time of focusing on shared work, celebration, and mutual encouragement.

In less than three weeks, we will be hosting the 2024 BILD Global Summit here in Ames. Preparations are underway, and excitement is building. For a preview of this year's summit visit: https://bild.org/stories/bild-s-annual-global-summit-is-coming-soon

EQUIP is BILD's online learning management system. It was developed to assist leaders in tracking the faith development progress of individuals within their networks. Here is the story of one network's experience as they began to use EQUIP.
https://bild.org/stories/india-how-one-network-is-utilizing-bild-s-equip-to-train-church-leaders-and-pastors

Our first team highlight of the new year is Mike Burns. Mike is a software developer with over fifteen years of experience creating web applications, building servers, and maintaining network systems for several companies in Iowa. He is the lead developer for the BILD Cloud system and also helps look after BILD’s server infrastructure. Mike, his wife Meg, and daughter Mabel are actively involved in the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines. Mike and Meg love showing Mabel all the wonderful things Ames has to offer, as well as enveloping her in their shared love of many nerdy things! Mike loves to cook and is always working towards perfecting his pizza recipes. In addition to his techinical skills, Mike's willingness to help out and extreme patience make him a valuable asset to our team.

BILD's longtime partner ITEA celebrated their 30th-year anniversary in September. This 30-year relationship with BILD began in 1992 when Jacques Alexanian from SEMBEQ, the Evangelical Baptist Seminary of Quebec, brought together Jeff Reed from BILD International and Jean-Claude Rellier from ITEA to discuss church-based theological education. The ITEA committee chose to implement the philosophy, and the partnership with BILD was born. Jeff met with the committee annually through the years and was able to celebrate with them for their 30th anniversary in Paris. It was a meaningful time of reflecting on the past and looking to the future. ITEA, with its network, has become a strategic partner with BILD, influencing theological education in all of France, using BILD’s church-based materials, and being a resource base for all francophone countries. They have a next-generation team, solid in the paradigm, who are positioned to continue this progress for the next 30 years!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today we want to highlight Lisa Chicken. Lisa Chicken joined the BILD team in 2020 shortly after she and her family made the move to Iowa with the intent of plugging into Ames-Des Moines City Church. Growing up as a bilingual pastor’s kid, she always dreamed of being a part of an organization which trains leaders worldwide and after 13 years of homeschooling her four children, she jumped into this new adventure with the Antioch School. She is eager and enthusiastic in sharing her passion for what God is doing through BILD and supporting our partners with joy. She enjoys reading, exercise, nature walks, traveling abroad, family movie nights and never gets tired of ‘Chicken’ jokes. Her favorite destinations include Rome, Monaco, and England, favorite books include any historical fiction, and movies include romance and comedy. The whole team was sad when circumstances led to the Chickens moving to Florida, but we are so happy to see the ways God has blessed them in their new home. Lisa has an energy and joy that is infectious and we are happy to have her on the team (even remotely!).

The weekend of November 3-6 BILD and Ames Des Moines CityChurch were excited to host a Come and See Weekend for several potential North American church planters. The goal was to have them be immersed in the house church model that has been established here in order to build relationships for a coaching and networking base as they consider their next steps.

Recently our partners in Kosova celebrated the training progress of several leaders at the Dardania Network Resource Center in Prishtina, Kosova. Four leaders graduated with an Antioch School graduate level certificate of ministry. They also celebrated the sigificant progress of three additional leaders and the launch of a third cohort into the training. The celebration was planned to coincide with 'Darka a Lames,' a traditional harvest feast. It was a wonderful family celebration that included traditional food, music, and dance. As one of just a few networks in the country, they are drawing leaders from nearly half of the existing church networks into the church-based training model.

As we approach the end of another year and enter a season of thanksgiving and reflection, we want to express our gratitude for the work God has laid before us and for those who engage along side us in expanding Christ's Kingdom.

Megan joined the BILD team as a content writer in 2021. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University in 2003. After the birth of her first child, Megan left newspapers to be a stay-at-home mom. In that time, she freelanced for numerous newspapers, international organizations, and various non-profits. Megan and her husband Randy have been a part of the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines since 2005 and are members of the Urbandale Church. Together they have two children, Henry (14) and Ava (10).

Megan enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies and old TV shows, bicycling with Randy, and volunteering for her local elementary school PTO board. She has a great love for reading and enjoys mystery novels, namely Agatha Christie, and has read almost all of her books numerous times. With an interest in traveling and visiting new places, Megan enjoys road trips with her family and has been to numerous National Parks and states. While Iowa is their home state and current residence, Megan and Randy have also lived in New Jersey and enjoyed the historical sites and history of the eastern United States. They also lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a few years and is where Ava was born. Megan is still actively learning the Danish language and would love to visit the country again.

At the end of August, Michael traveled to the Dominican Republic to participate in the Latin American TWCA Conference. Leaders from about fifteen different countries were in attendence.

This week's BILD team highlight is James Riley. James joined the BILD team in 2021 as a project manager, specifically overseeing the translations of the BILD resources into different world languages, and now helps with coaching teams from around the world. James graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1997 with degrees in Criminology and Psychology. He spent a year as a Deputy Sheriff and left law enforcement for a career in project management. James, his wife Rachel, and their son David host a church in their home as part of the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines.

James enjoys movies, reading, and live music. James and his wife Rachel are actively involved in community development as they participate in multiple annual events in their neighborhood to promote neighborhood involvement and get to know their neighbors and neighborhood leaders.

James' committment, teaching abilities, patience, and unique ability to lead locally while playing a key role globally make him an indispensable assett to the BILD team!

The BILD apostolic team is happy to announce the
2024 BILD Global Summit
Wednesday, February 21–Friday, March 1, 2024, in Ames, Iowa

For our International BILD partners, the emphasis will be on building networks of churches as families.

For our North American participants, the emphasis will be on Accelerating Church Planting in North America.

More details will be announced soon.

While resources are only a part of what we do at BILD, they are a key tool for us. If you are looking for great tools to help establish your church, check out our on-line store here: https://store.bild.org/

It is so exciting to work with partners that are striving to align their churches with New Testament principles. Here is a story from Mendon, Michigan about a church doing just that... https://bild.org/stories/usa-how-tent-making-has-helped-establish-a-small-church-network

Today's team highlight is Steve Kemp. Steve joined BILD in 2002. Formerly he was Vice-President and Dean of External Studies for Moody Bible Institute, overseeing its correspondence school, off-campus sites, online courses, and Radio School of the Bible. Previously, he was Associate Dean for Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served in various capacities for ACCESS, Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), and Distance Education Accrediting Council (DEAC). He wrote “Social Presence in Online Learning” for Best Practices of Online Education and “Situated Learning: Optimizing God-Given Learning Community” for Christian Education Journal. His Ph.D. is from Loyola University with a dissertation on "Experiential and Situated Learning.” Kemp is the founding Academic Dean of BILD’s Antioch School of Church Planting and Leadership Development, the first accredited higher education institution to be truly church-based and competency-based. He has served as church planter, pastor, elder, and is now an apostolic leader of the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines. He has two grown children Michael and Sarah.

Nine years ago while Steve was in India, his wife Judy invited a young couple to spend a few days at their house as they were transitioning from China to Iowa State University. Well, they stayed for nearly a month, became their "adopted Chinese kids," and they are still like family even though they have moved from Ames. In fact, they had Steve give American names to their two boys who call him "Grandpa Steve."

He also loves college sports, particularly (American) football, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, and swimming/diving. He has season tickets for all Iowa State University athletic teams and particularly enjoys hosting big tailgate parties before football games. Go Cyclones!

Faithful leaders are choosing to focus on building Christ's church in the midst of the war in Ukraine as well as looking to the post-war future... https://bild.org/stories/ukraine-risks-worth-taking-for-the-plan-of-christ

BILD seeks to create exponential Kingdom impact by providing a development path for every person of a church in the church. Read more about our strategy here...

BILD BILD multiplies leaders by providing a development path for every person of a church in the church—creating an exponential Kingdom impact.

Our next team member highlight is Tina Burns. Tina has enjoyed years of volunteering at the BILD office and was excited to become an official team member in 2015. After serving in different roles over the years at BILD, Tina's main focus has become assisting Michael in his work. An active member of the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines, Tina enjoys engaging with the city of Ames through the CityChurch and through working part-time at the local hospital. She also loves spending time with her three absolutely delightful nieces, is a voracious reader, and loves to bake and cook. The rest of the team appreciates Tina for her ability to manage Michael's crazy calendar, making sure his time is used efficiently as possible! Thanks, Tina! (Photo is of Tina and one of those adorable, high energy nieces 🙂)

BILD's resources are only a part of what we do, but they are an invaluable tool for us and the leaders we work with. Work continues on the Mastering the Scriptures series, so stay tuned for more information as to when they will be available!

Upon completion of a Master Craftsman Docotorate of Ministry program, a celebration was held to acknowledge the hard work of hundreds of ministry leaders. Read more about this special event here: https://bild.org/stories/a-celebration-of-achievement-as-indian-leaders-strategize-the-next-steps-for-their-ministries

Today's team highlight is Molly Beckett. Molly has been helping Nancy around the BILD office since 2013 and was excited to officially join the BILD team in 2021. She loves being part of a team and thrives on helping people, such as with transcribing and putting tabs in courses. She also loves learning new things, like putting together the Library book database and learning how to use the different libraries. Molly and her family have been involved in the CityChurch of Ames-Des Moines her whole life. She enjoys exercising, spending time with her two boy kitties and nieces and nephew, watching movies, traveling, and reading. Molly is a huge Lord of the Rings fan and really hopes to travel to New Zealand someday. Her joyful willingness to help and smile are a huge assett to the team!

BILD exists to come alongside leaders of churches to enable them to establish churches that last. Read more about our impact: https://bild.org/the-impact