Victorian Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, once urged his Pastors College students to “make the most of prayer,”, for “prayer is the master-weapon.” Spurgeon continued, “We should be greatly wise if we used it more... All hell is vanquished when the believer bows his knee... Prayer links us with the Eternal, the Omnipotent, the Infinite; and hence it is our chief resort.”

All the way back to the ancient times, we find a great cloud of witnesses testifying to the power of prayer, and now this is our time. God delights to answer the prayers of His saints and so with that in mind, here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray that God would give the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities and courage to share the gospel with unbelievers in our communities, workplaces and on our campuses. Praying for the saving grace of God to reach many.

2. Please pray for our 2026-2027 Pastors College students and their families who will be moving to Louisville, KY before classes start at the end of August, asking God to provide for them and to give them grace to grow over the next year while at the PC.

3. Please pray for Ed O’Mara (SGC Area Leader for Europe) as he visits with Steve Dyer, a potential SG Church Planter, along with his plant team, in Swansea, Wales. Please pray that the Lord would continue to build the group into relationship with Sovereign Grace and that Ed will be helpful to them as they look to the future and plan for the church plant in the Swansea area.

4. Please pray for Matt Chapman, (Senior Pastor of Grace Church, Bristol, England) as he leads the G2 Youth Camp, 10th-15th August. There will be around 30 youth from Bristol and South Wales, meeting to encounter the Lord and grow in their faith. Please pray that the Lord will both save and grow a deep commitment to Him in the hearts of these youth.

5. Please pray for Angel Miranda and his team as they plant Iglesia Biblica Gracia Soberana in Sinceljo, Colombia, asking God to draw unbelievers and the unchurched giving them opportunities to share the gospel with them.

6. Please pray for the 2026 Fieles Conference in Juarez, Mexico, who for this year are joining the conference with Worship God, August 12th-14th, in the hope that God will use this conference to promote other Worship God Conferences throughout Latin America. Please pray for the 900 attendees, as well as the 180 volunteers and staff that will be serving to make it all happen, and the National Leadership Team of Mexico who will be leading the time. May the Lord protect them and may His grace abound to everyone involved.

7. Please that God continues to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the many gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world.

… Thank you so much!

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is a joy and privilege to write an update to you about all God is doing with the Sovereign Grace church plant in Namibia, Africa.  In the last year or so I have had the privilege of teaching our membership classes twice and we have also had two subsequent membership intakes. The second membership intake was particularly special not only because we were adding new members, but because it brought great joy to the existing members to covenant with and welcome in the new members as family.

A little more than a year ago we were still gathering in the evenings but since moving our Sunday gatherings to Sunday mornings many more have visited and even joined us. We are now averaging roughly 30 adults and about 10 kids every Sunday (with frequent visitors) and this growth very quickly necessitated a bigger venue.

By God’s grace after a few months of fervent prayer and searching we finally found a venue that suits our needs and we have now been gathering in this venue for about 3 months. It is amazing what a big difference a good venue makes. The new venue immediately resulted in new visitors, which we kind of anticipated. But what really surprised me was how it has brought about a culture of lingering after church.  Many people now hang out and chat for as long as an hour after church which brings great joy to this pastor’s heart.

There were already deep and meaningful relationships and fellowship before, but through this new venue God has truly brought about a sweet season of deeper friendships.  A genuine love and care from every individual for the rest of the body.  There is a tangible unity and a deep desire to be with one another for our Sunday gatherings, community groups and even in our homes. God is busy building lasting friendships and biblical community for which I cannot thank Him enough. 

By God’s grace we have also started dipping our toes into the idea of purchasing land. This quickly went from exploring to fully engaged when a donor stepped up, offering to buy the land. This will still be a long process with the government so please be praying for that.

More recently we were visited by Pastor Matthew Williams from KingsWay Community Church in Richmond, Virginia. This is our sending and planting church. His wife Aliza graciously joined him and they were a tremendous blessing to me and my wife, not to mention the church. Matthew taught on our Pneumatology, lingering on the practicalities of how we might give legs to our convictions. He preached while I got to sit next to my wife (a very rare privilege for the solo planter). And he fielded an open Q&A session which has already born great fruit. All in all our church felt incredibly cared for by the fact that they flew half way around the world to be with us and bring us greetings from KingsWay.

Throughout this church plant there have been times of disappointment and sorrow. But they have been vastly outnumbered by seasons of great joy and hope as we wait. Wait for the church to grow. Wait for people’s lives to be changed. Wait for change in our own lives. Wait on Him for sustenance, mercy and grace. 

In these seasons of waiting passages like Ephesians 5:25-27, Titus 2:13 and Hebrews 9:28 have been great comforts as they remind us that Christ is working in His church, purifying and sanctifying her for His glory so that we can know…so that we can have full assurance of His love and care for His bride, the church for whom He will return!

That being said, while we yet wait on His return, by God’s grace, we long to be a church that not only grows locally, but that can love others enough to sacrificially serve and send. It is my sincere hope that God would use our church in the future to plant more SG churches in Africa so that the gospel may also bear much fruit wherever it is preached.

We give God the glory and honor and praise due His name for the good work He has begun in us, that we know He will bring to completion at the day of Jesus Christ! Amen.

An update from Antonio Diaz, Pastor of Iglesia Coram Deo, Mexico City, Mexico…

From June 11–15, 2026, Pastor Kristian Tucker (pastor of Gracia Soberana Durango) and I had the privilege of traveling to Havana, Cuba, to encourage and equip the three churches we support there. By God’s grace, we were able to deliver nearly 120kg of supplies—vitamins, medicines, powdered milk, clothing, shoes, batteries, Sunday school materials and other supplies—meeting both spiritual and practical needs.

On our first evening, we shared fellowship and dinner with Pastor Juan Viñeta and his wife, Ana, from Iglesia Bíblica Emanuel (Emanuel Bible Church), and delivered the items designated for their church and family. The following day, we gathered with Pastor Eddy Cambra and his wife, Mercedes, from Iglesia Pacto de Gracia (Covenant of Grace Church), and Pastor Pablo Ruiz and his wife, Mirelsi, from Iglesia Bíblica de Jesucristo (Jesus Christ Bible Church). A particularly joyful moment was giving Pablo and Mirelsi new eyeglasses—after 15 years without an updated prescription, their delight at seeing clearly again was unforgettable.

Friday and Saturday were devoted to training and equipping them to develop home groups and using the book “The Gospel-Centered Life”. Meals during those days were lovingly prepared by the sisters, though many ingredients had to be purchased online from Mexico due to Cuba’s scarcity. We were also able to provide olive oil, nuts, rice, beans, and spices—simple items for us, but rare luxuries for them. Some shared that it had been over a decade since they had tasted nuts. On Saturday evening, we hosted a fellowship dinner at a local restaurant where dessert was a special treat, reminding us how even small joys can be profound blessings for those living under such conditions.

On Sunday, Kristian preached at Covenant of Grace Church, while I shared the Word at Emanuel Bible Church. Throughout the trip, we experienced the reality of Cuba’s power outages—three hours of electricity for every six hours without, and in some areas, only one hour of power per day. Yet even in these hardships, the Lord allowed us to bring the truth of the Gospel of Grace for their encouragement, as well as to strengthen bonds of friendship, and share prayer requests and burdens together. It is by God’s amazing grace and the power of His Spirit, that our brothers and sisters in Cuba can rejoice in the Lord and persevere in their faith in their significant hardships. They are truly an inspiration to all of us.

The Sovereign Grace Mexican churches thank God for the privilege of serving our brothers and sisters in Cuba. We are also deeply grateful for our global family of churches for their prayers, offerings, and faithful support. We pray that our good God will bring relief from their extremely difficult living conditions. For them every small act of generosity was a huge blessing, and we trust the Lord will continue to strengthen His work in Cuba—for the glory of His name.

An update from Leo Parris (US Global Missions Coordinator for Sovereign Grace Churches, and Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania) who recently took a team from his church to visit a Sovereign Grace pastor serving cross-culturally in a strategic city. For security reasons, some details have been omitted or generalised, including the removal of names…

Every other year, I take a group of people interested in learning more about global missions through a year-long course on global missions in my church called the School of Missions. At the end of the course, we take a trip to partner with a SG missionary to experience ministry on the frontlines of gospel advancement. We hope to identify the missionaries that the Spirit is raising up in our church through this course and to help train key leaders to facilitate our global mission as a church. This year we chose to partner with SG missionaries in an unreached Muslim city in the Mediterranean, in the second week of July. 

They have been laboring for the gospel in this city for 6 years and hope to plant a Sovereign Grace church there in 2028. ‘M’ helped our team see the need for gospel advancement in this area. Every 56 seconds, another person passes into eternity. And a fraction of a percentage of these people will have ever truly heard the gospel. We headed out to outreach with our hearts freshly burdened and an eagerness to see what God had planned for us.

Our plan was to establish ourselves in typical touristy places where many local people hangout to seek to have conversations with strangers and turn them in a spiritual direction. Given that proselytizing is frowned upon in this particular city, we had to be more careful than back in the States, not mentioning the words “missions” or “evangelism” and not handing out tracks. 

When you add these limiting factors to the fact that many of these people do not speak English, I honestly expected to only have a few meaningful conversations in our week of ministry, but God blew the doors off those expectations! Over the week we had 53 meaningful conversations with strangers. Most of these people were locals, and many of the conversations included a full gospel presentation. 

God used social games to create the relational bridge needed to develop connections. One of the first days we outreached, a group of ladies from our team set up a popular game called Okey to play in a coffee shop. As they puzzled over the rules, they asked a couple of ladies in the shop for help on how to play. Two hours later, they were friends! These ladies invited some of our team members to a yoga class. A couple of days later they came to the class, and spent over an hour and a half deepening their connection afterwards. A few of us were able to share the gospel with multiple people in great length and clarity. More than that, two of the ladies came with our team to church on Sunday!

If space allowed, I could tell you about how silly dancing and google translate allowed for the gospel to go forth. I could tell you about how a free day trip to visit ruins turned into an hour-long gospel conversation with a Chinese woman. I could tell of the exiled Polish man who heard the hope of the gospel. I could tell you of the man who we swapped Bible verses for Qu’ran verses with. I could tell you of the baristas and random strangers that came to church with us. 

All this was God, using coffee shops and games, beaches and volleyball, and technology like Instagram and WhatsApp to allow for connections and gospel conversations. 

All this was possible because he opened doors for us. We were very aware, throughout the whole trip of the unmerited favor and power that guided us. We were filled with the joy of the Spirit, again and again, as we felt the privilege of sharing the good news with these people. People who only know Christ as a prophet, who might know of the Bible in theory, and who had never met a Christian. 

But what gives me even more excitement is the fact that ‘M’ and ‘B’ are still there! They are faithfully engaging in the irreplaceable long-term discipleship needed in the Great Commission. We are praying that God provides the co-laborer missionaries needed to plant a SG church. It is quite clear that God has already prepared a harvest for this mission. I can’t wait to see who God raises up to join them there. 

Our first School of Missions helped identify a missionary couple, Mikey and Katie Roman who are currently moving towards joining Pat Tedeschi in London. I’m praying that God identifies more people from the 12 individuals that came on the trip to join the gospel advancement in this unreached Mediterranean city and other places that will not hear the good news unless someone is sent. 

It’s my hope that God would continue to help us in Sovereign Grace Churches to earnestly seek those he is raising to be sent to the nations for the sake of the gospel. 

An update from Jeffrey T. Jo, National Leader for SGC Philippines…

What do we do with people who haven’t yet heard the gospel of Christ in a remote region? Surely, we need to pray for them, but as the apostle Paul penned in Romans 10 …

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

In response to these rhetoric questions in verse 14, we started three years ago to equip our pastors and church leaders in Mindanao, south of the Philippines, both in theology and ministry with the hope that they will have a deeper grasp and inspiration from gospel truths, that they can then take out. In God’s kindness and with the support of SGC, we were able to establish the PPI or Philippine Pastors Institute.

Last Sunday afternoon, July 19, 2026, 9 out of 11 students of PPI graduated in their Pastoral Theology course after a 9-month study. Eight are lead pastors of their local churches and one serves as an associate pastor. It was a well-attended gathering where the graduate’s immediate family and local church elders were present to witness and celebrate with them in their milestone achievement.

The coverage of their classes included the following.

• Understanding one’s calling by and for the gospel.

• The pastor, his marriage and family.

• The pastor and his devotion to Christ-like humility and zeal.

• The pastor’s study and preaching.

• The pastor and his counseling ministry.

• The pastor and his church-care.

• The pastor and raising up more leaders.

• Revisiting SGC 7-shared values and 7-shaping virtues.

• Why we believe what we believe, revisiting our Statement of Faith.

In the last 9 months of classes, we have witnessed how these men have improved a lot in their preaching - not only homiletically but also in the centrality of their sermon, which is Christ! Their preaching is no longer focused on morality (how to be a good person/Christian) but on gospel fidelity - who Christ is and His finished work on the cross, along with His glorious resurrection and ascension to heaven. Moreover, in a culture where wives are neglected and debased, here they are cared for well and treated as “co-heirs in the grace of life” (1 Peter 3:7), being a ‘secret-weapon’ of their pastor-husband.

In addition to all of this, most of the graduates are now underway in the SG ordination process. Many have confessed that studying with PPI has prepared and helped them a lot in their required papers and in understanding the significance of gospel partnership not only in the Philippines but also globally.

I have two great hopes for these men…

• First, that they will shepherd their local churches faithfully and passionately, humbly serving their local church in the SG way, both in values and virtues.

• Lastly, that through the kindness of God, they will deeply understand and embrace mission as their shared responsibility in the Great Commission.

May we all have a heart for the gospel, a mind for truth, a spirit of humility, a hand of generosity and a passion to reach the lost, for the glory of the mystery of godliness!

Image Credit: Oceania (centered orthographic projection) by M. Bitton, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. No changes were made.

An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Parramatta (Sydney, Australia) and National Leader for Sovereign Grace Churches Australia…

As we plant and strengthen churches all over the world for the glory of God, we long to see more joyful and healthy Sovereign Grace Churches in the Southern Hemisphere. With so much great work happening in Asia, the Lord has laid it on our hearts in Australia to look out to the vast array of island nations spread across what is called, Oceania, to see how we can partner, serve and strengthen one another for the cause of Christ.

What makes up Oceania is hard to definitively nail down but is commonly thought of as all the island nations between Asia and the Americas. Think: Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, and even all the way up to Hawaii as the most northern part of what is called ‘Polynesia’. I guess we’ll have to fight it out with the US as to who gets to claim SG Hawaii ;). But you can see the region on the map below (source: Wikipedia).

There are over 44 million people across 14 nations (not to mention all the territories) in this sprawling geographic region and although nearly two thirds are listed as ‘Christian’, despite this, we are aware of the gospel need and the need for healthy gospel-centered churches.

As we are currently two churches in Sydney, we feel dwarfed by the task, but everyone starts somewhere and we are full of hope in our great sovereign God who rules over all the nations and peoples. We ask that you join us as we pray for this region of the world! Pray that God raises up more and more healthy, gospel centered pastors and churches, that the lost would be saved and transformed into the likeness of Christ, and that if God wants us to play a part, that he’d lead us to the right people that we can partner with and come alongside!

I would love to know if you have any contacts with Pastors, Missionaries or Churches in this region of the world. Please contact me here, I’d love to for us to begin exploring what God may have us here.

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” (Ps 96:3)

Image credit: Oceania - Map with Zones by Cruickshanks (derived from work by Tintazul), via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. No changes were made.

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

Those final few words give us such an important and sobering God-given perspective on how much we’ll be able to do for the Lord by ourselves. How much? Nothing, nada, nought... For apart from Him we really can do nothing!

So, with that in mind, here’s how you can be praying for some of our Global endeavours in the month ahead... We so need the Lord’s mighty help...

1. Please pray for the Philippines Pastors Institute graduating class of 2026, who have been undergoing theological training in Mindanao, Philippines, for the last two years. Please pray for safe travels for Jeffrey Jo, National Leader of the Philippines, as he heads over to officiate this time, and that the last fruit of this endeavour will be more SGC Philippines churches planted and strengthened in Mindanao, for the glory of God.

2. Please pray for the two upcoming Pastors & Leaders Retreats in Latin America this month. The first will take place in Costa Rica, July 3rd-5th , with leaders from around five churches. The second will take place in Barranquilla, Colombia, July 21st-23rd, with pastors and leaders from approximately twelve churches. These gatherings are an important opportunity to serve, encourage, strengthen, and care for pastors and leaders who are labouring faithfully in their local churches. Many of them carry significant burdens as they shepherd God’s people, preach the Word, care for families, train leaders, and seek to advance the gospel in their cities and regions. Our desire is that these retreats would not simply be times of teaching and planning, but also moments of spiritual refreshment, pastoral encouragement, and gospel-centered fellowship.

3. Please pray for Bob Kauflin as he leads Worship God 2026 in Louisville, KY, July 28th-31st, asking God to use Bob and the Sovereign Grace Music team to equip and strengthen worship leaders, vocalists, musicians, folks who serve on sound teams, etc, so that churches will be strengthened in God-centred worship every Sunday.

4. Please pray for the Mexican Pastors College graduating class of 2026, students and their families from 2 different nations who having moved to Juarez, Mexico for the past 10 months, now head home to make a difference in their local churches. As they graduate on 25th July, please pray for a smooth transition back home and for faithful and fruitful days ahead for each of these graduates.

5. Please pray for the missions teams from Crossway Church, NC, as they head Rancho 3M, Mexico, July 25th - August 1st, and from Risen Hope Church, PA, as they head to Playa Azul, Costa Rica a little later this month.

6. Please pray for Bert Turner (Pastor at Covenant of Grace Church, Akron, USA) as he travels to Brazil later this month to visit with Igreja Graca Soberana in Rio Grande, to continue equipping and strengthening the work of Pastor Emerson Soares. Please pray that this would be a wonderful time of blessing for everyone involved.

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

Just this last month we had our Sovereign Grace Key Global Leaders Retreat in Sydney, Australia, and what a wonderful time it was! Thank you so m much for your prayers. As we gathered together from June 9th-12th, coming together in representation of six different continents, the Lord met with us in wonderful ways!!

You can hear all about it on Mark Prater’s podcast… How good the Lord was to us in this time!

An update from Jim Donohue, Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, PA, USA, and Director of Evangelism for Sovereign Grace Churches…

A big reason why we're so eagerly seeking to plant churches is to see lost men and women come to know the forgiveness of their sins that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

This last September, we planted a church in rural Indiana with 22 people. In their launch they took their community groups through the Proclaim Course (https://proclaimcourse.org/) to motivate and equip their people in evangelism. And they just finished running their third Bridge Course (https://bridgecourse.org/), a course we designed to tell people about the good news of Jesus Christ, and their church now has more than 70 people attending each Sunday!

We also launched our first Bridge Course in London last month and are working on translating the course into 3 more languages bringing the total number up to 10.  Another exciting development is that we’ve modified our web site so that it can be viewed entirely in Spanish and we are working on doing the same thing in Chinese and other languages.

We have seen the power of God transforming so many lives in recent months. Here’s a story that displays the incredible power of the gospel to redeem and restore. It’s from a woman named Julia. Her brother invited her atheist father to Bridge and he got saved a few years ago. And through their combined witness, God saved Julia in a dramatic way.  Here is some of her story…

“I’d spent the better part of the last decade willfully rejecting God. I mutilated God’s character and began a journey of self-discovery that I thought would lead to my deliverance but in fact promised to separate me from my Creator. In early May of 2016, I stepped boldly out of the closet, clothed in my new queer identity, and I leapt into the world’s embrace. I finally internalized the one lie that had haunted me from childhood: God does not love me. And I thought, if God could reject me, that means, I could reject Him too…right? Years went by as I convinced myself I didn’t need His love, that I didn’t even want it. And yet, I searched for it with a screaming soul as I looked to others for the satisfaction that only God could give. I expected fulfillment from my relationships, but they left me hollow and increasingly desperate, until I became an open wound of unhealed hurts, unable to make it through a single day without breaking down and lashing out. The pressure was building, and I was scared that it would culminate in an irreversible act of self-injurious behavior. I had lost hope, resigned to the belief that this was just how it was, how it would always be.

It was here, in the bottleneck of my distress, that my Father in Heaven offered me salvation through the patient persistence of my father and brother here on earth. It was early one morning when my brother Antonio again asked if he could read to me from the Psalms, and by God’s Grace alone, this time, I listened. Our Dad joined, and four hours went by in which they testified and tenderly answered my questions. That same night, I invited Jesus into my life as my Treasure, Friend, Savior, and God. I wept with shame for my sins against Him, horror-struck by every rejection I had denied Him with. I looked upon the cross with new eyes, recognizing my sins hanging from our Creator as ribbons of flesh, and I wanted to look away, unable to bear the enormity of His suffering, but I’d soon learn at Bridge that this was how it had to be…decided before the beginning, outside of time and space: the solemn agreement. A selfless plan to save our wretched souls baked inside the most magnificent love story ever told, written to us as an invitation, while we were dead in our sin.

On May 11th, 2024, almost 8 years to the day since I’d come out and traded God’s love for the fleeting promises of this world, Jesus, our Lord, called me by name, saying “you are mine.” On that day, He delivered me, and a peace settled into my bones, making a home for itself among the weeds.”

 You can find the rest of Julia’s story here. Praise God for how he is using our churches to reach the lost. God is doing a great work. And we have the privilege of joining him in the unstoppable spread of the gospel.  

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

Sunday 31st May was marked by praise and celebration as Trinity Fellowship ordained its third pastor!

Yeabtsega has been with us almost from the very beginning of our church plant. He completed our first academic year of the Trinity Fellowship Pastors College, went through our pastoral residency, and faithfully endured our ordination assessment process with joy and excellence. More importantly, our church has already been relating to him as one of their pastors for several years. He has become a dear friend, trusted counsellor, and a faithful co-laborer to me!

Most importantly, however, Yeabtsega is married to Kimia. And honestly, we would probably hire the brother just for his wife. He seriously married up!

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes that when Christ ascended, he gave gifts to his church. In context, those gifts come in the form of pastors and teachers. Yeabtsega is an Ephesians 4 gift to Trinity Fellowship, and we thank God for him!

And a much-needed gift he is! Within the next month, Trinity Fellowship will likely reach nearly 220 members, with approximately 20 more already signed up for the next intake. In the coming days we’re also preparing to baptize 22 new individuals into the life of our church. We praise God, I praise God for providing Yeabtsega as the Lord continues to dwell amongst us.

And while we’re counting our blessings, last Sunday Pastor Amanuel completed his first solo sermon series. Since February, most of our Sundays have been spent listening to him preach through Paul’s epistle to Titus. We have been so served as he grows in preaching God’s Word.

Also, this past week, I had the privilege of lecturing at the Trinity Fellowship Pastors College alongside Brian Kiama, the first commissioned church planter sent out from Trinity Fellowship. Brian flew back from Nairobi to co-teach our course on church planting

In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul writes, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” The Lord has so richly provided a theological training for me at Castleview, SGCL, the Pastors College, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and now Union School of Theology. We therefore have a responsibility to invest in the next generation of pastors and church planters, which it’s a joy to do!

Over the course of 25 lecture hours, we taught on both the theology and the practicals of church planting, including how the necessity of Scripture necessitates church planting, identifying a church plant location, building a team, leadership vision, raising support, launching a church, and faithfully shepherding it over time.

Our current Pastors College academic calendar runs from September 2025 to September 2026 and consists of 42 block course classes under the leadership of our dean Josh Pannell. Following graduation, I plan to invite several of the graduates into a one-year pastoral residency. During that year, these men will take on a number of the responsibilities of pastoral ministry while continuing to be trained, evaluated, encouraged, and discipled before potentially entering ordained ministry.

Please pray for James 1 wisdom as we prepare for this next residency cohort, and pray that the Lord would continue to raise up faithful workers for his harvest.

An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Parramatta (Sydney, Australia) and National Leader for Sovereign Grace Churches Australia…

It’s not every year you get to have a ‘Pastor’s Conference’ like experience in your own church for a day! But this year Sovereign Grace Churches Australia had the privilege of having not only the Leadership Team (Mark Prater, Jeff Purswell, Jared Mellinger, Jon Payne and our very own Dave Taylor) but also the Global Leaders all with us for our combined church conference, ‘Together 2026’! 

It was an incredible day as we gathered with over 400 people from our two churches, Sovereign Grace Church Wahroonga and Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta, under the banner of Spurgeon’s famous line, ‘The Church, the Dearest Place on Earth.’ 

We had three powerful sessions with Jeff, Jon and Jared preaching for us around this theme, you can listen to their messages here. We also had a chance for each of the Global Leaders who were here for the Global Leaders Retreat to briefly share about their region of the world where the Lord is at work through Sovereign Grace (Mexico, Europe, Philippines, Africa, and the US). 

Our people were freshly stirred with a vision for God’s passionate and particular love for his people. His plan that has been in place before the beginning of the world which has now been revealed, that God will gather all the world under one head, under Christ (Eph 1). The Lord helped us see that what is taking place in very ordinary ways Sunday to Sunday is anything but ordinary! As Jesus walks amongst his lampstands (Rev 1), as we partake in the Heavenly gathering (Heb 12), we anticipate the glorious reunion of the Bride and her Husband. 

The implication is well summarised by Stott, “‘If the church is central to God’s purpose as seen in both history and the gospel it must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously, how dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?’ (John Stott).

It was a pure joy for me to see our churches here interacting with the Leadership Team and the Global Leaders. It was a joy to be able to publicly thank Mark Prater on behalf of SG Australia for his contribution, service, and sacrifice for us here and for all of Sovereign Grace. And it was a joy for this Aussie, to be able to host these dear brothers here in Sydney, to show them our city, to invite them into our story, and for them to revisit old friends and make new ones.  

It’s significant for us as we build Sovereign Grace Churches here in Australia that we build relationally together. We are not just an institution, a network, or a co-op, but a family! And so it’s very fitting that our two churches would come together for the day to worship, to pray, to sit under God’s word, to meet with our friends, to connect with our broader SGC Leaders and Partners….and to eat lots of Lebanese Chicken together! A taste of heaven. 

We very much feel the smile of the Lord on us and the words of Deuteronomy 7:6:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has
chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Please pray for Sovereign Grace Churches here in Australia, that we would be able to grow in love for the Lord and each other, that we would make many new disciples, and that the Lord would raise up future Pastors and Planters to take the gospel further across this great land!

An update from Carlos Contreras, National Leader of Sovereign Grace Churches, Mexico….

This past May, we gathered in Guadalajara as Elders of Gracia Soberana México for our National Council of Elders and annual pastoral retreat. These meetings have become a highlight of our year, and this year was no exception.

The Council of Elders was a clear testimony of God’s goodness toward our Nation as we celebrated His continued strengthening of our family of churches, even through seasons of growth and challenge. I had the privilege of sharing an update on the state of our union, reminding us of God’s abundant faithfulness. Despite changing circumstances across several of our churches, He has allowed us to grow and solidify as a Nation, with a vision to serve not only Mexico but the world.

The Council approved the creation of a new East-Central region and confirmed Kike Villegas as Regional Leader. We also celebrated the ordination of Emmanuel Alfonzo, lead pastor of Vida Abundante in Moroleón, Michoacán — making it the seventh church officially partnered with our denomination.

We were encouraged by Alex Anchondo, who shared his experiences from joining the SG team that went to Pakistan January, reminding us of the unstoppable, transforming power of the Gospel — a power at work there and equally capable of transforming our own cities and nation. Antonio Díaz, pastor of our sister church in Mexico City, also shared how our national family served churches in Cuba last October by sending him and Edgar Flores to teach, encourage, and deliver much-needed medicines and resources.

I was grateful to report on the blessing of hosting the recording of the new Gracia Soberana Música album at our church — the first GSM album written entirely by Latin American songwriters. I also shared a preview of our upcoming Fieles a Su Llamado conference this August, where we will partner with Bob Kauflin and WorshipGod to host our largest event to date, with 850 expected attendees, gathering to reflect on the priorities of our Sunday worship gatherings.

Finally, Mark Prater joined us and shared his vision for the future of Sovereign Grace Churches, exhorting us to become “a multi-generational, theologically faithful, Spirit-empowered, global family of churches who together advance the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.”

Following the Council, we held our annual pastoral retreat — a time strategically important for the development of Gracia Soberana México. These retreats are marked by fellowship in the gospel, pastoral encouragement, and opportunities for the Mexican Leadership Team to cast vision for our family of churches. This year’s theme was Pastoral Ministry in the Fear of God.

We heard powerful messages from our National Leadership Team on our calling to be pastors governed by the fear of the Lord, in light of Christ’s sobering charge to care for His church. Mark Prater spoke on the necessity of hard conversations in leadership. I shared on the fear of the Lord as the motivation and fuel for our love for Christ and His church. Hellman Avila, pastor from our El Paso church, taught on the importance of pastors recognizing their dependence on the Holy Spirit. Manolo Quintal, pastor in Silao Guanajuato and National Leadership Team member, exhorted us on pastoral ministry empowered and motivated by grace. Finally, Abelardo Muñoz, also part of the SGC Executive Committee, reminded us of the dangers of pastoral ministry, calling us to prioritize the care of our own souls and to continually return to the gospel in awe of God’s grace.

I am deeply grateful for the rich fellowship we enjoy — not only nationally but globally. This was evident throughout our retreat, in our times of ministry and prayer, shared meals, and joyful fellowship. Having been part of Sovereign Grace Churches for four decades, I rejoice to see how its values and virtues are increasingly evident in the lives of our leaders and churches in Mexico.

Thank you, Sovereign Grace, for your legacy, your continued help, and your faithful support!

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 have been given as Christians 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 this 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 the Pastors College graduating class of 2026, students and their families from 2 different nations who having moved to Louisville, KY for the past 10 months, now head home to make a difference in their local churches. Please pray for a smooth transition back home and for faithful and fruitful days ahead for each of these graduates.

2. Please pray for Doug Hayes as he heads to Ndola, Zambia, to break ground on the new Lighthouse Christian School’s Secondary School campus, June 4th-10th. In addition, please pray for the missions teams from Covenant of Grace (Akron OH), June 13th-20th; Risen Hope (Summerville, SC), June 20th-27th; and Cornerstone (Knoxville, TN), June 27th-July 4th; as they head to Rancho 3M, Mexico.

3. Please pray for the Ripple Women’s Conference, 13th June, run by SGC Philippines in Manila, Philippines. Please pray that it’ll be a big blessing to all the ladies that are coming along to it from 7 different Churches in Manila. That they’d be strengthened in biblical womanhood and that as an outreach, many women would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour as a result.

4. Please pray for Solomon Chala, a graduate of the Trinity Fellowship Pastors College in Ethiopia, and Amanuel Yehualashet, pastor of Trinity Fellowship Church, Addis Ababa, as they lead a Marriage Retreat, June 16th-23rd, for pastors & wives in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and sow into the leaders and dear brothers and sisters we relate to there.

5. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Key Global Leaders Retreat in Sydney, Australia, June 9th-12th, asking God to equip and strengthen our global leaders from around the world relationally and theologically, so they can better serve the Churches and endevours in their respective regions. Please also pray for the Leadership Team’s Strategic Planning Retreat that follows this time, June 15th-17th, asking God to grant wisdom and discernment for decisions that best serve our family of churches.

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

… It’s a big world out there, so how good it is to know that He will always be with us, both now and to the end of the age!!

An update from Amanuel Yehuwalashet, pastor at Trinity Fellowship, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia…

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Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! – Psalm 133:1

What a gift this was.

From March 23 to 29, 2026, pastors representing four nations (Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, and Namibia) gathered in Addis Ababa for the first Sovereign Grace Churches Africa Pastors Retreat. Though some of us had never met before and came from very different contexts, no one felt like a stranger from the very first moment of fellowship.

Why was that? I believe one of the main reasons we felt this way is because we share something deeper than geography. Every man in that room had passed through the same process of pastoral formation in our churches. We had received the same theological training. We embraced the same theological convictions. We have the same commitment to gospel-centered ministry. And these shared foundations produced aligned theological and practical convictions, which shaped how we think and relate to one another. We didn't have to explain our polity or defend our values. By God’s grace, we already shared them. What a kindness from the Lord.

As it was our first retreat together, our primary goal was to get to know one another and enjoy meaningful fellowship together. And that is exactly what God gave us. In fact, He gave us more than we expected.

Each day brought a focused session:

• Michel Granger (Trinity Fellowship Addis Ababa, Senior Pastor) opened with "The Pastor and Gospel-Centeredness," reminding us what must define us, both as men and as churches. I loved this.

• Josh Pannell (Trinity Fellowship Addis Ababa, Pastors’ College Dean) followed with "The Pastor and Theological Unity," showing why theological unity is critical for our present and future. So important.

• Then I, Amanuel Yehualashet (Trinity Fellowship Addis Ababa, Pastor), taught on "The Pastor and Godliness," explaining why personal godliness is essential for longevity and faithfulness in ministry.

• After that, Yeabtsega (Trinity Fellowship Addis Ababa, to be ordained on May 31) taught on "The Pastor and Encouragement," reminding us that we must first be recipients of God's encouragement before we can give it to our people.

• Finally, Mark Prater (SGC, Executive Director) taught on "The Pastor and Partnership," showing how we need one another across nations, not just across the street.

While the teaching was excellent, what I treasured most was the fruit that followed -- the rich discussion, intentional encouragement, shared prayer, meals together, laughter, and honest discussion about the joy and challenges of pastoral ministry and life.

To God be the glory!

This was our first retreat. I pray that it will not be our last. And I pray that you, our dear readers, will pray for your brothers in Africa. Pray that God would continue to strengthen pastors, to raise up faithful pastors, plant healthy churches, and advance the gospel throughout the continent of Africa.

Fabrizio Rodulfo leads Gracia Soberana Música and was recently involved with a new album recording in Mexico. Knowing how important our music is for our wider mission, he shares this update…

This past April, we had the joy of recording a live Spanish-language album with Gracia Soberana Música at Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, under the leadership of Pastor Carlos Contreras. Over two evenings—April 16 and 17—we gathered with around 450–600 people each night to worship, sing, and celebrate God’s grace together as we recorded De Muerte a Vida: Canciones del Libro de Efesios (“From Death to Life: Songs from the Book of Ephesians”).

This project has been several years in the making. In 2023, we held our first songwriting retreat in Guadalajara, followed by a second retreat in Louisville in early 2025. During those retreats, songwriters from Sovereign Grace churches and like-minded friends wrote nearly 80 original Spanish songs together. After much prayer, collaboration, and review, we selected 12 songs for this album.

Every song on the project was written entirely in Spanish and rooted in the book of Ephesians. As we studied Paul’s letter, we wanted to write songs that highlighted the centrality of the gospel, our identity in Christ, and how the gospel shapes our life together as the people of God. One meaningful aspect of the project is that all the songs were intentionally written in the plural, focusing not only on personal faith but also on our shared life as the church.

The recording itself was especially meaningful because it brought together people and churches from across different regions. Musicians and singers from Sovereign Grace churches in Costa Rica, Tampa, Louisville, and Ciudad Juárez participated in the band and team. Our dear friends Jonathan and Sarah Jerez, along with David and Karen from Monterrey, contributed not only vocally, but also significantly through songwriting and collaboration throughout the process. The church choir from Ciudad Juárez also joined the recording, adding depth and congregational strength to the singing.

For many of us, these nights felt historic. This was the first fully Spanish and fully live album recorded in this church, a church that has played such an important role in the history of Sovereign Grace Churches in Mexico. Seeing hundreds of believers singing these new songs together reminded us again of the beauty of the gospel and the unity we share in Christ across nations, cultures, and churches.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who prayed, wrote, served, sang, organized, mixed cables, welcomed guests, and helped make these nights possible. So many people contributed behind the scenes to create an environment where the church could sing boldly and joyfully.

Lord willing, the album will be released next year. Our prayer is that these songs would strengthen our churches and serve the global Spanish-speaking church by grounding believers in the gospel and in the promises of God for all who are in Christ.

An update from Marty Machowski, Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and Key Leader into South Korea…

My wife Lois and I enjoyed the privilege of visiting Lord’s Grace Church in South Korea in late March. Songhwan (Lead Pastor of Lord’s Grace Church) and Miran arranged for my wife and I to enjoy the first few days exploring Seoraksan National Park in Northeastern South Korea. Lois and I shared a home with Songhwan and Miran which afforded the time of fellowship where we were able to share our blessings and personal challenges and build relationally and strengthen our friendship.

The 48 foot tall bronze Buddha statue in the center of Seoraksan National Park accentuates Korea’s need for the gospel to penetrate their nation. It was sad to see the memorials people made by stacking rocks and the prayer cards left to this dead idol.

The four of us took the cable car up the mountain where we hiked to the top. The majesty of God’s creation from the peak dwarfed the Buddha barely visible below, like powerless ants compared to the vast creative majesty of our God. While the clouds and smoggy air muted the landscape for most of our visit the clouds parted for our hike up the mountain and blue skies marked our assent. The yet snow dusted mountains burst steep out of the sea and served as a God blessed backdrop to our photo.

Blessed by a gift from a family at Lord’s Grace Church, the four of us enjoyed a special dinner on the coast. We dined on an all-you-can-eat crab feast in the shadow of the crabbing boats as they unloaded their fresh catch nearby. True to form Songhwan and Miran peppered us with questions to learn as much as they could to learn and grow. Their humility marked our discussions.

Lois and I will never forget our time with Songhwan and Miran in Korea and the partnership that is forged by these visits. We are grateful for the Northeast Region and Covenant Fellowship who contributed to the cost of our flight and hotel.

Lord’s Grace Church has three pastoral interns working through the Sovereign Grace Ordination process. Shawn Woo from Trinity Cambridge Church is working to translate the exams for these men. So far all three have passed their Bible knowledge exam.

I was able to have an important meeting with the deacons and interns of the church who have served faithfully at Songhwan’s side. We discussed the changes that will take place as the interns pass their exams and are ordained, giving them a plurality of elders. We talked about the adjustment that will be for the deacons who may be less involved with certain decisions than before. The deacons were all quick to affirm the changes and demonstrated humility in offering their support and joy for the coming plurality.

The Spirit of God met us in the family seminar we held where I spoke on gospel hope for family trials.  We all face trials as part of the faith maturing process the Lord takes us through. Still, we can fall prey to the lie that trials are bad and or the result of our failures as parents. The discussions and times of prayer after the sessions ministered to all. Folks were able to share honestly about the trials they are facing in their families and with their children.

Lord’s Grace Church is growing under Songhwan’s leadership. They have a goal of planting another church in the coming years and are saving money to cover the large deposit renting a facility will require. To rent a church space would need close to a $100,000 U.S. Dollar equivalent deposit.

In addition to saving for a future church plant Lord’s Grace Church was able to secure a loan to cover the deposit on a large expansion into the floor above them. The added floor provides needed classrooms for children and meetings and the large rooftop area provides a space for the church to meet for barbecues in the warmer weather. 

We left our trip to South Korea encouraged for all the Lord is doing there and grateful for the friendship we have with Songhwan and Miran. Please pray for their elder candidates, and that the Lord will provide financially to save the funds needed to cover the deposit for rent for a future church plant.

An update from Norman Pedd, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Evangélica Gracia Soberana de Santander, a Church Plant & SGC Candidate Church in Santander, Spain…

Cantabria is a region in north-central Spain. Its main city is Santander. Santander itself isn't very well-known, but the bank founded there is, which is perhaps why it's more widely recognized. It is in this part of Spain that, by the grace of God, we are currently planting Iglesia Evangélica Gracia Soberana de Santander.

Two years ago, we began meetings in a garage in the town of Renedo de Piélagos, about 20 km from Santander. It was a good time during which we were able to form a small group, which now numbers almost 20 people. However, the owner of that garage didn't want to address some issues we needed to move forward, so we prayed that the Lord would open doors for us, and a door opened in Santander. We have now been holding meetings in this new location for a month. It's quite accessible, as the main bus and train lines pass nearby, and we are across the street from Cantabria's main hospital.

This is a new challenge for us as a church, and we are also seeing new people approach us, asking about the church.

Last Wednesday at the meeting, a man approached us saying that he had learned about the Gospel through a ministry that helped him when he was released from prison, but he hadn't attended church for years. When he passed by and saw the church's brochure in the building, he felt as if God had said to him, "Since you don't go to church, I brought one to you." It was encouraging to hear this, and we pray that it will be so, that we can bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to many more people in Santander. We know and hear of many people that claim themselves believers but don't belong to any local church. We pray the Lord uses us to be a reminder and a church that calls many back to the Lord.

This year we are preaching from the Gospel of Matthew, and we pray that the Holy Spirit will help us grow and mould us more to see and resemble Christ.

We are still finishing preparing the building, but we are taking it little by little as we are able, and we are very grateful to God for the door that has been opened to us. We are also finalizing the church registration with the government. We thank God that we are almost there; apparently, the hardest part is over, we just need a few more documents.

We are very grateful to Sovereign Grace Churches and the friendship we have with the churches in SGC Europe, to receive a message of other pastors and their churches telling us they are praying for us. It is so encouraging. And through the leadership of Ed O’Mara, we have been so blessed by the time and advice he has given us during this time. We know that God, in His Providence, brought about this friendship, and without it, we don't believe this church planting would have been possible.

Please pray for us if you can…

• Pray that we may reach more people with the Gospel in this city.

• Pray that we may complete the church paperwork.

• Pray for growth and maturity in the church members.

• Pray for financial provision for the church.

• Pray that the Word of God may spread and be glorified. 

• Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Our desire is to begin offering the Spanish "Bridge" courses this summer, starting on some Saturdays each month.

We also want to distribute leaflets with a Gospel message and invite more people from the surrounding area. 

We hope to complete the pastoral ordination process for me this year. 

…And we desire that God be glorified in every gathering.

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

Ministry in Belarus comes with distinct challenges. The church operates under a highly restrictive and difficult governmental landscape. These oppressive conditions have isolated local churches, hindering their maturity and making interconnected fellowship tough to sustain. Yet, in the midst of these hardships, God’s grace is strikingly on display. The local Baptist Union has made some inroads in leadership training, and through this training network Kyle Huber (Lead Pastor of Greentree Church, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey), began building gospel-bridges to Belarus years ago. I am so grateful to God for Kyle's years of labour and the relational equity he has built. Thanks to his faithful, long-term relational investment, Sovereign Grace is not entering as strangers, but as friends. Today, there is a growing group of local pastors who are interested in our shared values and family of churches and curious to explore future steps.

Kyle and I spent the majority of our time in the capital city of Minsk, with Valery and Irina Beza. Minsk bears the distinct marks of a cold and former Soviet imprint, yet Valery and Irina carry themselves with grace and humility that stands out as light in this city. Valery is a remarkably faithful pastor who has caught the vision of SGC culture, doctrine, and values. He desires to see our family of churches partner together with many Belarussian churches as he himself has benefitted from our growing relationship. Valery introduced us to many of the pastors with whom he relates in and around the area. We also spent time connecting with leaders at the Baptist Union Seminary to ensure we are building our efforts on a foundation of trust, clarity, and mutual respect in Belarus, which is a key step when working in a new country like Belarus.

From Minsk, we traveled to Brest, on the border with Poland in the west of Belarus. We joined the Sunday meeting of a local church pastored by Igor Kanyuchko. There we worshipped together, celebrated the installation of new leaders, and both Kyle and I had the privilege of preaching the Word. Over the days in Belarus, we met with around 25 different pastors and leaders to share the heart behind Sovereign Grace, extend care, and enjoy fellowship. Throughout this trip, we were witnesses to God at work among emerging leaders who desire to see gospel-centered, healthy churches in their country.

While we fully expect things to move slowly and deliberately, it is clear that Valery is a central leader and that he carries a high degree of respect among his peers. He has a clear alignment with SGC and, as we look to the future, we were able to put a plan in place for our next steps. Valery is currently bringing together a small group of interested pastors with whom we can work. I will begin meeting with these men regularly via Zoom as we study our Statement of Faith and Book of Church Order and evaluate theological and practical compatibility.

As we move through that process our hope is that some of these brothers will take the step toward formal candidate status and then move toward ordination and partnership. As such, Kyle will continue investing relationally and serving the local seminary through teaching, while I focus on guiding these pastors through the SGC candidacy and partnership process.

Being among these brothers and sisters reminded me of the privilege it is to serve in our family of churches and to invite others to consider joining in partnership for the sake of Christ. Please continue to pray for Sovereign Grace Europe, for Valery and Irina, and for the pastors of Belarus as they proclaim Christ crucified to the glory of the Lord!

An update from Jeffrey T. Jo, National Leader for SGC Philippines…

In our Sovereign Grace Churches ordination guide, it states that, “The ordination process for the churches of Sovereign Grace is intended to protect the integrity of our doctrinal commitments and values, to guard against being hasty in the laying on of hands (1 Tim 5:22), and to ensure that called and qualified men are filling our pulpits, leading our church plants, and pastoring our churches. All current elders in the churches of Sovereign Grace have a vested interest in the quality of our future elders. The theological maturity and biblical fidelity of our pastors is fundamental to the health of our union of churches.” (p2) This is the essential reason why it is necessary for men, who desire to be pastors/elders of a local church, to go through the process of ordination. The candidate’s doctrine, character and fitness in ministry will be grounded and refined in this ordination process.

God has been so kind to our churches here in the Philippines. He has raised up 19 men who will go through this ordination process. Eleven of these men are already pastors with their own local churches while the other eight have been elders of their local churches, serving alongside their lead pastors but with a heart also to plant churches of their own in the near future.

With this large number of men, I must confess that it’s an exciting year for us but it’s a challenging one as well. Exciting because they know the significance of the said process as they prepare to serve their local churches, or to be sent out as church planters. It is also exciting for us because God is allowing us to have a glimpse of His plan for Sovereign Grace Churches Philippines. On the other hand, it is also a challenging task to oversee these 19 men and to make sure they are encouraged and inspired to finish ‘the race’. In light of all these challenges, it is a non-negotiable task to make sure that they heartfully understand their reading assignments, their required papers and why they need to go through the four sets of exams, namely:

• Bible knowledge exam

• Theology part 1 exam

• Theology part 2 exam

• Oral exam

These men love the gospel, their families and their local churches and they know that they need to go through this communal process which will lead to the public confirmation of their ministry call by the church. To ensure this, we’ve assigned 3 ordained men to serve as ‘advisers’ for the 10 candidates from Mindanao, and another 3 for the 9 candidates from Luzon. The advisers will serve as encouragers and prayer partners of the candidates, moreover, they will also act as ‘translators’ of English language to their own native tongue. We thank the Lord as well for the supportive heart of Chris Oswald of SG USA and some ordained pastors from SG Australia who will serve with us in the ordination committee led by Dave Taylor. Indeed, this displays our extra-local church partnership in our family of churches.

I would like to ask you brothers and sisters to pray with us for our 19 candidates that, though most of them have local churches to oversee and families to care for, may depend on the grace of God to sustain them in this process. It’s been my hope to see SG pastors here in our region serve their churches with theological soundness, humility, integrity and accountability. I am confident that God is faithful to complete what He has begun in our region, to the praise of His glorious grace!

In a recent quarterly prayer update, Mark Prater writes,

‘The author of Hebrews reminds us of the access we have to God because of the finished work of our great high priest, Jesus Christ. He writes, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Because of Jesus, we can actually enter the throne room of God when we pray. In his commentary, Matthew Harmon says this, "Prayer is one of God’s greatest gifts to His people. Who are we to enter the very throne room of the God of the universe? Yet because of the work of Christ we are able to do so.” Prayer is a gift from God because when we pray, we enter the very throne room of God because of Christ, and God leans in to hear our prayers.’

Friends, how incredible is that! As we pray, we are able to enter into the very throne room of God, who will hear and answer our requests according to His good will. What a wonder! So with that in mind, here’s some requests you could take in on our behalf over this next month…

1. Please pray for our current US Pastors College class, who will graduate on May 30th, asking God to give them grace for their transition back home, and to use their training to serve their church in any way that is needed.

2. Please pray for the 19 brothers in the Philippines who are beginning the 10 month ordination track this month. They represent the many candidate churches that have been pursuing Sovereign Grace for some time. Please pray for them and for all those in the Philippines, Australia and US involved in the SGC Adhoc Philippines Ordination Committee, serving in this important and strategic endeavour.  

3. Please pray for Juan Solano, a Sovereign Grace ordained elder from San Jose, Costa Rica, and his family who were commissioned to Lebanon to reach Muslims with the gospel a year ago. Pray for their ongoing protection and safety during the military engagement in the Middle East. Pray also that Juanjo can plant a Sovereign Grace church sometime in the next few years and eventually equip and ordain Lebanese pastors to lead the church.

4. Please pray for Carlos Contreras, Sr. Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Juárez, Mexico, and National Leader of SGC Mexico, and he leads the Mexico National Assembly of Elders meeting, May 11th-14th, in Guadalajara, Mexico asking God to empower his leadership, and to give the pastors in Mexico wisdom for the decisions they will make to serve the churches in their nation.

5. Please pray for Joel Shorey, our Director of Church Planting, as he heads to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to teach at the Trinity Fellowship Pastors College, 24th-31st May on Church Planting. Please pray this is a wonderful time for each of the nine PC students and that they’ll be encouraged and strengthened for the days ahead.

6. Please pray that wherever we find ourselves in the world, that God would give the members of Sovereign Grace Churches a renewed desire, and opportunities to share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ with the unbelievers in our communities, colleges and workplaces.

7. Please pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can continue to fund the gospel opportunities that He is giving us throughout the world. And also, for wisdom for the various Global Development Fund Committees that will begin to gather this month to discuss the many global opportunities in the financial year ahead.

… As we approach Him in these things, may His grace abound!