In John 15.4-5, Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Those final few words give us such an important and sobering God-given perspective on how much we’ll be able to do for the Lord by ourselves. How much? Nothing, nada, nought, zilch, diddly squat, empty handed, blank space, nil ... So, oh my, how we need the Lord don’t we! If we’re going to be able to do anything, the main thing we need is Him!  For apart from Him we really can do nothing!

With that in mind, here’s how you can be praying for some of our Global endeavours in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for the 20 young adults who are heading to Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, Australia, from Cornerstone Church, Knoxville, US, 5th-14th July, to run a Kids Club with 50+ children from both inside and outside of the Church. Please pray that God would bless their ministry as they seek to share the gospel with both kids and adults alike, and that the great joy of Sovereign Grace partnership would be cultivated and enjoyed by everyone involved.

2. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Philippines Regional Assembly of Elders, as they gather together in Cebu, 9th-12th July. During their time together they’ll be talking through the growing number of Churches interested in partnership with Sovereign Grace in the Philippines, the various updates needed and recommended for the SGC Philippines Book of Church Order, as well as whole host of ministry matters. May the Lord give these brothers great wisdom and insight as they gather together in this way, and extra measure to Jeffrey Jo as he seeks to lead this time.

3. Please pray for Bart Lipscombe, SGC Area Leader for Africa, as he heads to Zambia 11th-14th July, and then Namibia, 14th-18th July. Please pray that he’d be a great blessing to each of the pastoral teams and churches that those trips represent, and that He’d give Bart wisdom and insight as to how to serve them, encourage them and come alongside them well.

4. Please pray for the SGC LATAM Pastors Retreat, in Santa Marta, Colombia, July 15th-17th. There’ll be ten pastors from Colombia, six from Costa Rica and two from Bolivia, who will be attending the retreat, which will be led by Joselo Mercado (Key Leader in LATAM) and Rich Richardson (SGC Area Leader for LATAM). This will be the first retreat of this type outside of Mexico, may it be wonderful encouragement to all of our Pastors in this region.  

5. Please pray for the two teams from Covenant Fellowship that are headed to Playa Azul. The first team heads June 30th-July 7th, to complete a construction project and to build together in partnership and relationship as churches. Then July 7th-14th, the second team is a team of youth that are headed over to lead a youth camp for local kids, plus any kids from our local Sovereign Grace Churches that are there. Please pray that this would be a great blessing for everyone involved.

6. Please continue to pray for Michael Ostanin and Arche Church, Dnipro, Ukraine. That the war would soon come to an end, and that whilst they wait for that moment, that the light and hope of the gospel would shine brightly in the midst of darkness and suffering, and that the manifold wisdom of God be revealed through His church.  

… Thank you so much for prayers. As we abide in Him, may His grace truly abound to us all.  

In Romans 11.36, we read, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” And as I look back now, just a week on from celebrating our fifteen year anniversary as Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga, Romans 11.36 is without doubt my full-hearted declaration. It has all been His work, and it is marvellous in our eyes.  

Humanly speaking, our story actually began back in 2004, when God led Mike Pasalich to write to C.J.Mahaney to see if Sovereign Grace would ever consider planting a church in Sydney, Australia. This letter, through a long chain of God-inspired events, would lead to our move. A move that was unexpected, unforeseen and unanticipated by us, yet a journey that God had so clearly began. We would’ve never even come on holiday to Australia if left to ourselves, it’s so far to come from the UK!! But God had other plans, and so in June 2010 my wife and I, along with our three small children, got on a plane to relocate to Sydney, Australia from Newport, Wales, to plant the church. Full of hope, full of faith, full of unknown, and yet full of clarity that this story had truly started with Him.

Did that make the transition easy? No. Honestly, it was really hard to be in a foreign land, 10,500 miles away from family and all that knew of as familiar. I had never actually planted a church before, nor been a lead pastor, nor ever pastored in a very different context to my own. But as I look back now with my family, fifteen years on, our view is filled with grace, grace and more grace.

In the last fifteen years, we have repeatedly seen His saving grace, with so many people: Jiy Lim, Celia Tan, Nick Gordon, Bri Edwards, Nick Beed, Steve Jackson, Momch Pasalich, Ryan O’Gorman and Annette Packham, to name but a few, coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Some of these dear Saints we still get to worship alongside on a Sunday, others have already gone on to be with Jesus, and each one of them, is a wonderful trophy of grace.

There’s also been restoring grace, as so many of our folk have arrived at Sovereign Grace over the last fifteen years having previously given up on church or God, for a whole variety of reasons, and yet have been gently and wonderfully restored by His hand.

There’s also been sanctifying grace, where lives and marriages and families and workplaces, have been totally transformed by the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Lives that have been touched by the King, and people then who are being changed from one degree of glory to another by His gracious hand.

Then there’s been sustaining grace. Job tells us, ‘For as sure as sparks fly upwards, troubles fall’, and we’ve seen that. Health challenges, marriage challenges, relational challenges, parenting challenges, financial challenges, we’ve experienced them all... But what we’ve also seen time and time again is His people being carried in the grip of His grace and never let go.

And then there’s been His provisional grace. Since our very inception in 2010, God has provided for us as a church in incredible ways. Financially, we’ve rarely gone without.  In facilities, He’s always provided for what we need, often in abounding ways. And in personnel, His provision has always been a wonder to behold – musicians, worship leaders, pa, media, graphic design, set up, hospitality, welcoming, group leaders, sphere leaders and pastors. He’s provided it all.

In His abounding grace, He’s even given us the opportunity to send out our first church plant, Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta in September of 2019, and watch the birth of Sovereign Grace Churches, Australia. Then there’s been the amazing work of His grace in Asia-Pacific, in places like South Korea, Nepal, India, Pakistan and the Philippines, in which He’s so kindly allowed us to be a part. It’s all so much more than we ever imagined we’d get to see when we arrived in 2010, but so indicative of the gracious and kind God He is.

For from him and through and to him are all things. He’s such a kind and gracious King... It’s all His work and always will be... And so may all glory go to Him.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Below is a video that we put together for our anniversary celebration. Fifteen years of grace. Enjoy.

An update from Pat Tedeschi, Pastor of Oasis International Church in London, UK…

On January 31, 2025, Dana and I were commissioned by our home church, Greentree Church (NJ), to begin a new season of ministry at Oasis International Church in London. We’re excited and grateful to be serving in one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities—with many millions from least-evangelized people groups from around the globe.

I have the privilege of serving as pastor alongside Randy Lawler, Oasis’s founding pastor, helping to oversee various areas of ministry. Dana is actively involved in women’s ministry, music, and hospitality. We’re also collaborating with Dave Taylor and Ed O’Mara of Sovereign Grace Europe to help Oasis become an Emerging Nations Church within the Sovereign Grace family.

These first five months we have focused on adjusting to a new culture, forming relationships, and planting Gospel seeds. Here’s a snapshot of what God is doing—and how you can pray.

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Building Relationships & Gospel Conversations

We’ve been intentional about forming friendships with neighbors in our building, welcoming them into our home with the desire to love them well and share the hope of Jesus.

• I’m currently reading the Gospel of Mark with a young Italian man from a non-Christian background who’s eager to learn about Jesus.

• I’ve also connected with a Lebanese Druze man who’s interested in reading Scripture together.

• Dana has been meeting women from the church and recently began building a relationship with a young Japanese mother. Though she has no religious background, she’s open to hearing about the Lord.

Pray that we would remain faithful and Spirit-dependent in our witness, and that God would draw these friends to Himself.

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Small Groups & Discipleship

We’ve launched men’s and women’s small groups, and it’s been a joy to see participants grow in faith and community—including several who are not yet believers.

Pray for ongoing spiritual growth, deepening relationships, and clarity in understanding the Gospel.

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Evangelism & Outreach

Every month, we go out with church members for neighborhood outreach. Many in our congregation are still learning English, but they’re stepping out in faith and boldness to share Christ.

Pray for open hearts and greater confidence as we engage with our local community.

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New Venue Search

Our current meeting space limits our ability to grow and reach more people. We’re prayerfully seeking a new venue in a strategic, diverse neighborhood where few Gospel-preaching churches exist.

Pray for God’s guidance and provision as we search for a new home for Oasis.

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October Mission Team (Oct 3–13)

We’re preparing to host a short-term mission team from several Sovereign Grace churches this fall. Their visit will support our outreach efforts and help us connect with the community in fresh ways.

Pray for fruitful conversations and mutual encouragement during this mission trip.

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We are so thankful for your prayers, support, and partnership in the Gospel. If you’d like to learn more or explore how you can be involved, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at pattedeschi@greentree.org

It was on the 24th of February 2022, that Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, sparking dark and worrying times for the country. With outbreak of war, fear and uncertainty filled the whole nation, every day bringing increasingly alarming news, with continued shelling and growing numbers of casualties. Yet in the midst of this evil and carnage, there are pastors and their churches in Ukraine that have been labouring hard to care for people, and to offer hope that can only be found in Jesus.

To that end, we’ve been working closely with our historic partner church in Germany – Arche Church, in Hamburg, through this time. They planted a church in Dnipro, Ukraine around 5 years ago with a graduate from the Arche Pastors College, Michael Ostanin, a dear friend of Jeff Purswell and our family of churches, a friend and church that we’ve been eager to support.

Just recently, Jeff reached out to Michael, having read about the recent bombardment of Ukraine, to enquire of him and to let him know of our love and prayers. Here’s some of what Michael wrote back...

Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your prayers. God is truly protecting us!

We have just finished our summer camp for refugee children. On the very first day of the camp, there was a rocket attack on our city. There was a lot of destruction. 20 people were killed. About 300 people were injured.

One rocket exploded 200 meters from our church building during the camp. We did not have time to hide the children in the bomb shelter, because these were ballistic missiles, they are very fast. The children were very scared. But thank God, none of the children or adults were hurt.

Thank God, the church building was not damaged, the windows were not broken, because we reinforced all the glass in the church building with armoured film.

Immediately after the first explosion, we lowered all the children into the bomb shelter. The rocket attack continued for another 40 minutes, we heard loud explosions. The children were crying. Thank God we had ice cream and it somehow comforted the kids. That was the first day of camp. :)

But the next day of camp we had 50 more new kids!

We welcomed 8 new church members this Sunday.

And we still continue to minister to hundreds of refugees every Sunday.

Thank you, Jeff.

Your ministry and prayers are very important to me!

What an privilege we have to partner with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Michael and his team continue to preach the gospel, and shepherd their people, even in the midst of challenging circumstances and heartache. Their church of 140 members, continues to have over 700 people in attendance every week... And each week they seek to preach Christ and Him crucified, as they seek to win people to Christ.

So I want to ask you to please keep praying for Michael and Arche Church, Dnipro. Please pray that the war would soon come to an end, and that whilst they wait for that moment, that the light and hope of the gospel would shine brightly in the midst of darkness and suffering, and that the manifold wisdom of God be revealed through His church. Come Lord Jesus.

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

Dear Friends,

Over the last 12 months, God has been so good to us!

In July 2024, after four years of meeting in a small facility, God graciously opened the door for us to move into a new space. This was the result of much prayer and dependence on Him. The new place was unfinished—just exposed brick walls and a bare interior—but it was affordable, and we saw potential. We signed a long-term lease that allowed us to invest in improving the space while keeping the rent stable.

The rest of 2024 was marked by hard work. We dedicated time and resources to adapt the space for worship and ministry. But more importantly, we faced the beautiful challenge of ministering to a growing number of people who needed to be discipled. The physical improvements were necessary, but it was the spiritual growth among us that encouraged us the most.

This year, we are especially grateful to see how God continues to establish us—not just as a congregation that gathers, but as a church that is growing in faith, love, and mission. One of the highlights of the year was our January members’ meeting, where we shared our 2025 discipleship plan. The first step in that plan came to life in February, when we hosted a retreat titled “I Need to Be Discipled.”

This retreat was led by dear friends and gospel partners: Leo and Melissa Parris from Philadelphia and Alejandro and Paola Cueto from Barranquilla, Colombia. Through their teaching and personal investment, the retreat challenged us to take discipleship seriously—not as a program, but as a way of life together. Following the retreat, we launched three weekly small groups that are now central to our church life.

Our Sunday gatherings have also grown. We currently welcome around 140 people each week. This growth has created a joyful sense of urgency: more people are hearing the gospel, but many also need guidance and care. For the third year in a row, we have around 30 people going through our membership process. Lord willing, by September, we will have between 80 and 90 members.

As our congregation grows, so does the need for more leaders. That’s why we are intentionally discipling and equipping couples to start new care groups. Please pray for this effort, as we see it as one of the most important ways God is calling us to serve in this season.

This July, we are hosting a Biblical Counseling Seminar to further equip our church. One of the main speakers will be Pastor Abelardo Muñoz from Mexico, someone we deeply respect and love. While the seminar is open to other churches, about 30 of the 130 attendees are from our own congregation. Many of these were personally invited and are being trained to take part in the ministry of discipleship and care.

Looking ahead to August, we are excited to welcome more ministry partners. John and Nancy Loftness, Chris Deloglos, and Jacobis Aldana will be joining us for a time of encouragement and training. We’ll also be joined by Fabrizio Rudolfo from Gracia Soberana Música, who will help showcase what God is doing in our worship ministry. These visits are part of our intentional effort to build up the church and strengthen, the main topic is going to be "Spiritual Disciplines".

In addition to what’s happening locally, we are also walking alongside our sister church in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Pastor Erick Miranda continues to make progress in his ordination process, and it’s a joy to support his development and the growth of that congregation.

God has also given us opportunities to serve beyond Bolivia. In March, through the Simeon Trust ministry, I had the privilege of co-leading a preaching workshop in Guatemala alongside two other pastors. Over 50 pastors and preachers gathered to learn how to handle God’s Word faithfully. In May, we hosted a similar workshop here in Santa Cruz, which quickly filled with participants from five of Bolivia’s nine departments. These efforts are helping position our church as a resource for others in gospel ministry.

Now, as we begin July, we look back with hearts full of gratitude. From a room with bare brick walls to a church being built up in truth and love, we have seen God’s faithful hand in every step. We are thankful to Him, to our church family, and to our broader network of churches for the support and partnership that have made this journey possible.

Please continue to pray for us. We trust God is at work—and we long to be faithful with all that He has entrusted to us.

With love and gratitude,

David Del Castillo

Sovereign Grace exists to plant and strengthen churches for the glory of God, and in His kindness, we are presently in the process of planting fifteen churches, scheduled for either this year or next: six in the United States and nine outside of the United States.

One of those church plants is Vine Church, in Tampa, Florida, US, and Mario Figueroa, the Pastor of Vine Church, recently joined Mark Prater, our Executive Director, on his podcast.

He has a wonderful story to tell, enjoy!

(You can listen in here)

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

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

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

1. Please pray for our current US Sovereign Grace Pastors College class, who will graduate on May 31st, asking God to give them grace for their transition back home, and to use their training to serve their churches in any ways that they can.

2. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Leadership Team as we come together in Austin, TX, for a strategic planning retreat, June 10th-12th, asking God to grant wisdom and discernment for decisions that will best serve our global family of churches. Please also pray for me, Dave Taylor, as I spend the weekend before that in Mexico, that I’ll be a blessing to Carlos Contreras and the team there in Juarez & El Paso.

3. Please pray for Bob Kauflin as he leads our first ever Sovereign Grace Music Songwriters Camp in Louisville, KY, June 19th-21st, with the hope of identifying and equipping more songwriters in Sovereign Grace churches. Please pray for everyone involved in this great opportunity. and that much fruit comes out of it as a result.

4. Please pray for Ed O’Mara, our SGC Area Leader for Europe, as he heads to Calvary Church in Galway, Ireland, June 26th-29th, as they continue to move towards becoming an Emerging Nations Partner Church. The goal of the time is to work through ordination planning, help develop understanding amongst the key leaders on the importance of gospel-centrality, and to dig deeper into the role and function of the BCO in guiding our family of churches. Please pray that Ed serves with clarity and that the meetings provide a platform for wonderful relational connection with Calvary Church.

5. Please pray for Todd Peterson & Erik Rangel, as they head to India, June 17th-28th. With a full schedule, both in Bhubaneswar with Caleb & Sidhanta Suna, and in Gundugolanu with JP Ravuri, please pray for much grace, sustenance and wisdom on them as they serve our brothers and sisters there. That ordination processes will be moved forward, churches will be strengthened, and that pathways for new school and building plans will be cleared.

6. Please pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches a renewed desire, and opportunities, to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities and workplaces. You don’t have to go overseas to be involved in missions, you simply have to walk across the room... May this be our story as we together brandish the Gospel and tell it to all that will hear it.

… Thank you so much for praying for us. May His grace abound to us all!

"Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."

1 Timothy 4:16 (ESV)

The Pastors College exists to teach men to build their lives, families, and churches upon the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our first video of 2025 shares the story of two of men from Australia, Austin Loke from Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga, and Joel Seric from Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, who moved their families across the world to attend our Sovereign Grace Pastors College in Louisville, KY this year. Each of them made sacrifices, along with their families, and their stories are an inspiring reminder that the gospel ministry transcends cultural differences. 

A graduate of our 2023-2024 class, Mario Figueroa, also took time to share a bit of his experience at the Pastors College. He writes, "Because of the Pastors College, I love Christ more, I am more grateful for the gospel, and I am more equipped to proclaim that gospel and serve God’s people in a way I never thought possible." You can read and download the PDF of his testimony here.

What a wonderful Saviour we serve.

Juan, his wife Lau and their two kids at Cedar of Gods in Lebanon.

An update from Juan, a dear brother SG ordained & commissioned to Lebanon…

In 2011, the Lord gave me the privilege of meeting Lau; she is the greatest gift that God has given me in life, after the benefits of redemption, and she was the one who exposed me to the reality that our God is not being worshiped in many places around this world. God blessed me with the opportunity to marry her in 2015, both of us having the conviction to plant churches in the Middle East. Our church, Iglesia La Gracia, located in San José, Costa Rica, shared the conviction to send missionaries to unreached places and supported us from the very moment we shared our willingness to be sent. A few years ago, we had the opportunity to be in a closed country to the gospel in this region, that we cannot name for the safety of the people with whom we still have a relationship, but the Lord, through different means, prevented us from moving there permanently.

The conviction of our family and the church did not change and we continued to pray for God to guide us to a place that would please Him. And without a doubt, that waiting time was the best thing that could have happened to us because the Lord was doing two things simultaneously.

Juan with Pastor Elie and his wife Nadine, at Nations Desire Church, Beyrut.

The first was to strengthen a friendship with a Lebanese pastor I had met in an expository preaching course at the Dallas Theological Seminary in 2015. This pastor encouraged me to consider being sent by our church to his country since there are less than one percent of Protestants, and possibly no reformed theology churches. After a prudent amount of evaluation, fasting, and prayer, our church made the decision to send us to this place.

The second was to establish a relationship of friendship and companionship with Joselo Mercado, through whom the Lord brought us as a church closer to Gracia Soberana. A desire began to grow in the three pastors of our church to be part of this beautiful family of Sovereign Grace Churches. By God's grace, after passing all the evaluations, the three pastors were able to be ordained in March of this year. Being part of Gracia Soberana has reaffirmed our conviction that missiology goes hand in hand with ecclesiology and has strengthened our desire to plant churches in the Middle East.

Juan preaching Psalm 103 at Nations Desire Church, Beyrut.

Just a month after our ordination, the church sent us to Lebanon. We have been here for a few weeks, and by God's grace, we already have residency for a year. For some, it is interesting that a family from Costa Rica, which is considered a paradise country and has no army, has the determination to travel to a country that has experienced decades of armed conflict. The reality is that if we looked with human eyes, there would not be a single reason to be in this place. But when we look with spiritual eyes, we have all the reasons to be here and to yield our lives so that our God receives the glory He deserves in this country and that His children come to faith through the preaching of the gospel. Amy Carmichael once said: 'When I consider the cross of Christ, how could anything I do be considered a sacrifice?’ Our conviction is that His glory has an infinitely greater value than our own lives, such that being here is not a sacrifice but an unmerited privilege.

Please pray that we can learn the language easily, for the adaptation of our children, and that the Lord opens doors for us to preach the gospel and articulate it with faithfulness, clarity and precision. Also, to establish Sovereign Grace Churches in this country and in this region, with indigenous pastors who will continue the work for generations. Moreover, for a future Pastors College of Sovereign Grace in Arabic. Some of these things may seem like a dream, but as my dear Joselo says: 'I believe the Bible.'

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20-21)

Juan and his family depart San Jose, Costa Rica, heading for Lebanon.

An update from Carlos Contreras, lead pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and SGC National Leader for Mexico...

I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude this past May as we met with Pastors, Deacons and main leaders of 19 different churches from various parts of our country to spend 3 days in teaching, encouragement, prayer and fellowship. We do this retreat every year in the city of Guadalajara and it is always one of my year’s highlights.

This year was no exception, except for the fact that our gathering felt different. We met as a fellowship of men with one spirit and one mind. It was a joyful, humbling and intimate time. After doing this for close to 10 years, it was very evident that we are now a true family of churches, united in heart and soul. 19 churches were represented by 55 faithful men.

During the 3 days we heard reports and testimonies. Some were joyful reports of growth and answered prayer. A few others were reports of challenging times and trials of men that are truly heroes in building churches in hard places. But we all felt united in joy and pain, very much aware that we are all one body of churches as a nation.

We also had wonderful times of encouragement and teaching on our call to godliness in life and our marriages by pastor Hellman Avila from El Paso. Manolo Quintal from our church in Silao did a wonderful job as always as he spoke about God’s testing and pruning process in our lives. I also spoke on leading through our example from 2 Timothy 4:12 and encouraged the men to pray with much faith trusting that God is more than willing to hear his called men. Cuauhtemoc Campos our Executive Pastor served us in an extraordinary way on the challenges of men leading alone. We also had a panel session on biblical counseling, and Rich Richardson gave us a powerful message on the reality of spiritual warfare in the church.

We had wonderful times of fellowship as we broke out in groups to share about our Spiritual disciplines and our marriages and as we prayed for one another. And we shared much time just talking as friends and brothers. It was a joy to see men seeking out those that they did not know very well and leaving the retreat with new friends.

God is at work in Mexico building not just churches, but building a family of churches united with one heart and spirit. I am very grateful for all of those that prayed for our time together and look forward to further growth in that intimacy of our brotherhood in Mexico.

An update from Michael Granger, Lead Pastor of Trinity Fellowship Church, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ...

On March 9th, Trinity Fellowship officially gained two new pastors as Abenezer Dejene and Amanuel Yehualashet were ordained during our Sunday morning service. Since planting the church in 2020, I have been the sole pastor, but a church governed by a plurality of elders has always been our goal.

When we moved out here in January of 2018, we had three long-term objectives: 1) disciple-making resulting in church plants; 2) training the next generation of Ethiopian pastors; and 3) fostering business-as-missions. Abenezer and Amanuel represent the next generation of Ethiopian pastors. They are not only my dear friends, but despite their youth, they have truly become my pastors.

1 Timothy 5:22 warns us to never be in a hurry about appointing church leaders, and we have taken this to heart. Over the last four years, these men have been thoroughly assessed in their doctrine, character, and qualifications for pastoral ministry. They completed our 42 week course Pastors College established by Josh Pannell, a one-year pastoral residency, and the in-depth Sovereign Grace ordination process. Though Ethiopia’s culture is vastly different from that of the West, Amanuel and Abenezer submitted themselves to the exact same ordination process as Sovereign Grace pastors in North America.

Moreover, I inquired into their personal lives, including Amanuel’s marriage, and invited the members of Trinity Fellowship to participate in the process of assessment. In reality, these men did not just become pastors that Sunday; by the time we ordained them, they had already been pastoring our Trinity Fellowship for quite some time.

In addition to their administrative and counseling duties, Amanuel regularly preaches, Abenezer leads our music worship, and both men serve as leaders of our community groups. On that sweet day that I ordained them, Trinity Fellowship simply officially recognized them to be what they have been for quite some time: pastors!

March 9th was a long-awaited and joyous occasion, marking one of the greatest days of my life. I praise the Lord that he has been gracious to answer our prayers. I praise the Lord for our partners in the faith who have generously supported the work through financial support and trips to Ethiopia. I praise the Lord that I get to serve Christ’s church alongside a plurality of pastors. And I praise God that his generosity has not dried up - there is more in the pipeline! Yeabtsega is approximately one third of the way through the ordination process too! 

1 Peter 5:1-4, “I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

To Him be the glory!

An update from Brian Kiama, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi, Kenya…

In the Lord’s kindness, Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi was born on January 5th 2025, in the Leslies’ home…well, to be more precise…in their garage. For me, it all began about two and a half years ago, during a time when me and my wife Julia were wondering what was next for us after I graduated from the Pastors College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My pastor, Michael Granger, suggested that we consider planting a church in Nairobi. My immediate response was “No”, but little did I know what the Lord was orchestrating and had in store in the months following. Fast forward to December 2022, Jonathan and Lilli Leslie visited Trinity Fellowship Church, Addis Ababa, and met with Michael and I. The Lord had already put the desire in Jonathan’s heart to see a Sovereign Grace church planted in Nairobi, and He used this encounter to kindle the same desire and dream in my heart as well.

Fast forward again to the summer of 2024. Both Jonathan and I got ordained and were commissioned (by Cornerstone Community Church, Burnsville and Trinity Fellowship Addis Ababa respectively) to plant SGC Nairobi. Our two families then, together with Bereket and Abigail Geleta, formed the initial core group of the church planting team. And so, after many months of praying, dreaming, and planning, and after more families buying into the vision for the church plant, the church was finally born on January 5th.

The Lord has been continually surprising us, far surpassing our expectations, which has been a sweet reminder that this is His Church, and He is faithful to build and establish it. Jonathan and I regularly remind each other and the church, that we cannot take any credit for what the Lord is doing. God has been using His word, through the preaching and singing, to build a growing community of believers that is centred on the gospel.

A number of people have shared how much they been affected and drawn by the love they have experienced in the church. Others who hadn’t been to any church for months or years came in thinking that salvation is earned by their good works. Many of these people have been coming consistently, and over time, they have been gaining a clearer understanding of the gospel. The Spirit truly is at work in our small but growing church, and His word is bearing fruit among us.

In the recent weeks we have had an average of about 40 adults in attendance and about 15 children. We are quickly outgrowing the garage and will need to find a public meeting space in the area of Westlands, Nairobi. Our desire is to be a faithful, gospel-centred church that plants other gospel-centred churches in the years to come.

Please pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up more labourers to send into His harvest. Pray for an outpouring of His Spirit and for the gospel to continue advancing in Nairobi and beyond. Pray that the Lord will establish SGC Nairobi and other faithful churches in the city, being firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray that the Lord will lead us to a good location for church gatherings. Pray also that the Lord will give us a godly and gifted Kenyan man to be our worship pastor.

Thank you for praying with us, to the God who supplies all our needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!

An update from Jim Donohue, pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, USA and Evangelist in Sovereign Grace Churches…

God has been doing some great things in our churches and regions over the last year. We are seeing God move. We are seeing the lost saved and added to the church. We are seeing churches move from being insulated and isolated to fulfilling their calling to reach into the darkness with the light of the gospel. We have more churches doing something and the temperature for growing in evangelism is rising, which is just so encouraging.

One of the things that the US regional evangelist team has been encouraging me to do is to create resources that serve small churches. So, over the last few years, together with the help of the evangelist team, I have been working on redoing the Bridge Course. It’s a tool that we have tried to invest with our values, our gospel centeredness and faithful exposition of scripture.

I got to write an update about it a couple of months ago (article here). But encouraged by Dave Taylor, our Director of Global Missions, I wanted to share with you some of the stories of God-given fruit that we’re enjoying hearing about…

Ryan Chase at Emmaus Road in Sioux Falls

We have now run the Bridge Course a handful of times at Emmaus Road Church. While each time through the course has been met with God's grace, it feels like this last year in particular we have begun to gain some real momentum. Our fall course had 10 guests and this Winter course that we just begun has been very encouraging. 3 days before the course, we had only 2 people registered. Then, the Lord opened the flood gates and people started pouring in. We now have 25 people involved in this current course. This is our most “lost" Bridge group yet (someone from LGBTQ background, several with no Christian background, a number coming from serious suffering). We are 2 weeks in and there are many people with broken lives who are leaning in and hungry to learn. It is incredible! I am excited to see what the Lord will do!

Last year a young couple living in sin came to our Bridge course and the wife, Torrie, got saved. They began to regularly attend our church gatherings for the next year. Seeing Torrie's newfound love and desire for God as well as her heart for lost friends and family, I asked her to help with the next Bridge course. She brought 3 people. Torrie and CJ are growing increasingly connected to our church community and are both walking through steps to become members.  

One of the things that has been particularly encouraging to me has been the cultural shift I have observed in our church. I have never seen such a momentum shift for evangelism in our church. I have had numerous people come up and ask me about how to invite their friends to Bridge; ask me to pray for friends they are reaching out to; ask me for advice on how to interact with lost friends or coworkers; etc. I see so many people in our church really leaning in (introverts, stay at home moms, and the like!). It has been so encouraging!

 Jeff Schlieder at Cross of Grace Church of Santa Ana

The Lord has been working in wonderful ways at Cross of Grace Church of Santa Ana. We’re a small neighborhood church in an urban area, doing ministry in a cross-cultural context. We planted in 2017 and just celebrated 7 years together. We have 67 official members, have around 100+ gathered on Sunday mornings, don’t own a building, and only have 1 full-time elder on our team of 3.

We’re an ordinary church but God is doing extraordinary things among us as we labor to spread the joy of Jesus in our city. Since embracing a renewed commitment to evangelism (in our case, moving from informal church-plant “organic approaches” to strategic, ambitious, and programmatic approaches) which coincided with the beginning of the Regional Evangelist initiative, we’ve celebrated baptisms and welcomed new members like never before. Just last year, we had the privilege of baptizing 7 new believers and receiving 16 new members.

Brendan Willis at Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga, Australia

We’ve only just started using the Bridge but have already seen the Lord at work in some exciting ways. Our church is based in Wahroonga, a leafy suburb on the North Shore of Sydney, Australia. We’re a post-Christian nation where on any given week only 7% our people attend some form of church service (including Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical etc.). What’s more our neighborhood is amongst the wealthiest in our country and as a result many people have hard hearts towards God. Since our church was planted in September 2010 we’ve consistently struggled with seeing fruit in our evangelistic efforts. A good year for us would be seeing 1-2 adults come to Christ. Some years we would see no one saved at all.

We had Jim Donohue visit us last year and introduce us to the Bridge course and we ran it for the first time in February of this year. The church did a wonderful job inviting their friends and in the end we had 18 guests attend the course for 1 or more evenings. On resurrection Sunday we then had the privilege of baptizing 2 participants!

There is now an excitement in the air about the power of the Gospel and the way God is working in our community. Just a few weeks ago we had another lady who had been visiting our church and who is a friend of one of the people on the last Bridge course, give her life to Christ during the service. It’s not even halfway through the year and we’ve already had 3 people come to Christ! Our next course starts in August and we couldn’t be more excited to see what the Lord will do!

You don't have to use the Bridge Course, and there are other tools out there, but the Bridge Course uniquely reflects who we are. We have packaged it so that anyone can easily use it and in a way that works for smaller churches. We’ve also now translated the course (subtitles) into 6 different languages with more to come. (Amharic, Chinese, English, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. With Italian and Korean in the works). And we just launched our Spanish videos featuring Abelardo Munoz (www.bridgecourse.org/spanish)

We hope it can serve you too.

__

This testimony was shared on Easter at Covenant Fellowship Church, and is one of the best I have ever heard. Give it a listen!

In a recent prayer letter, Mark Prater, our Executive Director, wrote the following…

‘There is much we can learn from the early church including how they prayed. Recently, I read a prayer by Methodius of Olympia that had this request: “Extend your right hand toward me, and crown my head by your touch, so that I may run the course before your kingdom, crowned like a forerunner, and announce good tidings to sinners.”

        Given our shared mission to “announce good tidings to sinners” found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, may we pray for one another asking God to "extend his right hand toward us" and give us grace and power to run the course of fulfilling the Great Commission of reaching every tribe, tongue and nation with the gospel.’

Amen to that. We so need each other in this, and so here’s how we can be praying in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for our current US Sovereign Grace Pastors College class, who will graduate on May 31st, asking God to give them grace for their transition back home, and to use their training to serve the church in any way that they can.

2. Please pray for Juan Solano, an ordained SGC Pastor from La Gracia in San Jose, Costa Rica, who has been commissioned and sent out, along with his family, to seek to reach Muslims with the gospel in Lebanon. Pray that Juan can plant a Sovereign Grace Church in Lebanon in the next few years, which is his hope,  and that he’ll ultimately be able to train and equip other Lebanese Pastors to do the same.

3. Please pray for the 6 Pastoral Candidates in the Philippines who are taking their Bible Knowledge exam on Saturday May 10th, as they continue on in their SGC Ordination process. Please also pray for the additional 2 Candidates that will take it in the weeks after, that God may give favour and grace to everyone involved in this endeavour.

4. Please pray for Trinity College Missions Trip to Iglesia Biblica de Playa Azul, Costa Rica, May 17th-24th, and for Josh Montague (Chaska), Robert Sidlo (Roseburg) and Brooks Szewczyk, as they head to the Philippines for part four of the TLI Training.

5. Please pray for Carlos & Kena Contreras as they head to Silo, Mexico to teach and lead at a Couples Retreat, May 2nd-4th. Please also pray for the SGC Mexico Annual Pastors Retreat in Guadalajara, with 19 Churches represented and 55 Pastors attending. Please pray for Carlos, Rich Richardson and the SGC Mexico Leadership Team as they prepare to lead that time.

6. Please pray for Pastor Jacobis Aldana as he visits Iglesia Biblica of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, to host a marriage retreat and continue the discussion on possible adoption into Sovereign Grace Churches. Please pray for much wisdom, grace and faith for everyone involved in this conversation.

7. Please pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches a renewed desire, and opportunities, to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities and workplaces. You don’t have to go overseas to be involved in missions, you simply have to walk across the room... May this be our story as we together brandish the Gospel and tell it to all that we can.

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

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

Our US Church Planting Cohort met in late March for a couples retreat in Glen Mills, PA. For our five domestic church planters, this is about the time that things are getting real. They are deep in the regional approval process, forming their teams and looking for locations to meet. It is a time of profound transition for planters and their families. The couples retreat allows planters and their wives to step back out of the process to consider and plan for how a church plant will play out in their homes and families. For the wives it is a chance to connect with other women walking through the same experiences, to receive ministry and talk about what planting may be like for them.

This was the first time the wives had a chance to be together for any length of time. It was amazing how quickly fellowship and relational connection occurred among the women and the couples. To hear their stories about how God has met them in these life-changing times was encouraging for all of us. One of our hopes in having this couples retreat is to help the wives, who will be such an integral part of the mission of the plant, grow in faith and vision for how God can meet them and use them as they participate in the birth of a new church. God certainly seemed to meet us in that regard.

Our sessions focused on building healthy, resilient marriages that can stand the tests that planting a new work will throw at them. And we get some memory making time as well. Jill and I had the privilege of leading this retreat with the help of Nick and Happy Kidwell, who just walked through the church planting experience a couple of years ago. The Kidwells provided an honest and faith-filled window into the experience of planting for a whole family. On Friday night we were joined by Joel and Ashley Shorey. As Director of Church Planting, Joel was able to share his heart and his vision for what these families are doing for the mission of the Gospel in Sovereign Grace. We had a chance to pray and worship together, enjoying a wonderful time of ministry and intercession. 

On these retreats we’ve developed a tradition over the years where we give each couple an extended time to share their ‘love story’. It is so meaningful (and often hilarious) to hear how God has brought redemption in the lives of sinners and has brought them together in the covenant of marriage. No story is alike and each story is amazing in its own way. These love stories allow planting couples to embed the church planting experience in the bigger story of God’s gracious purposes in saving their lost souls and sending them into the world for his Glory.

Please keep these couples in your prayers for the adventures ahead:

• Howard and Dawn Varnedoe - planting in Spring Hill, Tennessee

• Mario and Diana Figueroa - planting in Tampa, Florida

• Adam and Claire Penird - planting in Manchester, Indiana

• Eric and Jennifer Huber - planting in Galloway, New Jersey

• Nathan and Clare Smith - planting in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta and National Leader for Australia…

In April, we had the privilege of having Pastor Rob Flood out from Covenant Fellowship Church, Pennsylvania to teach at our first SG Australia Marriage Retreat and facilitate the Judicial Review Committee (JRC) training for our Pastors and Interns, as well as Jeffrey Jo, National Leader of SGC Philippines.

Marriage Retreat

The hope for our Marriage Retreat was to hit pause on life for a night and a day in order to strengthen and refresh our most significant relationship on earth! We had the joy of doing this with our two sister churches, enjoying fellowship, playing silly games, worshipping together and sitting under some excellent teaching from Rob. 

Across the four talks Rob reminded us of God’s glorious purpose for marriage and how we can live in the good of it by running hard after Jesus and pursuing what is best for our spouse. In a world where equality has removed any distinction between men and women, it was a fresh reminder of the beauty of our differences as husbands and wives – equal in dignity and worth, yet with distinct roles. We ended our time together with Rob giving us some practical applications and tools for communication, as we were reminded that words have power and a God-given purpose. 

It was a sweet couple of days with time spent reflecting and being reminded of God’s glorious purpose for our marriages in a fallen world. If you are interested you can access the talks and outlines here.

Judicial Review Committee Training

During the week Rob gathered with our pastors and interns so that we could think biblically and practically about our church polity, especially the pointy end of polity, our JRC. At first, it sounded like it could be a bit dull and boring but not only was the training vital, Rob made it very engaging, interesting, and practical.

After the principles were taught we ended the training with two mock trial situations in which we had to act out and judge two difficult fictional pastoral situations. This helped us realise how difficult and necessary this process is. Rob helped us think through what it would look like to make this a reality here in Australia as we plant more churches. It was a very useful and fruitful time. 

We are so thankful to Rob for making it all the way down under to serve our family of churches. It’s a beautiful picture of gospel partnership, we truly couldn’t do this alone, and wouldn’t want to!

An update from Mario Figueroa, Lead Pastor of Vine Church Tampa, Florida, USA…

Dear friends and partners in the Gospel,

I can hardly put into words how thrilled I am to share a milestone that has filled our hearts with awe and gratitude: Vine Church Tampa (VCT) has officially launched!

What began as a simple prayer between my wife, Diana, and me in 2021 — asking God to prepare and send us — has now become a living testimony of His faithfulness. From that first step of faith to the doors He opened in 2023 for us to attend the Sovereign Grace Pastors College, the journey has been full of grace.

Every part of this preparation — from the Church Planting Assessment, Cohort training, and the pastoral residency at Sovereign Grace Church of Winter Garden, to serving under the leadership of Pastor Josh Murphy — has been an invaluable time of equipping, sharpening, and humbling. We were especially moved as families from Tampa began driving nearly two hours just to serve our sending church with music, preaching, and joining in worship once a month for three months before launching. That kind of commitment and shared vision deeply encouraged us.

And now, by God’s abundant grace, Vine Church Tampa was born on April 6, 2025, with a soft launch at a Holiday Inn and 72 people came to celebrate with us!

That first service was a beautiful picture of our heart for this church — a bilingual gathering, worshiping in English and Spanish, reading Scripture together, and preaching in English while using AI-powered translation so Spanish-speaking members could follow in real time. It was a moment that brought tears to many of our eyes.

Since then, we've continued gathering each Sunday — 10:00 AM in English and 11:45 AM in Spanish — and God has done something remarkable: a church community marked by unity and mutual love. English-speaking families joyfully serve during the Spanish service, and Spanish-speaking families doing the same for the English one. It’s a radiant picture of the body of Christ working as one.

Today, we have 42 dedicated members on our launch team and 10–15 regular visitors who are exploring life with us. The hunger for God’s Word is palpable - you can feel the eager anticipation each week as we gather.

But we’re just getting started.

We are praying for a permanent building to call home — a place where we can worship not only on Sundays, but also gather throughout the week to disciple, evangelize, and serve the people of Tampa with the love of Christ.

Would you pray with us? Would you consider partnering with us — in prayer, in support, or even by visiting? We treasure Christ and long to see His name made known in this city.

Thank you for walking with us, believing with us, and celebrating with us.

An update from Ed O’Mara, Lead Pastor of Chiesa Grazia Sovrana di Torino, Italy, and SGC Area Leader for Europe…

The Lord is doing a good work among our family of churches in Europe. God has assembled an identifiable group of pastors from various European churches who share SGC theology and values. Our desire in Europe is to build our beloved local churches and reach our dark communities with the same glorious gospel that you treasure in your contexts!

The pastors of SG Europe’s partner and candidate churches have met several times over the past 2½ years to build relationships, care for one another, learn about partnership in Sovereign Grace, and receive training in our shared values. Our most recent gathering was a 3½ day pastors and wives retreat in the south of England, in the week after Easter. Grace Church of Bristol planned and administrated the hospitality for this event at a nearby Christian retreat center. There were 29 people (10 couples plus 9 children) from various partner and candidate churches representing Galway (IRE), Bristol (UK), London (UK), Santander (ESP), Antalya (TUR), and Torino (ITA).

While a primary aim of all of our gatherings is to grow our relationships, this particular context also focused on strengthening our marriages with the gospel. One of the messages that has defined and shaped our family of churches is Mike Bullmore’s “The Functional Centrality of the Gospel.” We do not merely behold the truths of the person and work of Christ, but we are moved to action. We apply and live in the entailments that Jesus grants to us from the cross!

We have been well-taught in SGC about the powerful potential that biblical marriage has in promoting an environment of grace and in making the person and work of Christ manifest. As such our topic, “Functioning Gospel Centrality in Marriage,” was intentionally selected both to refresh each couple as well as position us to nourish our respective local churches. We drew this out through specific applications such as gospel centered communication and biblical conflict resolution in marriage. We also discussed how to not merely instruct our people but to model grace such that we foster a local church culture of gospel centrality and true biblical fellowship.

We also had plenty of time to build our relationships. We shared updates, sang together, and prayed for each other. We laughed, played games, enjoyed getting to know one another more deeply, and cared for each other. And no trip to England would be complete without taking in some British culture, complete with a tour of a castle and a meal of fish and chips in a seaside town under some light rain!

This retreat was truly a blessed time that strengthened what God is doing among the SG European group. It positioned us for more fruitful future ministry and grew our desire to continue building relationally and receive more training in the core values of SGC. We believe that this approach will grow us into a healthy, interdependent network of pastors and that our local churches will benefit directly from these contexts.

Finally, we would be remiss to not extend our thanks to all of you who prayed for us! Thank you also to those who have given to the SGC European Development Fund. Without your support and giving, these sorts of contexts would not be possible. As God is putting together the fabric of the European region, we simply cannot express the depth of our gratitude for both your support and the ways in which you continue to show us the path of walking nearer to our Saviour! We are so grateful for our SGC family and pray that He would receive glory from all of our churches across the globe! 

An update from our SGC missionaries in Thailand (names concealed for security reasons)…

Last November 2024 by the grace of God, our family with our Thai partners, planted Family of Grace Church in Isaan, Thailand. The church is in a very rural county that has never had a local church. The story is one that only God could craft with details and divine orchestration that cause us to marvel at Him and give our Lord all the glory. As we like to say, it seemed that God wanted to birth a church and we were merely the midwives to help catch the baby. We’re reminded of Jesus’ words to Paul in Corinth, “go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you … for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:9-10). He has many in this land who are His.

Over the past year, we saw interest grow in the community after a number of outreaches. We also saw God draw and save our newly found Thai partner. His life has been transformed by Christ. Such amazing grace! As we began to pray and talk with our brother and sister in September 2024, we sensed God wanted us to start meeting together regularly at their farm in this remote county. So after holding church services at their house for 8 weeks, we opened the church service at their farm in November. Glory to God, a church was born!

Over the past 6 months members of the community have been coming to hear about Jesus at Family of Grace Church. Excluding our two families, 5-8 adults and 10-12 children regularly come. Every Sunday we worship, do catechism, scripture memorization, children’s ministry and the Word is preached in Thai. It has been encouraging to see God apply His Word by the power of His Spirit in this highly animistic, unreached area. Eyes and ears of those who only worshipped spirits are now beginning to see and hear of the One who created them in His image.  And because there is a high level of illiteracy, we also started a Christian library and literacy program to help many of the children read Thai so that they can one day read God’s Word. Interest is growing and hearts are turning to Jesus! 

You sent us to Thailand about 9 years ago with the hopes that God would one day start a church. He has done just that and in a way where our only boast is in God and in His sovereign grace. We are so grateful to God for you and your faithful partnership in His mission to the unreached of Thailand. And our Thai partners are so encouraged when we share specific prayers or words of encouragement from our partners in SGC. You regularly build up their faith and they feel supported by you.

We thank you for your thoughtful and sacrificial love and care for us and Family of Grace Church. We couldn’t do this without you and wouldn’t want to. May Christ receive all the glory for what He has done.

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

Of the many wonderful contributions that John Piper has made for the Church, his emphasis on global missions is a primary lasting legacy. The Cross Conference and many books stand as artifacts of the culture that he has grown by God’s grace for decades. But if you are going to read one book on global missions by John Piper (there are many!), you should read Let the Nations be Glad. It contains some practical insights, but its salient virtue is its deep and inspiring theology. 

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” These are some of the opening words of the book. This pithy, brilliant statement captures the heartbeat behind what he’s after: to root our global mission in its proper theological foundations. Working from Psalm 67 and many other passages, he shows that the primary motivation for our global mission is God’s glory in the delight of peoples from all nations.

In his initial chapter, he argues for the supremacy of God in global missions through worship. Essentially, he examines biblical passages that declare the supremacy of God’s glory. And in similar lines to Desiring God, he shows that God “is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”[1] In a refreshing way, Piper uses this to remind us of the glory of the message we share. We are not merely giving a message that deals with people’s sin, but we are “summoning people to God,”[2] the only God who can truly satisfy them.

In subsequent chapters, Piper works out how the supremacy of God functions in different aspects of mission. In Chapter 2, he distinguishes prayer from the work of global missions but shows that the necessity of prayer gives God all the glory in our international efforts. In the next chapter, he dives deeply into the role of suffering in this work. All who follow Christ will suffer persecution, but those who are sent internationally especially need a theology of suffering. He argues that the death of Christ is our substitute and our pattern for living, and urges Christians to fight apathy and leverage their lives for Christ.

After arguing for the supremacy of Christ in the gospel we proclaim, Piper makes his case for the targeted pursuit of the unreached in global missions in Chapter 5. Rather than pouring our resources into the same location, the New Testament displays a special prerogative. We are to especially initiate and support work that takes the gospel to the less reached parts of the world.

Piper closes his book with a few practical thoughts for how the worship of the nations functions. After drawing from Jonathan Edwards to underscore the relationship between God’s glory and his people’s delight in him, he urges us towards compassion for the lost (Ch. 6). He also reminds us that the Bible allows for freedom in a diversity of cultural expressions of worship (Ch. 7).

In Sovereign Grace, we have a rich legacy of emphasizing the glory of God and the joy of his people. This emphasis has led us in recent years to an increase in global activity. It’s my prayer that God will use this book to sharpen our convictions, prepare us for costly mission, and propel us into even more global activity with his glory at the center of our ambitions.

[1] John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 50.

[2] Piper, Let the Nations be Glad, 56.