Dear Friends,

Lisa and I hope you are doing well as summer is now drawing to a close. The days are getting shorter here in Scotland. The air is turning crisp. The leaves are beginning to turn and fall from the trees.

Autumn means school has started up again at the Bible college. It’s turning into an interesting year for us here in Dumfries. Around the world Charis Bible College is seeing a bit of a drop in student enrollment because of the complications and uncertainty of the whole COVID situation.

However, our enrollment in Dumfries is actually up slightly over last year thanks to the virtual program we are approved to offer this year. While that helps our operating budget, it more importantly means we are discipling more people in the ways of the Kingdom of God. And that’s a huge blessing!

All Our Students Virtual Initially

Speaking of our school year, it’s turned out to be a very good thing that we planned to run our Virtual Program alongside our Hybrid program. Even though things are loosening up in America and other parts of the world, we are still dealing with lockdown stuff here in Scotland and the UK.

In fact, as I write this both the Scottish government and the UK government down in England are discussing plans to lock things down more tightly again. The way they are talking, it could be another six months, or more, before things even begin to return to some semblance of normality here.

That seems kind of crazy to us. But all our planning for the virtual program has made accommodating the continued restrictions far easier for us as we get the new school year up and running.

Because of the Virtual program, we have students enrolled in Charis Dumfries from both Norway and Sweden. Neither of those countries has a Charis campus yet. So our virtual program is a great way for students from these countries to experience Charis as part of an interactive class.

We now have two Saturdays with our students under our belt for this year. It is a bit of a dance as we move staff around our various rooms so that everyone can get into the virtual class meetings with the students without causing any sound feedback between devices. But we seem to have a good plan for that.

Expanding Our Staff

As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, God has expanded our Charis Dumfries team this year. Six graduates from our third year class last year have come on board to volunteer with us this year. It’s a huge blessing to have so many amazing people helping out.

Lisa and I could not do what we do here in Scotland, nor could we have the impact we are having without the team around us at Charis Dumfries. We are blessed to have the staff to run our virtual program.

More of Our Story

If you’re not familiar with our personal story and how God called us to Scotland to open Charis Dumfries, you might appreciate watching the archive of the live stream video Lisa and I did on our first day of classes this month.

Not only will you hear from us and how God moved in our lives, but you will also hear from Fiona, one of our recent third year graduates about the impact she experienced through the Bible college.

You won’t want to miss her powerful testimony. If you partner with us at NewCREEations, Fiona is just one of many examples of the fruit your partnership is producing here in Scotland.

Click the image below to watch the video.

Embracing Technology

One thing seems clear. The path forward for our effective ministry involves even more technology. It is true that a Zoom meeting will never be a perfect replacement for meeting in person. Even so, the technology we can access today allows us to continue the discipleship process despite the restrictions on face to face meetings.

At NewCREEations, we have always embraced technology to some degree. We’ve got our websites, email devotional, etc. Now, streaming live video out to the world greatly expands our ability to affect more lives more deeply.

At this point we are streaming mostly on behalf of Charis Dumfries. Even so, we are only able to do that because of the generous financial support of our NewCREEations ministry partners.

We purchased the equipment and loan it to Charis Dumfries for use free of charge. That we can do that is a powerful testimony of the generosity of our ministry partners. Lisa and I are eternally grateful for all those who have partnered with us over the years and the many who continue to support NewCREEations financially.

We could not accomplish all that God has us doing without your support. Your generous faithfulness during these uncertain times is an incredible testimony to God’s goodness in your lives. Thank you again for your love, friendship, prayers and faithful financial support. We are eternally grateful!

Abundant Blessings,

Chris & Lisa Cree

P.S. If you do not already partner with NewCREEations, would you prayerfully consider coming alongside us in what God is doing through our ministry in Scotland and around the world?

Give Online:

Give by Mail:

NewCREEations Ministries
953 Forest Edge Rd
Woodland Park, CO 80863

P.P.S. Bob the bull wanted to get in our newsletter. (He's the one on the right in the picture, the hansom red-ish brown fella.) Lisa and I don't know if that's his real name. But that's what we call him. He has been overseeing the heard of cows in the fields up behind where our house is. If you read all the way down to the bottom of our newsletter, please know that Bob says, "Hi!"