A New Move And A New School Year

This past summer went by very quickly for quickly for me and my family. I went home this for the month of May and many of you already know that my older brother Butch passed away suddenly from a heart attack while I was home. Butch is missed by all of us very much and he holds a special place in all of our hearts.

Upon my return in June the family moved to a much bigger house and we are very grateful for this house. We signed a lease at very good price! The home provides us the much needed space that was needed by all of us. During the month of August I went up to northern Thailand to minister with a former student and also at a Bible School. The trip up north opened up the way for future ministry for the students this coming school year.

Now for the school year. We have students from seven different Asian countries and one from England. We have a great set of students. They all seem to have so many talents and are eager to learn. I know that one of the things they are learning is to tap into prayer. I think some new students were a little surprised at the aggressive prayer that we have. From the very first day of school we get the students involved in devotions, prayer and chapel. So many of our students this year have musical talents so chapel worship has been better than the past couple of years and we have only had one month of school. I can only imagine how good they will be by the end of the year.

Graduation 2011

This past April 24th we graduated the class of 2011 at VBCI. It was my first year as Dean and I was pleased with the students this year. We had a great class from Thailand, Burma, India, Philippines, Nepal and Canada. The students were hardworking and overall very good students. For me it was also very important as my wife and sister-in laws and brother-in law finished their first year. This year is a time of rememberance for me and I was very proud of my family. When we look at a place of rememberance I am reminded of the children of Israel as they crossed the Jordon river. In Joshua chapter four God commanded Joshua to take twelve stones out of the Jordan and put them on the victory side of the Jordan as a lasting memory of what happened the day they crossed the Jordan. This year is something I will always remember. I was honored to give the students the CHARGE as some of them will now move on back to their churches and a couple of them into ministry. I now look forward to next year as we welcome some new students to VBCI.

"A Verse A Day" Devotionals

One of the most important things a believer can do is get the Word of God on the inside of them. Because of the need for good material we have had the devotional "A Verse A Day" printed for many bible schools here in SE and in India and Pakistan. Pastor Tim Davidson the author of the book and Word of Faith Church in Bismarck, North Dakota have donated their resources for the printing of this book. I want to say thank you to them as we just recently printed another 1000 books mostly for the Philippine believers. The Pastors of these churches have told me how grateful they are for the devotionals. The best investment we can have is in the lives of young believers for the Kingdom of God and "A Verse A Day" serves that purpose very well.

The Word Working In The Students

This past Christmas season there was a lot of activities for the students. A couple of the students went home but most stayed here in Thailand and did outreaches during the Christmas break. Here at VBCI we want to give the students as much practical outreach as possible during their stay at VBCI. Elizabeth and myself hosted the students for an evening meal on January 1st. My wife Elizabeth is an absolute wonderful host.

On January 11th Dr. Stephen and Susan Merideth joined us here at VBCI and have been teaching the students for the past four weeks. They taught two weeks on the Prophetic Ministry and are just finishing up on teaching the Synoptic Gospels. Dr. Steve has been here teaching the students in the past and they truly appreciate the understanding and experience that he brings to their lives and we are blessed to have them both with us.

Also this past month there has been alot of construction activity on the building where we house the bible school. The students have shown themselves to be great servants over the past few months. Here at VBCI we believe its very important that they develop intimacy with God as well as being servants in God's Kingdom. I am very proud of the students as I can see the Word of God working on the inside of them.
I want to say tnank you very much to all that have partnered with me and my wife Elizabeth here in SE Asia. Your support has made it possible for me to be the Dean of this Bible School as well as being a blessing to the students.

My mother and sister and nieces have also come to visit and it has been wonderful have them here. What a blessing for me that they would make this trip to Thailand to see our little boy Jeremiah!

Sincerely Tom Schumacher

Merry Christmas

I think it is noteworthy that both the Old and the New Testaments begin with families. In the Old Testament it was with Adam and Eve and in the New Testament it was with Mary and Joseph. God created two institutions that being the family and the church. Well this was my second Christmas with my wife and my first with my wife and son Jeremiah. I am a blessed man. We had a wonderful Christmas with my wifes family and also a great Christmas eve service with our church family here. I have a wonderful family (Mom, Dad and brothers and sisters)at home in America and also a church family at the Word of Faith in Bismarck and Victory Life in St. Albert Canada. If you are child of God ...then God has a family for you to be part of. So plug into a local church and be part of what God is doing in the earth today.

Commit To Faithful Men (Women)

In II Timothy 2:2 it says, "And the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
For the past four weeks I ministered to the students on two subjects; Intimacy with God and Pastoral Theology. The students learned the importance of how they viewed God would determine how they would view themselves. One student Joseph from India stated that even though he grew up in a Christian home "God was so distant and that the rules and regulations he put in his life only made himself more frustrated and discouraged." Over the past two years his image of God has changed and he has found his identity in Christ. He continued by saying,"doubts, unbelief and confusion have left my life since I have gained a whole new image of who Jesus is to me." Of course our image of God is always unfolding before us and it is important that the right image of God is continually implanted on the inside of us. In my Pastoral Theology class one of the students Christine said, "I had no idea of the great responsibility that the Pastor has." She continued, "I learned alot about leadership,character and the responsibility of the congregation." Another student, Prem from Nepal stated that, "this class gave him the knowledge that he needed to begin his pastoral work in back in Nepal and that God is really beginning to speak about being a servant of God for his people." I enjoyed teaching this class to the students as we all learned of the great calling that God has on the local church pastor.

Prayer Class

The scripture in James 5:16 says, "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" or you could say, "releases great power." Two weeks ago Pastor Barb Billet and Dr. Al Billet left a deposit of prayer on the inside of the students. For two weeks the students were enveloped in the school of prayer. The hearts of the students were filled with faith, strength and a desire to see God move in answered prayer. You could see the expectation of a touch of God on the faces of the students and the increased desire to spend more time in prayer. Time in believing and fervent prayer is never wasted time. God honors His Word and God Honors believing prayer. Thank you so much Pastor Barb and Dr. Al Billet for your ministry to the students!