Matthew 28.18-20, ‘And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The great commission that we’ve been given is far bigger than we could have ever asked or imagined... But how wonderful, comforting and inspiring it is to know that the One who has called us, is always with us, even to the end of the age. What a mission changing reality that is!!

With that in mind, here are a few ways that you can be praying for our wider mission in the month ahead…

1. Please pray for Mario Figueroa as he prepares to plant and launch Vine Church in Tampa, FL, USA, with their first service planned for Easter Sunday. Please pray that they would treasure and cherish Christ in this labor of love, and that many in Tampa would hear about Christ and Him crucified as a result.

2. Please pray for Walt Alexander, Taylor Hollingsworth, and Steve Teter as they lead the one day US Small Towns Summit on Thursday April 3rd, looking at what faithful pastoral ministry could look like for Sovereign Grace Churches, in small places. Please pray that the Lord would encourage weary and under-resourced pastors in their high calling as under shepherds. Instil a vision for faithfulness in pastoral ministry and bring pastors into healthy friendships where they can find help and camaraderie in gospel ministry.

3. Please pray for the pastors and wives of European SG partner and candidate churches as they meet in England from 22nd – 25th April for a time of refreshing and building relationships. Pastors from Ireland, UK, Spain, Turkey, Italy, and Belarus will be attending with their wives. This will be the first time that many of the wives will have the opportunity to get to know each other in this way. Please pray for Ed O’Mara, SGC Area Leader for Europe, as he leads this retreat, and for everyone involved. That they’d be refreshed in the gospel, refreshed in their marriages, and that this would bear fruit for each pastoral couple as well as in our SG-Europe churches.

4. Please pray for our SG Asia-Pacific Pastors & Wives Conference, 8th-10th April, in Manila, Philippines. Folk will be traveling from Australia, India, South Korea, Pakistan, and the US to attend this time. Please pray for Dave Taylor, Jeffrey Jo & Riley Spring as they lead this conference, and for every pastor and wife in attendance. With over 200 registrations, from all over Asia-Pacific, we’re eager to see all that the Lord will do during this time.

5. Please continue to pray for Brian Kiama (Church Planter in Nairobi, Kenya) and Jonathan Leslie (Co-Planter in Kenya), as they continue the soft-launch of Sovereign Grace Church, Nairobi. Please pray that God would continue to bring the people that He wants to be a part of this new endeavour and that His Word would speed ahead and be glorified in Nairobi and beyond.

… May the One who has commissioned us, also give us favour and faith for the road ahead. Soli deo gloria.

An update from Mark Prater, elder at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA and Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches…

Every family has historical, memorable, and happy events whether that is a graduation, wedding, or reunion. Thursday, March 27, 2025, was an historic, memorable, and happy event for our family of churches because on that day, Carlos Contreras and I had the privilege of ordaining our first Sovereign Grace ordained elders in the nation of Costa Rica. Because of the labors of Joselo Mercado, Sr. Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, MD, there are 5 churches in Costa Rica pursuing adoption as Candidate Churches. One of those churches, La Gracia in San Jose, will now become a full partner Emerging Nation Church because all three of their elders were ordained together on March 27.

Juan Jose Salano, Sr. Pastor of La Gracia, and two of his Associate Pastors, Andres Aguero, and Daniel Rivera completed the Sovereign Grace Ordination process with excellence and were ordained at La Gracia in San Jose, which was a happy night for La Gracia, and all of Sovereign Grace. After I preached from 1 Peter 5, exhorting Juanjo, Andres, and Daniel to shepherd the people of La Gracia; Carlos Contreras, Sr. Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Juarez, Mexico, led these men through their ordination vows, and La Gracia through their congregational vows. It was an appropriately solemn and yet joyful moment. Carlos, Roberto Estupinian, Sr. Pastor of Gracia Soberana Guadalajara, Mexico, and I then laid hands on Juanjo, Andres, and Daniel praying for them and their wives officially ordaining these three men as Sovereign Grace elders. The people of La Gracia joyfully jumped to their feet giving their pastors a loud standing ovation. They were not only happy for their pastors, but they were also excited about officially being a part of our family of churches.

When I asked Juanjo what his ordination meant to him, he said, with a big smile on his face, that La Gracia had been an independent church for many years, and now they were no longer alone. He also said that La Gracia is only one of a handful of churches in Costa Rica that consistently preaches reformed, gospel-centered doctrine. Therefore, to partner with a family of churches that was not only theologically compatible, but also one that built relationally was an answer to many prayers. It was another reminder that Sovereign Grace is not a professional, stodgy denomination, but a theologically defined family of churches who love helping one another make much of Jesus.

As we talked about the future of Sovereign Grace in Costa Rica, it’s clear that these three men, and their church have the same vision that we all have in Sovereign Grace, which is to reach the lost with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ by planting churches in Costa Rica, participating in global missions, and building a gospel-centered church where people are discipled all for the glory of Christ alone. Therefore, please join me in welcoming La Gracia to our family of churches, and join me in praying for them and their pastors asking God to use La Gracia to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ in Costa Rica and beyond by His grace, and for His glory alone.

An update from Josh Kruger Jr., Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Windhoek…

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since we started meeting in our home with only two other couples, and now, since launching our public meetings on March 2nd, 2025, we have grown to 7 regular and committed families (and eight children under 10).

As I think back, I think of God’s providence in moving my parents and their 3 teenagers to a Sovereign Grace Church in Richmond, Virginia back in 2005. As a pretty immature 18-year-old, being seen and publicly acknowledged for my humble, serving heart was a never-ending pursuit. But God was at work. Gradually, God instilled a deep love for and confidence in the biblical values and convictions we as Sovereign Grace hold so dearly. That love for God’s Sovereignty and a deep rooted belief in the authority and sufficiency of scripture carried me and my own family through more than a decade of missions work on the African continent from 2011 to 2022. That was despite the fact that we never found a local church with the same values and convictions I had come to cherish. Over time however, our desire (our need rather) to see such a strong, evangelical and biblical church established started pushing us towards study and considering what a non-denominational church plant might look like.

Providentially, in mid 2022 a dear friend and mentor, Matthew Williams invited me and my family for a Pastoral internship. Though hesitant at first, only a few months later we moved back to the US, from Namibia, to that same church my parents joined so many years ago. It would be a year of study, classes, and learning from Godly men all while pursuing ordination. And yes, another 18 years of my life had passed since the first 18. Then, by God’s grace alone, I was ordained and commissioned in Sovereign Grace and a “church plant” (really a family of 4) was sent out from Richmond on 17 December, 2023 to the far side of the globe, to deep…dark…Africa! 

We started meeting in our home on 7 April, 2024, not really knowing what to expect. The learning curve was steep and riddled with mistakes to learn from, but everyone was kind and gracious with this rookie pastor. Music by the Getty’s, CityAlight, and Sovereign Grace, to name a few, was new to most but warmly welcomed. Sovereign Grace Music is SUCH a blessing to our denomination…people can’t stop telling me how much they now love listening to SG Music on a daily basis…praise the Lord!

There were those Sundays when we had multiple visitors and joy filled worship, and there were Sundays where my wife and I sat in our Sunday best, coffee pot steaming away, only to transition to a caffeine injected prayer meeting as no one showed up. The highs were high, and the lows were low, people have come and people have left, but the Gospel remained glorious and immovable! An unparalleled “true North”.

Thank God for the firm foundation of our faith…the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has sustained us and enabled us to joyfully keep the course, fight the fight, and run the race, because we knew the power of a future God glorifying church rested on it, and nothing that is in us.

So as we look back on God’s providence, God’s sanctifying work in our lives, God’s preparation of our family and eventual calling on me to be His undershepherd, we are grateful. Grateful for humble beginnings, because such beginnings point ultimately and solely to the goodness and glory of God. We are grateful for those the Lord has added, and we pray earnestly for those the Lord would still add in the future. We pray for believers to grow, and unbelievers to meet their Savior. 

We are also thankful for the good work the Lord has started and we are eagerly expectant of what He will do in the future. By God’s grace we hope that our small church plant, Sovereign Grace Church Windhoek, will become a hub for future SG church plants in Southern Africa. We too hope to invite men to come and do internships, study, grow, be ordained and sent out, so that the bride of Christ might be established, as unwavering as the Gospel itself, in Southern Africa for the glory of God. May God use us, this church plant, to grow the global body for the glory of Christ! It is our joy to write this update to you all. Amen.

An update from Jeffrey T. Jo, Lead Pastor of Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries, Manila and SGC Key Leader for our work in the Philippines…

__

“I thank the Lord for helping me finish the PPI (Philippine Pastors Institute) course. PPI taught me the significance that every belief and doctrine should be based on the Bible.” (CJ of CCSGM Tandag City).

“I am grateful for PPI and for Sovereign Grace Churches for allowing us this much needed training for pastors in Mindanao. I have learned not to take biblical interpretations lightly and that it should be taught in its proper context.” (Pastor Jun, CFF Paniquian).

“I have humbly learned that our salvation is all of God’s doing by Christ and in Christ, and that apart from His kindness, we will never be saved.” (Pastor Arniel, CFF Adlay).

__

These were the grateful confessions (after their oral exams) of some of our students in PPI level 1, batch 2; a course designed for pastors, would-be pastors and those who are leading women’s ministry or children’s ministry in their churches. The curriculum is all about the basic branches of theology along with the study of our 7-Shared Values and 7-Shaping Virtues. Most of the students told us that what they learned during this course changed their understanding of church ministry and family as their priority. Some of them were teary-eyed as they explained to us the beauty of reformed theology on which they’ve now embraced.

The camaraderie built amongst the students has been priceless. They’ve become friends that pray, encourage and support one another for the sake of the glorious gospel of Christ. This coming June 8th, 12 out of 17 students who enrolled in August last year will be honored as they celerbrate their graduation. I am grateful for the lives of our SG ordained pastors, Rey Lacbayo and Francis Mariano, and an intern-elder and a graduate of batch 1, Christopher Laurenti, who have humbly yet passionately taught the students every Saturday for 7 months. It has been such a joy to serve alongside these men as we equip fellow pastors and raise up new ones for the gospel’s sake and for the edification of our churches in Mindanao, Philippines.

I’m currently in the boarding area of the airport as I wait for my flight back to Manila and while I’m composing this article, I cannot help but smile as my heart praises our Chief Shepherd for all His wonderful works in the lives of His church and His shepherds. We are just honored to be used by God as unworthy vessels for the equipping of His people as they do the works of ministry. It is my hope that, in God’s kindness, we may be able to encourage other elders and pastors either from SGC or other churches in this region that we may altogether preach one gospel in Mindanao and plant churches that exalt Christ and Christ alone. We are excited for this coming September as we start our PPI level 2 that focuses on Pastoral Theology which is designed only for men in ministry. We are hoping to gather around 25 men for this class.

Thank you for all your sincere prayers and generous partnership in this endeavor of equipping our pastors that we may continue to proclaim His sovereign name in the Philippines.

As what Charles Thomas Studd, a British missionary to China, once said, “Only one life will soon to pass, only what's done in Jesus will last.”

An update from Ricky Alcantar, Lead Pastor of Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, Texas, USA. Ricky serves on the National Church Planting Group with Sovereign Grace Churches and leads the Antioch Program…

Our most recent Antioch Retreat was a wonderful example of our Sovereign Grace Partnership. Men from churches across the Southeast US, from Virginia, the Caribbean, and even from Germany gathered recently in Orlando. We spent two days studying Acts 11-13 and the Antioch church, discussing, dreaming, praying, and planning together. 

Highlights of This Year

• Different Context, Same Scriptural Principles // We had churches from the US South, from small churches and larger churches, and even from four countries. But it was wonderful to see how the principles of Acts apply cross-culturally in every place. 

• New Relationships and Old Partnerships // One of the things I love about Sovereign Grace is that there are rich deep relationships cultivated over time, and there are always new people to connect with and learn from. 

• Ministry of the Word and Spirit // We labored over parts of Scripture together in God's unchanging word but also found the Lord speaking specific encouragements to pastors during our times of prayer. A beautiful blend of expository ministry and Spirit-filled ministry. 

• Regional Flavor // This retreat was unique because nearly the entire Southeast region of US churches participated together, attaching the Antioch retreat to their regional assembly. This was the first time we'd ever tried this and it seemed to work really well - something we'll look at doing in the future where it serves churches. 

• Footgolf! // We were introduced to the sport of "Footgolf" by Pete Shefferstein, which is essentially golf played with a soccer ball. (Yes, really.) I think one of our shared values should be laughter because we certainly laughed quite a bit on the course, especially when Joel's ball landed in a pond and had to be fished out. 

What Is Antioch? 

Antioch retreat aims to equip churches at the intersection of our ecclesiology (nature of the church) and missiology (mission of the church). I like to joke that if Sovereign Grace Churches exists to plant and strengthen churches, Antioch is the "and" that connects those two actions together. It has become a two-day retreat held annually in the US and includes a unique component of follow-up coaching and support for churches that attend the retreat. 

Where Do We Go From Here? 

We are planning to hold our next Antioch retreat next Spring in the Northeast, but are praying about other ways to use this material as well. Antioch is a tool from our family of churches for our family of churches, so we'd loved to see it used in whatever ways our churches find most helpful. 

An update from Bert Turner, Executive Pastor at Covenant of Grace, Ohio, USA and Emerging Nations representative to Brazil…

My wife Karen and I had the privilege and joy of spending five weeks in Brazil serving five churches interested in partnership and/or relationship with Sovereign Grace Churches. We spent time with some dear friends and made new friends along the way. It is a joy to now have two ordained Sovereign Grace pastors in Brazil – Emerson Soares and Fabiano Medeiros who are providing leadership in Brazil.

Marcia & Fabiano Medeiros

Emerson & Tati Soares

Igreja CasaVide São Bernardo

We had a wonderful connection with pastors Rafael Yamashiro and André Casamiro, their leadership team and the church. I have been meeting online monthly with Rafael since January 2024, but this was our first visit to the church. These men embrace the gospel and the SGC values and virtues. We all feel the Lord is drawing us toward partnership.

Igreja Arca Santa Rosa

We had a good first visit with Pastor Jónatas Weide and Jefferson Weide (cousins) at a church plant by our friends at Arche Church in Hamburg, Germany. Emerson will continue to pursue the relationship.

Igreja Graça Soberana de Rio Grande

We held the ordination of Emerson as a Sovereign Grace Churches pastor which will lead soon to receiving the first church in Brazil into partnership with SGC!

Pastors & Wives retreat in Rio Grande

We had a wonderful retreat that was primarily relational. Then I taught a seminar on the Church and the Holy Spirit. We felt the Lord’s grace as we grew in relationships and trust.

Igreja Viela Novo Hamburgo

We had a good first visit with Pastor Tarik Rodrigues after connecting with him via video call for the first time in December, 2024. I spoke to the leadership and to the church. This is a remarkable example of grace in church planting. The church has grown in number quickly so they are growing a Gospel culture. We hold very similar theological values. I’m looking forward to more talks with Tarik.

Igreja Reformada Cidade Cinco São Paulo

After developing relationship over three years with Pastor Fabio Leal we had a good first visit with the leadership and church. Fabio hopes to attend the 2025 US Pastors Conference.

We are greatly encouraged by God’s sovereign work in Brazil as he continues to develop meaningful relationships by the Holy Spirit. It is a joy to find churches that embrace the values and virtues that are so precious to us in and through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some time ago, in a prayer email, Mark Prater wrote the following:

        ‘A survey of the Pauline epistles reveals how consistently Paul prayed for the churches he carried on his heart, and how consistently Paul asked them to pray for him. Prayer marks New Testament gospel partnership that churches share, and based on that biblical pattern, it’s our desire that prayer mark our partnership in Sovereign Grace. Additionally, as we pray for one another, the relationships we have among our pastors and churches are strengthened. Praying for one another fosters relationships in a way that makes us a genuine “family of churches.”’

How well said that is. We’re so much better “together” and so here are some ways we can be praying for one another over the next month…

1. Please pray for Bert Turner (Pastor of Covenant of Grace Church, Copley, Ohio) and his wife Karen as they continue their time in Brazil. Having now ordained Emerson Soares on March 2nd, an absolute highlight Bert tells me, they now head to spend time with Pastor Tarik Rodrigues and the Igreja Viela in Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, for the weekend of March 8-9th. Before heading on to spend time with Pastor Fabio Leal and Igreja Cidade Cinco in Sao Paulo, the weekend of March 15-16th. Both Churches are interested in partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches.

2. Please pray for Rob Flood (Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA) as he heads to Sydney, Australia 25th-31st March. For the first few days he’ll be running the JRC Training for all of the elders in Sovereign Grace Churches, Australia, then on the weekend he’ll be speaking at a Marriage Retreat for over 60 couples from Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga and Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta. Please pray that it’s a wonderful time for everyone involved.

3. Please pray for Trinity Fellowship as they ordain two very dear brothers on March 9th; Abenezer Dejene and Amanuel Yehualashet. Both of these brothers have graduated from the Ethiopian Pastors College and completed a residency at Trinity Fellowship. In addition, please pray for the ordinations of Juango Solano, Andres Blanco and Daniel Alvarado in Iglesia La Gracia, San Jose, Costa Rica, and Chespi Sandoval in Iglesia Biblical Playa Azul, Jaco, Costa Rica. God willing, they’ll all be ordained at a joint service for these two Churches on March 26th, and what a celebration that will be.

4. Please pray for Mario Figueroa as he prepares to plant and launch Vine Church in Tampa, FL, USA, with their first service planned for Easter Sunday. Please pray that God would quickly establish the work of this teams hands and that many in Tampa would hear about Christ and Him crucified as a result.

5. Please continue to pray for our new church plant in a province of Isaan, Thailand that launched mid-November.  We thank God for those he has brought to hear the good news and pray that they and many others would come, see and believe in Jesus. So far, it’s been going amazingly well!

… Thank you for praying for our family of churches. May His grace abound to us all!

An update from Pastor Greg & Pastor Dave (names concealed for security reasons), on an incredible work and partnership forming in South Asia…

From December 5-12, 2024, Pastor Dave and I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting our Sovereign Grace ministry partners in a country in South Asia. Our purpose was to observe and evaluate first-hand (and for the first time) the status of the churches in that country that have requested an official relationship with Sovereign Grace Churches.

We were able to visit eight different churches over the course of seven days. We enjoyed a special gathering of all 21 pastors and wives (along with their children). Both Dave and I had the opportunity to preach, teach, exhort and speak at least 7 times. We conducted a baptism for 15 professing believers. We experienced the hospitality of four of our six candidates for ordination, while enjoying meals with their families in their homes.

The 21 men provide pastoral leadership to approximately 200 churches. They are well organized, and have formed a cohort that gathers monthly for prayer, planning, and mutual care.

These pastors are diligent with a remarkable work ethic. They each go two by two, from meeting to meeting, preaching in two churches (at least) every night of the week, except Saturday. They’ve been carrying on this pace for years.

The social, religious and economic context for their ministry is stark and dangerous. Brickmaking dominates the economic fabric of the three districts where our ministry partners live and serve. The brickmaking industry is a systemically corrupt, enslaving, and evil institution. There are impossible quotas to reach. Though housing is provided for those employed, there is no electricity, plumbing, heating, or secure enclosures. Nearly everyone is sick from the toxic smoke produced by brick kilns. Women are abused. Infant mortality is high. People are trapped and impoverished for life. Since the days of Moses and Pharoah, little has changed. Nevertheless, this is the primary context where our men have planted dozens and dozens of churches.

The region of the country where our men serve is also an enclave of Muslim extremism. The Imams teach regularly that the way to a better eternal paradise is to “do away with the infidel.” Many of our partner pastors have had people in their churches killed simply for following Jesus. One of them had his church (built adjacent to his home) burned to the ground just this past October. His wife and children, at home at the time, had to flee. And while the local police dispersed those who destroyed his church building, our pastor was threatened that if he put back “one stick” to the church structure, the Muslims would come back and burn it down again, along with his home, with him and his family in it. He HAS, however, resumed meeting with his church in his home.

With remarkable courage, joy, humility, and enduring grace, our ministry partners in this Islamic nation in South Asia are a profound and compelling witness to the truth that the “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

An update from Doug Hayes, Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania and Key Leader for our work in Zambia…

When the Lord unexpectedly took Wilbroad Chanda home in January 2021, it was a devastating loss on many levels. As the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Ndola, Zambia, Wilbroad had labored diligently to identify and equip leaders to share in the work of ministry, but CCC still relied on him to preach most Sundays and set the overall direction for the church. Wilbroad was not the church’s lone pastor/elder, but he alone had been ordained through Sovereign Grace, and only he and his wife Zicky had fully experienced the blessings of Sovereign Grace partnership. For others, Sovereign Grace was more a set of doctrinal convictions than a church family.

At the time of Wilbroad’s death, Ector Makaliki was locally recognized as an elder. Two other young men, McDonald Chanda (no relation to Wilbroad) and Stephen Lubakila, were in the process of being equipped and evaluated for eldership as well. All three of these men stepped forward heroically in the wake of Wilbroad’s passing, each shouldering a portion of the burden as the church regrouped and sought the Lord for its future. Ector was recognized by all as the acting lead pastor, and all three men affirmed their desire to pursue ordination in Sovereign Grace.

In the years since then, each of these men have studied diligently for their exams and persevered through the ordination process, all while serving the church faithfully and providing for their families through other jobs outside the church. They have cared well for Christ Community Church through a difficult season, and grown as pastors and preachers in ways that are evident to all. Meanwhile, the Ordination Committee of the U.S. Northeast Region has graciously welcomed the opportunity to oversee their ordination efforts; grading written exams, giving helpful feedback, and impaneling evaluators for oral exams.

Last November in Orlando, Ector Makaliki passed his oral exams and received the Northeast ROC’s wholehearted commendation for eldership in Sovereign Grace. With that milestone behind us, I had the pleasure of surprising Ector and the church with a presentation of his framed ordination certificate when I was with them in Ndola one Sunday last month.

All in attendance were delighted as we marked this important moment in the life of Christ Community Church, and this significant achievement for Ector. Please continue praying for this dear church. From their lead pastor down to their newest member, these brothers and sisters are a beautiful example of perseverant faith. May they refuse to grow weary of doing good, knowing that in due season they will reap, if they do not give up.

Grace Family Church in Jamaica was planted in January 2019 by a team led by Joel Bain, Sean Taylor and Sheldon Campell who are ordained pastors in Sovereign Grace Churches. Joel Bain (Lead Pastor of Grace Family Church) shares this update…

On Sunday, January 26, Grace Family Church celebrated our 6th anniversary with a service and picnic under a tent on an immaculately manicured lawn at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine, Jamaica. It was a beautiful day. But perhaps because this is the way we’ve celebrated each year, I almost missed the miracle. Thankfully at a point after the service I felt God arresting my perpetual motion, nudging me to stop and look around at the evidence of his kindness in the collage of people and stories joyfully mingled and mingling together. 

There was Sonia, a member of our church, a retiree, widow and grandmother who is always joined by her sons and grandkids for our celebration. It’s wonderful to be able to welcome them each time. She shared with me recently that one of her teenage granddaughters asked her if she could become a member of our church. There was Chris, who is not yet a believer but has been among us for several months listening to the gospel and leaning in, who asked if he could buy GFC t-shirts in every colour we have available. We treasure his presence and pray for his salvation.

There was Telika, a young believer who started attending our church regularly at the beginning of 2025 but was eager to be in our membership photo because she signed up on our website the previous night! She is eager to grow in her faith, reads ravenously, and now tells her friends that she won’t be there if they plan activities on a Sunday morning because she loves being at church. There was Russell, who has gathered with us almost every Sunday for close to a year and shared that he has never been baptized but would like to be. And there were, of course, our members - an increasingly close-knit, gospel-shaped family that has grown to 70, many of them serving joyfully in different roles that day, welcoming our guests and celebrating God’s grace. God has been tremendously good to us.

That morning I envisioned the church for deepening discipleship. Rather than having the shallow impact that is common in our nation, we want to spend the next 5 years pursuing Jesus and community in such a way that the gospel will pervade our lives. We just began preaching through Genesis. We’re looking forward to baptizing a few precious folks and beginning a new membership cohort in March. We’re also about to begin training deacons and have started exploratory conversations about pastoral ministry with a few men and their wives.

There’s much to look forward to with patience and in faith - because nothing has happened quickly for us. But it would be wrong to long for that in a way that fails to turn aside to see and appreciate the treasure we already have - our church - this magnificent, messy testimony to the love of God in Christ!

An update from Marty Machowski, Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania…

After a one-day flight delay caused by a rare (and immobilizing) inch of snow in Dallas, my trip to Lord’s Grace Church in Suwon, South Korea, went smoothly. Following my Sunday sermon, Songhwan gathered the pastoral team and deacons for an extended question-and-answer session. The leadership at Lord’s Grace Church expressed deep gratitude for my visit and the connection it represented with Sovereign Grace Churches. It was a true joy to partner with these devoted servants in spreading the gospel in Asia!

During my visit, Songhwan hosted a seminar for a group of gospel-centered pastors and their wives from the surrounding area, whom he has affectionately named “Together for the Gospel Korea.” I delivered five messages on our Shared Values, and Songhwan followed up with a session on how to apply these values within the Korean context. His church serves as an exemplary model for these area pastors, and several expressed a desire to explore a partnership with Sovereign Grace.

We wrapped up the week with a family seminar titled “The Holy Spirit and the Family,” where I taught parents about the Holy Spirit’s role in the family. The session focused on the Spirit’s work in areas such as conviction of sin, the regeneration of our children, assurance of salvation, and the operation of spiritual gifts within family life. The participants were deeply encouraged, with many commenting on how helpful it was to understand the Holy Spirit’s vital role in the family.

A group photo taken after the Sunday service captured a growing and joyful congregation, one that is living out the shared values and virtues of Sovereign Grace!

An update from Jonathan Logan, a Pastor-in-Training at Cross of Grace, El Paso, Texas…

Relay 2025 was a time of encouragement, challenge, fun, and most importantly, gospel truth. What a joy it was to see so many hundreds of young adults from across Sovereign Grace (and beyond) gather around the beauty of the Gospel.

From the first moments entering the building, the conference was marked by gospel shaped life! Here are a few highlights.

There are a few sounds on earth as edifying as God’s people singing together, and the singing at Relay was thunderous! Seeing hundreds of young adults, hands lifted high, shouting at the top of their lungs praises to our God, to see the next generation carrying on a rich history of joy-filled, gospel-centered singing, was so encouraging.

Who doesn’t love T-shirts and stress balls being shot out of a canon that occasionally worked up to specifications? With incredible cover songs, trivia, humor, and lighthearted fun, “Joseph and the Fun Squad” did a great job drawing us all together relationally as we laughed and had a good time.

Our crew from El Paso loved experiencing both snow and late-night Wa-Wa runs, as well as getting some dedicated time with the churches from the (affectionately nicknamed) Wild West region. Josh Payne did a great job coming up with general Sovereign Grace historical trivia, as well as some trivia related to our region in particular. It was hilarious and informative!

My personal favorite surprise was rolling up to a Starbucks, seeing it was closed, lifting my eyes up and seeing God’s good gift to grocery stores, Wegman’s! It was a taste of home for this kid who grew up in Buffalo.

The breakouts were timely, helpful, informative, and compelling and it was an absolute joy to hear from the founding and next generation of pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches. They helped us dig in to the values and virtues we’ve held so dear for so many years as a family of churches. 

CJ, Jon, Jeff, Jared, Dave, and Bob did such a great job of helping us see the beauty of the doctrines of grace, seeing Jesus lifted high in song, reminding us of the freedom found in pursuing holiness, among so many other things.

Thanks to all the volunteers who spent countless hours preparing, serving, and cleaning up at Covenant Fellowship, so that we all could have a rich time of fellowship and growing in the good of the gospel! Can’t wait for the next Relay Conference!

I also want you to hear from one of our young adults, Abby:

“The theme of this year’s RELAY conference was teaching on the doctrines of grace. As a young adult who is relatively new to studying theology, hearing our pastors explain the importance and application of these doctrines was invaluable to me. Positioned right at the start of the new year, RELAY gave me a chance to set my eyes on what is true and beautiful as I begin a new year, which many see as a new start or clean slate. 

It was so edifying to be reminded of the grace of God; how indescribable, wonderful, and beautiful it is and how it fills every part of a Christian’s life. 

I learned that the doctrines of grace will never get old. I will always need to hear them and remember them. I will hopefully always be profoundly affected by them and rearrange my life to live by them. Seeing our founding pastors still tear up when they recount their testimony is so impactful, reminding me that I will never fully understand the depth of love God has for His people. 

One of the highlights for me was getting to reaffirm what the pastors were preaching with singing. I loved that the songs we sang reinforced the gospel of grace that we were learning about. It is one of the tangible ways I saw how God’s grace affects people in real time. 

I am so thankful for our family of churches that presses into these doctrines, even when they can sometimes be difficult to understand, and for the dedication of our pastors and leaders to teach the next generation!”

- Abby

The team in El Paso also put together some daily video recaps that we wanted to share - Enjoy!

• Day 1

• Day 2

• Day 3

All available resources from Relay 2025 are now available here. Watch or download main session messages, view photos, listen to breakout sessions, and more.

Psalm 121.1-2 says, ‘I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.'

As we pray, that’s who's listening and who we get to come to! The LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. The One who will not let our foot be moved, who is our shade at our right hand, and who neither slumbers nor sleeps. The LORD is the One who will help us and so as we pray, what a privilege and opportunity this really is!!

So with that in mind, here are some ways that you can be praying for our Global Mission in the month ahead…

1. Please pray for Bert Turner (Pastor of Covenant of Grace Church, Copley, Ohio) and his wife Karen as they travel to Brazil on February 9. Over five weeks they hope to visit nine cities and relate to twelve pastors from eight different churches. Please pray for safe travels, good health and effective spirit-empowered ministry. Please pray for Bert’s time with Emerson Soares (pastor of Graça Soberana Rio Grande), who will be ordained in the coming month. Please also pray for his time with Pastors Emerson, Fabiano, Guilherme, Rafael, Andre, Jader and Tarik as he leads a pastors and wives retreat. Please pray, as well, for wisdom and good communication as Bert meets with two other pastors who are developing deeper relationships with Sovereign Grace Churches.

2. Please pray for Ricky Alcantar (Lead Pastor at Cross of Grace Church, El Paso, Texas) as he leads the Antioch Retreat at the end of this month. Antioch is a program aimed to help churches faithfully pursue the marks of mission as seen in Antioch and the New Testament. Please pray for the whole US Southeast Region as well as other who will be attending, that as they spend three days together they would be freshly stirred and equipped for the mission.

3. Please pray for Brian Kiama (Church Planter into Nairobi, Kenya) and Jonathan Leslie (Co-Planter in Kenya), as they continue the soft-launch of Sovereign Grace Church, Nairobi. Please pray that God would continue to bring the people that He wants to be a part of this new endeavor and that His Word would speed ahead and be glorified in Nairobi and beyond.

4. Please pray for Jeffrey Jo (National Leader of SGC Philippines), as he works through a possible SG Church Plant in Trece Martirez City. For the past ten months, through the work of Dasmiranas City Church, there’s been a group of around 20 adults meeting for a weekly bible study in Trece, representing around 15 families, alongside a busy bible study of about 30 kids aged 5-13. The people there are eager for a church to be planted there and are hungry for God’s Word. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for everyone involved in this door that seems to be opening.

5. Please pray for our two Sovereign Grace Churches in Australia, that will be begin running ‘The Bridge Course’ this month. After a big build-up of prayer and inviting, Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga’s launches on Tuesday 11th February, and Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta’s on Tuesday 18th February. Please pray that many people attend and that lives are completely changed as a result. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!

6. Finally, please pray for Pat & Dana Tedeschi, who having been commissioned and sent out to work in London, England, have now landed at Oasis Church and begun to settle in. Please pray that the Lord would establish the work of their hands, and that Pat would experience much grace and favour as he begins Pastoring in the Church. May the days ahead, and the fruit, be wonderfully sweet. Jesus is worth it.

   … Our help comes from such an amazing King. Thank you so much for joining us in praying to Him.

An update from Steve Teter, Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church in Franklin, West Virginia…

Pastor and Bible teacher Mike Bullmore was once asked, “Why should someone be a pastor in a small town? Why not locate to a larger, more urban or suburban area with more people, more money, more amenities and greater opportunities? Why should anyone stay and pastor a church in a rural area? It only took a moment for Mike to consider this question and respond, “Why pastor in a small town? Because God has His people there!”

That is why among the churches that make up Sovereign Grace in the United States there are number of churches located in small, more rural areas. While most Sovereign Grace churches are appropriately situated in more urban locations where more than 80% of the U.S. population lives, we have a number of rural churches in various regions throughout the U.S., not to mention rural churches in countries around the world. The Small Town Initiative exists as an informal resource to serve pastors in small towns; both those ministering currently as well as those considering rural church plants in the future.

Rural America, encompasses 97% of the land area of the United States. Sixty million people live in those “wide-open spaces”. Life there has its own, often unique, set of challenges. Declining industry along with young people leaving family farms for better jobs “in the city” often result in aging, stagnant or declining populations. Fentanyl deaths and drug addiction are rampant in many places and few families are left unaffected. Spiritually, main-line protestant churches that were once the soul and backbone of rural life, have become shells of what they once were due to many denominations abandoning the biblical faith “once for all delivered to the saints.”

At the same time in every small town throughout the country there are life-long residents who love the Lord, love His church and who are committed to the Lord’s mission to spread the gospel! Also, and particularly since COVID, there has been a mini-resurgence of people relocating from cities into these towns including young families or retirees who long for a life that is more affordable and less hectic. Some newer residents are Christians looking for a church home while others come needing to hear the gospel. So, while God indeed has His people in every small town, the good news of Jesus Christ, proclaimed and lived out through strong, theologically sound, gospel-centered churches, is rural America’s greatest need.

This coming year, to serve pastors who minister in rural areas, Trinity Grace Church of Athens, TN in conjunction with the Small Town Initiative, will host our first Small Town Summit to be held on April 3, 2025. Walt Alexander and Taylor Hollingsworth, pastors of Trinity Grace, will lead this one-day summit designed to provide fellowship, encouragement, worship and training to small town pastors both within and outside of Sovereign Grace. Our hope for this first Summit is that pastors will be strengthened and freshly envisioned for the vital ministry God has given them in their various towns.

To learn more about this summit or to register, please click here. May God help us in this important endeavor.

An update from Carlos Contreras, lead pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and national leader for SGC Mexico…

Last November I had the great privilege of being invited again to speak at "Por Su Causa 2024” in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. This is one of the most important Christian Conferences in Latin America led by the ministry of Dr Miguel Nuñez, who has been a long time friend of Sovereign Grace and participant in our own “Fieles” conference in Juarez, Mexico.

Through the history of the “Por Su Causa Conference” in the Dominican Republic, CJ Mahaney, Jeff Purswell, Bob Kauflin, and Joselo Mercado have also participated as main speakers. And, on two of those occasions, the worship team of the Conference from the hosting church (La IBI) have joined to record two worship albums of mostly Sovereign Grace Music in Spanish. However, this occasion was historic as it was the first time the conference was held outside of the Dominican Republic and in our beloved country of Mexico. It was a major investment of time and resources. I was blown away to find out that about 150 volunteers from La IBI in the DR paid their way to be able to serve at the conference together with local volunteers. What an amazing and generous investment from a church from a small Caribbean country in order to serve the cause of the gospel in our very large country!

The theme of the Conference was “A Life Worthy of His Calling” based on Ephesians 4:1. The main speakers included Dr. Miguel Nuñez, Pastor Sugel Michelen, Otto Sanchez and Pastor Pepe Mendoza. All of these Dominican men have been part of the conference every year. This year guest pastors included David Platt, Hanibal Rodriguez from the USA and myself. Many other pastors and leaders participated in workshops and discussion panels happening throughout the Monterrey Convention Center with an attendance of about 6000 from all over Mexico and other countries.

The conference started with a Pre-Conference for Pastors and church leaders attended by about 2000 people. I had the opportunity to participate in a discussion panel on the theme of “Called to Pastor the Sheep of the Lord” and then I was asked to preach on the theme “Called to Compassion” from the story of Jesus and the widow from Luke 7:11-17.

This was one of the most significant events I have ever participated in. Being there felt like a joyous celebration of what God has been doing in Latin America in the last decade. God has brought an awakening to the true gospel and it was obvious there was much joy in celebrating the wonderful truths of the amazing grace of God in the Spanish speaking world. I was able to meet with many leaders and friends, some I hadn’t seen in many years. And their testimony was the same: “God has been good to us and the gospel is advancing strongly”. 

Please pray that the "Por Su Causa” Conference will be able to return to Mexico as well as to other possible locations in Latin America. The Gospel is growing and His kingdom is expanding in Latin America and this event was wonderful evidence of this!

An update from Jim Donohue, pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, USA and the founder of the Bridge Course…

Sharing the gospel is one of the highest joys in a Christian’s life, but obeying God in this area is not always easy. Both pastors and church members know this. Our culture is growing more apathetic toward the gospel and is sometimes even hostile. This has contributed to the great de-churching of our country and others. Almost 40 million adults in America used to go to church but no longer do. Now church attendees are in the minority, so how will we fulfill our call to reach the lost? How will people hear the truth of the gospel? 

By God’s grace, the gospel cannot be stopped, but our job as pastors is to stay nimble as we reach our communities. One tool our church has found surprisingly effective is the Bridge Course. Bridge is a 10-week course designed for non-Christians. It provides a context where guests can come and hear the gospel in a non-threatening way. Each meeting includes a meal or dessert, a video talk, and a discussion time. During the 10 weeks we tackle questions like: How good are you? Why does God allow suffering? Can we trust the Bible? and Why do we matter?

We have seen God use Bridge to reach thousands in our area and beyond with over 50 courses currently running.

Because Bridge is flexible, it works in a variety of settings including homes, colleges, retirement communities, halfway houses, prisons, high schools, workplaces, coffee shops, and more. Cross of Grace Church in Santa Anna recently celebrated 5 baptisms and all of them participated in Bridge.

The Bridge Course is easy to use. You can start small in a home, serving coffee and dessert, and using the videos. We’ve created a training video that provides key instruction and guidance, and it’s all free and available on the website, bridgecourse.org. 

It also works well for one-on-one outreach. A woman named Joy in our church was a caretaker for an elderly man, Mr. Wagner. As Joy cooked, cleaned, and cared, she talked with him about Jesus and asked if he wanted to go through Bridge. So each day when Joy clocked out, they watched the video and discussed it. Through the course, God saved Mr. Wagner at 94 years old. Just a few months later, Mr. Wagner met his savior face to face. In that short time, his newfound joy led him to donate a significant sum to the Bridge Course in his will, which was a happy surprise for us. 

One interesting development is the number of video views the talks are getting. We have over 100,000 video views from 156 different countries. We aren’t focused on numbers, but the thought of unbelievers hearing the gospel through any means is glorious!  

As culture changes, fewer people are likely to come to church when asked. Although inviting someone to Bridge has a better chance of success, asking someone to simply watch a video has a very high success rate, especially if you send them the link. More and more, people access information on devices, so our pastors encourage church members to send individual Bridge messages to neighbors, co-workers, and relatives and ask what they think about it. As a result, many gospel conversations have begun, and people are coming to the course having gotten a taste for it from a video. We even have a special card (NFC technology) that can bring the Bridge website up on someone’s phone. 

As the Bridge Course expands internationally, it’s been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Amharic. This summer Redeemer church in Delaware ran the first course in Chinese with 15 guests in attendance.

Recently, we finished filming the course in Spanish with our own Abelardo Muñzo preaching the messages with great effectiveness. We are excited to see how God uses this in the Latin world. 

Let’s encourage our church members that evangelism is no drudgery, but the immense privilege of each Christian. We pray that this ready-made course can help you mobilize your church to bring the gospel to the lost. The Lord is with us and he will do it!

Interested in finding out more about the Bridge Course? Click here.

For some time I’ve wanted to highlight a really good update that Mark Prater gave on his podcast, entitled ‘The Power of Christ and Evangelism’. It’s a wonderful conversation between Mark and Ben, in which he shares not only some wonderful truth on evangelism, but also some wonderful examples.

It’s such an encouraging conversation. You can watch or listen to it here.

One of my hopes is to get good books on Global Missions into your hands and so in addition to ‘Mission’, by Andy Johnson, here’s another good one for you: ‘Cross’, edited by John Piper and David Mathis. Here’s what Leo Parris, our US Global Missions Coordinator, has to say about it…

The Cross Conference has been a wonderful means of grace in helping to raise up young missionaries for many years. It’s one of the many legacies that testify to the impact of John Piper in this generation. Cross: Unrivaled Christ, Unstoppable Gospel, Unreached Peoples, Unending Joy springs from the many sermons that have sounded from that pulpit. It aims to inspire young people to embrace a calling “to cross cultures to bring the gospel to a people group that otherwise has no access”, or to become “an engaged sender.”[1] To be this kind of Christian: “even as you give yourself to making disciples on the tract of land to which you’ve been sent, you connect your efforts with the Global Cause, among people reached and unreached, and you pray and dream and give toward completing the task.”[2] If you are looking for a collection of teachings that may inspire a young person to missionary work, this is an excellent resource.

The chapters flow from a God-exalting, gospel-centered foundation all the way to helping individuals process through their calling. Each chapter is written by a different contributor from a diversity of places ranging from Korea, Zambia, Canada, to Australia. Authors include John Piper and D.A. Carson, Matt Chandler, Conrad Mbewe, and Kevin DeYoung, a treasury of wisdom and gifting

In a more limited scope, John Piper begins the book by covering much of the same ground covered in Let the Nations be Glad. God’s glory in the joy of all peoples is the main goal of missions. Later in chapter 3, Kevin DeYoung shows how a Calvinistic Reformed Theology actually necessarily leads to a passion for missions. Chapters like these embed a heart for global work in proper theological motivations.

A personal highlight of the book is Mack Stiles’ chapter on The Call of God (chapter 6). Stiles helpfully pushes back against overly mystical approaches to missionary calling and argues that missionaries are ordinary people who are inspired by the Bible, informed by the gospel, and confirmed by their local church. In a world where many missionaries sadly speak of calling in a flippant and mystical way, this chapter is precious wisdom.

Matt Chandler (chapter 7) and Michael Oh (chapter 8) thunder forth stirring challenges to embrace the cost of following Jesus into missions. They don’t minimize suffering in missions, but they challenge the reader to consider Jesus as worthy of these efforts. These chapters have greatly influenced people that I’ve read the book with to pursue mission work despite its heavy personal cost.

In his typicall careful and theological style, D.A. Carson (chapter 9) clarifies the connection between ecclesiology and missiology, the local church and missions. Missionaries are raised up by the local church, supported by the local church, and aim to plant new local churches. This chapter is vital for aspiring missionaries because far too many “missionaries” today are disconnected from the work of the local church. The preponderance of NGOs and solo acts needs this corrective call to keep our ecclesiology wedded to our missiology. David Platt concludes this book with a call to the reader to clarify how God wants them to join in his Great Commission.

I’ve encountered no other book that covers so much ground in such a brief and engaging way. This book is an excellent resource to give away or to read with an aspiring missionary. It can be read all the way through, or each chapter can be taken by itself. This book will teach theology, push back against contemporary mistakes in missions, and make real and relevant application. I highly encourage you to use this book in discipleship in your church. May it aid you in raising up a next generation of Christians willing to send and be sent to the nations for the glory of their God.

One of the truly wonderful things of being a global family of churches, is that we get to enjoy the great diversity that comes with that. For example, whilst so many Christians around the world celebrated their Christmas on the 25th December, the Ethiopian Christmas comes up some two weeks later on January 7th.

So here’s to a Happy Christmas from Trinity Fellowship, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia… Enjoy!!

Hebrews 12.1-2, ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great cloud a witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.'

We are all in a race, the great race, indeed the greatest race of our lives! And so looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, the One we all need so much, here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead…

1. Please pray for Marty Machowski (Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA), as he heads to South Korea from January 10th-20th. He’ll be jumping into teaching the day after he arrives, serving at a seminar designed to teach couples about the work of the Spirit in the family home. Please pray for clear weather and no flight delays, as well as strength and stamina amidst a full schedule. Please pray that the Spirit of God touches the lives of the folk that attend. Please also pray for his time with our very own Songhwan Kang, Pastor of Lord’s Grace Church, as he seeks to encourage and bless him and his wife, Miran. Songhwan has been reaching out to a group of pastors in his area who have shown interest in learning about our Sovereign Grace values, and so please pray for Marty as he teaches them.

2. Please pray for Ed O’Mara (Lead Pastor of Chiesa Grazia Sovrana di Torino, Italy and SGC Area Leader for Europe), as well as Rocco Dalia (Co-planter in Italy) as they travel to Catania, Italy for 4 days at the end of January to meet with the leaders and congregation of Chiesa Grazia di Verità. The church is pastored by Giuseppe Fortuna and they are exploring adoption into Sovereign Grace Churches. The goal of this time is to help them take the next steps and continue to build toward interdependence in the broader European area. Please pray for clarity and wisdom for all involved such that Christ would be glorified, local churches would be well served, and the gospel would advance across Italy. 

3. Please pray for the US Church Planting Assessment taking place in Costa Mesa, CA on January 16th-18th. Please pray for the four prospective church planting couples who are being assessed. The hope of the assessment is to encourage these couples, identify their distinct gifts and strengths, and evaluate any potential risks for church planting. Please pray for the assessment team, that they might experience Spirit-empowered discernment, care, and encouragement. Please pray that the evaluation might serve not only the prospective church planting couples, but also the respective sending elderships and church planting committees. Please pray that the weekend might result in the deployment of called and qualified church planters who will plant healthy Sovereign Grace Churches.

4. Please pray for Brian Kiama (Church Planter into Nairobi, Kenya) and Jonathan Leslie (Co-Planter in Kenya), as they seek to soft-launch their Church Plant on Sunday 5th January. Please pray that God would bring the people that He wants to be a part of this new endevour, and that His Word would speed ahead and be glorified in Nairobi and beyond.

5. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Churches RELAY Conference, January 2nd-4th in Glen Mills, PA. Over 650 young adults from Sovereign Grace Churches in a few different nations will be attending this conference. Please pray that God meets with the next generation of Sovereign Grace in wonderful ways as we gather in this way.