New Vine Lakes proudly partners with Christian Faith Ministries, a mission dedicated to sharing the gospel and serving communities in practical ways. We love supporting the difference they make. Learn more about their work on their official website (see link at the top of the page).
Christian Faith Ministries (CFM), led by Kent and Ruth Hodge and based in Jos, Nigeria, focuses on peacemaking and mission across Northern Nigeria and beyond. NVL has partnered with their Gombe mission station since 2016, with support now extending into discipleship, teaching, and missionary work across Central and Northern Africa.
CFM continues to grow, with 1,500 Bible College students (around 1,200 boarders), and over 90% entering full-time ministry. Each day, 1,700 people are fed and 2,000 children attend CFM schools. Graduates have established over 500 mission stations across four countries and are active in ministry across 20 African nations.
Kent and Ruth are strong and excited at all God is doing at CFM; they feel privileged to share in it and happy to be celebrating 40 years in Nigeria this year! Kent has recovered really well from heart surgery almost 18 months ago. Overcoming endemic drug-resistant malaria and typhoid has been tricky, but they are going OK. They were briefly in Newcastle in October 2025 for Kent to have a non-cancerous growth successfully removed from Kent's left eye and have been back for him to have cataract surgery in March 2026, delayed by slow visa renewal for their youngest son Daniel, who lives with them in Nigeria, and travelling too. In a personal answer to prayer, Daniel, who has learning disabilities, is doing weekend Bible School in Nigeria, working hard, slowly learning, and reading the scriptures with more understanding than we thought possible: God is good!
Terrorism remains the biggest challenge, with attacks in June '25 on CFM mission stations in Benue State; hundreds of our church members are among tens of thousands still displaced from homes, villages and farms. Some were killed. We provide food for these church members and ten of their early-teens children (the age most at risk from traffickers in displacement camps) are among the 450 children in our two Children's Crisis Care Homes.
In October '25 a CFM missionary, a Muslim convert, CFM Bible college trained, an excellent young man, was kidnapped along with his church elder and seven local Muslim community members, with whom they were sharing the gospel; all were brutally massacred. Our missions co-ordinator for the region bravely took a team into terrorist-infested bush to recover and bury the bodies.
The victory news is that finally, with US pressure and military support, Nigeria's army are going after the terrorists! Thousands of terrorists have been "neutralised" (killed) since November and this is ongoing. Our local military, including relatives of our team in the army, are very happy about this, being finally released to do their job! Attacks still happen, but less often and smaller: we are deeply thankful to God! The US is also targeting the many illegal foreign mining operations in Nigeria that are funding and motivating terrorism across Africa; brutal theft by foreign oligarch interests of resources that could be used to fund genuine African development.
CFM have many projects that they are excited about in the next 12 months. Some examples include:
1) To complete a building to house 200 Crisis-Care Children, with a central hall for activities and six care-giving staff apartments.
2) Plans are underway for a second Children’s Crisis Care Home and school near Abuja, as the current rented facilities will be lost in April 2026. A suitable site has already been found, and funding is now needed to secure the land and complete construction.
3) Wells and missionary motor bikes.
CFM teams have opened over 500 mission stations in remote villages in Islam-dominant regions, where people who have never heard before are hungry for the Gospel. CFM-sponsored African missionaries, most trained at CFM, need help and support to "Arise and Shine". They need better access to water and most need small motor bikes to reach more villages with no roads, only walking trails. CFM are by faith arranging the purchase of 13 motor bikes (around A$2,000 each) for missionaries and are employing an engineer and team to dig 20 wells (around A$1,500 each), all in dangerous, terrorist-infested areas, so those who do not know Christ may hear! Purchases and employment are underway now. This project has almost endless potential for expansion. Terrorism (terrorists claim to be Muslims) has turned nominally Muslim villagers against Islam: they want to hear about Jesus!
Your support of $12,000 will contribute toward cfm’s operational costs and priority projects in the coming year.