Updates from Tim and Sandy Hewitt

Hello from Michigan!

Things have been happening with BEM, and we would love to pass on a few updates of how God is allowing us to encourage small churches and their pastors.

Our Annual Meeting was held on January 31st, with a great attendance of 16 people, 12 in person and 4 on Zoom plus 2 new recruits. We have a wonderful board consisting of Pastors (current and retired), Pastor's wives, BEM Missionaries and businessmen. Our chairman grew up in Ghana West Africa!

In our last update we mentioned a "local" church (40 minutes away) who we have been helping over this last year. While they have made the decision to close, they are still very much in the process of determining all of the details involved. As they are without a pastor, Tim has continued preaching there as needed as well as offering suggestions, teaching material and hopefully encouragement along the way.

We have been busy since December 2025 planning for our two conferences this year, one being in Utah this past April and the other in Kokomo, Indiana this November. While the conferences are only one day, the preparation is extensive, including mailings with both USPS and online as well as hours spent selecting and ordering books, program planning and scheduling etc. In addition, with all of our BEM Missionaries living in different states, there is always that back-and-forth correspondence, phone calls etc. that are required to make sure that we all are on the same page.

Our April 18th Small Church Enrichment Conference in Nephi, Utah was truly a blessing to all who attended! There were 22 churches represented by Pastors, their wives, Lay Leaders and children, with a total of 79! It was so encouraging for us, as planners, to observe the enthusiastic fellowship and interaction throughout the day. Our theme, "Enjoying Intimacy with God" was well received. Through the preaching sessions and smaller breakout sessions, we believe that God's Word was shared in impactful and practical ways. We also ran a simultaneous children's program, headed up by the local camp director from the camp these churches attend. The 18 children that participated enjoyed engaging teaching, games and even a Bounce House! Many of these children are home schooled and found this time of connection to be very special. It was loud and a bit chaotic, but so special and worth it!! We ended our time in Nephi, Utah with very Thankful hearts.

We were/are thankful for the generosity and helpfulness of our hosting church, for the amazing lunch donation from Chick-fil-A, for the generous love offering from those attending, which helped to off-set the costs we incurred, for the Prophet's Chamber they allowed us to use, for great weather and mostly just for the Family of God and how HE has provided a way for us to be used in this way! On a personal note, we are healthier than we deserve and do not take lightly that God has given us the mindshare and physical ability to be busy in serving in this way!

In addition, on our way home, we stopped in Harrah, Oklahoma for 2 days in order to reconnect with the church family we had served for 6 weeks in 2023. We made two hospital visits, Tim attended a Men's Bible Study on Saturday, preached on Sunday and we were blessed by a group Pizza lunch/fellowship before taking off for home that afternoon. Once again, the Family of God was a blessing to us and hopefully we were to them as well!

Thank you to all who have prayed for us during the planning and doing of these various opportunities. Thank you also to those who have generously given to us and BEM financially in order to make this trip personally possible, as well as allowing us to be generous to participants and quality oriented in the planning. We don't take your prayer commitment and financial generosity for granted and continue to marvel at how God has used you to help make this possible!

Blessed to Serve, Tim & Sandy Hewitt BEM (Barnabas Enrichment Ministries)

Merry Christmas!

This past year of traveling with Barnabas Enrichment Ministries (BEM) has reminded us once again of the beautiful unity within the body of Christ. Whether in India, Thailand (not this year), Escalante, Utah, Staten Island, or as close as Britton, Michigan, we have seen firsthand the shared love for the Lord and His Word. Despite differences in culture, background, education, or life experience, the Holy Spirit binds us together through our common faith in Jesus Christ. That is truly amazing to observe and experience!

Our Ministry Travels: In January, we spent three weeks serving at First Baptist Church in Escalante, Utah – a community of 786 people within a predominantly Mormon area. While the pastor and his wife were away, we were blessed to minister to and fellowship with a small, joyful congregation. We even had the fun task of caring for their two energetic 50-pound "puppies"! YIKES!!

Throughout spring and summer, we served once a month at a nearby church currently without a pastor. Their kindness and warm welcome were immediate. Interestingly, serving so close to home proved more challenging than traveling far away – our regular responsibilities at our home church during that time kept our schedule quite full!

In September, we returned for a third time to Resurrection Baptist Church (RBC) on Staten Island while their pastor and his wife were away. RBC is a predominantly Liberian congregation, made up of families who came to the U.S. three generations ago as refugees from civil war. We cherish the fellowship there and always leave feeling loved and spiritually refreshed.

Family Updates: Our family continues to do well. Among our 15 grandchildren, we are thrilled to see their growing love for the Lord and their desire to serve Him. With two graduating college and three graduating high school this year, only six remain under age 18. We also enjoyed our 19th year of Cousin Camp! Our goal is to continue until the youngest ages out: five more years if the Lord allows. Watching the cousins maintain such strong bonds despite living far apart has been a tremendous blessing.

A highlight of our year was welcoming our son Tim and his family back to the U.S. after 14 years of ministry in South Asia. We were excited to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with them in all that time! Now living in Springfield, Ohio, just three hours away, we are grateful for every new opportunity to attend their family events. We loved watching Levi in his high school play, something we could never do when they lived 8,000 miles away.

Life at Home: Life in Ypsilanti, Michigan, continues to be wonderful. Living near our daughter and her family has given us countless special moments to share. Even with a three-hour distance to our other children, God has allowed many trips and precious times together – soccer games, cross-country meets, baptisms, birthdays, graduations, Bible Quiz competitions, plays, and more. While I still dream (and pray!) for a large family compound with five houses within walking distance, I realize that may never happen. Thankfully, God has given us a strong love for road trips! 😊

As 2026 approaches, we are in the midst of planning for two Small Church Enrichment Conferences we have scheduled for mid-April in Nephi, Utah and early November in Kokomo, Indiana. Please pray for God to give us wisdom and energy in the planning and doing of these bi-annual events.

As 2025 ends, we want to thank you for your continued prayers, generous financial support, friendship and interest in our lives and ministry. We truly appreciate you all and wish you a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year!!!

Love to all, Tim & Sandy Hewitt 😊 Barnabas Enrichment Ministries