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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One of the ways we experienced God’s goodness at our recent 2024 Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, was through the hearing of stories from Sovereign Grace pastors and wives during our time together. These stories highlighted the partnership we share among our churches, and the joy we have of fulfilling our gospel mission together.

So rather than giving you several different posts this month, I’ve decided to give you just the one, but it’s an absolute treasure trove of testimony.

So, grab a cup of coffee, take your seat and give these a listen. I trust they encourage and inspire you like they do me...

Jeffrey Jo – Philippines (Watch)

Michael Granger – Ethiopia (Watch)

Joel Shorey - Director of Church Planting & Jonathan Leslie – Kenya (Watch)

Pat & Dana Tedeschi – London, England (Watch)

Ken & Beth Mellinger – Austin, USA (Watch)

There is so much to give thanks for... Soli Deo Gloria!

John Piper, in his book ‘Brothers, We Are Not Professionals’, writes,

     “Prayer is the splicing of our limp wire to the lightning bolt of heaven.”

I love that quote. In and of ourselves, we are at best, holding a “limp wire”. But it is through our prayers that we can splice together our feeble efforts, "to the lightning bolt of heaven”, through which great things can be done!!

With that great reality in mind, here are some ways you can pray for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray that God would draw unbelievers to Sovereign Grace churches, and save them, as we hold our Christmas-related events and services this month.

2. Please pray that God would use the Sovereign Grace Music “Prepare Him Room” concerts in various cities in December to celebrate the birth of Christ and to declare the good news of the gospel.

3. Please pray that God would give the members of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel, a powerful reality, with unbelieving family members, friends, neighbours, and coworkers over this holiday season.

4. Please pray for Pastor Greg and Pastor Dave (full names concealed) as they head to Pakistan (December 2nd-12th), to serve our friends and partners over there. Please pray for traveling mercies, spirit-empowered discernment, spirit-empowered speech and safety, as they put boots on the ground and seek to come alongside this growing work, as well as discern ‘next steps’ for this treasured gospel partnership.

5. Please pray for Josh Montague, SGC Pastoral Candidate at Cross of Grace Church, Chaska, and Director of Expository Training at TLI, as well as Nate Treguboff and Jordan Strand, as they head to the Philippines (December 5th – 12th) to teach ‘Knowing the Bibles Story’ to 30+ Filipino pastors and pastors in training. May this be a rich time of learning and fellowship for everyone involved.

6. Please pray for our new church plant in a province of Isaan, Thailand that launched mid-November.  We thank God for those he has brought to hear the good news and pray they and many others would come, see and believe in Jesus.  That the lost in this province both in the remote areas and city would hear and find hope in Christ through the church, and the many Christmas outreaches in December.

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

This year’s Pastors Conference was such a blessing! We had over 800 people from 21 different nations in attendance. Heard the Word of God read in 6 different languages. Enjoyed excellent preaching from Jared Mellinger, Jon Payne, Jeff Purswell, C.J.Mahaney, and Mark Prater, as well as in all the breakout sessions, and we sang, fellowshipped, prayed and ate together for three wonderful days. 

For those traveling in for the conference, it was worth every mile of the trip. Here is a sampling of how it impacted some of our internationals...

Josh Kruger Jr. (Namibia)

After nearly a year of being on the ground and working towards a church plant, being able to attend the Pastors Conference was not only refreshing…as in “Yes, this is what we are all about”. But it was refreshing as a young church planting pastor to be surrounded again by like-minded men and their wives. Men who think, process, consider, enjoy, and prioritize their lives and ministries around, firstly Scripture and secondarily around our own Statement of Faith. It was a blessing to look men that represent churches in the eye and thank them for their partnership, support, and prayers.

Songhwan Kang (South Korea)

I would like to thank SG again for allowing me and my wife to attend the pastors conference. This conference always gives my wife and I a new strength and grace to serve the church. What I realize every time I attend is that SG's friendship and passion for the gospel are outstanding. Also, at this conference, I was deeply moved to discover SG's desire to build God's kingdom with the next generation.

Austin Loke (Australia)

I really appreciated the specifity and applicability of all the messages, which gave to us specific things to head home with and run hard towards. I was equipped to rail against fruitless remembering, stirred to a more fervent pursuit of godliness, provoked to yearn for eyes to see God's grace in the lives of others, envisioned with a transmissional view of ministry, and emboldened with an enduring faith to not shrink back but press on!

Jeffrey Jo (Philippines)

Through Jarred’s preaching, I was reminded to have a spirit of Barnabas, to always see the beauty of God’s grace at work in the lives of others and to choose to encourage others and avoid hyper-evaluation in someone’s life. I can exercise this by continually reflecting the heart of God towards my life and others.

Richie Song (Australia)

It was beautiful to see and hear about the incredible work God is doing in Sovereign Grace churches all around the world - transforming lives, growing communities of faith, healing the broken, and bring hope to places we may never see firsthand. It was inspiring and encouraging to hear stories of how God is moving powerfully though His people and spurs me on for the mission here in my local area!

Norman Pedd (Spain)

I was really encouraged with the main sessions, the way to look at the past with a healing vision, to walk in the present with a Godly grace, and an encouraging grace, and with a challenge for the future in preparing others for the ministry. A special gift was the time we passed as SGC Europe, in time of sharing, communion and prayer, so thankful to the Lord for all.

V & I (Belarus)

We thank God for the opportunity and privilege to attend the conference in Orlando. My wife and I were attending the Sovereign Grace Conference for the first time. It was an answer to my prayers as this has not been an easy year for our family. All of the sermons were just right to my heart. Our young church is four years old, and I have often thought about what could be done differently. I have regretted some decisions, and C.J. Mahaney's sermon was just what I needed. I felt spiritually renewed and encouraged. The friendliness, openness and family atmosphere at the conference was a great encouragement to us. We lived together with the European group and the evenings were an unforgettable time. We thank all the organizers and those who helped to make this conference possible for us.

Matt Chapman (England)

Gathering as a European group was for me one of the true highlights of this year’s Pastor's conference. The deepening friendships, along with the growing sense of partnership we experienced, left me full of fresh faith and expectation for what the Lord is doing through Sovereign Grace in Europe.

Andrew Leung (Australia)

The Pastor's Conference is always one of my highlights of the year! This year is no different. Faithful and passionate teaching of God's Words that stirs the heart and soul, as well as the joy and privilege of singing next to hundreds of pastors and wives that we get to serve alongside in the trenches. This year, real life testimonies of 'not-so-young' pastors being involved with church plants, notwithstanding the cost, has been faith stirring. Blessed to hear these stories firsthand and spurred on to continue laying down our lives for the glory of God, in service to His people and His mission!

If you missed the conference but would like to hear the talks then good news, all of the audio and video of the main sessions is now available on the events page. In addition, all of the audio from each of the breakout sessions is now available on the same page. 

God accomplished so much through our short time together in Orlando. Our partnership was strengthened, vision for our shared mission was expanded, and our relationships were deepened. How blessed we are!

Recently on the Mark Prater podcast, Mark gave an update on Sovereign Grace Music and the influence and impact, in God’s great kindness, that it’s having around the world. Here’s a short excerpt from the conversation:

“I put some stats together every year for the Executive Committee retreat, which I was at last week, and I'm only going to share some of those to illustrate the influence and the impact that Sovereign Grace Music has. And these I typically hand out at the Council of Elders meeting. So I'm aware that not all of our pastors are at that meeting, and members of our churches typically aren't at that meeting. So I wanted to share them because they are really encouraging and they demonstrate how God is using Sovereign Grace Music, not only to influence Sovereign Grace Churches, but churches throughout the world…”

It’s such an encouraging conversation. You can watch or listen to it here… (Mark Prater Podcast)

We plant churches to serve our communities and to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ.

This video highlights just one example of what the Lord has done and is doing through our church planting efforts - which is why we have made church planting such a large part of our mission as a denomination.

What is most evident (and what we hope you are most encouraged by) in this video is the saving grace of God. He continues to move on the hearts of those in need of him. This video is an inspiring reminder of how God pursues us, provides grace, and, in his kindness, does it through the local church.

We are grateful to God for Stephen and his faithful service to the men and women in his community... May God continue to add to Grace City Church of Frankford!

Let us continue to plant churches to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ, all for His glory alone! Enjoy the video!

In a recent ‘Sovereign Grace Churches Fourth Quarter 2024 Prayer Requests’ email from Mark Prater, the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, he writes the following:

‘In his commentary on the book of Judges, Dale Ralph Davis writes this about prayer, “Yahweh’s hearing is the most crucial matter for all prayer…When God listens to our voice, we must never respond with a yawn. We will trivialize prayer whenever we forget the repeated miracle it involves, the gracious condescension of the King of glory, who stoops down to listen to our verbs and nouns, our adverbs and questions, our groans and tears.”

What an amazing, humbling truth that we must never take for granted. God listens! In gracious condescension, He stoops down and listens to our prayers. May that “repeated miracle” fuel our desire to pray for our shared mission, and for one another in Sovereign Grace.’

With that in mind, here are some ways you can be praying for us in the month ahead…

1. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Churches Pastors Conference, November 5-7th, 2004, in Orlando, USA asking God to work in a way that our relationships among our churches are strengthened, pastors and wives are equipped for what God has called them to do, and that our family of churches is united in our shared gospel mission all for the glory of God alone.

2. Please pray for the annual Sovereign Grace Churches Council of Elders meeting, on November 4th, in Orlando, asking God to give our pastors wisdom to make decisions that strengthen our mission, foster our unity, and that best serve our churches. Please also pray for the various interest meetings at the Pastors Conference: Evangelism Interest Meeting, Small Towns Initiative Info Meeting, Pastors College & Pastoral Ministry Interest Meeting, and Church Planting Interest Meeting. That faith would be stirred and further plans for partnering together in these ways can be fostered.

3. Please pray for Pat Tedeschi, currently a pastor at Greentree Church in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA who will be moving to London in early 2025 to lead Oasis International Church into partnership with Sovereign Grace. Pray that God would provide visas, housing, etc. for Pat and Dana, and ask God to give Pat wisdom and help to lead Oasis Church to continue their gospel mission in London.

4. Please pray for the Philippines Pastors Institute, which started another academic year in September, looking to theologically equip 14 students. It’s the hope that through this PPI, Sovereign Grace Churches Philippines, and the Mindanao Region specifically, will continue to be faithful in gospel ministry for generations to come.

5. Please pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the many gospel opportunities that He is giving us around the world.

… As we pray, let us continue to be amazed that God listens! Thanks for joining us in this.

“So what Jesus called us to do, he gave us the power of the Spirit to accomplish and he sends us to do it. And that's why our small family of churches gets to play a small part in advancing the gospel throughout the world because we want to see more people come to know our Jesus and know him as Lord and Savior.” ~Mark Prater

Recently on the Mark Prater podcast, Mark gave an update on some of the work that Sovereign Grace is involved in around the world. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation:

“I had to shorten this list because there's just a number of exciting things that God continues to do through our small family of churches throughout the world as he does in other denominations. But we're grateful that he's doing 'em in Sovereign Grace and we get to participate in the advancement of the gospel, the equipping of pastors, the planting of churches throughout the world so that more people will come to know Christ so that the nations will be discipled and Christ would receive more glory. So let me just run through a number of these real quick…”

It’s a wonderful conversation. You can watch or listen to it here… (Mark Prater Podcast)

Charles Spurgeon, in his book “The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life," writes:

        “Do not bring before God stinted petitions and narrow desires, but remember, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are His ways above your ways and His thoughts above your thoughts. Ask, therefore, after a Godlike fashion, for great things, for you are before a great throne.” 

In God’s amazing kindness, you and I get to come before his “great throne” and ask Him for “great things”. It’s an astounding reality, and so here are some ways you can be praying for our Global work over the next month…

1. Please pray for Dave York (Lead Pastor of Covenant Life Fellowship, OR, US) as he and his wife, Jill, head to the Philippines October 12th-21st, to serve our churches there. It will be a busy time for Dave, as he heads to both Manila and Cebu, with a full schedule containing time with pastoral candidates, preaching in two churches and two leadership summits, and facilitating a SGC Philippines Pastors & Wives Retreat. May it be a sweet time for everyone involved.

2. Please pray for Eric Turbedsky (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Orange) and Riley Spring (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta) as they lead our very first SGC Australia Men’s Conference, October 18th-19th. With many men signed up, please pray this will be a rich time of fellowship and learning, all under the banner of ‘Christ Our Captain’.

3. Please continue to pray for the six Pakistani Pastors who are presently in our ordination process, and meeting monthly for discipleship and discussion. These men are the leadership group of five specific churches, and representative of over four hundred. So much begins with them and so please be praying for them, and for much wisdom for the ordination committees and leaders.

4. Please pray for the SG European area, as they meet during the Pastors Conference to discuss how to strengthen their relationships and what a future European BCO could look like. As the European area grows, three churches are pursuing candidacy: Calvary Galway (Galway, Ireland - Led by Ray Clancy), Iglesia Gracia Soberana (Santander, Spain - Led by Norman Pedd),and Chiesa Grazia e Verità (Catania, Italy - Led by Giuseppe Fortuna). Additionally, Pat Tedeschi will be moving to London in the New Year to lead Oasis International Church into SG partnership. So please pray for wisdom, provision, and a strong interdependency among these SG Europe churches, as well as Ed O’Mara, as he continues to lead as our SGC Area Leader for Europe.

5. Please pray for our missionaries in Thailand, as they move towards starting a Church. Incredibly, God seems to have opened some doors and be bringing pieces together to make this a reality. With services tentatively beginning, please be praying for them, for wisdom and for much grace for everyone involved. This is a very exciting development for our work there and as our missionary recently told me, “Honestly, all I can say is this is ALL God.”

6. Finally, please pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, workplaces and on our campuses over this next month. You don’t have to be overseas to be on mission. May we all be on mission, wherever the Lord has us today.

... Thanks friends. Together, may we take these “great things” and head to His “great throne.”

An update from Dave Taylor, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney and Director of Global Missions for Sovereign Grace Churches...

August was a very sweet month for me, in that over a stretch of twelve days, I got to visit both Zambia & Namibia to seek to do all that I can to strengthen our work there... And what a sweet time it was!

First up was Zambia, where I was warmly greeted at the airport by Ector Makaliki (Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church) and his leadership team. I have known about Christ Community Church for many years, remembering when the late Wilbroad Chanda actually planted the church some fifteen years ago, and so to finally be with them was such a joy. I found the church to be exactly what I had expected: joyful, gracious, encouraging, zealous, gospel-centred, to name but a few.

The Sunday gathering was a highlight, to finally be with the gathered saints of CCC. Their unwavering expressiveness in song will always remain with me, what a wonderful picture of heaven they are. Likewise gathering with all of their leadership group and seeing their heart for the lost, both locally and globally was such an encouragement to me. CCC was the first church in Africa to be in full partnership with Sovereign Grace as an Emerging Nation Church, something it was a joy to remind them of and celebrate with them about.

During my stay I also got to spend some time with Zicky Chanda and her son, Penjani Chanda, as we toured the work of Covenant Mercies together, and in particular the work of Lighthouse Christian School. It’s been nearly 20 years now since this school was founded, serving over 400 children in the area, many of whom are orphans and are able to attend through Covenant Mercies sponsorships. It is an outstanding ministry and one I’m thrilled we get to partner with.

Then on my last day in Zambia, I got to open their Youth Conference, made up of young people from CCC, as well as their friends. As they camped out at a farm, it was so good to see and hear of their zeal for the Lord. It was a wonderful conclusion to my time in Zambia.

I then made my way to Namibia, where I was picked up by Josh Kruger (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Windhoek). Josh & Lieze Kruger have lived in Windhoek for many years, relating to Sovereign Grace for well over a decade, and back in 2023 they actually relocated to the US for a year of training, discipleship and our ordination process. After a successful time in the US, they then returned to Windhoek in early 2024, where they have begun to gather a Church Planting Team together, that I then got to spend time with during my time in town.

For me personally, it took me down memory lane, to when Emma and I moved from the UK to Australia to plant Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney, back in 2010. Now in 2024, it was so special to be with Josh, Lieze and the gathering planting team.

With lots of questions and a keen ear, it was good to be able to serve Josh as he continues to put the necessary foundations in ahead of the public launch of Sovereign Grace Church, Windhoek. Josh is an outstanding leader and I sincerely look forward to seeing what God does in and through this Church in the days ahead. From everything I saw, I’d say the future looks very bright here, for which the Lord deserves all the glory.

For the Audience of One. Soli Deo Gloria!

John Piper famously writes,

            ‘Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, millions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.’

I believe Mr Piper is right. Missions exist because so many people in our neighbourhoods and nations have yet to receive their invites to the incredible marriage supper of the Lamb. And in His incredible kindness, He’s entrusted us with the privilege of giving out those invites, to every tribe, language and nation.

We’re eager then to keep giving out the invites, and so here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead…

1. Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, workplaces and on our campuses over this next month.

2. Pray for Pat Tedeschi and Greentree Church’s Short-Term Missions Team as they head to London, UK, to work with Oasis International  Church, 13th-23rd September. The team will be involved with leading church services, youth events, small group discipleship, neighbourhood evangelism, and building relationships with the church members. Greentree has partnered with Oasis Church for the past 18 years, with the work primarily involving outreach to Muslims and the least evangelised people groups in London. Please pray for much grace and favour for this trip.

3. Pray for the Philippine Pastors Institute as they restart up again for another academic year, starting on September 21st, then meeting every Saturday for the next nine months. There are 14 students currently registered for the school, covering basic biblical theology, and the Sovereign Grace seven shared values. It’s the hope that through PPI Sovereign Grace Philippines, in particular in the Mindanao region, will continue to be faithful in the gospel for many generations to come.

4. Pray for Sovereign Grace Church of Parramatta as they celebrate their 5th Anniversary on Sunday 15th September, and Lord’s Grace Church of Seoul as the celebrate their 14th Anniversary on Sunday September 8th. May they know the Lord’s smile on them as they look back and remember His goodness to them over these years.

5. Pray for Trinity Fellowship Pastors College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as they celebrate the graduation of nine students this month. Please pray for each of the students as they consider next steps beyond the PC, and for Josh Pannell and Michael Granger as they continue to move this wonderful work forward. The Lord is doing great things through this Pastors College.

6. Please continue to pray for the Ark Church in Dnipro, Ukraine asking God to continue to protect them, and to use them to meet practical needs, and to offer gospel hope to those around them who have been impacted by the war. There are so many coming to them now, so may His grace abound.

... Thanks friends. May we do all we can to keep giving out these invites.

At the SGC Pastors Conference last year I played a short 4 minute video of some of the Global Missions highlights from 2023, and ever since then, I’ve had a number of folk ask me if there’d be something like this that could be played and used at a local church level.

Well, good news, there is now!! The following video is a gift to your church to use as you see fit. It is without a date and so should give you a timeless snapshot of so many of the highlights of our work around the world.

I trust it blesses and encourages your congregation. God has been so faithful to us as a family of churches!

In addition, if you’d like to get more people in your church signed up for this newsletter, then here’s a graphic you can use with a quick sign-up QR Code.

What a joy it is to highlight the great work of our Saviour across the world, and how kind He is to let us play our part.

One of the most striking quotes from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that I believe conveys both his strong burden for evangelism and his great heart for the lost, is as follows. He writes…

             ‘If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies, and if they would perish, then let them do so with our arms wrapped about their knees imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled – then let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.’

For all of us, even now, there are so many in our neighbourhoods and nations that don’t know Jesus. They are far from Him and on a collision course with Hell. Yet we know a Saviour who can change their lives in a moment. Who can turn their lives and destinies around in a moment. For we can’t save them ourselves, but we can point them to a Saviour who can!!

So here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead, as we seek to win the lost to Jesus…

1. Pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, workplaces and on our campuses over this next month.

2. Pray for our new Director of Church Planting, Joel Shorey, Sr. Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship, Newark, DE, asking God to give him wisdom, discernment, and grace in helping us plant more churches in the United States, so that so many more may hear about Christ.

3. Pray for the Fieles A Su Llamado Conference in Juarez, Mexico, August 7-9, 2024, asking God to encourage, equip, enthuse and strengthen the pastors and wives attending from Mexico and Latin America. Pray also pray for Carlos Contreras as he leads this strategic conference.

4. Pray for our new 2024-2025 Pastors College students and their families from 2 different nations 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. That may be prepared well to bear much fruit upon their return home.

5. Pray for Brian Kiama, a 2022 Trinity Fellowship Pastors College graduate in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as well as Jonathan Leslie, a US Pastors College graduate in Indianapolis, US, as they move their families to Nairobi, Kenya, later in August for Brian, and September for Jonathan, to plant a Sovereign Grace church in Nairobi, asking God to provide all they need to advance the gospel in Kenya.

6. Pray for me, Dave Taylor, as I head to Zambia and Namibia, 9th-20th August, to encourage the pastors there, serve the Church in Zambia, and spend time with the Church Planting group in Namibia, as they prepare to ‘go live’ and launch.

   … ‘If Hell must be filled – then let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.’

Recently on the Mark Prater podcast, Mark (Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches) shared some exciting updates on Mexico. Here’s ia clip from that conversation with Ben Kreps. The full podcast is linked below…

Ben Kreps:

Excellent. I've had the honor of spending time with some of those guys down in Mexico and in Mexico a little bit, and it is always humbling to interact with these pastors. I mean, their example is compelling. These are gifted and godly men. Just hearing Carlos talk about how that church began as a small group of believers that met in a park leading up to where things have grown, to God be the glory, and we are certainly grateful for the grace in Carlos's life. So the Fieles Conference is coming up. You've talked about it before, but people checking on the podcast, don't necessarily know what it is and actually how strategic this conference really is in Mexico.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, this is one of the most strategic conferences we do in Sovereign Grace every year. Of course, we have our pastors and wives conference in November here in the States, but this conference is just as strategic, especially outside of the states. I mean this conference, which we'll be in Juarez, as you mentioned, it serves primarily pastors and wives in Mexico. But there are several pastors and wives that travel from different Latin American nations to attend this conference because it is a conference that is not only gospel centered, it is a conference where Carlos's leadership is very intentional to equip and care for and invest into pastors and their wives so that they leave not only equipped for what they've been called to do, they leave very encouraged and cared for, and the conference because of that, the conference has just grown. Last year they completely sold out.

Full Podcast link (click here)