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TRAINING TIMOTHYS
IN HAITI
By Benji Dryden
“Where do I go? What do I do? How do I go about it?” These were questions that would
enter the mind of a boy growing up in northern Florida. Training was a key element in
preparing that boy for what God wished for him to do day after day, month upon month,
for decades to come. His training came in the form of hard work on the farm, studies in
theological seminary, an associate/youth pastorate, and time in the United States military.

On September 11, 1975, Don and Bridgitt Dryden stepped out by faith into the next phase
of training. God had used parents, preachers, and positions to train them. Following
a year of language school, they moved to Port-de-Paix, Haiti, the training ground for
current and future ministries.

Don felt the Holy Spirit’s leading to use his training as a
church planter in Port-de-Paix at Peniel Baptist Church,
working alongside his co-pastor Emmanuel Charles. In
1977, Grace Baptist Bible Institute was established for the
purpose of training men to serve in the Lord’s army. For
five years it was located solely on the property of Peniel
Baptist Church, but the need for training rural leaders
became a spiritual burden to Don. With the assistance of
another missionary taking over the leadership of the central
location, Grace Baptist Bible Institute began an annex at
Beauchamp that met one weekend each month. Although
Don, Bridgitt,
the teacher, Don, drove over an hour on his motorcycle
& Benji Dryden
to have classes Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings,
some students walked for two hours each way to study God’s Word and receive training
in order to lead others.

While training men who had a desire to serve as pastors and church planters, Don led
by example. Peniel Baptist Church began a mission work three miles west of town. In
1985, Don turned over full leadership of Peniel Baptist Church to Pastor Emmanuel
and grew the mission work, Maranatha Baptist Church. During the following decade,
Don remained faithful to the task the Lord God had given him of training men, both
younger and older, to be spiritual leaders. Even while he pastored Maranatha Baptist
Church, he began a second annex of the Bible institute at Anse Rouge, a very rough three-
hour motorcycle journey. This annex mirrored the previous in that most students would
walk for a couple hours on Friday mornings to be taught all afternoon. After sleeping on
the floor of the borrowed school classroom, the students would experience four hours
of teaching, reviewing, and testing on Saturday mornings. Often Don would stay over,
preaching Sunday in local churches. Periodically, a weeklong conference was scheduled
in which he would preach and train church members.

As the decade of pastoring Maranatha Baptist Church came to a close, the Spirit led
Don and Bridgitt (with two children in Bible college and two still at home) to establish
4 BIMI Number 1, 2022