An update from Rich Richardson, Lead Pastor of Center Church, Gilbert, Arizona; and Emerging Nations Representative to Latin America…

Last fall, after much toil and time, Sovereign Grace unanimously approved a new and vastly improved Statement of Faith. It is a document that will outlive us and be a gift to future pastors and churches of Sovereign Grace Churches. We want this gift to be understood and enjoyed in other parts of the world as well. A significant step in ensuring this gift extends to the Latin American world was completed when we completed the Spanish translation of the Statement of Faith this month. 

Translating our Statement of Faith into Spanish is more than just inputting it into "Google Translate" and getting a result. Instead, our goal was to produce a faithful translation to the original but not carry the tinny sound of just translated English. Therefore, under the leadership of Carlos Contreras, we took the statement through at least four different editing revisions to ensure smooth Spanish readability. Lastly, we contacted someone who is a translator by trade. The result? I am pleased to announce that we have a Spanish version of our Statement of Faith. 

If you are interested in seeing the newly minted translation, you can check it out here.

Now, we have a gift not just to future English-speaking pastors and churches but also to Spanish-speaking pastors and churches. 

An update from Mario Vucenovic, Pastor of Church of God’s Grace in Zapresic, Croatia…

In February of this year, our building landlord contacted us to let us know that he needed the space back that we were renting due to his own business expanding and that we would have 30 days to move out. 

We meet twice a week to hear God’s word preached, and for prayer, bible study, to have fellowship together and encourage one another. We had previously been praying and looking for a new space for our church to meet for about a year. Our space was small,  approximately 43 meters squared, and it was challenging to invite guests as we tightly packed the entire space.  In addition, because of covid distancing restrictions, only about half of the church could attend on a Sunday morning. We had previously looked at about 15 places, to no avail, because they were either too small, too expensive, or the landlord’s didn't like our work and so we were not welcome there. However we now had no choice, and so we started looking again right away, and of course praying. 

Two days later I remembered passing by a "space for rent" sign recently, and so decided to stop by. The space was 130 square meters, three times our current rental space, and was a new modern and clean gymnasium size space on a main street near the center of town, with men's and women's bathrooms, and on the other side of the building, two separate rooms for children's ministry.  Our whole church would be able to meet there with the appropriate distancing and we would be able to invite people to join us!

Before I got too excited about the possibility, because of the rental costs being so high, I asked how much they would charge. Meanwhile, my wife was outside in the parking lot praying that they could offer it to us "by the hour", as it would reduce the costs, and allow it to be within our budget. 

They told me that they only actually rent the space by the hour, and so at the end of the month, the cost would end up being the same amount in rent that we are currently paying!  In addition, a free parking lot is included, no utilities fees, and they do the cleaning and upkeep.  

I shared with the landlord couple that we are a new church in town with a small group of believers who follow Jesus Christ, and that we teach from the bible. In response to this they said that they met missionaries in Zaprešić many years ago who were reading the bible with them, and that they are also Christians, and that it would be a joy for them to rent their space to us, and that this is what Croatia needs right now!

Because of the generosity of funds through Emerging Nations, our church was able to purchase church chairs, a projector, a projector screen, and a pulpit.  This blessing has taken our church to a new level, where it just feels surreal to be in what feels like a proper church space where we can open our doors to people, and have the necessary equipment to serve them well.  Thank you to the Emerging Nations team for making this possible!

We have been enjoying our new space for 4 months, and we continue to rejoice in how the Lord provided for us, in His timing.  We as a church finally get to meet together again with appropriate distancing, and also can invite people to join us safely, even in the midst of the pandemic .  We regularly have new guests, and we are eager to see how the Lord will use us and our new space to be a refuge, a city on a hill, to people during very difficult times. 

After a year of many earthquakes, strict lockdowns, and job loss, the general feeling for many people is depression and fear, hopelessness.  But in our hearts of hearts we know in spite of everything happening around us and in our lives, we know only hope and joy is in Jesus Christ. 

We have a lot of gospel work ahead of us and need much wisdom, prayer, patience, protection and support.   Please pray that the Lord will guide us to the people who need Jesus right now the most, who are lost and seeking, whose hearts are soft and prepared to hear the message of salvation. Also pray for the relationship with our new landlords, and that our presence in this new space will be a blessing to them, to the church, and to our city.  

An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, and Director of Church Development for Sovereign Grace Churches, Australia…

One of the great privileges we have here down under is to be a part of pioneering a new denomination in our country by establishing Sovereign Grace Churches Australia. When people hear of Sovereign Grace they often know the music but don’t know that it’s a global family of churches seeking to plant and adopt churches here in Australia. And so part of our job at the moment is to help people know who we are and why we exist. This is where our new exciting development comes in, a new church leadership podcast that we’ve started called, ‘Grace and the Adventure of Leadership’!

Our podcast is designed to help develop and cultivate church leaders who are fueled and formed by the realities of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is hosted by myself, Riley Spring, and Dave Taylor, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, and the SGC Director of Emerging Nations. 

One of the things we can struggle with in church leadership here in Australia, is that it is so easy to look to the business world and not theWord for models, plans, and strategies for leadership. Yet in all reality, the Bible is the best book for understanding how to lead a church, and the Gospel is therefore right at the centre of it all.

The title of the podcast is borrowed from a famous sermon by our founder, C.J. Mahaney, which he preached over two decades ago. His sermon can be found here. In it, he looks at how a proper understanding of the grace of God fundamentally changes how you lead your church. And we thought it would be a great title to reflect what we are hoping to do. 

The first series will go through what is fundamental to biblical leadership: character! And we will look at seven characteristics that mark a gospel centered leader, that is, the gospel culture or D.N.A that we have experienced at Sovereign Grace, beginning with humility. 

You can listen to the podcast and subscribe on all major channels here and you can read the transcripts by heading here and subscribing to our blog. Please leave a review and a rating as that will help us to be found more easily!

We want to pass on what we have been so blessed to have learned from others. And we want these episodes to help raise up future church planters, encourage lonely pastors, and train lay leaders. 

Please be praying for us as we seek to pioneer Sovereign Grace Churches here in Australia. Pray that this podcast would truly help us train and develop leaders. Pray that it would spread far and wide so that people will get to know us. Pray also for the new opportunities that are opening up for us, that we would be wise and courageous. We are starting to receive more requests for ‘Sovereign Grace Churches’ in various cities across Australia!

We hope, one day, to see Sovereign Grace Churches littered across the cities, suburbs, and rural towns of our great nation!

An update from Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, and Emerging Nations Representative to Latin America…

Pura Vida is the phrase that describes the people of Costa Rica; it is their Aloha, which can translate to the Simple Life. For the Ticos, it is a way of life, including their hospitality, kindness, and desire to be good hosts. Our family experienced the Pura Vida for the full 22 days that we spent in this beautiful country.

The primary purpose of this trip was to deepen relationships with three churches in the process of being adopted by SGC and create other relationships with other churches with which we have shared values. We want to learn from the churches in Costa Rica and be able to model SGC's values as a family to the pastors with whom we interact. It is unlikely that pastors in Costa Rica will spend a year in the Colegio de Pastores; due to this, the Latin American Church Fund decided to send us to spend ample time with the churches in Costa Rica. With this in mind, on June 8, Kathy, the children, and I left for this nation in Central America.

For the first four days, we were located in the coastal city of Jaco. We were able to rent an apartment with a kitchen where we received pastoral families to spend time with them for three days. Kathy cooked Caribbean food, and we spent long hours developing relationships. We spent time with the families of Rodrigo Fournier (House 2:42 in San Jose), Allan Mongue (Sovereign Grace Cartago), and Chespi Sandoval (Casa Vida Playa Azul). These days were days of creating more trust in relationships and getting to know each other as families in a more profound way.

The first weekend I had the opportunity to preach at Casa 2:42. There were three meetings, and on Sunday afternoon, we had a time of communion with the church leaders. This included pastors and ministry leaders. It was an exceptional time that allowed us to connect with this precious church. From Monday the 14th to the 16th, I returned to the United States for some ministerial meetings. Kathy stayed in Costa Rica with Joey and Janelle, and each day they met with the wives of these three pastors.

The second weekend we had the opportunity to visit the town of Tamarindo in the province of Guanacaste. There we shared with Pano Rojas, a former member of SGC Louisville for the three years whilst he studied at SBTS. We also got to meet Alex and Lynn. Alex is the other pastor of Casa Vida Tamarindo. It was a time of sharing and seeing the grace of God in this local church and the many areas of affinity that we have. You can preach the word to this precious church on Sunday, in both English and Spanish.

We returned to San Jose on Wednesday, June 23, to give a class at Casa 2:42 on biblical leadership based on Acts 6. That day the church sang my birthday since I had turned forty-seven the entire day. We ended the day with several meetings, including Grace Church elders who wish to consider being adopted. Then on the last weekend of our trip, I gave a marriage seminar and preached Sunday in Sovereign Grace Carthage. We had sweet communion times with the Allan Mongue family.

We hope to make similar trips to other places in Latin America in the coming years. Kathy did an excellent job of connecting with the ladies, and I am so grateful for the testimony of Joey and Janelle. During these 22 days of their service to the church, their attitude towards mission brought glory to God and encouraged all pastors about the power of the gospel in a pastoral family.

We returned with great joy as Christ was proclaimed, relationships were deepened, and pastors were encouraged.

185975268_294678299063530_2060951899411008215_n.jpg

It is with great privilege and joy, that I introduce you to the twin daughters of JP & Sathwika Ravuri. 

Having been married for 9 years, JP & Sathwika were told by the top-ten gynaecologists in India that they had “no chance and no hope” of having children. But look what the Lord has done! Just two days before the arrival of these girls, both JP & Sathwika got sick with Covid-19, but “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Gen 18.14). 

The Lord heard our prayers and provided good hospital space for them, good availability of doctors, and a safe delivery for these dear twins. All the family are now back home and in good health. All glory be to God!

We serve a King who loves to answer our prayers, and so here’s how you can be praying for our global work in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for Doug Hayes (Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church and Director of Covenant Mercies), as he travels to Liberia, Ethiopia & Zambia this month. Please pray that he has a good and fruitful time in all three locations, as he both works for the good of Covenant Mercies, looking at new possibilities and strengthening existing work. As well seeks to serve our churches there, particularly in Liberia, where he’ll be preaching on 13th June, and then in Zambia, where he’ll be coming alongside the elders in determining the best way forward for Christ Community Church and the Copperbelt Pastors College. Please pray that Doug would be a real comfort to our dear friends in Zambia, as they continue to recover from the devastating loss of Wilbroad Chanda, and that God would give them all faith, wisdom and unity, as they consider the road ahead.

2. Please pray for Joselo Mercado (Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, and one of our SGC Representatives to Latin America) as he and his family relocate to Costa Rica for the next 23 days, to continue building relationally with our Sovereign Grace Church in Costa Rica, as well as two further churches pursuing adoption with us. He will be preaching each Sunday in a different church, doing workshops on leadership and marriage, as well as spending lots of fellowship time with the pastoral teams and their families. Please pray that God really blesses this investment of time. 

3. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Belarus. Since the Presidential Election demonstrations in August of last year, things have gone from bad to worse for their country. Over 35,000 people have been arrested and many have been beaten and kept in inhumane conditions. Many pastors felt compelled to speak out against the widespread violence and injustice against the citizens, and as a result have been threatened and warned by the government. Fear and uncertainty are a heavy shadow over the nation, and with people being arrested at random, this only adds to that sense of fear. Please pray for protection on our pastors there (names concealed for security reasons), who are being threatened. Please also pray that what is taking place there will lead to further opportunity and fruit for the gospel, which is their hope. 

4. Please pray for our dear friend and church in Nepal (names also concealed for security reasons), who are in his words, feeling like they’re “walking through the valley of the shadow of death”. Our pastor there lost a family member (his cousin’s wife) to Covid, on 14th May. In addition, six pastors in the network have recently died, all from Covid, and a great deal of members of their churches are also hospitalized or sick at home, unable to get to the hospital. The severity of the Covid situation has brought with it severe lockdowns and closure of food stores, making it difficult even for those that do have money, to get what they need. Please continue to pray for our dear friends at this very difficult time. As they’d be quick to tell you, even in this, they know He is able and good.

… We serve a King who loves to answer our prayers, so may we go to Him in this, and may His grace abound.

An update from Michael Granger, Lead Pastor of Trinity Fellowship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia…

Where do we find ourselves in this season? Delighting in the day-in and day-out grind of ordinary ministry. In the kindness of the Lord, Trinity Fellowship has been established. And, I have naturally undergone something of a transition from being a church-planter to a pastor. Currently, I'm preaching through Paul's Epistle to the Philippians. And when we, the church-planting team and I, look out over what is taking place, we find growth. And that, to the praise and glory of Christ's grace! 

Glorious grace and resounding praise!

Our team is growing as we recently hired my sister-in-law, Tensu, last month to come and work for Trinity Fellowship full time as an administrative assistant. What a gift she has been! The church is growing in size, averaging 50 to 70 on Sunday mornings; growing in maturity and in our understanding of the gospel; growing as a community; growing in discipleship; and I trust, growing through conversions.

One example from recent weeks happened when a first-time visiting unbeliever sat down in the third row during our Sunday morning service. She was openly aware that she was not a true Christian and that her Orthodox Christianity was nothing more than a cultural identifier. But to our joy, a miracle happened between last Sunday and this Sunday. And when it came time to take the Lord’s supper - I having given a warning to those who are not true believers and to those living in sin - to my great delight, I saw her take the bread and the wine. After the service, I approached her and said, “I saw you take the Lord’s supper. Have you become a Christian?” Holding her tears back, she nodded her head and said, “I became a Christian this week." 

A few weeks back a young Somali brother in our church and also a disciplee and ministry partner of Muhammad received a text message on his phone from Al-Shabab (a major Islamic terrorist network in our part of the world). The text message read, "We know that you are spreading the false teaching of Jesus and that you are working with Muhammad. We are planning to kill you when we find you!" This young man in turn articulated his fears to Muhammad, to which Muhammad responded, "Oh man, I've been receiving those texts for 2 years and I'm still alive. Let's keep working for Jesus.”

I get to pastor these people? I simply don’t know what to think when I consider that God himself has entrusted such sheep - to me. I have the best job in the world! I get paid to do this? This is scandalous! This is why we moved to Ethiopia. So that we might experience the super-natural regenerational power of God as he raises the dead to life. May that always be the ordinary ministry of Trinity Fellowship. Amen!

Sovereign Grace, we do not forget your generosity, your kindness, nor the abundance of warmth we have received from you. Indeed, this work out here exists because you did not stop working for Jesus. Trinity Fellowship is the fruit of your combined efforts. Thank you so much. 

An update from Carlos Contreras, Senior Pastor of Gracia Soberana de Ciudad Juarez and Regional Leader for Mexico…

This past week we had the joy of hosting in our sister church in Guadalajara Mexico, a retreat for 13 Latin American leaders that have requested adoption by Sovereign Grace Churches, or have recently planted a church, or are in planning stages to plant a church in the near future. 3 men came from Costa Rica; Allan Monge who planted a church in Cartago 4 years ago and is in his ordination process; Chespi Sandoval who also planted a church in the area of Jacó, and Rodrigo Fournier who is leading a large church in the western part of San José, both of whom have requested adoption. Jacobis Aldana came from Santa Marta Colombia and also has requested adoption, and David del Castillo came from our recent church plant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, who is progressing well in his ordination process. 

From México, we were joined by Enrique Villegas and David Puga from the state of Veracruz, both of whom are in the process of ordination. As well as 4 pastors from 3 churches requesting adoption – Carlos Martinez from Torreón, David Hernandez from the city of Chihuahua and Jorge Luis Gutierrez and Emmanuel Alfonzo from the city of Uriangato in the state of Guanajuato. Additionally, I had the privilege of introducing two men who are currently living in Juarez being equipped to be sent out in the next couple of years to plant churches: Marcelo Torres who plans to plant a church in Reynosa in the state of Tamaulipas, and Israel García, who is looking to plant a church in Huajuapan, Oaxaca. 

The retreat was organized as a new initiative of the Latin American Fund to help move forward the process of church planting and church adoption in Latin America. Rich Richardson, Joselo Mercado and myself, planned this event as a context designed to expose participants to the values and virtues that have distinguished our rich history as a family of churches. We wanted to expose new and younger leaders to men with a very long history within Sovereign Grace who we encouraged to share from their personal decades-long experience. The general theme of the retreat was “Training Faithful Pastors for Decades”. 

Rich Richardson started us very well talking about “The certainty of Pastoral Suffering”. Next day Mark Prater also served us well - sharing via Zoom - some valuable insights into “Leading through Suffering”. CJ Mahaney also joined us via Zoom that afternoon sharing about “How to tend to your own heart”, a theme he has been teaching for decades. And on our last day Steve Shank, one of the founding leaders within our family of churches, shared a priceless talk on “Leading your Family Faithfully”.  

After each session there was an invaluable extended time of questions and discussion with much participation from all, including from Hellman Avila, Abelardo Muñoz and Manolo Quintal who also came, as part of our regional leadership team in Mexico, to help with the relationship building among all.

I believe the fruit of this time together met and surpassed our expectations. After 3 days together, men from different countries who didn’t know each other before, went back home as friends. They experienced first-hand what all the speakers emphasized: Leaders in Sovereign Grace never lead alone, that is why we build relationally. And, most importantly, we all got a concentrated extra dose of what it means to be a pastor in Sovereign Grace. We pray events like this will help us plant and build churches in Latin America who faithfully reflect the values that, by God’s grace. we have been given as a family of churches.

An update from Andrew Leung, Pastoral Intern at Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, and Executive Assistant to Dave Taylor…

The Sovereign Grace Emerging Nations team is currently relating to over seventy-five churches in over thirty-eight countries around the world, representing many different nations and cultures. It brings to mind the picture in Rev 6:9 of a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb!”  What a day that will be!

I was thrilled with excitement then when Dave asked me a few months ago, to help coordinate the work of translating the recently launched sovereigngrace.com website, along with the Statement of Faith and the Seven Shared Values, into various languages: Italian, Croatian, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Cebuano to name but a few!  These languages all relate to places around the world where Sovereign Grace either has a partner church, or where Sovereign Grace is looking to plant or adopt. The website really serves as a window for people unfamiliar with Sovereign Grace churches to peer in and learn about Sovereign Grace, as well as a way for pastors and churches in all the corners of the world to get connected with us.

image1 2.jpeg

Italian was the first language to cross the finishing line and is now in the process of being uploaded onto the website.  We look forward to more and more languages being made available in the weeks ahead!

What an amazing opportunity to share with many nations, in their own tongue, our Sovereign Grace distinctives as outworking of the gospel, and to invite them to join in our family of churches. Through the translation of these rich materials, we get to share something that we treasure and that has brought us much joy. May it serve us well in this Great Commission. 

An update from Patrick Chavez, a Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney...

If I were to ask you what you were doing on the weekend of the 19th - 21st of July in 2019, could you remember? 

I can almost bet that if you were a member of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney and I prompted you with the word Collaroy, your face would light up and smile. I think the memories would come flooding back of fun, fellowship, and exciting and clear times of teaching and experiencing God in refreshing and gospel-centred ways. This was the reality we all experienced on that weekend.  

You see, back in July of 2019, just before our church sent out the team to plant Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, we went on a church retreat together. The focus of the retreat was encouraging and pursuing the gifts of the Spirit, an area that we desired to grow in as a church, in our understanding and practice. And so to lead us through that, Mark Prater, along with a team; Bill & Ramona, Dan & Jeannie, Doug, Everett & Laurie, Jocelyn, Rick & Martin; all from Covenant Fellowship Church, kindly made the 30 hour journey from Philadelphia to serve us and minister to us.

As a church, we were so blessed by these brothers and sisters from across the waters. Their love for Jesus and His Word was so infectious. Their patience in listening to us, understanding us, caring for us, praying for us and discipling us on this weekend was amazing. So much so that we eagerly wanted to continue this even after they went home, and so we reached out to Mark Prater to see if these dear folks would assist us in an ongoing growing of our understanding and practice of these gifts through monthly discipleship sessions on zoom.  And to our surprise, they agreed! 

This has been such a blessing to us! These men and women have been willing to disciple 17 of us, on the gifts of the Spirit, between Philadelphia and Sydney. They have woken up at 4:00 AM to jump on a Zoom call to meet with us and go through books, answer questions, share their experiences and pray for us. 

I asked some of our team here what it has been like to receive discipleship from these dear brothers and sisters, and here is a sampling of what they said: 

“It's one thing to be informed about prophecy through a close study of scripture or biblically sound books. But it's quite another to experience the practice of prophecy first-hand through our brothers and sisters at the Philadelphia church. Even though we are separated by the Pacific Ocean, and even through the chaos of the pandemic, every four weeks we would spend time in sweet fellowship over those zoom calls to talk about the practice of prophecy and the truths we were gleaning from the book we were studying. While the first-hand experiences were invaluable, what was often more eye-opening were the honest mistakes and the humbling moments experienced by our mentors which defined their prophetic journey. What a joy to walk together in unity, and to be spurred on towards greater pursuit of prophecy by our dear friends overseas”!

“We have been so blessed by Ramona who has invested her time and energy so selflessly for the sake of building into God’s kingdom on the other side of the world! She shares her own experience readily and is so helpful with our questions - nothing is too small or insignificant for her. She answers with such grace and wisdom and prays for us without ceasing. She has been instrumental in building up our faith and desire to grow in the spiritual gift of prophecy. But more importantly, she constantly points us to God, the giver of this gift, and helps our souls to magnify our great God and delight to use this gift to please and glorify Him and edify His bride, the church. Our hearts are filled with gratitude towards the Philly team. They have showed us a debt of love we will never be able to repay!”

             “I have been in group with Ramona, bless her, she gets up so early for us all. She has been so gentle and very knowledgeable in this area, she is easy to talk to, we can ask questions anytime, she always has an example to share with us of many of the questions we ask, and that makes learning very relatable and gives practical help. She doesn’t rush anything and guides us to keep seeking the Lord in prophecy.”

“The benefit from the Philly prophecy team has been so gracious, in the sense they've guided us and cared for us in an unknown territory for us - prophecy. They have always been gracious and warm and answered all our questions. There is so much I didn't know on the topic of prophecy”.

We are so grateful for our partnership with our family of churches here in Australia. Would many more partnerships be made around the world, all for the glory of God. 

bike.jpeg

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 commission that we have received as Christians is far bigger than anything we could have asked or imagined. For a start, the world is a big place isn’t it!! But how comforting and motivating it is to know that the One who has called us, is always with us, even to the end of the age!

What hope and exhilaration that brings, and so here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for the people of India as they endure a very dangerous second wave of the COVID-19 virus. The hospitals are full, the cemeteries have run out of places for burials, and the families of the deceased are having to wait in a queue as the bodies await cremation. Please pray that God would use this tragedy for His glory. And please pray in particularly for Jayaprakash and Sathwika Ravuri, our SG Pastor and his wife. They are expecting their first child (or children, as it’s twins) in just a few weeks. Please be praying for good hospital space for them, good availability of doctors and for safe delivery of these dear twins.

2. Please pray for the many other countries that are also enduring second and third waves of the pandemic, including countries like Brazil, UK, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Germany, Colombia, Mexico, Philippines and Pakistan. Please pray that the Lord would draw close to all those in need, bringing comfort and favour to our dear brothers and sisters there, and strengthening them as they seek to share the good news of the gospel with those around them.

3. Please pray for Carlos Contreras, Joselo Mercado and Rich Richardson, as they lead an ‘Emerging Leaders Retreat’ in Guadalajara, Mexico, 24-27th May. Twelve plus guys will be attending this from all over Latin America and so please pray that the time would go well and that God would meet mightily with everyone involved.

4. Please pray for Andrew Leung, my assistant, as he continues to work with our partners all over the world as we translate our SG Website, BCO and Statement of Faith, into other languages. With so many moving parts in this, please pray for wisdom and favour in this strategic endeavour, an endeavour that will greatly help us in gospel mission across the world.

5. Please pray for all those that are presently pursuing ordination around with the world, many of whom who have exams in the next few months. Please pray for favour for everyone involved.

… May the One who has commissioned us, be ever with us. Oh how we need Him! Amen.

An update from Dyonah Thomas, our key leader in Liberia, and lead pastor of GraceLife…

Our April residence was very encouraging once again, with 48 students present from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. These brothers serve as either lead pastors, associate pastors or are preparing to plant a new church, and each of them is enrolled in the three year Gracelife ‘Pastoral Ministry and Church Planting’ program. 

We gather five times a year, for 14 days at a time and unpack two courses until the program is over, and one of the highlights of each residence is the chapel service in the Gracelife Center, the Local church that is hosting the program . Each residence we have a focus for the chapel services, unpacking a biblical topic and exegeting an area of scripture. This April just gone, our focus was on Worship in the Local church, and we were very honoured to have Bob Kauflin speak to us, for two days in Chapel. 

It was such a a blessing and so encouraging. Bob drew our attention to the fact that Worship is not about out Satisfaction, but instead we sing to glorify the Lord, and so our songs should be scripture based and Christ exalting. This was really really good for the learning environment, because Bob confirmed in an in-depth way some of the practices that Gracelife College and Seminary hold to. And in addition, students were amazed to see so clearly from scripture what they have mostly overlooked in preparing for and leading worship for the Glory of God. 

One student said, “I am so sorry that I have mostly looked for songs that just make me feel good. This has opened my eyes to so much more, and I want to find out more...” So I directed them to Bob's two text books in our School library, and the Worship Matters Website. Another student, who is a lead pastor, said that he did not know prior to this week, that part of his responsibility was ensuring that the local worship was Biblical and Christ Centered.  

Without doubt then, our students have been very thankful for this time. I honestly think that these two days of have stirred a thirst and begun a search for many. Everyone is now looking on Worship Matters and signing up for the blogs and checking out the music. A conversation has started, and we are so thankful for that.

Thanks Bob for Serving us so well. 

An update from Jeffrey Jo, Lead Pastor of CCSGM in Cavite, Philippines…

With more than 100 million people, the Philippines is the 13th most populated nation in the world and one of the twenty most Covid-hit countries. As a result, the Philippines has enforced the longest lockdown anywhere in the world. In more than a year of this pandemic, I have witnessed people losing their jobs, loved ones dying from COVID-19 and then going straight to the crematorium, long lines of people waiting for the government’s amelioration program, and some churches who decided to close the red curtain due to the high rentals of their ministry centers. This has been a difficult season for the Philippines. 

Yet with thought to His sovereign providence, surely, He meant this for His glory and to strengthen His church. So, after a time of prayer and discussion with my fellow elders, we decided to continue fulfilling the works of the ministry. We have a weekly care-group via zoom meeting, five groups simultaneously meet discussing the latest Sunday’s sermon (we just ended our study in the book of James and we are about to start our study in the gospel of John) and the said groups meet once a month via a zoom meeting on what we call church extension fellowship general assembly. 

It is a time where we share stories of God’s faithfulness on differing challenges that each one of us is going through. A joyous time to see each other’s faces, affirm that we are always in one another’s prayers and a time to remind each other to be faithful to the gospel of Christ despite all the difficulties we are going through. Since we are still on lockdown, both the Sunday worship service and the children’s church ministry are being done through a recorded video. Pastoral care is being done through phone call and text messaging.

One thing that is evident in this pandemic in the Philippines, is that there are vast numbers of people who are turning to God. I find myself sharing the gospel of Christ to people whom God already prepared their hearts. Our local churches down south in Mindanao, though they almost went back to normal already, have grown rapidly during this time!

Yet along with this growth, there has also been challenge. Because of the growth in Mindanao, the ‘faith movement organization’ in their area wanted to penetrate them with the ‘prosperity gospel’, which is no gospel at all. That’s why for the past two months, we decided to meet with the local pastors there, via zoom, to remind them to be faithful to their calling and to the scriptures. 

In order for us to do this, most of our pastors and their wives in that region needed to travel for two hours just to get to the house of one of our pastors who lives in the city and who has a better internet connection. Ronnie and his wife are very hospitable enough to accommodate their fellow pastors and their wives in their home. We have to spend thousands of pesos for their transportation, food, study materials and other allowances. Yet Sovereign Grace Churches, through the leadership of Dave Taylor, has never failed to support us on ministry matters like this. In this way we are able to further their theological education, protect them from false teaching, and serve them by equipping them in the works of ministry.

Over this past year, we’ve also been able to plant churches in Gango and in Madrid, both in Surigao del Sur, Mindanao. And at this very moment, we are equipping a church planting team for Imus, Cavite, right here in Manila. Whatever challenges that awaits His church here in the Philippines because of the “new norm”, I am looking forward for the coming years to be faithful in edifying the local church with the faithful teaching of the scriptures, equipping more people to do the works of the ministry and to plant more churches so that His glorious Name may be known, perseveringly done out of His love in our hearts. As John Piper once said, “If death is no longer a fear, we’re really free. Free to take any risk under the sun for Christ and for love.”

Sovereign Grace Churches, thanks for all your support and thanks for being a family to us. Please do continue to pray for us here in the Philippines. Soli deo gloria.

Not all of the pioneering work of Sovereign Grace Churches can be reported openly and easily. For some their work is in countries “closed” to the Gospel and so the reporting of such has to be discreet, as is the case with the following update. And update from our team leader in Thailand, SE Asia…

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a). Paul’s words still ring true in unreached places in the 10-40 window like Thailand. This Buddhist majority country of 69 million where worship of idols and spirits is the norm, has an enormous need for the gospel and laborers.

Years ago, our churches saw this need, heard the call and over the last 5 years partnered and sent a few families to serve the unreached in a remote province of Thailand. This team spent their initial years learning the language, culture, and how to minister in a cross-culture context in a city center where notions of God and sin are vastly different from a western context. The team has also faced a number of challenges while in Thailand including severe illness, visa hiccups, changes in plans, spiritual warfare, and at times isolation, but in all of these things, He has been teaching us to “rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Cor 1:10). He has been faithful!

So fast forward to the past year, what has been going on in Thailand with the Covid-19 pandemic which has rocked the world?  One might expect with lockdowns and other restrictions that everything may have come to a screeching halt. But we know His plans cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).  

Through past trips to the unreached province, the team built relationships within the community and received an invitation to serve in this destination location. Then during the summer of 2020, after years of preparation, two families finally moved to the province. These significant doors opened for ministry because you helped us by prayer (2 Cor 1:11). Thank you.

Since being in the province, God connected one brother from the team with a seeking unbeliever who was dissatisfied with his own efforts for finding fulfillment and joy. After months of weekly one-on-one discipleship, we rejoice that this Thai man has put his faith in Christ and was recently baptized in the Mekong River in a joint baptism service of regional churches.

Please pray for continued gospel opportunities, health and protection of all team members, and God’s sustaining grace and endurance during challenges.

As relationships develop around the world, a key part of being formally adopted into Sovereign Grace Churches is our ordination process, and at this present time, we have around 16 men around the world in that process.

This process is valuable not only for the evaluation it provides, but also for the edification and equipping the candidate experiences, and so please be praying for these men. I trust this update blesses and encourages you as you think about the future of our global family of churches. All for the glory of One, please be praying for them...

David Del Castillo - Bolivia

David Del Castillo

Bolivia

David is one of the Pastor’s of Gracia Soberana Santa Cruz, a Church he planted in 2019, along with his father, Jorge. God willing, David will be looking to take his final ordination exams in the next couple of months.

Emerson Soares - Brazil

Emerson Soares

Brazil

Emerson Soares is pastor of Nova Vida Church in the city of Rio Grande in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Nova Vida Church is in the process of adoption to partner with Sovereign Grace Churches. Emerson is on track to finish his reading for ordination and complete the exams and papers this year.

Fabiano Medeiros - Brazil

Fabiano Medeiros

Brazil

Fabiano Medeiros has planted a Graça Soberana Church in São Paulo, Brazil. Fabiano has only to take the Oral Exam to complete his ordination.

Jacobis Aldana - Colombia

Jacobis Aldana

Colombia

Husband to Keyla and father to Jacobo and Santiago. He planted Iglesia Biblica Soberana Gracia in Santa Marta, Colombia 10 years ago. He is a gifter social media manager and web designer, and has work for years in the promotion of sound doctrine in South America. His biggest ministry emphasis is the application of the Gospel in all of life. We are so pleased to have Jacobis pursue ordination.

Rodrigo Fornier - Costa Rica

Rodrigo Fornier

Costa Rica

Rodrigo is the Lead Pastor of La Vina Escazu in San Jose, Costa Rica. He first became aware of Sovereign Grace by listening to CJ Mahaney’s sermons and on February 25, 2021, asked to be formally adopted into Sovereign Grace. To that end, we’re so pleased to have begun the ordination process with Rodrigo.

Allan Monge - Costa Rica

Allan Monge

Costa Rica

Allan planted Gracia Soberana de Cartago, in a suburb of San José Costa Rica 4 years ago. He will be taking his written exams the last week of May during a leaders retreat in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has already submitted half of his essays, he plans on finishing his process by the end of summer and hopes to be ordained then.

Eduardo (Chespi) Sandoval - Costa Rica

Eduardo (Chespi) Sandoval

Costa Rica

Husband to Mile and father to Emmanuel. Planted Casa Vida Playa Azul closed to the area of Jaco in Costa Rica. This is a very impoverished area that CVPA is reaching with the gospel and also helping to develop in social and economic ways. He is very passionate with the application of the Gospel in the family and is looking forward to ordination.

Jayaprakash Ravuri - India

Jayaprakash Ravuri

India

JP lives in Gundugolanu, Andhra Pradesh, India, and is the Pastor of Calvary Gospel Church. He has completed all of the required and supplementary reading.  He has also written the 6 position papers and passed the Bible Knowledge exam.  He just has the Theology and Oral exams remaining which should be completed by June.

Dyonah Thomas - Liberia

Dyonah Thomas

Liberia

Dyonah lives in Monrovia, Liberia, and is the Lead Pastor of GraceLife Church and Dean of the GraceLife College and Seminary. He has completed much of his reading and is now working through the papers and exams. God willing, he will be looking to finish his ordination in the Fall.

Kristian Tucker - Mexico

Kristian Tucker

Mexico

Kristian Tucker re-planted Gracia Soberana de Durango, in the state capitol of Durango, México in 2016. He is currently enrolled online at SBTS working towards an MDiv. He is planning on taking the written exams this summer prior to the Fieles conference in Juarez. He hopes to be ordained by the end of the year.

Marco García - Mexico

Marco García

Mexico

Marco García has been serving as an associate pastor for the past 10 years alongside Manolo Quintal at our recently adopted church Iglesia Gracia Sublime in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. He also plans on doing his written exams in the summer during the Fieles 2021 Pastors Conference in Juarez

Andrés Contreras - Mexico

Andrés Contreras

Mexico

Andrés Contreras is a 2019 graduate of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and SBTS. He is currently a Pastor-in-training at Gracia Soberana Guadalajara alongside Roberto Estupinian and Luis Bermea. He plans on taking his written exams in May and July of this year.

Enrique Villegas - Mexico

Enrique Villegas

Mexico

Enrique Villegas planted Gracia Soberana de Orizaba, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico 4 years ago. He is taking his written exams in May at our leaders retreat in Guadalajara. He hopes to be ordained by the end of the year.

Karl Sauter - Mexico

Karl Sauter

Mexico

Karl Sauter is a 2019 graduate of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and SBTS. He is starting his ordination process as he is preparing to move (hopefully by late August 2021) from Gracia Soberana de Cd. Juárez to be part of the leadership team of Iglesia Sublime Gracia in Silao, Guanajuato, México.

Jeffrey Jo - Philippines

Jeffrey Jo

Philippines

Jeff is a doctor of theology and leads CCSGM (Cross Of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries), a wonderful Church in Kawit, Manila, Philippines. God willing, he’ll be looking to take his oral exams in the next couple of months.

Cornelio Ebo - Philippines

Cornelio Ebo

Philippines

Nilo has been a part of Sovereign Grace for many years. He is a graduate of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and leads His Dwelling Place Church, in Cebu, Philippines. He is well on with his ordination process and will be looking to take his oral exam in the next couple of months.

As a Sovereign Grace Leadership Team, we’ve been working on the ‘Global Partnership Plan’ for about six months now. We presently have around 75 Churches outside of the US, pursuing adoption into Sovereign Grace Churches, and so capturing that and planning for global expansion has been a signification focus of our time.

Mark Prater, our Executive Director, explains the recent developments well over on his blog.

Here’s the scoop for you… So encouraging!

As we celebrate the Easter weekend with our churches, there are so many glorious realities to be shared. Not least, the reality that Jesus was forsaken and alone, so that we would never have to be. It’s one of the most overwhelmingly glorious realities of the cross. You and I, in Christ, will never be forsaken. We will never be truly alone.

It’s such an amazing reality. He’s always listening, always with us, and always eager to hear us, and so here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for all of our Churches over this Easter weekend, that the Gospel would be preached all over the world and that many may come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour as a result.

2. Please pray for our brothers in Pakistan as they continue to outreach to those working in the brick factories, a seven day a week, early to late job. Just in the last few weeks, six men and women have given their lives to Christ and responded with baptism. Please pray that God would help these new converts to stay strong in the faith, and that there’d be many more baptisms to come.

3. Please pray for our Pastors College work in Africa. To date we have three colleges keen to represent Sovereign Grace Churches in Africa… Copperbelt Pastors College in Zambia, Grace Life College in Liberia, and in addition, Michael Granger & Josh Pannell are eager to launch an SGC Ethiopia Pastors College in the back end of 2021 as well, making up the third. Understanding that not everyone can get on a plane and come overseas for a year, please pray that God gives everyone involved wisdom in this great endeavour, and that many pastors may be trained, equipped and deployed in Africa as a result.

4. Please pray for Dyonah Thomas, our Liberian Leader, as he struggles with some health challenges, in particularly with his heart. Though the symptoms are mild, please pray that the Lord gives the doctors wisdom as to next steps, as he heads over to Ghana for some medical tests, and that healing may be brought to Dyonah’s body. Please also pray for Mai, Dyonah’s wife, as they work this through together as a family.

5. Please pray for our missionaries that have crossed so many boundaries to be out in the field and who are there desiring to proclaim Christ and see Churches planted, often in hard ground places.. To date we have families in Turkey, South East Asia, Croatia and Ethiopia. Please pray that the Lord would bless them, keep them, and establish the work of their hands.

… He always listens, and so thanks for praying!

An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, Australia…

It is a such joy to report on some of the key developments that are happening here as we seek to move forward in Sovereign Grace Churches Australia. The Lord continues to be so good us, and so here are some headlines for you:

Pastoral Internships

We currently have three men in the process of pursuing whether God is calling them to Pastoral Ministry! At Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney,  there is Andrew Leung who already assists Dave Taylor on the Emerging Nations team and is now taking an extra day off work to give himself toward further study and training, and Simon Walker who has taken 6 months off work to undertake a full-time internship involving a mixture of study, character formation, and practical ministry experience. At Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta, Richard Song is now working for the church one day a week to explore his calling to ministry through study, fellowship with me, and practical ministry experiences. We are so grateful to God for these men, their wives and families, and their joy to sacrifice for the sake of our churches! 

Andrew Leung

Simon Walker

Richard Song

Leadership Bootcamp

Dave Taylor is conducting a year long ‘Leadership Bootcamp’ for 18 men and women between our two churches, as well as a number of attendees from outside Sovereign Grace. This course is designed to help attendees see that biblical leadership is leadership which is fuelled and formed by the realities of the gospel, not by pragmatics of secular business texts, and to help them grow in their leadership in whatever sphere God has for them. 

#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1617320266103_209596 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; }#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1617320266103_209596 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

Outside Interest

Within a short-time of us praying and asking for openings the Lord has brought about three new opportunities to connect with people who are interested in exploring a partnership with Sovereign Grace in some form: a desire for a church plant in their city, an adoption of an existing church, and a church planter! Only the Lord knows what will come of this, but nonetheless it’s a joy to introduce these new friends to SG and to share with them our love for our family of churches, our appreciation for our doctrine, values, and practices, and to see their enthusiasm!

Future Plans

With a desire to build upon the good work and the health of our two current churches, our hope is to see planters trained, pastors cared for, and enduring churches built all across Australasia, and to do it as friends! To help make more of that happen, I now give some of my time each week to making new connections and relationships in the Seminary and Church Planting world, as well as establishing pathways, and creating resources to connect us with future planters, pastors and churches. To that end, we are aiming to start a ‘Leadership Podcast’ in the coming weeks, where we plan to steal all the good stuff we’ve learned over the years from Sovereign Grace Churches and share it with Australian Pastors. We’re also aiming to make videos to help newcomers understand how they can actually take next steps with SG here in Australia. 

Please keep praying for us in all of this. We so need the Lord. May all the glory be His!

An update from Carlos Contreras, Senior Pastor of Gracia Soberana de Ciudad Juarez and Regional Leader for Mexico…

Last year, a week before the world shut down because of COVID 19, we were able to host 2 Preaching workshops as we have done for the past 7 years. This year we weren’t sure that we would be able to continue this very significant ministry to pastors in Mexico. However, we were encouraged by many pastors that were asking us to do so by saying that Expository Preaching had become a priority in their ministry. So, we are so grateful that we were able to host our two Workshops, one in Sovereign Grace Church in Guadalajara and the other one in our church in Juarez.

We have been on partnership with The Charles Simeon Trust now for 8 years hosting and teaching Christ Centered Expository Biblical Preaching to our pastors as well as other hundreds of pastors in Latin America . We believe that this is one of the best ways we can serve the body of Christ and share with others what we have enjoyed in Sovereign Grace as one of our shared values. That is being faithful to the biblical text and Preaching Christ from all of Scripture.

IMG_0753.jpeg

Our theme this year was “Preaching the Wisdom Books” by studying the Book of Job. And, even though the registration was limited to about 30 pastors per site, we were glad to see that the majority of attendants were returning pastors from previous years. Most of the SG pastors in Mexico and Costa Rica have been to multiple workshops now and thus serve as instructors or Small Group Leaders, so we, as a family of churches, are able to personally serve and encourage many pastors as well as develop lasting relationships with them.

We pray that as the pandemic ceases in the coming months, we can continue with our plans to expand our reach and open other sites in Mexico and Central America so that we can continue this important ministry to the extended Body of Christ in Latin America.

An update from Ed O’Mara, Lead Pastor of CrossPointe Church in Arnold, MD, USA…

I had the privilege of accompanying Joselo Mercado to Costa Rica from 19-22 February. We served at the Por Su Gracia pastors conference and visited two churches exploring adoption in Sovereign Grace. Chespi Sandoval, Lead Pastor of Casa Vida Playa Azul, and Rodrigo Fournier, Lead Pastor of La Vina Escazu, organised the conference which was hosted at La Vina Escazu’s building in San Jose. These two men are godly and gifted brothers who share our values and long to serve the body of Christ in Costa Rica by equipping pastors to lead their local churches well.

Joselo did an outstanding job preaching in two plenary sessions while we both also participated on panels discussing biblical missiology and pastoral care amid cultural currents. The eagerness and gratitude of the pastors gathered was palpable and it was clear that we are seeking to build God-glorifying churches with the same core values. At the conclusion of the conference we met with a group of leaders interested in joining Sovereign Grace, including Rodrigo and Chespi. It was a time of refreshing fellowship, care, encouragement, and prayer that highlighted the unity of the body of Christ. This budding partnership is already providing great comfort to our new friends who can at times feel alone in the work of ministry!

On Sunday we visited Casa Vida Playa Azul. Playa Azul was once a tourist beach town but it has fallen into poverty. Chespi is a humble and faith-filled man who relocated his family from San Jose to establish a church that would reach the young people of Playa Azul. Their church is building a campus with amenities like a swimming pool, soccer field, and dormitories in addition to their meeting facility so as to provide a place for the community to gather. Through these relationships, they are reaching the lost of Playa Azul. I preached the morning message and Joselo, myself, and Bob Wright (a member of Covenant Fellowship who has a home in Costa Rica) spent the remainder of the day with Chespi, his wife (Milena), and his son (Emanuel). Again, this time was focused on encouraging and strengthening Chespi’s family in their gospel work and caring for their souls.

It was humbling to be reminded that these times of fellowship that are part of our normal experience in Sovereign Grace are not the normal experience of so many pastors in our world. Extending the gospel mission is not merely a church expansion plan, but it has real impact on people, communities, and pastors who desire partnership. What a great grace it is to share the riches and values God has blessed us with, in Sovereign Grace, with like-minded brothers and sisters around the globe. What a privilege to be interconnected in our common gospel mission!

Joselo, Ed, Bob, Rodrigo and his wife, at dinner after conference.jpeg

20190901_034017000_iOS.jpg

In Sovereign Grace Churches, we are passionate about planting and strengthening churches all around the world, for the glory of God. That’s our passion, that’s our desire, and so Jesus is our only hope!

Without him we can do nothing. Without him we labour in vain. We so need Jesus, and so here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for Richard Song of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, Australia, Andrew Leung of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, Australia, and Simon Walker of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, Australia, as they begin (and continue in Simon’s case) Pastoral Internships in their Church’s. That the months ahead would be fruitful, clarifying and faith building for these men.

2. Please pray for La Vina Escazu in Costa Rica, Igreja Nova Vida in Brazil, Casa Vida Playa Azul Church in Costa Rica, and Sublime Gracia Church in Colombia, as they pursue formal adoption into Sovereign Grace Churches. These are exciting moments, and so may God gift wisdom and grace to everyone involved.

3. Please pray for Jeffrey Jo in Manila, Philippines; Cornelio Ebo in Cebu City, Philippines; Dyonah Thomas in Liberia, JP Ravuri in India & Mario Vucenovic in Croatia, as they continue to work through the Sovereign Grace Churches ordination process and begin to take their final exams in the next few months.

4. Please pray for Nathan Smith (Lead Pastor) and Grace Church Bristol, UK, as they continue to ‘do life’ in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have spent nearly 8 of the last 12 months in lockdown of some form in the UK, and though the Lord has been faithful and even added Church growth during this time, it’s certainly been difficult for them all. Please pray that this difficult season would soon come to an end and that they would know the nearness of God to them in this.

5. Please pray for the SGC Leadership Team as we continue to pray, discuss, and plan for global expansion in Sovereign Grace Churches. We so need His wisdom. Please also pray for Todd Peterson (Pastor of Cross of Grace Church, El Paso, Texas) Pat Tedeschi (Pastor of Green Tree Church, New Jersey), Allen Dicharry (Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Midland, TX), Pete Schefferstein (Pastor of Lakeview Christian Church, New Orleans) and Leo Parris (Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, PA) as they continue to work on the International Partnership Program together. In addition, please pray for our Emerging Nations Representatives Team, as they continue to work with our Global Partners around the world, in a whole range of different ways, to see Churches planted and strengthened for the glory of God. 

… Thank you so much. We appreciate your prayers very much!