Fall 2025

And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed… (1 Samuel 26:9-11a)

There is much we can learn from the life of David. One characteristic is his steadfast loyalty to Saul in spite of the fact that he spent many years fleeing from him. Even though he had multiple opportunities to take Saul's life, he would not consider doing so since Saul was the Lord's anointed. Rarely do we encounter such loyalty today, even within the church! Yet, God includes these examples in His Word to teach us how to remain faithful in spite of the trials and difficulties we face.

Briefings Feature Article
In the August 2025 issue of Briefings, BI's tri-annual magazine, Dave had the opportunity to write the feature article, entitled, "Uniquely Equipped for Missions." Writing from personal experience, he shared how God often equips us in unexpected ways to serve Him, often applying skills we have learned throughout our careers. This is exactly how the Lord has worked in our lives! God gave us invaluable experience working in industry prior to being called to full-time ministry. We are not alone, as more and more new missionaries are coming to ministry mid- to late-career. BI can use your skills too!

One of Ruth's new responsibilities is serving as Editor for Briefings. She has sought to streamline the editorial process to require less review time and fewer iterations, which reduces production costs. She is also coordinating the efforts to make Briefings available electronically in April 2026. If you would like to receive Briefings via mail or email, please contact us at briefings@biblesint.org

Work Team Visit
In late September, we were honored to have a work team of 20 visit BI from Shoaff Park Baptist Church, a supporting church of ours in Fort Wayne, IN. Dave oversaw the team and logistics. After a rainy start to the week, the Lord provided two days of pleasant weather, which allowed us to accomplish more than we had anticipated. They spent two days helping with painting, landscaping, moving roughly 5 cubic yards of rocks, weeding, spreading mulch, and window washing. Thank you, Shoaff Park!

Develop an attitude of loyalty and faithfulness like David's!

Dave and Ruth

Annual Consultant Seminar
August is typically the busiest month of the year at BI as we have the annual Consultant Seminar, the BI Annual Retreat, and the Missionary Orientation Training Seminar. We had the privilege of hosting three attendees in our home during the Consultant Seminar, which was convenient with our proximity to the office. Following the Consultant Seminar, the BI Annual Meeting and Retreat took place. We held our annual business meeting, and we were challenged by the preaching of retired BMM missionary and administrator, Steve Fulks.

Harvest Dinner Preparations
Much of the focus during the second half of this year has been getting ready for the annual BI Harvest Dinner on October 9. This year, Ruth coordinated the Parade of Languages portion of the program where John 8:36 was recited in 22 languages. She also wrote the script for the 10-minute featured project video and assembled the necessary digital resources that others used to create the video. The final product was excellent, and we have been receiving very positive feedback!