THE NEWSLETTER OF IBTM
with Douglas Jacoby
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10 December 2025
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Good evening from England! I’ve just returned from Kenya and Burundi—a terrific trip—with my friend Daniel Bertholet of Geneva. His church has a longstanding relationship with Burundi, and the HOPE school there. Daniel and I first met in 1993, when he was finishing his masters at American University (Washington DC). He, and our families, have been connected for quite some time. Earlier this year Vicki and I both stayed with the Bertholets, during a teaching weekend with the church.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the daily advent carols (repeated from last year)—and are inspired. I appreciate your many messages of encouragement and thanks for the carols. Featured below are several more advent opportunities.
There are also five pieces for your consideration, from Andrew Boakye (a profound analysis of repentance), Engel Jones (a fun interview), Rebecca McLaughlin (a great item of apologetics), Paris Murray (challenging how we lead others to Christ—convincingly), and the Teleios Society (the upcoming conference in February).
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With local church leaders, Bujumbura, Burundi / Daniel Bertholet with Serge Gahungu (Bujumbura leader); Serge is translating Daniel's French into Kirundi / Lake Tanganyika, the world's longest freshwater lake by volume and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is bordered by Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, and D.R. Congo. From its waters we enjoyed a meal of mukeke and sangala (fish).
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Church staff, Nairobi, Kenya. The congregation numbers about 1400. / With Daniel Bertholet and Samson Monda / Serge Gahungu, heading up both the local church and the HOPE chapter. / Core teaching ministry leaders, Nairobi
FOR THE SEASON
- Jesus’ Birth in History and Tradition (Biblical Archaeology Society)—free e-book
- A Tyndale House Advent
- Christmas Fireside Devotional (with Peter Williams on December 18th
TO GET US THINKING…
- The Power of God for Salvation: A Corrective Primer (by Paris Murray)
- Your Moral Code Has Christian Roots (by Rebecca McLaughlin)
- The Art of Becoming (2026 Teleios Conference, San Antonio)
- A Miniconvo (Engel Jones and Douglas Jacoby)
- Deconstructing Repentance, Part 1 (Andrew Boakye)
OUTSTANDING MINISTRY NEEDS
We are nearly 60% of the way to reaching our financial goals for 2025. When IBTM began (2004), giving was spaced more or less evenly throughout the year. But now, increasingly, the lion’s share of donations comes in in the final weeks of the year (a common pattern with non-profits). Please consider donating so that we may finish strong and continue the ministry of good news in 2025.
Biblical teaching targets:
$73—Mexico—$73 to go
$365—Soweto, South Africa—$340 to go
$590—Burundi—$90 to go
$834—iFaith Asia—$101 to go
$1172—Mongolia—$296 to go
$1241—Vietnam—$211 to go
$2810—Indonesia—$780 to go
$6223—Kenya—$3174 to go
$8736—Nepal Asha School—$5781 to go (includes Jan 2026 winter clothes drive)
Major cost center targets:
$120,000 Training cost center—$52,304 to go
$120,000 Teaching cost center (general fund)—$68,285 to go
Thank you for reading our weekly bulletin.
- For all bulletins 2004-2025 (100s of pages of biblical material), click here.
- Access the website here. New material every week—typically, every day!
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- To donate to the ministry, click here.
