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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights of This Year

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

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

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

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

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

What Is Antioch? 

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

Where Do We Go From Here? 

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

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

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

Marcia & Fabiano Medeiros

Emerson & Tati Soares

Igreja CasaVide São Bernardo

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

Igreja Arca Santa Rosa

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

Igreja Graça Soberana de Rio Grande

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

Pastors & Wives retreat in Rio Grande

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

Igreja Viela Novo Hamburgo

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

Igreja Reformada Cidade Cinco São Paulo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Abby

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

• Day 1

• Day 2

• Day 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An update from Dave York, Senior Pastor of Covenant Life Fellowship in Roseburg, Oregon, USA, and Emerging Nations Representative to the Philippines…

From October 10 to 21, my wife, Jill, and I were privileged to visit our beloved brothers and sisters in the Philippines. Our trip was to conduct two leadership summits with leaders within Sovereign Grace and those interested in Sovereign Grace. We also wanted to encourage our friends in the gospel’s work.

We started our time in Cebu City, Philippines, at His Dwelling Christian Church (HDCC), pastored by Nilo Ebo and Ian Naman. On Saturday, October 12, they hosted a Leadership Summit for 120 people entitled “The Beauty of Gospel Partnership”. I preached on Gospel partnership extra-locally, locally, and in marriage. The attendees leaned in as God’s word was declared and asked some remarkably challenging questions. I thank God that Nilo was my faithful and hilarious interpreter. I often had no idea what he was saying, but the entire congregation was laughing, so it must have been good. Or he was making fun of the Americans who didn’t speak Cebuano. 

On Sunday, we enjoyed celebrating the Risen Christ with HDCC. After church, we enjoyed a great potluck and a Ministry Leader meeting. The people at HDCC were such a joy to serve. Like all Filipinos, they are joyful, but our dear brothers and sisters love Jesus and want to serve Him in their nation. 

On Monday, we had the joy of hanging out with some of the younger SGC pastors and wives in Negros and Cebu (Gilbert Tolentino, Ian and Robe Naman, and Saitam and Jorgie Matias). We enjoyed a great view, food, and even better fellowship. These dear friends asked deep questions and long to serve Jesus faithfully.

On Wednesday, we left Cebu to go to Manila to meet Jeffrey and Jeannie Jo. Jeff is genuinely “my brother from another mother,” as he and I were born on the same day and year (I look younger).

We had the privilege of spending extra time with Jeff, Jeannie, Francis, and Tina Mariano in Tagaytay. One highlight was having lunch with the Volcano Taal, spewing smoke in the background.  

On Saturday, we had a similar Leadership Summit on the same topics as Cebu, but this time, it was only for Sovereign Grace Churches. Seeing dear brothers like Caloy San Jose (pastor of Jesus the River of Life Church), Jom Aquino (pastor of Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries in Dasmarinas), and Eman and Apple Iluzada was a great joy. These friends in Manila are growing gospel-centered churches and represent Jesus all over their area. Their churches are growing and multiplying.

We topped off ministry week at Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries in Kawit, where Jeffrey Jo pastors. You don’t need to worry about decibel meters when you worship there. The level of joyful worship was incredible. It was a joy to share God’s word with them and see how receptive and eager they were to apply what they heard. By God’s grace, Jeff has built a wonderful church in Kawit.  

As we move into 2025 with SGC Philippines, our goals are simple. Seven brothers are working through the ordination materials with hopes of doing their oral exams. Lord willing, we will begin work earnestly on a Book of Church Order for SGC Philippines, hoping to have it ratified in 2026. All the while, the Lord is growing His church, and the gospel is at work. What a joy to be a part of God’s work in the Philippines.        

An update from Zach Varnell, Pastor at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, Tennessee…

I’m sure many of you saw the devastation in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina in late September after Hurricane Helene hit the mountains.  

In our area, hurricanes are not generally considered cause for concern or something to prepare for, but after 11 inches of rain in the weeks leading up to Helene’s landfall and an additional 10 inches of rain once the hurricane hit, some rivers rose as much as 30 feet above their banks. To make matters worse, the terrain of these mountains and watersheds exacerbated the speed and volume of water flow, wreaking terrible destruction. For the people living in these communities, there was simply no way to have been prepared. 

As we began to comprehend the extent of the damage in the immediate aftermath of the storm, we, like so many others in the area, were eager to play a part and serve in whatever way we could.

As a church, we have funds set aside for situations such as this, to care for our community. Hurricane Helene, however, was an unprecedented undertaking. When we emailed the church and communicated our desire to serve, thousands of dollars poured in. Dozens of people volunteered to go shopping for supplies, filling our church office with water, canned goods, diapers, formula, medication, fuel, clothing, and so much more.

Our first trip was to Unicoi County High School in Erwin, Tennessee. This is the same town where many of you may have seen the images of helicopters evacuating people from the roof of their flooded hospital. When we arrived at the high school, we were overwhelmed to see hundreds of volunteers gathered, working nonstop to organize and distribute vital supplies to surrounding areas. There was even an Army helicopter who would land at the high school for supplies and then air lift them to harder to reach areas.

Initially, we thought that this would be our only trip because we had exhausted our funds. But in God’s kindness, more money came in, including funds from Sovereign Grace Churches, and we were able to resupply and go back the very next day, this time to Bakersville, North Carolina.

We had heard through connections that Bakersville was an area in need and hadn’t received much help. Part of the difficulty early on was learning where to go, who could handle the supplies that were coming in, and what exactly they needed. Despite the confusion, God provided local contacts in this hard-hit area through members of our church.

Along with other things, we delivered 11 generators that day. We didn’t even have time to unload at the local church, which had been set up as an emergency aid station. The people were so excited to receive these supplies that they were unloaded directly from our truck, into the vehicles of the people waiting, and went straight to their homes.

Since that day, even more supplies have come in and more trips have been made. We were able to help a neighborhood near Asheville that had mostly been cut off due to road conditions. A local Knoxville farmer gave us three trailer loads of hay to take to a man who had lost his farm but not his cattle. We also learned of a pastor who lost everything, including his home and vehicles, and were able to give him and his wife a check to help them rebuild. All of this has been the grace and providence of God. I believe we’ve been able to help in a small way, and it has encouraged our local church.

The need in these areas is hard to grasp, and relief efforts remain a massive task. But what has so clearly stood out in all of this is the Church – God’s people transformed by God’s grace and eager to demonstrate God’s love. One person told us explicitly that all the help they had received had been from churches. There have been many individuals and volunteers for sure, but the body of Christ has been impossible to miss. People are going to churches for help, and churches are leading the way in bringing hope and the gospel to those in need. What a joy to be a part! All glory to Christ.

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

We are so thankful to God for the amazing time we had recently at our first ever SG Australia Men’s Conference with our dear friend Eric Turbedsky serving us. It was a special time as the men of our churches gathered together united in our devotion to Christ.

Earlier in the year we had an awesome Women’s Conference which was really well attended, but we have more women than men and so we assumed our men’s conference would have far less men attend. Instead, we had more men come! So much so that we were only just able to fit into our ministry centre. But that added to the fun as we squished in and made it work. I think there was a collective sense of brotherhood and joy to be gathering as men of God.

We ate together, played dumb fun games together, sang hearty, manly songs together and sat under God’s word together. Our theme was “Christ Our Captain”, where we wanted to have our men see that Christ is not just our saviour but also our captain and Lord who gives us our marching orders for life.

Eric preached three powerful messages from this theme, three marching orders from Christ our Captain: Love, Fight, Rest! These messages resonated with the guys and helped clarify their life, particularly around Christ’s call to love his people, the church.

On this idea Spurgeon remarked in his last ever sermon:

Depend upon it, you will either serve Satan or Christ, either self or the Saviour. You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters; but if you wear the livery of Christ, you will find him so meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your souls. He is the most magnanimous of captains. There never was his like among the choicest of princes. He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When the wind blows cold he always takes the bleak side of the hill. The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on his shoulders. If he bids us carry a burden, he carries it also. If there is anything that is gracious, generous, kind, and tender, yea lavish and superabundant in love, you always find it in him. These forty years and more have I served him, blessed be his name! and I have had nothing but love from him. I would be glad to continue yet another forty years in the same dear service here below if so it pleased him. His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus even this day! Amen

As Pastors, we were so pleased to see the level of enthusiasm and devotion of the men of our churches. If you want to see a video slideshow of the event, please click here!!

A big thank you to all those who helped make this happen, especially Sovereign Grace Church of Orange for releasing Eric to come and serve us so well.

We hope that God will use events like this to help us stand on His Word, resist the cultural downgrade of masculinity, and build Godly men for the future. Our plan is to do this again every two years. I am already excited for 2026!

‘Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

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

On September 15th, we had the immense joy of celebrating our 5th Anniversary since planting Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta. It was a day full of gratitude and joy, and in true SG Parra fashion, we packed the morning with baby dedications, new member inductions, and the baptism of a new believer! It was a special moment in the life of our church family. 

SG Parramatta on pre-launch Sunday, five years ago.

When the 28 of us first left Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga, we were excited, hopeful, "ready"—and blissfully naïve! Five years and a global pandemic later, we are still excited and hopeful, eager to serve, but perhaps a bit more seasoned.

Through it all, we have sought to be an ordinary church proclaiming an extraordinary gospel. It’s been a joy to witness God’s Word taking root in hearts and transforming lives from the inside out.

One such story is the testimony of Leng, the cousin of Daven, one of our Deacons. Daven invited Leng to church when she first immigrated here. She came sporadically, but in that time, she completed an evangelistic course and later joined a one-on-one Bible reading program with CJ, one of our deacons and a faithful disciple-maker. CJ walked alongside Leng for months, reading Scripture with her and offering godly counsel. After some time, due to personal challenges with immigration and family, Leng drifted away. We weren’t sure what the Lord was doing, but then she returned! And it was clear God had been working in her heart, assuring her of His love and bringing her to salvation.

Here’s an excerpt from her testimony: 

“I was raised Catholic in the Philippines, where I learned about the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believed that if I knew some Bible stories and lived kindly, I would earn my place in heaven. I thought salvation was a simple equation: God plus good works equals salvation.

Yet, I often felt a profound emptiness. Even as I pursued education, built a career, and started a family, there was a void I couldn’t fill. I sensed a calling to know God more deeply, but my understanding was shallow. I attended church and read the Bible, but its deeper meaning escaped me.

Everything began to change when I moved here two years ago, and my cousin Daven invited me to SG Parra. Through the Alpha course and a study with CJ, I encountered a life-changing truth: Jesus is the living God who takes away the sins of the world, including mine. For the first time, I understood that salvation isn’t earned by my works but rests entirely on the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Before Christ, I trusted in my own wisdom and strength, unaware of the depth of my sin. But when I placed my faith in Jesus, it was as if a sleeping giant inside me woke up. I saw my sin for what it was and realized my need for a Savior. Through Jesus alone, I found salvation.”

Stories like Leng’s remind us why we planted this church: to proclaim the gospel and see lives transformed by the grace of Christ.

We are also committed to raising up future pastors. Currently, we have Richard Song as a Pastoral Candidate and the Seric family studying at the Pastor’s College in Louisville. From the beginning, our dream was to be a church-planting church—and by God’s grace, we still have high hopes to plant a new church in the years to come.

We are deeply grateful to SG Wahroonga and Pastors Dave Taylor and Brendan Willis for their partnership and support. Our fellowship with them has been a rich blessing, and we look forward to building a strong family of Sovereign Grace churches across Australia together.

There are countless other ways God has been at work among us—through our Life Groups, marriages, singles, parents, retirees, and ministries like 14:1, men’s and women’s discipleship, and the Deacon team. I’m so thankful to witness His hand at work in every area of our church family.

I also want to take a moment to honor my wife, Maddie. Her love, support, and care over these five years have been a constant source of strength for me—she is my delight and my best friend. And of course, my kids Evie, Jasper, Judah, and Zoe are just the best! It melts my heart when they beg to come to church early with me every Sunday and they are integrally involved in so much of what we do, and they do it so well!

I am a deeply grateful and blessed church planter.

Here’s to five years—and many more to come!

Here’s a short 5-year anniversary video for you… Enjoy!

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

Our 2024-25 US Church Planting Cohort kicked off with a retreat in Glen Mills in late September. Five men gathered with me and Nick Kidwell for a time of relational connection, instruction and strategic thinking for church plants that are anticipated to launch over the next twelve months.

The cohort this year consists of:

• Mario Figueroa, who is planting a bi-lingual church in Tampa, FL in connection with Grace Church of Orlando.

• Eric Huber, who is planting a church in Galloway, NJ out of Greentree Church in Egg Harbor, NJ.

• Adam Penird, who is planting a church in North Manchester, IN out of Christ Covenant Church in Winona Lake, IN.

• Nathan Smith, who is planting a church in Coatesville, PA out of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA.

• Howard Varnadoe, who is planting a church in Springhill, TN out of Redeeming Grace Church in Franklin, TN.

We began our monthly zoom calls in October talking about how to gather and pastor folks toward a church plant. In the next few months we’ll be talking about things like assessing locations and meeting facilities, developing missions and evangelism strategy and planning for plurality. 

Please pray for these men as they work toward the requirements for approval of their plant proposals in their regions and for their families as they begin to make transitions toward the church planting experience. 

An update from Josh Pannell, Dean of Trinity Fellowship Pastors College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia…

Celebrating the First Ordination and Commissioning of a Graduate

This past September marked a significant milestone for Trinity Fellowship Pastors College as we celebrated the first ordination of a pastors college graduate, Brian Kiama, and commissioned him to plant Sovereign Grace Church of Nairobi. Brian, his wife Julia, and their two children moved to Addis Ababa from Kenya three years ago to join the pastors college, and Brian embodied the heart of 1 Timothy 4:16, to “keep a close watch on your life and your doctrine.” From day one, Brian pursued his walk with Christ with humility and a readiness to learn, both in academic study and in personal holiness. After graduation, he continued into a two-year pastoral residency with us at Trinity Fellowship Church, where he grew into a shepherd, equipped to guide others toward Christ.

While it was bittersweet to send off Brian and his family, we are filled with gratitude for how God is using them to further His Kingdom in East Africa. This moment came sooner than expected, and it’s a beautiful reminder that the Lord’s plans often exceed our own. “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!”

The Graduation of Our Second Class

We also celebrated another milestone this September with the graduation of our second class of Pastors College students. Nine men completed their training, eight of whom are Ethiopian, along with one Somali brother—which made us particularly aware of the Lord’s work in our midst, as the Somali people are 99.9% Muslim. He is the third Somali to go through our college, and we are grateful for the small role we’re able to play in reaching unreached people groups with the gospel as we train them for ministry.

About 100 church members gathered to celebrate the graduation, and the ceremony ended as they all joined the graduates in singing “All Glory Be to Christ,” filling the room with voices celebrating the work God has done in the lives of these men over the year.

Welcoming New Pastoral Residents

As we celebrate our graduates, we’re excited to announce that four of them—Abel, Gemechis, Solomon, and Shak—are stepping into year-long pastoral residencies at Trinity Fellowship Church. Each resident will follow a track aligned with their specific gifts and calling: Solomon and Gemechis will focus on preaching and leadership, Shak on counseling and discipleship, and Abel on theology and teaching. We trust that God will use this residency to transform their head knowledge into practical skills for ministry.

Ongoing Leadership Development and Previous Pastors College Graduates

Since our first graduation in 2022, seven graduates have faithfully continued in our pastoral residency at Trinity Fellowship Church. They attend weekly elder meetings, conduct membership interviews, lead counseling meetings, teach at midweek services, lead small groups, lead worship, preach on Sundays, and more! Many also handle the many administrative tasks that help maintain our church and college’s operations.

Three of our graduates have taken on leadership roles within the Pastors College. Mikey now handles logistics and operations, ensuring that the college runs smoothly. Sami has become my academic assistant, helping teach classes, grade papers, and manage the library. Ammanuel leads discipleship and pastoral care for the college, organizing group meetings and meeting individually with students to help them grow.

This year also saw three of our graduates help teach classes at the college, and one graduate teach an entire course. Watching these men transition from students to leaders has been one of the greatest joys of this past year.

We are grateful to witness God raising up men whom we trust will carry the pastors college forward long into the future after our role of equipping men for the work of ministry is done.

An update from Matt Chapman, Pastor of Grace Church Bristol, UK…

Since the summer of 2016, a multitude of volunteers from Grace Church (Bristol, England) have led an annual week-long youth camp (under canvas) in the sometimes sunny, sometimes soggy countryside of South Wales.

The camp was birthed from a desire to serve the 11-18 year olds in our church with an opportunity to step away from the routine of everyday life and to dig deeper into the riches of the gospel together.

From the very beginning the Lord opened the door for us to invite young people from other nearby, gospel-loving local churches too. Over the past 8 years, children from nearly a dozen other churches have joined us at G2 Camp and this year we welcomed our furthest travellers yet as Ed O’Mara and two of his children travelled over from Italy to be with us.

Each morning, we spent time in small groups revelling in the riches of Colossians. In the afternoons we organised games and crafts and off-site outings to the beach and elsewhere. In the evenings we worshipped and prayed and preached our way step by step through Two Ways To Live.

One of the richest encouragements to us over the years has been that while the camp looks far from glamorous or impressive, we see the Lord mightily at work in the hearts and lives of the campers every year. This year was one of our biggest yet with 32 young people attending. Several responded to Christ for the very first time and since our week away 12 have since been baptised, across four different churches.

If I had to highlight just a handful of things that our youth camp has taught us over the years it would be these:

Firstly, rich relationships across different age groups, with adults and parents involved too, plays a powerful role in pointing young hearts to Christ and showing them what it looks like to follow him.

Secondly, time away from the busyness of everyday life, not to mention from the distraction of phones and technology, is a great blessing for teens and really helps open their eyes wider to take in the wonder of creation and redemption, and the God who is gloriously revealed in them both.

But thirdly and most strikingly of all for those of us who have had the privilege to serve again this year, we come away reminded that the simple, unadulterated message of the cross, is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Our young people don’t need another message, or to have it packaged (or even hidden) in a great rush of worldly thrills to win their attention. They recognise good news when they hear it and they are eager to hear more about the Saviour who laid down his life so that sinners of all ages could be redeemed.

And so once again we adult volunteers leave another year’s camp perhaps most blessed of all - we’re witnesses to the fact that of all that could capture a teen’s attention today, nothing compares to the might and the majesty, the mercy and the beauty of God, revealed in the gospel of his Son.

Youth ministry continues week in, week out here again in Bristol this Autumn - and it’s a privilege to pray for it and be a part of it. But I for one know that our team of parents and volunteers (not to mention our young people as well) can’t wait for next August to come around for another uninterrupted week of enjoying Christ together.

If you’d like to see more of our week together, here is a video of some of the highlights. Enjoy!