Chad and Janeene Mankins
ETHNOS 360 – PAPUA NEW GUINEA–ITINERANT
Chad is preparing for a trip to PNG in September to continue to translate the New Testament and to disciple the young and growing Tobo church. Here’s what he hopes to accomplish during his days in PNG…
Lord willing, in about 6 weeks, I’ll step on a plane in DFW and eventually step off of a helicopter in the beautiful mountains of PNG’s Madang Province. During my week and a half in our village home away from home, I hope to join our friends and step back into further translation of the book of Luke. I will be meeting together with the Tobo church for a time of listening, learning, and discussing the issues facing them. After they finish their study of 1 Corinthians later in the year, next up will be a study of 1 Timothy and Titus, of which we had provided an outline for study several years back when there were only a few people meeting.
There is a small group of a couple dozen Tobo people who identify as followers of Yesu Kristo (Jesus Christ) who are in the process of taking yet another step, and another, on their journey with Jesus. With the group more than quadrupled in size from the first days of the church, there will be a need for this larger core of mostly newcomers to the faith to learn more about church functioning and leadership, and qualifications for elders and deacons to be appointed by them as the local church. So many questions will be addressed, both during our time together next month and as they will study the completed version of the 1 Timothy and Titus lessons that I’ve been working on recently and which are almost ready to be printed and bound to bring along with me in September so they can be ready for use early next year.
Pray for Chad as he travels, then ministers in a very remote area of PNG. Pray to for Janeene and the boys as they begin another year of school, sports, and other activities while Chad is on the road. These times of separation are never easy on a family, but thankfully the Mankins are willing to pay this price for the growth of the Tobo church.