1. September started with a BANG at WATS! September 3 – 5 witnessed our annual Conference on Missions and Evangelism, and it was an exciting one for sure! Dr. Maurice Watson, of Beulahland Bible Church in Macon, Georgia, was our keynote speaker. WOW! Dr. Watson’s four messages were absolutely invigorating and challenging, from the first word until the last. He won the hearts of one and all, and we hope to see him back at WATS many times in the future! In addition to great reports from many of the thirty returning short-term Springboard 2008 missionaries we set an all-time record in a pledge offering for Springboard 2009 (WATS short-term missionaries going out all over West Africa in June and July of 2009). Over N900,000 was raised (around $8,000), and 47 people signed up to be considered for Springboard 2009 missionary assignments. The missionary vision is still very strong at WATS!

2. Rejoice with us! The Spirit of God is moving at WATS!! With the quaking of the US economy these are uncertain times, yet despite the tough financial circumstances WATS is facing there is a great atmosphere of trust in God and expectation of good things to come. Encouraging developments include these:
   • Though our economic problems are far from over we continue to receive positive responses to special appeals for financial help on both sides of the Atlantic
   • As a result of efforts this past month at least four public relations music teams are now organized at WATS to raise support in Lagos churches over the coming months
   • As a part of the run-up to the WATS Twentieth Anniversary celebrations May 20 – 23, 2009, we have now begun to seek corporate sponsors in Lagos for ten key campus improvements
   • On September 22 at WATS we launched a drive to sign up 1,000 persons as member of the WATS General Assembly
   
   For information on the General Assembly and how friends of WATS can join from either side of the Atlantic, check out the General Assembly page.

3. Dr. David Seiver, Dr. Gary S. Maxey and David Adeleke finished Masters modules in early September. Toward the end of the month Jacqueline Hoover flew in from Near East School of Theology in Beirut, to teach a Masters module in History of Christian-Muslim Relationships, and Dr. David Boyle (from Memphis, Tennessee, accompanied by Rev. Kent Hall) arrived to teach Biblical Hermeneutics. WATS´ own Kalu Okechukwu is teaching Greek Syntax and Grammar. Thank God for these dedicated people!
4. We thank God for the successful hosting of visitation teams in September from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the National Universities Commission (NUC). WATS continues its strong commitment toward quality education of leadership for the Church in Africa. We have been offered the possibility of institutional autonomy to operate directly under the NUC and we continue to seek the direction of God for a great future.

Thank God for great encouragement from these people!

5. The WATS Board of Trustees met in September and approved the appointment of seven new members to the WATS Governing Council, bringing the membership of that group to eighteen. Check out details about the Governing Council.

1. Pray for a special meeting of the Friends of WATS board set for Monday, October 6, 2008 A.D., in Atlanta. We are meeting to determine how best to respond to the continuing financial stress faced by both Friends of WATS and WATS itself. Pray for Dr. William Sillings as he leads this meeting, and for God to give us wisdom, and to send to us those who can help during this time of opportunity and challenge.

2. Pray for mission teams that are headed for WATS this month and next. Our missions teams this year are proving a great source of help and encouragement to tons of people. On October 4, a medical team arrives from Heartland Community Church (Overland Park, Kansas), including a videographer hoping to produce a new promotional video for WATS. The team is led by Cynthia Pincombe, who works in the missions office at Heartland. Pray for this team as they do physical examinations, HIV testing, and generally treat the medical needs of students, staff, families and friends in our WATS neighborhood.
3. Pray for Lois Brown, a registered nurse, who will accompany her teacher husband to WATS toward the middle of the month and who will work for two weeks in our clinic.
4. Pray also for a medical team from Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church, led by Maryann McLeod, arriving in Nigeria on November 1.

5. In October Masters modules include the conclusion of Dr. David Boyle´s module in Biblical Hermeneutics, and by the middle of the month courses in Biblical History and Criticism of the Old Testament (Dr. Ola Adeogun, of LIFE Theological Seminary), Christian Ethics (Dr. Henry Oloniyi), and Topics in Biblical Theology (Dr. William Brown, of Salisbury, NC, coming to WATS for the first time). Pray for special anointing for each of these men.

6. Pray for the semi-annual meeting of the expanded WATS Governing Council, set for Friday, October 31. Several crucial issues will be discussed, including the selection of the next WATS provost.

7. Pray also for plans afoot for fundraising dinners: November 17 in Atlanta and November 18 in Greenville, SC, as well as two dinners in Nigeria in the coming months, in Lagos and Abuja. Pray for Patricia Conlee (Friends of WATS Development Director) and her corps of volunteers as they work to make these events happen, and that God will help us to get the growing vision of leadership training across to more and more people!

8. Finally, especially as we prepare for our annual Spiritual Renewal Week in early November, we ask you to pray for a fresh outpouring of REVIVAL FIRE at WATS! The Spirit of God is hovering over WATS, and we earnestly seek His face and favor for the future. Nigeria urgently needs REVIVAL, and WATS must play its role. PRAY!!

1. How about an "IT vacation" at WATS? See us for details.
2. Do you have Bibles or books for the library? We need more children´s books! See us about getting them to Illinois for shipment to Nigeria.
3. Check www.watsonline.org for giving online!