Hello! What privilege it is to greet you in the Blessed Name of
Jesus Christ our Lord and introduce you to The TMCI Builder’s
Code. This study is the official orientation course for new members
of The Missionary Church International. By way of introduction, we
ask that all of our new members read the first and last units (contracts
1 & 7) of this study and provide us with your feedback on
these sections.
The Missionary Church International is the fellowship of faith that
I call home and so it is a joy to figuratively welcome you to my
spiritual house. Before you begin this study I would like to share
briefly with you how I came to know and love this fellowship, how
this course was created, and what the objective of this study is.
In 1997, I was a student at a local Bible College. A friend
of mine asked me if I knew how to do electrical work because he was
working with a Bishop who needed some work done around his office. I
was a “starving student” with a growing family and did
know how to do electrical work so I agreed to call the man that evening. I
had never talked to a Bishop before and I was nervous about what
to say. My anxiety was quickly replaced with the peace of the
Lord when Bishop Covington got on the phone with me. I found
him to be a very kindhearted man who seemed more interested in me
than in any work he wanted me to do. Not only did I work
with him that following Saturday, but many Saturdays thereafter.
My work with Bishop Covington evolved over the next several years. Bishop
Covington loved to build, but his health was poor. The aging parsonage,
office and warehouse of TMCI were always in need of some kind of
upkeep or renovation, so our relationship was a mutual blessing. He
designed the plans and I did the labor. It was a great partnership.
Even more meaningful was that Bishop Ben Covington was the Lord’s
provision in my life for the father I never had. He was a great
blessing, and oh, the prayers this godly man ended each day with!
After several years of working together, I stumbled on a room
filled with hundreds of preaching messages, classroom lectures,
mission conferences, and chapel messages from the very Bible College
I had graduated from. When I asked Bishop Covington about
this hidden treasury, he told that this was one of the ways in
which God provided him with training in the Scriptures. You will
hear more about this in Unit 1, but “TMCI BUILDER’S CODE” includes
over 20 of our favorite messages from this audio library. Each message
was carefully selected to introduce you to the core values and vision
of this unique ministry.
Among Bishop Covington’s favorite sayings was, “God
is building His Kingdom out of broken things.” That statement
was inspirational in the creation of this study because it expressed
how he saw his own experience and calling. From these roots I hope
to preserve and empower the vision God gave him for reaching the
world for Christ through God’s “broken” but redeemed
children. I believe this spiritual heritage is needed today in my
spiritually orphaned generation who are searching for a fellowship
of faith to call home.
It
is my hope and prayer that by God’s grace, TMCI BUILDER’S
CODE will bless you for God’s Kingdom Building work as
He continues to fulfill His Promise to reach HIS world with HIS
Gospel through this generation!
SCOTT SZALWINSKI