Sovereign Grace Music Español is Growing!

Sovereign Grace Music recently released its 5th Spanish album, En Ti Esperamos (We Hope in You). The project contains 12 translated Sovereign Grace songs, some from our most recent albums, Unchanging God: Songs from the Book of Psalms, Vol. 1 & 2. Almost all the songs chosen focus on the theme of suffering. They remind us that in the midst of our darkest nights and deepest sorrows, those who trust in Christ will never be without hope.

Since the release of two albums recorded with La IBI in the Dominican Republic in 2013 and 2014, Sovereign Grace Music has had an increasing impact in the Spanish speaking world. So much so that currently 13 of the top 20 Sovereign Grace Music YouTube videos are in Spanish. En Ti Esperamos is a long overdue response. 

The primary musicians on the album (Bob Kauflin, David Zimmer, Peter Scrufari, Gaby Estupinian, and Fabrizio Rodulfo) are from Sovereign Grace churches. We were joined by our good friends, Jonathan and Sarah Jerez, to produce the album. The Jerezes have collaborated with Sovereign Grace on three other projects, and recently helped lead a bi-lingual main session at the WorshipGod conference. 

Along with seeking to provide more theologically driven, gospel-centered, musically accessible songs for Spanish churches, En Ti Esperamos was recorded with minimal instrumentation. It’s common for Latin American churches to emphasize production and performance in a way that can distract from the words being sung. Simplifying the arrangements counteracts that impulse, but also makes it easier for smaller churches to replicate. 

 In light of all that God is doing in the Spanish-speaking world, we recently hired Fabrizio Rodulfo as an Intern for Video and Spanish Resources. He has done a fantastic job overseeing the translation team and started an Instagram account (@sovgracemusicespanol) which has gained over 5600 followers in only two months. 

 While we’re grateful for the opportunities to provide excellent translations of Sovereign Grace songs, our eventual hope and prayer is that God would raise up individuals to write original songs in Spanish. We took a significant step towards that goal when, at the recent Fieles a Su Llamado conference, we met with 15 songwriters interested in writing for a future project. Our next step will be a songwriting retreat in Mexico some time next year.

We’d appreciate your prayers that God would enable us to steward these resources well for the good of the Spanish speaking church and the glory of our Savior!

From Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches…

In his book, “Brothers, We are Not Professionals” John Piper writes this compelling sentence: “Prayer is the splicing of our limp wire to the lightning bolt of heaven.” Our efforts to pastor our churches, and to advance the gospel together as a family of churches, can feel like that “limp wire” at times. We need God’s power and help. It is by praying for one another that we can splice our feeble efforts "to the lightning bolt of heaven” and God answers our prayers by giving us power to accomplish what He has called us to do for His glory.

It is with a sense of desperate dependence that I’m sending you the prayer requests. May God, according to the riches of his glory, grant us power through his Spirit to advance the gospel together for the glory of Christ. Here’s how you can be praying…

1. Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities and workplaces.

2. Pray for Nick Kidwell and his core team that will plant Valley Creek Church in Malvern, PA this September asking God to strengthen their church planting efforts, and to draw unbelievers and the unchurched to Valley Creek.

3. Pray for the churches in Dnipro, and Sinelnikovo, Ukraine that Sovereign Grace is relating to, and sending money for relief efforts, asking God to protect them, and to use them to offer gospel hope as the war continues in that nation.

4. Pray for our new 2022-2023 Pastors College students and their families who will be moving to Louisville, KY before classes start at the end of August, asking God to provide for them and to give them grace to grow over the next year while at the PC.

5. Pray for the Eckstein Conference hosted by the Arche Church in Hamburg, Germany, September 30-October 2 where pastors from Germany and around Europe will gather for teaching and fellowship. Also pray for the first Europe Sovereign Grace Pastors Fellowship Gathering on Tuesday, October 4 led by Jeff Purswell and Mark Prater.

6. Pray for our first West Africa Pastors and Planters Academy in Monrovia Liberia where 10 men from for different West African nations are being trained to pastor and plant churches in West Africa. Pray for Dyonah Thomas, Sr. Pastor of Grace Life Church in Monrovia, and the Dean of the Academy, asking God to give him grace to lead and invest into these 10 men.

7. Pray for Ed O’Mara and his family who moved to Italy in July to plant a Sovereign Grace church in that country a year from now. Pray that God would use the next year to help them continue to learn the Italian language, and the culture for the purpose of being equipped to advance the gospel through church planting.

8. Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world

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

Our theme for this year was ‘Pastoral Ministry by Grace’ with Dr. Bryan Chapell as our special guest speaker. Again this year, we were joined by our wonderful regular speakers, Jeff Purswell, Bob Kauflin, Miguel Núñez, Kike Torres and Joselo Mercado. As part of the team of men participating, we also had Rich Richardson and Mark Prater. In all, this was by far our best time together in our desire to serve Mexican and Latin American pastors, leaders, and their wives.

Because of space limitations, we had to limit attendance to 400 folks, representing 23 Mexican states (70% of our country represented). Of all those in attendance, 80% were leaders and their wives, from around 110 different churches, making it one of the few contexts where the focus has been primarily on serving those in church leadership. We also had a good number of Latin American leaders that came from other countries like Costa Rica, Colombia, Bolivia, and the USA. Our mission was to encourage and equip called leaders from our family of churches but we were open to all who wanted to come and join us.

One highlight of the Conference was the release of the new Sovereign Grace Music Spanish album “En Tí Esperamos (We Wait on You)”, a copy of which was given to all attendees and filled our worship times with long awaited powerful new songs. From the first song we sang at the beginning of worship time, and throughout the rest of our time together, the presence of the Holy Spirit was evident. Our Lord was gracious to answer our prayers for a time of refreshment for all and so there was as much joy as there were tears and encouragement during all our times of ministry. I can safely say that we experienced a true visitation that many testified as they left to return to their homes. One pastor from Oaxaca who came for the first time wrote saying:

“Thank you for serving us who are looking for encouragement to keep ahead serving God. It was a great blessing to me and my wife to be able to spend these days learning from the Word of God and enjoying His grace… We will be the first ones to register for next year… We are now seeking God to make decisions for our ministry.”

Another highlight this year was that we were looking for ways to stimulate times of fellowship among the participants, so we hosted a brunch with all pastors from the region and their wives. It was a wonderful time to just be together and share testimonies of what God has been doing among us and some plans for the future. We also set up an outside food court with tables where food was available for purchase in the evenings. This place was full every night until late at night and many mentioned this venue being a big plus in regard to making new friends in true fellowship.

In addition, a very interesting and now memorable event happened on Thursday night. There was a violent spree in our city as well as in other cities in Mexico orchestrated by organized crime groups as a means of pressuring the government. As a result of this, our whole city went into lockdown for two consecutive nights. We saw this as God sovereignly testing us in our faith and trust that He would care for us during this scary event. The result was amazing. We decided to continue with the conference as planned and we extended the hours of our food court since all restaurants closed on both nights. Not only was our faith strengthened, but there was more joy in our fellowship, our singing was louder and more heart felt, and we all returned home having had a real experience of His sustaining grace.

In all, I can safely say, our gracious God took over our Conference and made sure we all received a full measure of His amazing grace. We can’t wait to see what He will do next year!

An update from Perry Wang…

I was born in China. Growing up, I was completely atheist. The first time I heard the gospel I refused to listen and laughed at the brother who told me, but by God’s mercy and grace, in a moment He opened my eyes and made me alive. He showed me that I had lived in lies all the days of my life and He led me to the truth. He showed me my sins and led me to the cross. I knew in that moment that Jesus was alive and from that moment, I was His. That was March 11, 2006. Since then, God has given me a passion for the truth and love of Jesus Christ.

After graduating in 2007, I trained for one year and was sent to Nanning City, China to plant an underground church. After 7 years in ministry, I found I knew very little about church and ministry and so I resigned and pursued further study in seminary. By His grace, God opened a door for us and in January 2017, we arrived at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

While I was in Louisville, our friends Huadong (Brian) Yang and Fengyu (Jeff) Ji were members of Sovereign Grace Church Louisville, both of whom had studied at Pastor’s College. At that time, my wife and I had known these brothers for two years and we witnessed change in their lives. Some negative aspects of Chinese culture were fading away and the aroma of Christ was growing. We were attracted by the fragrance of their lives, so my wife and I decided to visit SGC Louisville.

We loved the vibrant worship and powerful message. There were many times we were moved to tears by CJ's preaching and by the songs we sang. My wife was shepherded well and her spirit was renewed. It was faithfulness to the Word and the grace, love and humbleness flowing from the pastors that drew us to Sovereign Grace. After Gary Ricucci gave us the membership interview, I had an impulse to give him a hug, and I did! By the way, hugging is not part of Chinese culture!

For the first three years in seminary, I was determined to go back to China to plant churches. However, God changed my stubborn mind and showed me a new vision - to plant healthy churches here in the States and use them as a base to reach unreached people groups. When I was nearing the end of my seminary studies, Pastor Gary Ricucci and I were discussing the possibility of Pastors College and other ministry opportunities. When he heard of my heart for church planting, he told me about the church planting class that was running the following week at the Pastors College and invited me to join. There I met Mike Seaver, pastor of Risen Hope Church, Charleston. That’s how I ended up in Charleston after graduating from Southern Baptist in Louisville.

I’m now a church planting resident at Risen Hope Church and I’m grateful for the last year. I am learning from the pastoral team, their humility in teamwork, the way they hold each other accountable, how they deal with different opinions and conflicts, their love and care for each member through prayer, their laughter and their tears, how they exercise church discipline and so on. This has been so helpful in preparing me to build and lead a team as a church planter. We started a bible study at the Medical University of Southern Carolina where more than a hundred Chinese students work and study. We are planning to launch a new Chinese-speaking church next summer. The plan for the following year is to build a core team, with the help of the Church Planting Cohort.

If you’d like to get involved, or have Chinese speaking members in your church that would like to get involved, then please let me know.

An update from Jared Mellinger, lead pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, USA…

On July 27-30, 650 people from 38 US states and 5 countries gathered in Louisville, Kentucky for WorshipGod 2022. I attended with a group of members from my church, including several other pastors I serve with. It was incredible!

The conference is designed to serve anyone who leads or participates in the Sunday gathering, as well as anyone who wants to better understand congregational worship and grow in loving God, who is worthy of all praise.

The theme of this year’s Worship God conference was Unchanging. We celebrated God’s unchanging character: his independence, trustworthiness, eternality, blessedness, and love. The theme was drawn from the newest Sovereign Grace album.

Sovereign Grace Music published a devotional on the songs/Psalms from the new album, which was released and available at the conference. The devotionals are written by various Sovereign Grace pastors and have helped me meditate more deeply on the songs on this album. We’ve also started singing some of these songs in our church, and our congregation has been richly blessed by them.

Bob Kauflin did an outstanding job leading the conference as Director of Sovereign Grace Music. He has unique leadership gifts and relational gifts that made these days together especially edifying. Bob's goal is not to run a polished and impressive production, but to serve those present. He does this by leading with joy, humility, generosity, encouragement, and thankfulness.

Musical instruments and books were given away. The give-aways often honored those who have faithfully served in their church for many years, or are serving with young children, and others appropriate to honor. Song writers were also thanked and encouraged. Abundant grace was on bright display.

The entire team at Sovereign Grace Music models gospel culture in a way that shapes the experience of each person in attendance. The grace of God was also evident in the hospitality shown by Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. Although we met at a different church building, there were dozens of people in the church in Louisville who cheerfully served and greeted me and others all week long.

After the conference, I shared with Bob that one of the specific things I appreciate about his leadership is the way he helps us in Sovereign Grace learn from, express appreciation for, and serve the broader body of Christ. Attendees were a combination of people in Sovereign Grace Churches and beyond. Speakers were a mix of pastors in Sovereign Grace and others: Mike Bullmore, Jeff Purswell, Mark Jones, Josh Blount, and myself. Special guests included Adam Wright from Corner Room Music, City Alight, Jonathan and Sarah Jerez, and others. It was so encouraging to hear Adam Wright sing with his daughter, and to hear the vision City Alight has to serve the church of Christ through modern hymns.

I have regularly attended this conference over the years, not because I am a musician or worship leader, but because I am a pastor and Christian. I have found this particular conference to be especially edifying, equipping, and refreshing for pastors. Lord willing, I hope to attend again in the future.

After all, worship does not exist for the few, or for the musically talented, but for us all. God created us to glorify and enjoy him forever.

Worship is always related to missions, as John Piper has explained, because worship is the goal and fuel of missions: Missions exists because worship doesn’t. And, worship is always related to our future, because when we gather and join our voices in song with people from many different churches, we experience a foretaste of the day when we gather in the new heavens and the new earth, to sing “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” 

An update from Brendan Willis, Pastor in Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney…

In July, Sovereign Grace Churches Australia celebrated a milestone in our very first combined churches conference, Together 2022 – Side by side for the Gospel! Sovereign Grace Churches has a rich history of local churches coming together to strengthen their gospel partnership, and to build rich relationships between churches. Since the very first Sunday service of Sovereign Grace Church Wahroonga in 2010 we had longed for the day when we might be able to enjoy a similar level of regional partnership here in the southern hemisphere!

Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta was planted in September 2019, and though we had a small two-year COVID delay, we were thrilled to be able to come together as two churches for the very first time this year!

We decided to name the conference “Together” to reflect our heart that going forward this annual celebration would be all about our unity in the Gospel. As our inaugural year, we also planned our teaching sessions around the “Together” theme.

Dave Taylor opened the conference with a great message unpacking the way in which the Apostle Paul used the example of the Lord Jesus to inform not merely individual generosity in giving but corporate generosity between churches (2 Corinthians 8:1–24).

Brendan Willis continued our series with a message that showed us how the power and wisdom of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:10–31) enables us to remain deeply united despite the way in which our hearts might tempt us towards division.

Finally, Riley Spring closed out the weekend by reminding us of the only hope we have for genuine fruitfulness and growth… and that is to abide together in dependence upon the Lord Jesus (John 15:1–27)!

It was so wonderful at many points across the weekend to simply pause and give thanks to God for what he has done! For starters, we were so thankful for the opportunity to simply have fun together as churches. A classic example of this was the kids entertainer we hired for a bubble show who thought she was doing a small kids party but was welcomed into an amphitheatre with >100 kids! It was an absolute riot!

Even more than this, to watch and see the many late-night chats, deep discussions over dinner, times of prayer for those in need, passionate singing and the many people who gave hours and hours of their time to plan for and serve on the weekend was an absolute joy!

Here’s to praying God would enable many more “Together” conferences and multiply these for many more years to come!

Welcome, Pastors College Class of 2023!

Please be praying for our new 2022-2023 Pastors College students and their families who have just moved to Louisville, KY, as classes commence. Please ask God to provide for them and to give them grace to grow over the next year while at the PC.

In John Piper’s book ‘Let the Nations Be Glad!’, he writes, “Not only has God made the accomplishment of his purposes hang on the preaching of the Word; He has also made the success of that preaching hang on prayer”… And oh my, how true that is. This is why the Apostle Paul said in Col 4.3, “And pray for us too, that God may open a door for the Gospel”.

We so need those “open doors” too my friends, as we seek to do what we can to take the Gospel to the Nations, both those that are easy to arrive in, and those that are not. And so, here's how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray the SG Australia Planters & Pastors Academy students, as we begin their assessments over these next two weeks to consider ‘what’s next’ for each of them as we head into 2023. Please pray for much grace, wisdom and insight for everyone involved in this process, and that each one of these men may be deployed well for the glorious name of Jesus.

2. Please pray for Carlos Contreras and all those involved in this year’s Fieles Conference in Juarez, Mexico, August 10-12th. Please pray that all 400 of those coming along will be encouraged, equipped and empowered in their ministry. There are pastors coming from 23 different Mexican states, representing around 110 churches and, of those, there are 16 new churches who have just in the last year requested formal relationship with SGC. In addition, there are around 20 folks coming from Costa Rica, Bolivia and Colombia. Please pray that God will be glorified, His purposes advanced and His Church edified by everything that takes place at this conference.

3. Please pray for me (Dave Taylor) and Riley Spring (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, Australia) as we head to Ethiopia, August 19-26th, to teach at our SG Pastors College there. We’ll be teaching on ‘Planting & Building Sovereign Grace Churches & Nations’... Please pray that we have a great time with the students and equip them well for what lies ahead.

4. Please continue to pray for the dear folk of Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its sixth month. Please pray in particular for Michael Ostanin and the brothers and sisters in Ark Church, Dnipro. In the last month their town has been bombed, yet they continue to seek to be the hands of feet of Jesus to the needy in their town. Please pray that the light and hope of the gospel would shine even more brightly in the midst of darkness and suffering, and that the manifold wisdom of God be revealed through His church.

5. Please pray for the pastors and wives in Belarus that we are good friends with, in Sovereign Grace. The government in Belarus has stepped up intensity of action against any form of dissent and to that end officials have been combing through social media posts of photos of anyone who attended the massive 2020 demonstrations. This led to soldiers breaking into one pastor’s home during the night and arresting him and his wife as “traitors to the motherland and enemies of the people”. The pastor sought to explain that they were only at the demonstration to pray with people, give out Bibles and invite them to Church. He was released, but his wife remains in prison and is being threatened with a 2-5 year imprisonment charge. We praise God for the ongoing testimony of abiding faith this couple has shown even in these frightening circumstances, they are an amazing couple. Yet we ask you to please pray with us for her release, for gospel comfort for her husband, and for their gospel witness to bear much fruit in and through it all.

... It’s so good to know that God is on His throne! And so please pray to Him, that His grace, mercy and hope may abound to us all.

An update from Jeff Purswell, Dean of the US Pastors College, Director of Theology for SG Churches, and Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville…

Last month, the Pastors College held its 23rd annual graduation exercises. It was an honor to celebrate with these students and their families, all of whom sacrificed in significant ways to give themselves to a rigorous course of study, training, and personal growth—all in order to glorify Christ and serve his church. This year’s class comprised eight students, ranging in age from 25-42, hailing from seven different churches in six states. Two students were sent by Emmaus Road Church in Sioux Falls, a testament to the intentionality of Greg Dirnberger and his team in raising up young leaders. For the second year in a row, we had a second-generation PC student in Philip VanderWeide from Covenant Fellowship Church, whose father Brian graduated in 1999. Most of the students were strangers when they arrived, but they all now depart as dear friends and trusted co-laborers in the gospel.

Although it was painful to bid farewell to these dear friends, we are eager to observe the fruit these men and women will bear for the cause of the gospel. Four of the students are returning to their sending churches, eager to take on new ministry responsibilities. Two of the students are actually returning to churches they had been part of in previous years; in their case, the PC served as a sort of “means of re-entry” into Sovereign Grace. The Pastors College can also serve to connect graduates with churches in need of a pastor, and this summer Caleb Collins, who came to the PC from Louisville, relocated to Richmond to join Matthew Williams and the team at KingsWay Community Church.  

I hope you’ll join us in giving thanks to God for the provision to Sovereign Grace these graduates represent. And please do pray for them as they relocate and prepare to serve in local Sovereign Grace churches.

• Mark Christenson: serving at Emmaus Road Church in Sioux Falls, SD

• Caleb & Kristi Collins: serving at KingsWay Community Church in Midlothian, VA

• Matt & Jami Groen: serving at Emmaus Road Church in Sioux Falls, SD

• Gabriel & Melissa Magill: church-planting in Warren, PA

• Tim & Becca Owens: serving at Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena, CA

• Merrick & Abbey Potter: serving at Covenant of Grace Church in Copley, OH

• Eddie & Raven Spuler: serving at CrossPointe Church in Arnold, MD

• Philip & Shannon VanderWeide: serving at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA

An update from Jeffrey Jo, Lead Pastor of CCSGM in Kawit, Manila, and key leader for us in SG Philippines…

Few things are more encouraging for a pastor than the moments he feels that he is not alone in the challenges of both marriage and ministry.

I know the ‘feeling’ of not having that. For I was once in that boat until, in God’s providence, God brought me to Sovereign Grace Churches. It is such a blessing when we have fellow strugglers beside us, encouraging and praying for us, but above all, gathering with you in the fellowship of the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The realization of the significance of gathering and serving the Lord together moved us six months ago to make it our theme for this year’s mid-year pastors and leadership conference of our churches in Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines. With the financial support of SGC and the members of our local churches in Manila, we were able to raise enough funds to make the said conference possible.

We organized an eight-member team to minister to our growing local churches in that region. June 25 from 8AM to 4PM, we held our pastors and leaders mid-year conference. Around 103 came and they were instructed and inspired by the scriptures on the significance of raising church elders along with other church leaders for the growth, health and protection of His church. We focused on 2 Timothy 2 and understood the beauty of God’s design on the plurality of leadership founded on the gospel of Christ.

The following day, Sunday June 26, we divided our team to visit our local congregations. Half of us visited the town churches while the other half visited our churches on the mountains, among the tribes. The church where I was assigned to minister presented a twelve member choir from the Manobo tribe and they gave a heartfelt worship song in their own tongue and I could not help but have tears of joy remembering Revelation 7:9, “… from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…” It was indeed such a privilege to minister the scriptures to them and show them the glory of Christ in the dearest place on earth.

Monday came and we all traveled to a hotel where we decided to give our pastors and their wives a big treat of an overnight stay. We had a lovely couple’s fellowship reflecting on the power of a gospel-centered forgiveness both in marriage and parenting. The following morning after our breakfast, our wives gathered together for reflection, encouragement and bonding while I encouraged the men to be faithful to their calling and even to joyfully do the requirements of their ordination process. After which, we separated ways and almost everyone with teary eyes, embraced and bid farewell to each other being grateful for having friends and a family in the works of the ministry.

While in the plane heading back home, I was communing with God and pondering on the reality that all such love that we share and experience with one another, is made possible only by the unifying grace and mercy of God expressed in Christ Jesus.

My hope in the future is to make Surigao del Sur a “launching pad” for the preaching of the gospel of Christ and to establish elder-led churches in the other cities and provinces in Mindanao so that His Name may be known in that region, resting my confidence in our faithful God!

An update from one of our SG Missionaries in Thailand…

Our team works in a remote area among an unreached people group in north eastern Thailand.  At our core, we desire to see God lead them in “a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known” (Is. 42:16a).  We long for God to “turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground” (Is. 42:16b).  Currently, the ground is fallow, the darkness thick, and the people blind to the light of Christ. 

The journey to Thailand has been a long one: close to a decade since hearing the call to go, and six years since landing here.  Over the years, our team has labored in prayer, preparation, language learning, service and sharing.  We are waiting for the Lord to move and birth new life in the hearts of our Thai friends.

Cross-cultural work such as this requires a long view and much endurance.  The path has been wrought with setbacks and sufferings that come with the territory: language & cultural barriers, isolation, frequent & unexpected changes, various losses, stressful situations and life threatening medical emergencies.  It’s hard to describe the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pressures experienced on the field, but they are palpable and never far away, faithfully revealing our weakness and His resurrection power.  The work has caused us in a small way to identify with Paul’s words about “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Cor 4:10).  And every single day, He has been our rock, salvation and fortress (Ps 62:2,6-7) holding our hands and granting strength to take the next step of faith even in the darkest of nights.

Through the support and prayers of many in our churches, God has sustained the team and answered prayer.  The many churches, pastors and members who have walked with us over the years have been the grace of God to hold the team up through difficult valleys, and we are grateful for you and your sacrifice.  The encouragement we’ve received from you has kept us going at times when we thought we couldn’t go any further.  We do give thanks to God for you and “the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor 1:11b). 

And because of your prayers, God regularly opens doors to talk about Jesus and has even given opportunities to study the Bible with those who are curious.  Many have never met a Christian before or had an opportunity to hear the gospel.   And though there are only 1-2 believers per 1000 and just a handful of tiny churches in our province, the team has been able to expositionally preach God’s Word at two of the local bodies.

One of the highlights of the year was a Christmas outreach our teammates hosted in a remote village.  After months of our teammates weekly building relationships by spending time weaving with grandmas in this village, God opened doors for this special event. The Christmas party drew 50 people who heard the gospel powerfully proclaimed, probably for the first time ever in this town. 

It’s a walk of faith to be here, Jesus is worth it, and we’re glad we get to journey together with you.  Because He lovingly laid down His life for His elect in this land, we can follow in his footsteps, trusting He will redeem those who are His.

An update from Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, and Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, Glenn Mills, USA…

I am excited to let you know that the fourth edition of the Sovereign Grace Journal is here, devoted to our Seven Shared Values. These seven values shape who we are, helping to define how we do do life together in our local churches regardless of what nation our church is in. I am excited for you to read Jeff Purswell's article about the importance of our shared values and Mickey Connolly’s article about their purpose. And then the bulk of the journal are articles touching on our specific values. After working through each value, we asked some of our friends outside of the United States to talk about how the values work in their cultures. Abelardo Munoz talks about the seven shared values in Mexico, Christian Wegert from Germany, and Jeff Jo in the Philippines. Gary Ricucci then wrote an article about praying through the seven shared values. It's excellent. And per usual, Jeff did an excellent job with an article on resources to go with each of our shared values. Enjoy!

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1 John 5:14 says “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” What a promise we have in God our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, let us run to him, humble and dependent, knowing he hears our prayers as we all play our part to see the gospel advance through the work of church planting, emerging nations and missions. Join us as we cry out to our Lord, with full assurance He answers our prayers in accordance with His good and perfect will.

1. Please pray for Bob Kauflin as he leads the Worship God conference this month - which is back after a 3 year break! Please pray that God would use the conference to encourage and equip attendees to serve in their local churches more effectively, joyfully and fruitfully. Please pray that there would be a spirit of unity, joy, and faith pervading at the conference, and that the songs to be introduced from Unchanging God, Vol 1 & 2 would be an encouragement, and make their way into local churches for the strengthening of His body. Pray that the participation of Jonathan & Sarah Jerez (Spanish Christian music artists) would encourage those seeking to make an impact in the Spanish speaking world.

2. Pray for the inaugural Together 2022 conference that will be happening in Australia. It will bring the two churches in Australia together for a few days to explore what biblical and gospel centered partnership looks like as they seek to pioneer a new denomination in Australia and extend our family of churches across this great land. Please pray for God’s presence in all aspects of the conference as both churches enjoy a weekend of fellowship, worship, and making memories together!

3. Please pray for the O’Mara Family (Ed, Robin and their 3 children Teagan, Liadan, and Kilian) as they move to Italy, with a view to planting a gospel-centered church. Please pray they would experience God’s protection as they travel, and that the family would settle well, and quickly, into a new culture.

4. Please pray for the people of Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its fifth month. Please pray that the pastors and churches in Ukraine continue to be the hands and feet for Jesus, and that our Sovereign Lord continues to sustain them, and use these opportunities to grow their trust in Him. Pray that the light and hope of the gospel would shine even more brightly in the midst of darkness and suffering, and that the manifold wisdom of God be revealed through His church.

Thank you for praying with us. May His grace abound!

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

This past month of May we were able to hold our second Mexico Region Equipping Retreat in Guadalajara, Mexico. This is a special 3 full days of spending time together to worship, talk and learn as pastors and leaders. As a developing Nation of churches, we see the need for extensive times of training and envisioning. On this occasion we were joined by almost all the pastors of the Mexico Region as well as some of their main leaders, pastors from churches in the process of being adopted (13 churches), and 2 pastors being equipped for our 2 upcoming church plants. We were also blessed to be joined by 14 men from other Latin American countries (Bolivia, Costa Rica & Colombia) from churches also seeking adoption into Sovereign Grace (6 churches). It was wonderful for all of us to meet and get to know what was going on in other places. In all we were 67 men together for 3 days on location at Sovereign Grace Guadalajara that served us (and fed us) so well as hosts.

This year we were blessed to have Bob Kauflin and Fabrizio Rodulfo join us to go through his "Why We Gather” material. Also, joining us and teaching were Rich Richardson and Joselo Mercado. In all we had 6 main sessions with worship and prayer times, Bob K. teaching in 3, one session by Joselo, on by Rich Richardson and one by myself. We also enjoyed 5 sessions of extended panel discussions on specific applications and for questions from the men. All sessions were video recorded for future use as part of  our equipping materials library.

This time together turned out to be such a memorable and effective highlight in our history. We enjoyed great fellowship, wonderful outstanding and loud worship times and exceptional teaching. Our faithful God truly encountered us to encourage, envision and equip us to build and serve as Sovereign Grace churches. And being able to sit under Bob’s graceful and passion teaching and sharing of decades of experience serving the Lord was a gift that we will treasure always. We are grateful for all who contribute and join us as partners to make events like this possible.

An update from Walt Alexander (Pastor, Trinity Grace Church, Athens, Tennessee USA) …..

“It’s been four long years since you last came to Korea.”

Those were the words one family said to me when I arrived.

Immediately, I thought to myself, “It’s not just been four long years. It’s been four hard years.” Four years ago, there was no pandemic, vaccines, masks, or travel restrictions.

After four long, hard years, it was so good to be back in Korea several weeks ago.

PURPOSE OF THE TRIP

I have visited Lord’s Grace Church in Seoul, Korea five times, but my relationship with the church is built on the faithful investment of Larry Malament (Grace Church) and Bill Kittrell (Cornerstone Church). For years, their churches have come each year to help Lord’s Grace Church host a Conference for its members and guests and an English Camp for school-aged children.

This year, we had a team of 12 folks—8 from Cornerstone Church (Knoxville, TN) and 4 from Trinity Grace Church (Athens, TN).

This year, given the difficult of the last couple of years, the conference theme was “Above All Earthly Fears.” We took three days to study the gospels and to consider the power of Jesus over everything we fear.

It seemed to be an especially helpful topic, not just because of the prevalence of fear surrounding the pandemic but also the prevalence of fear now in our daily lives. It was striking to hear one man testify about the call to fear God and trust God after losing both of his parents to Coronavius. Another woman testified of the fear of facing an unknown future with a severely disabled son.

During the conference, the rest of the team was leading an English Camp. While we did seek to teach English, the focus of the English Camp was to instruct them and help them face fear through skits, Bible lessons, crafts, and many different games.

Like any opportunity to invest in the next generation, the English Camp was a highlight! After learning that the English Camp’s theme verse of Isaiah 41:10, one child stayed up late into the first night memorizing the verse in English. Needless to say, no one on our team attempted to memorize the verse in Korean!

EFFECT OF THE TRIP

Like any mission trip, it is hard to capture the effect of the trip in a few words.

But, perhaps more than anything else, it is so exciting to help strengthen a local church like Lord’s Grace Church. Several folks on the trip mentioned that they had been on many mission trips but never one so focused on a local church. While they were able to serve in different ways on those trips, they were unsure of the effect. Those trips were disconnected from a local church and from discipleship and care.

While it was a bit sad to fly home, it was exciting to leave Songwhan and Miran behind!

God has positioned Songwhan and the growing team there to lead Lord’s Grace Church. God is building his church there. Lord willing, the years to come will include more church plants throughout Korea and into North Korea. To God be the glory!

An update from Riley Spring (Lead Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta, Australia)….

One of the great comforts I have as a Pastor is that I am not doing this alone. Not only do I have the blessing of pastoring an incredible and supportive church here at Parra, but I get to work with, plan with, and be supported by Sovereign Grace Churches, especially, with Dave Taylor and Brendan Willis at Sovereign Grace Church Sydney.

I truly believe that we are better together when we operate as a tight knit family of churches here in Australia. We collaborate, support, aid, protect, and assist each other in so many ways relationally, institutionally, and practically. And this not only blesses me, but our partnership strengthens and blesses my local church also!

Recently, our partnership was on full display as Dave, Brendan and I went on our first Regional Assembly of Elders trip…a fancy term for a Planning Retreat!

We also invited all the ‘Pastors and Planters Academy Students’ along for one of the nights and it was such a great time. We spent time in worship, study, prayer, planning, and hanging out. We took time to re-watch some of the key messages from the recent Pastor’s Conference and were refreshed and renewed in our love for Jesus and our need for spiritual protection. Through our time away we got better clarity and vision for the future of both of our churches and for SG Australia as a whole.

There’s lots of exciting things coming up as we look ahead for SG Australia. We’ve got our first Sovereign Grace Churches Australia ‘Together’ Retreat in July 2022, which is a chance for both of our churches to go away together for a weekend of worship, teaching, and fellowship. We are going to be having an ‘Unchanging God’ concert in November 2022, playing through both volumes of the new album. We’re aiming to promote and start another year of the Academy in 2023. And we have bold gospel ambitions to see new churches planted and our region strengthened. 

All in all, our partnership in the Gospel makes gospel ministry all the sweeter and more enjoyable. 

An update from Andy Farmer, Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills Pennsylvania USA.……

This month we are finishing up the 2021-22 Church Planting Cohort. The church planting cohort is a program the North American Church Planting Committee has been running for a number years to help church planters take the final, crucial steps in planting Sovereign Grace churches. To date fifteen men have participated in the cohort over the past five years.

Church planting is both a glorious and a challenging endeavor. In Sovereign Grace we have always desired to plant and build well; not just starting but establishing new churches that play an immediate part in our mission together. The idea behind the cohort is to give planters a focused preparation for the pastoral and personal and family implications for starting a new work. We do that through a combination of monthly video calls interspersed with three retreats over ten months preceding the launch of a church. One of the retreats involves wives, and is focused on helping planters lead and care for their families in the stressful experience of beginning a new work. The cohort aspect - connecting men on similar paths for support and fellowship has proven to be tremendously valuable. Guys are learning from each other, supporting each other, praying for each other over the time. As we’ve done this over the years we’ve seen these cohort relationships grow into friendships across regional lines. We also utilize gifted men throughout our family of churches to lead discussions and advise planters in our monthly video chats and on our retreats.

The main ‘project’ for the cohort is the development of a Church Planting Prospectus. The prospectus is a tool to help church planters do what they have to do to plant well - understand their target area, structure a vision and strategy, and create a plan that can be communicated to the region and to potential team members so that the plant can be fully vetted and supported by a sending church and a region. We use the cohort to walk through that prospectus development and help the planter prepare his plan for approval by his region.

This year we have had four guys in the cohort. Where there is space we are experimenting with what we are calling ‘re-missioning’ plants in the cohort. The term re-missioning applies to an existing healthy church that is transitioning to a next generation lead pastor who is being asked by the church to help it focus and implement a new mission strategy for the future. Our cohort this year includes one ‘traditional’ planter, Nick Kidwell, who is planting Valley Creek Church outside of Philadelphia in Malvern, Pennsylvania. In addition we have three re-missioning pastors: Bart Lipscomb at Christ Church in Conroe Texas (outside Houston), Adam Campbell at Living Hope Church in Gambrills Maryland and Jesse Phillips at Redeemer Church in Orlando, Florida.

We are scheduled to begin the next cohort in September. It looks like we will have up to five planters in this year’s cohort including possibly two who will be planting churches that will be reaching folks whose primary language is not English. Please pray for this upcoming year for the churches I mentioned above and for the men we are gathering for the 2022-23 Cohort.

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

By the grace of God, we recently had the opportunity to serve as a family for two weeks on two different occasions: one in Colombia serving in a more private context meeting with key pastors and their families, and the other in Dominican Republic serving in a more public context at a conference. My hope is that God would continue to build His church through these two occasions.

Santa Marta, Colombia

As a family we arrived in Santa Marta Colombia on Wednesday, June 8, after spending a night in Bogotá. We quickly met with the family of Pastor Jacobis Aldana and spent several days with them. The purpose was to communicate our love to them and to be able to create relationships of deeper biblical communion with them. Kathy enjoyed getting to know Keila, Jacobis's wife. And our children were able to meet the two children.

In addition to sharing with the Aldanas, we were able to have a dinner with the leaders of the church. This was a time to get to know them and also talk about the adoption process that Sovereign Grace Church is going through. They left very edified and it is evident the excellent job that Jacobis is doing in developing leaders.

On Sunday I was able to teach a class on Bible fellowship and preach Romans 7. It was inspiring to worship alongside the saints of this beloved church. There is no doubt that this church embraces the same values that our denomination embraces. Let us pray that God gives wisdom and guides us in being able to complete the adoption process.

On Monday we were able to share with Pastor Alejandro Cueto and his family. They came from Barranquilla to share and get to know each other better. The Biblical Church of the City wishes to evaluate the possibility of adoption to SGC. In December I will be sharing with the church, but this was a good time to have important conversations with the pastor and the family to meet my wife Kathy and children.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

On Wednesday the 15th we left for Santo Domingo after spending a day in Bogotá and spending time with a pastor friend and his family. In Santo Domingo I was able to participate in the Por Su Causa Conference sponsored by the Integrity and Wisdom Ministries. My friend Miguel Núñez invited me to participate in this conference that has been a prophetic voice for Latin America of sound doctrine. This conference is attended by hundreds of people, but is viewed by hundreds of thousands of people online. On this occasion Carlos Contreras was also able to serve at mass. This opportunity is a more public, but not more important.

By His grace, we were able to serve the church of Christ and represent SGC both in Dominican Republic and in Colombia.

An update from David Del Castillo, Pastor of Gracia Soberana, Santa Cruz, Bolivia……

Personal

I want to firstly thank God for sustaining my family in recent times: Dad with his eye troubles, and Mum recovering well from her recent hip operation. Thank you for praying! Please continue to pray for full healing and recovery.

Workshops in Santa Cruz and La Paz

I would also like to update you on two Simeon Trust workshops, one held in Santa Cruz and the other in La Paz. They both went well, and see the hand of God in everything. Many people were affected.

Abelardo Muñoz from our sister church in Ciudad Juarez Mexico came for the workshop. It was an incredible blessing, as he preached at our church , and the people were very happy, as it reminded us we belong to a very large family called Sovereign Grace. Nicolas Osorio, who is in charge of South America for Simeon Trust also came and we had a good time of fellowship.

Both Abelardo and Nicolas served as instructors at both workshops, with me as the apprentice instructor. It was two weeks of a lot of learning that I thank God for it. About 40 people attended the workshop, half of them pastors, and half of them young people with the desire to be trained to preach the Gospel. This allowed us to work with and meet other churches in our midst that have similar visions.

Retreat in Guadalajara

Later, together with Cristian Monje (a brother who supports us in worship at church), we went to Guadalajara, Mexico. We joined up with Rich Richardson, Joselo Mercado and Carlos Contreras with their entire pastoral team at the Mexican retreat. I am also very grateful to be under the teaching and encouragement of Bob Kauflin. It was an incredible time, where Pastors and Leaders of Sovereign Grace Latin America participated. There were people from the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Colombia and us from Bolivia. It is very nice to see what God is doing in Latin America.

Church update

We continue to thank God for his mercy and for him sustaining the church here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We are looking forward to starting the Bridge material in two weeks. This material has been developed by Jim Donahue with his team at Covenant Fellowship and have been translated into Spanish. We look forward to learning it and please pray that God will use it to bring new believers.

Please pray God continues to sustain our church here in Santa Cruz, for wisdom to lead his church, and for his provision as the economy suffer from high level of unemployment. We know His grace is sufficient!

For us in Sovereign Grace, we see global missions as “the great commission work of making and maturing disciples around the world.” This is something that Jesus himself calls us to in Matt 28.18-20, when he says,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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.”

We’re therefore passionate about this. Knowing that Jesus is always with us, we’re eager to embrace this call and run into this mission, with both purpose and faith. And this new newsletter and blog, taking over from the EN newsletter and blog, is the joyful reporting of the fruit of those endeavours.

Make no mistake, it is all the Lord’s doing. In our global endeavours to establish new congregations (Church Planting), partner in new places (Emerging Nations) and reach new cultures (Missionaries), it is Jesus who is leading and strengthening the charge. Wherever we are, it is always His doing, and so what a joy it is to tell you about what He’s doing!!

Please feel free to help us spread the word about this newsletter and blog. You can access it directly here (www.sgcmissions.org/blog) and can have folk sign up for the monthly newsletter at the bottom of the page here (www.sgcmissions.org).

May the glory always go to Him and may this always be marvellous in our eyes!!