For over two decades the Pastors College has been teaching called men how to build their lives and families and churches upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

When the gospel is consistently and faithfully applied, it produces a particular kind of pastor—and you know it when you see it. They become joyful, humble, grateful, encouraging, servant-hearted shepherds.

Such pastors display the beauty and power of the gospel they proclaim. They are infectious, resilient, and steadfast—in a word, faithful. And these are the kinds of pastors whose own joy in Christ creates cultures of joy, humility, servanthood, and grace in the churches they lead.

That’s why we train these men for ten months, in both life and doctrine.

Here’s Rocco Dalia’s testimony of his year at the Pastors College, which he shared at last year’s SGC Pastors Conference… Enjoy!!

An update from Joshua Varnedoe, Pastoral Resident at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA…

Isaac came to the University of Tennessee with a lot of questions and uncertainties, but there was one thing he was absolutely sure about: he wanted nothing to do with God. And yet, the day before the fall semester began, as he wandered around campus, he had no idea that the God he was running from was graciously pursuing him.

It was on that day that he met Leyton, an intern for Volunteers for Christ. Leyton was handing out cold water and because it was a hot day in August, Isaac eagerly took him up on his offer. Leyton then asked him if he was interested in filling out an information card. Isaac, won over by Leyton’s friendliness, gave him his phone number. Little did Isaac know that less than 8 months later, he would be baptized on a Sunday morning and pursuing membership at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. And if Isaac was unaware of God’s redemptive purposes on that August day, then he was definitely unaware of all the work God had done years prior to make that interaction with Leyton possible.

It all began in April of 1990 when Bill Kittrell founded Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. By the grace of God, what began as a Bible study on campus (led by Bill) grew to become a vibrant congregation passionate about reaching Knoxville, TN with the Gospel. In the early days of the church, the Sunday morning meetings were held on the university’s campus. But as the church grew, it became necessary to find another space. Cornerstone eventually moved off campus, but the desire to see students transformed by the Gospel never went away.

Now, Volunteers for Christ is Cornerstone’s outreach to the University of Tennessee. As an outreach of Cornerstone, our mission is very simple: We exist to proclaim the Gospel on the campus and to connect students to the local church (specifically Cornerstone). VFC is an evangelistic ministry, and everything that we do as a ministry is geared towards meeting unbelievers and winning them for Christ. Our prayer is that unbelievers attend our meetings and events, hear the Gospel, trust in Christ, and then join Cornerstone as faithful members.

Over the years, hundreds of students have become Christians through VFC’s involvement on campus and as a result, Cornerstone has grown! CCK is filled with men and women who first heard the Gospel at a VFC event and are now faithful husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, and members in the church. God has also used this ministry to provide pastors for Cornerstone. Many of the men on the pastoral team first became Christians through VFC and were discipled as young believers in the church.

Year to year, VFC is served by a team of interns who commit to raise their own support and work full-time for the ministry. Their job is to make VFC as successful as possible, and much of their time is spent sharing the Gospel and discipling young believers. In addition to a full-time intern team, VFC is led by a team of students (called the Mission Team) who have volunteered to give of their time to assist the interns in evangelism, discipleship, and the various logistical needs of the ministry (set up, hospitality, tech, etc.).

Every week on Thursday nights, VFC hosts a meeting on campus that consists of games, free food, singing, and preaching from God’s Word. We also host a variety of events throughout the week including tailgates, house parties (at the VFC House near campus), sports tournaments, cook-outs, etc. Every fall and spring break, we take the students on retreats and the Lord has used these retreats to strengthen our community and to bring students to saving faith.

It is exciting to think about what the future will hold. Lord willing, there are future church members, community group leaders, and pastors getting acceptance letters to come to UT this fall! Who knows who will wander up to a VFC information table or walk into Cornerstone for the first time in August? Remembering the Lord’s past faithfulness to VFC and to Cornerstone is what fuels our efforts now. Our prayer is that students for years to come are transformed by the power of the Gospel and are joined to the people of God!

An update from Rich Richardson, Lead Pastor of Center Church, Gilbert, Arizona, and SGC Area Leader for Latin America...

In a momentous occasion marking a significant milestone in the history of the Sovereign Grace family, the recent vote at the Sovereign Grace Council of Elders has sparked jubilation and celebration worldwide. After three decades of unwavering commitment and faithful service within the Sovereign Grace community, Mexico has been officially and unanimously recognized as its own ecclesiastical nation. This historic decision not only acknowledges the flourishing growth of the church in Mexico but also heralds a new chapter of empowerment and autonomy for the faithful congregations across the nation.

At the heart of this remarkable moment stands a man of unwavering dedication and vision – Carlos Contreras. For years, Carlos has been the driving force behind the establishment and nurturing of faithful churches throughout Mexico. His steadfast leadership, coupled with an unyielding passion for spreading the gospel, has been instrumental in shaping the spiritual landscape of the nation. Through his tireless efforts, the seeds of faith have been sown, and today, we witness the abundant harvest of his labor.

The journey towards this momentous occasion has been marked by perseverance, faith, and unwavering commitment. From humble beginnings to soaring heights, the Sovereign Grace churches in Mexico have flourished under the guidance of dedicated leaders and devoted congregations. What began as a small seed of faith has blossomed into a thriving community of believers, united in their commitment to proclaiming the gospel and making disciples.

With the official recognition of Mexico as its own ecclesiastical nation, a new era of empowerment and responsibility dawns upon the churches and leaders across the nation. This momentous decision not only affirms the maturity and growth of the Mexican churches within the Sovereign Grace family but also underscores the trust and confidence placed in their ability to shepherd their flocks with wisdom and grace.

Currently boasting ten vibrant churches spread across the nation, with over 30 men actively engaged in the ordination process, the future of the Sovereign Grace movement in Mexico shines bright with promise and potential. As these faithful men are equipped and empowered to lead with integrity and humility, the impact of their ministry is poised to resonate far beyond the borders of their nation, touching lives and transforming communities for the glory of God.

As we celebrate this historic moment, let us pause to reflect on the faithfulness of God and the remarkable journey that has brought us to this point. From the humble beginnings of a handful of believers to the vibrant tapestry of diverse congregations united in their love for Christ, the story of Sovereign Grace in Mexico is a testament to the power of God's grace and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.

Looking ahead, let us continue to uphold the churches and leaders of Mexico in prayer, as they embark on this new chapter of their journey. May they be strengthened and emboldened by the Spirit to proclaim the gospel boldly, to make disciples faithfully, and to shine as beacons of light in a world desperately in need of hope and redemption.

In closing, let us rejoice and give thanks for the incredible work that God has done and continues to do in the hearts and lives of His people in Mexico. May His name be exalted, and His kingdom come, as we press on together in the glorious mission of advancing the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

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

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

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 our newly forming SGC Europe Pastors Fellowship that will be meeting just outside of Milan, Italy, from 12-15 March 2024. Men from Belarus, Poland, Italy, the UK, Ireland, Czech Republic, Spain, and Serbia will be in attendance. Among this group is a subset of men who are in various stages of investigating if God would have their church partner with SGC in Europe. During the retreat, the fellowship will spend time digging into our pneumatology and the SGC Global Partnership Pathway. Additionally, they will be discussing how to build a strong "SGC Europe" both structurally and relationally. This will include discussing a path forward for implementing our shared ecclesiology and future relational and equipping contexts in Europe. Please specifically pray for Ed O’Mara (SGC Area Leader for Europe) as he leads this time, and that the 15 men who are attending will be refreshed, strengthened and freshly envisioned for the future.

2. Please pray for Todd Peterson (Pastor of Cross of Grace Church, El Paso, USA) and Erik Rangel (Pastor of Legacy Church, Yuma, USA) as they head to India this month. Whilst there they’ll be looking to encourage a pastor in Utter Pradesh who is one of the heads of a large denomination of churches that are currently experiencing significant persecution, please pray that God would show them any part that SGC might play in their ongoing dynamic. In addition, they’ll also be speaking at length with two Pastors in Odisha, about what next steps to partnership would look like with Sovereign Grace, as well as spending time with JP Ravuri (Pastor of Calvary Gospel Church, Andhra Pradesh) as he begins to work out next steps towards partnership for some of the like-minded pastors in the region of India that he is based in. Please pray for much wisdom and favour for Todd & Erik as they serve in this way. 

3. Please pray for Bob Kauflin, Jeffrey Jo, Myself (Dave Taylor), and the Sovereign Grace Music Team as we head over to Manila, Philippines to lead three different events, with over 3000 people already registered across the three events, with folk coming in from all over the Philippines, as well as Australia, Nepal, South Korea & Pakistan. Please pray for all those who will be in attendance, that they’d be encouraged and refreshed, and that with so many folk coming in from outside of Sovereign Grace, that we’d be a blessing to them.  

4. 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. With Easter on the horizon, may we seize the moment in our nations and neighbourhoods to make much of Jesus.

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

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

During the last week of January this year, joyful gospel partnership was lived out between the Lord’s Grace Church of South Korea and the Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries (CCSGM) of the Philippines. It took almost a year of planning and much prayer on which the objectives were the following:

1. To organize a joint youth camp between the two churches where participants could immerse themselves in each other’s cultures, build meaningful relationships and deepen their understanding of the gospel.

2. To give gifts to less fortunate children in our new church plant in Dasmariñas city, Cavite.

The youth camp was held in Jabez campsite, Dasmariñas city, Philippines on January 26-28 earlier this year. Through various activities like language lessons, traditional dance performances, and culinary experiences, both groups appreciated the richness of God’s grace demonstrated through the Korean and Filipino cultures. Moreover, through sessions of bible studies, worship services, and sharing of spiritual journeys in life, relationships with God were inspired and strengthened in the youth.

In God’s kindness, the fruits of this camp were remarkable and meaningful.

• Knowing that the youths were saved by the same gospel (indeed they are brothers and sisters until eternity), the love of God bound them together in joy and camaraderie, creating friendships to last a lifetime.

• Through worship songs and the preaching of the Word, they were able to embrace the beauty of the gospel that saved them, which we pray will preserve them in the midst of this confused generation.

On January 29, members from the Lord’s Grace Church, South Korea partnered with our new church plant in Dasmariñas city. The leadership team of CCSGM Dasmariñas City prepared school supplies to be given to 40 less fortunate children, as well as a sack of rice for their parents. Pastor Songhwan and his team fed them not only with physical food but much more with the gospel of Christ emphasizing to the children that Jesus is our Shepherd who provides salvation for anyone who believes.

We witnessed how our Korean brothers and sisters loved the children and were joyful in serving them. In the other room, at the same time, one of our elders shared the gospel of Christ with the parents of those children. Today, a lot of these children attend our children’s church every Sunday and their parents continue to be reached out to by our team.

There was much mutual learning through all of these God-ordained experiences, one of which is that biblical partnership should not be a competition, but rather a cooperation as we find delight in the gospel of Christ and seek to proclaim it in the region where He has planted us. It is my prayer and my hope that our family of churches will continue to nourish, expand, and treasure gospel partnership. God is glorified in this exercise of unity as we follow the call to proclaim the gospel.

As declared in Sovereign Grace's 7th Shared Value, “Our shared governance and mission protects our churches doctrinally and ethically, and enables our individual churches to do far more together than we could ever do separately.”

Not all Evangelists are scary!!

Listen in as Jim Donohue gives an update on just some of what the Lord has been doing in and through Sovereign Grace Churches, USA, over the past twelve months… (US Update)

An update from McDonald Chanda, Dean of the Copperbelt Pastors College and Pastor in Christ Community Church, Ndola, Zambia…

We are thrilled to share with you the exciting developments and future plans of our mission endeavors at the Copperbelt Pastors College.

In the wake of the passing of the Late Pastor Wilbroad Chanda, the Copperbelt Pastors College has admirably continued its mission to train men for leadership and ministry in Zambia. Pastor Chanda's legacy of dedication and passion for nurturing leaders has inspired the ongoing work at the Pastors College.

Previously, the College had a broad focus, extending its training to leaders outside the church who lacked theological training. However, the leadership team at the Copperbelt Pastors College underwent a careful reevaluation of its mandate, resulting in a refined focus. The new emphasis is to identify and equip men from within the local church for future leadership and church planting of Sovereign Grace Churches in Zambia and possibly Southern Africa.

This strategic refocus marked a pivotal moment for the Copperbelt Pastors College. The new approach guided the training of a fresh intake in the academic year 2022/2023, comprising a total of 6 students. These dedicated individuals completed their training in December of last year, and we are delighted to announce that their graduation ceremony is scheduled for the 16th of March, 2024. Join us in celebrating their accomplishments and dedication to ministry.

Looking ahead, the 2024/25 intake, consisting of 8 students, represents a continuation of our commitment to develop leaders with a specific focus on potential church leaders and church planters. Among the current intake, we are blessed to have individuals like Mulinda Mundia and Bright Nalubambe, who not only excel in their studies but also actively serve within the church, particularly in the Youth Ministry and Missions. Additionally, we have promising individuals like Jackson Kabosha and Jeff Zulu, who show great potential as future church leaders and planters.

Our immediate goal in the next 24 months is first to focus on providing comprehensive training and hands-on experience to our current students and former students to ensure they are well-prepared for ministry both within the local church and for future church planting. We are also focusing on establishing a solid tutor base, as we currently have a shortage of tutors to facilitate the training of these men. Only one tutor is fully involved with one of the elders at Christ Community Church who comes in to teach a course or two. Therefore, having a consistent flow of tutors is one of our immediate goals. Thankfully, the 2024/25 intake was blessed to have Joseph Stigora from Covenant Fellowship church coming to teach the first class of this intake. Also, we look forward to having Steve Bice come to teach a class in March and subsequently Dave Taylor and Kyle Huber who are coming through to teach classes this year.

Beyond our immediate goals, our vision extends to the next decade, with plans to establish church plants in all 10 provinces of Zambia. Also, we are hoping for the establishment of a Pastors College Campus (the piece of land is already available for this cause), as this will foster an environment that nurtures growth, collaboration, and community among those we train.

Further, as part of our commitment to regional collaboration, we are enthusiastic about intensifying missions to support churches within the Southern Africa region. This extension of our reach aims to contribute to the vitality and strength of sister churches within the region, creating a network of shared vision and support.

In closing, we express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support, prayers, and commitment to our mission. Together, we honor the legacy of Pastor Wilbroad Chanda by continuing to build a foundation for future leaders who will carry the torch of faith into every corner of our nation and beyond.

May God's grace continue to guide us on this journey of purpose and service in preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

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

Recently on the Mark Prater podcast, Mark gave an update on Sovereign Grace Partnership and gospel advancement throughout the world. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation:

I'm so grateful for how pastors in Sovereign Grace are working to advance the gospel. One of the things that's so interesting to me, anybody that's read Acts knows this, it's nothing brilliant. But as Acts develops, what you see is that partnerships are formed so that they can advance the gospel together. So Jesus gives these words to the 11 that are standing there and they go about advancing the gospel, but they form partnerships with men and other churches who are their coworkers. Paul becomes an apostle and he forms partnerships and churches working together, represented by men who are coworkers with the original 11. And with Paul, they advanced the gospel throughout the world. And that's still happening today. Not in big apostolic ministry. I don't mean that at all, of course, but churches partnering together to advance the gospel throughout the world.

And it's something that we get to enjoy in Sovereign Grace. It makes building relationally only sweeter as we get to know and serve brothers and sisters and churches throughout the world. And what I just said, we've all heard that before, but brothers, we can't take that for granted. What we have is precious, it's biblical, and it allows us to accomplish what Jesus sent his Spirit to do in continuing the mission that he has given us. So it's a glorious mission. It's a glorious cause, and the joy of it all is we get to do it together in Sovereign Grace.

I want to illustrate how partnership in Sovereign Grace is happening…

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

As I consider how the Lord has grown our work over the past few years, I stand amazed. We’re now serving in 46 different countries, on 6 different continents, with a long list of Sovereign Grace pastors involved. It’s an amazing work of His grace in our family of churches, and yet as each nation and work has grown, so have the complexities and workload.

To that end, after some long reflection, discussion, and planning, I decided in late 2023 to pull together a ‘Global Development Team’, comprised of five of the finest leaders I know.

Four of them will be serving as ‘SGC Area Leaders’, involved in leading, engaging, and providing oversight and process, for specific areas of the world. Whilst one of them will be serving as our ‘US Global Missions Coordinator’, with the responsibility of being ‘on point’ for coordinating questions from our US Pastors and regions, as well as providing up-to-date opportunities for involvement.

I am so very blessed to be working with each of these men and I wanted you to meet them and be aware of them. May His grace abound us all!!

Greg Dirnberger - Emmaus Road Church - SGC Area Leader for Asia-Pacific

Bart Lipscomb - Christchurch - SGC Area Leader for Africa

Ed O’Mara - SGC Torino - SGC Area Leader for Europe

Rich Richardson - Centre Church - SGC Area Leader for Latin America

Leo Parris - Covenant Fellowship Church - US Global Missions Coordinator

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

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

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

1. Please pray for the five churches in Pakistan that have recently become Sovereign Grace ‘Candidate’ Churches. After many years of friendship, we’re so pleased by this development. Please be praying for these churches, all ‘Amazing Grace Churches’, along with their six pastors who are beginning the ordination process this month.

2. Please be praying for Bob Kauflin as he heads over to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to serve at our Ethiopia Pastors College (Trinity Fellowship Pastors College), February 6th-11th. During his time there Bob will be teaching on the practical theology of worship, as well as leading a night of worship at Trinity Fellowship and running a songwriters intensive. Please also pray for the brothers who will be heading over from our Church in Zambia for this special time for our African Churches.  

3. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Leadership Team as we lead a retreat, February 5th-7th, that will include all of the US Regional Leaders. Asking God to freshly envision, strengthen, and equip these leaders for the important role that they play. They are such a fine group of men.

4. Please pray for David Del Castillo, Pastor of Gracia Soberana Iglesia Cristiana in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as he prepares to lead their very first Church Retreat, February 11th-13th. Their guest preacher for the time is Jacobis Aldana, one of our Pastors in Colombia, and the topic is ‘The Centrality of the Gospel’. Please pray that God meets with this dear Church in a powerful way at this retreat, through worship, preaching, and much fellowship. 

5. Please pray for Bob Kauflin, Jeffrey Jo, Myself (Dave Taylor), and the Sovereign Grace Music Team as we put the final preparations in place ready to lead three events in Manila Philippines in March. With over 3000 people already registered across these three events, please be praying for our remaining preparation. 

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. The gospel is powerful, and so may we tell of it, and then watch and see all that the Lord may do. 

… Thank you so much. May His great and glorious grace abound to us all!

An update from Jared Mellinger (Senior Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, USA), and Jon Payne (Senior Pastor of Redemption Hill, Georgetown, TX, USA)…

On January 4-6, 700 young adults from 50 Sovereign Grace churches—including people from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom—gathered in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania for the first Relay Conference. We gathered to hear God’s word, sing God’s praises, build relationships across churches, and to invest in future leaders. We also played games and had a lot of fun. 

God is generous and faithful, and he did far more than we imagined. The entire conference was remarkably blessed, as God’s presence was manifested, friendships were made, lives were changed, and partnership was strengthened. In addition, over fifty people attended a four-hour pre-conference for young men exploring a call to ministry.

It is difficult to convey the gift it was to gather with the many young people from our churches, many experiencing global partnership in a tangible gathering for the first time. The grandchildren of our founding pastors were in the room, ready to receive the call of the Lord to love the doctrines that we hold dear. That profound link between our past and our future was felt in song after song and message after message. We felt privileged to witness it.

Timon Lau, a pastor from Sovereign Grace Church, Toronto, drove over 10 hours with over 55 young adults to attend Relay. Timon shared, 

“The conference was a beautiful display of our gospel culture and gospel partnership, especially for most of our young adults (and a large portion of our church) who are fairly new to Sovereign Grace and its values. It was such a joy to have them experience the family of churches that I have come to know and love. I'm excited for how the rich deposits of grace and friendships formed will impact our own church and Sovereign Grace as a whole in the next 15-20 years and beyond.”

Timon’s reflections capture the reasons for Relay. The Leadership Team has a desire for every church in Sovereign Grace to be a multi-generational church, and for Sovereign Grace to be a multi-generational family of churches. We have a desire to build together, and to strengthen churches by influencing young men and women for Christ. 

After all, the real action is not at conferences, but in local churches. Yet conferences can be used by God to deepen our love for Christ and our commitment to his church. And this is exactly what we saw God doing during our time together.  

C.J. Mahaney preached the opening session on extravagant devotion to Christ, and Jeff Purswell preached the next day on a love for God’s word. Dave Taylor also joined us in preaching on our gospel mission. Sovereign Grace pastors taught breakout sessions on holiness, spiritual gifts, godly romance, faith for missional risk, and wisdom from Proverbs. Bob Kauflin led the singing. The time of prayer and ministry on Friday night was a highlight for many. The result of the conference was many young adults returning to their churches with faith and joy.   

A founding generation prayed that God would show his power to their children and their children’s children, and that God would establish the work of their hands. This conference is evidence that God is answering those prayers.

We are already counting down the days until next year—Relay 2025 will be held at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, USA January 2-4. We are asking God to use this conference for his glory and the strengthening of our churches for decades to come. May the children’s children of Sovereign Grace live for the glory of Christ alone.

An update from Marty Machowski, Executive Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, USA and Emerging Nations Representative to South Korea…

If you traveled to Lord’s Grace in Suwon South Korea, you’d soon discover the only difference between your home church and Lord’s Grace Church is the language. Pastor Songhwan Kang and his wife Miran have given their lives to build a gospel-centered church in South Korea that models the values and virtues we in Sovereign Grace have come to love.

In fact, Yeon Jin Kim, a member of Lord’s Grace Church, recently translated the Sovereign Grace Journals on Our Shared Values and Our Shaping Virtues into Korean. Songhwan gave them away to the nine area pastors and their wives who joined us for our pastor’s seminar on gospel-centered sanctification and counseling.

Songhwan holding copies of the Sovereign Grace Journals on our shaping virtues and shared values that were translated into Korean.

The pastors gathered were amazed as they witnessed the partnership between Sovereign Grace Churches in sending me to support and partner with Songhwan and his wife and Lord’s Grace Church. Most church planters in Korea struggle all alone to build their churches. I am grateful for the support of the Northeast Region of Sovereign Grace for covering the expenses for my trip to South Korea and I am not surprised that this gesture of partnership had such a deep impact. By the end of the pastor’s seminar, the pastors who attended from other churches were asking if I would return again. Privately some of the men asked if I would extend my next trip to visit with their churches also. Some of these pastors have expressed a desire to join Sovereign Grace and are eager for their people to experience gospel-centered teaching and care.

Songhwan and his wife have modeled biblical fellowship in their church. Korean Christians struggle to share their lives with other believers as they work to break free of a strong history of shame culture where you do not share your weaknesses and family trials. By modeling humility and promoting CJ Mahaney’s book on the topic, Songhwan, and Miran have helped the couples in Lord’s Grace Church to begin sharing their struggles with one another.

Couples break down into small groups for discussion after a parenting message. 

We held a day-long family seminar the Saturday of my visit. After the first message on parenting Songhwan divided the couples into small groups where they could share their struggles in parenting with one another. Songhwan strategically included his leaders into each group to model biblical fellowship. Some of the participants came from other area local churches. For them, this was their first time they ever experienced biblical fellowship in a community environment. Later in the Q&A, after the second session on Building a Cross Centered Marriage, the participants opened up their lives and asked specific questions for help with their particular trials. Their openness testified to the effectiveness of the small group discussions. 

Area Pastors and wives with Marty teaching at day-long seminar.

Joining Lord’s Grace church on Sunday morning was a blessing for me. People with smiles and tears filled the room with the familiar melodies of Sovereign Grace songs sung with Korean lyrics. The congregation eagerly received my message on the shaping virtue of encouragement. We ate lunch together and then Songhwan led the whole church in a “Marty Machowski Trivia Contest” with prizes for the children. The kids were all in for the cookie prizes as they shot their hands up to guess the number of my children and grandchildren. Songhwan mixed in a number of strategic questions for me to answer that promoted Gospel living and drew out practical examples from my experience. We began the service at 10:30am and finished the last of the discussions at 4pm.

All in total, we were able to pack in over 30 hours of messages and meetings. Most of the meetings were informal with Songhwan and his wife and the pastoral interns of the church. We spent time together conversing over issues in the church and my experiences back home. I spent my last day before my evening flight relaxing in the Kang’s home, grateful for all the Lord had done in my week-long visit. It was clear that God heard the intercession of the people back home who were praying.

Couples from Marriage and Parenting Seminar.

Psalm 126:3 - The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee, USA celebrated God’s faithfulness with a 5-year anniversary service just a few months ago now, on October 29, 2023, with dear friend and guest speaker C.J. Mahaney, a pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Louisville, who encouraged them by preaching from Psalm 126. They produced two anniversary videos: a slideshow celebrating 5 years, and another highlight video with testimonies from members about how God has used this church family in their lives.

WATCH "CELEBRATING 5 YEARS”

WATCH “I WISH TOMORROW WERE SUNDAY”

5-Year Anniversary update from Walt Alexander, Senior Pastor, Trinity Grace Church

Who is someone you cannot imagine life without that you never would have met apart from Trinity Grace? That was the question. As we anticipated five years of gathering together as Trinity Grace Church in October, that’s the question our family discussed over dinner. The names of specific people began to roll off our tongue. Carter. Lauren. Adam. Ella. Sawyer. Chris. Tony & Gladys. Allison. Josh & Mandi. Bess. Greg. And many more. Each individual providentially drawn to Trinity Grace. Many called to life in our midst. All—whom we did not know five years ago—now precious to us. It’s hard to describe the effect of watching God build a church over five years, but let me try. 

The Beginning of Trinity Grace

Location is never incidental to church planting. The God who determines the “allotted periods and the boundaries of [our] dwelling place” prepares people in specific places to receive the gospel and walk together. But, unlike most church plants, Trinity Grace did not begin with us choosing a location; Trinity Grace began with a location choosing us. Over about a decade, God began drawing a unique and impressive group of folks from the smaller, rural town of Athens to Cornerstone Church (Knoxville, TN). Each week, this growing group of folks would drive 50 miles to worship with Cornerstone. Many of them joined and began serving. A number of them made this commute week in and week out for years. While they loved Cornerstone, they had no plans to move to the big city. They were praying and longing for a church like Cornerstone in their town. When one family joined Cornerstone, they were direct: “I only want to join this church (Cornerstone) if you will prayerfully consider planting a church in Athens.” Years later, the penny finally dropped. We—the pastors of Cornerstone—realized God wanted us to plant a church in Athens. In fact, it seems that God had already begun planting it! So, with a group of twenty five folks, we began gathering as Trinity Grace Church on October 28, 2018. 

The Story of Trinity Grace

Athens is a smaller, rural town. Situated in the heart of McMinn County, it is the county seat with a population of around 15,000 people. Like many of the small towns across America, life in Athens is better than you think—intact families, life-long friendships, and thick community. But, life in Athens is also worse than you think—job loss, substance abuse, and loneliness. Without the transience that brings visitors to church plants in bigger cities, we resolved to not be in a hurry. We wanted to build friendships. We wanted to engage the community. We wanted to communicate to the people of Athens that we were here to stay. As we have said many times, we want to build a church that “outlives us and thrives long after we are gone.” So, we began meeting at the local middle school. After that, the local college. Then the movie theatre and later a few wedding venues. Now, we meet at the Athens YMCA. Perhaps more than anything else, over these past 5 years, the story of Trinity Grace has been the rescuing and reviving of people who thought they were Christians.

Athens is not the heart of post-Christian America. It’s a smaller town, where prayer still happens before the football game and where Jesus makes it on to more billboards than McDonalds. But it’s still an area filled with people who are lost, even though they think they are Christians. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “One of the most exhilarating experiences in the life of a preacher is what happens when people whom everybody had assumed to be Christians are suddenly converted & truly become Christians. Nothing has a more powerful effect upon the life of a church than when that happens to a number of people.” That has been true for us. And it has been exhilarating. It has been exhilarating to watch folks come to grips with superficial Christianity and turn everything over to Jesus. It has been thrilling to see vague notions of the love of God shattered by the unfathomable love of God for them in Christ. It has been exciting to see “good people” born again and to see the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

Five Years of Trinity Grace

It has been said that people in small towns are not used to being excited about something in their small towns. They are excited about things going on in the big city, but not in their small town. One of the most staggering things to me over these five years is watching people realize the biblical vision for the local church and finding Trinity Grace to be the local church for them. And then watching them become excited and thankful and committed to the local church. On Sunday, October 29, 2023, in God’s kindness, we celebrated five years of gathering together as Trinity Grace Church. There was a lot of joy that day—that our names are written in heaven but also that God has given us a family to worship with and walk with in our town!

One of the ways we experienced God’s goodness at our recent 2023 Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, was through the hearing of stories from Sovereign Grace pastors during our time together. These stories highlighted the partnership we share among our churches, and the joy we have of fulfilling our gospel mission together.

I wanted you to hear and benefit from two of these stories in this update and so I share them with you below…

The first is from Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana de Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, and Emerging Nations representative to Latin America. We continue to be astounded by all that the Lord is doing in Latin America.

The second is from Ed O’Mara, Church Planter to Italy and SGC Area Leader to Europe. It’s such a wonderful story of faith, risk and partnership.

As you listen to these stories I trust they encourage you. How good the Lord has been to us!

An update from Manolo Quintal, Pastor of Iglesia Sublime Gracia Sublime, Silao, Mexico…

In early December, I had the privilege and blessing of traveling for six days to the region of the Colombian Caribbean. I was invited to participate in the conference ‘Back to the Book’ (in Spanish, De vuelta al libro) in the city of Sincelejo in the Sucre department. It was very remarkable to see that some people traveled 4 hours and others 6 hours by road to serve at the conference. I also met people who arrived from cities that were 2 and 3 hours away and a couple who traveled 13 hours from the city of Armenia.

Volunteers from both churches (Barranquilla and Sincelejo) serving at the conference.

After the conference, I had the opportunity to teach at a prayer workshop at Iglesia de la ciudad of Barranquilla, and attend the 8th anniversary of Iglesia Biblia Soberana Gracia in Santa Marta. I was very blessed to see from the front row what God is doing through the ministry of three pastors and two churches who have joined in their efforts to plant gospel centered churches in their region. These men are Jacobis Aldana from Iglesia Biblica Soberana Gracia in Santa Marta, and Miguel Miranda and Alejandro Cueto from the Iglesia de la ciudad of Barranquilla.

The 8th anniversary of Iglesia Biblica Soberana Gracia (Santa Marta City).

The grace of God over these men and the churches the Lord has called them to serve is very evident. They have embraced this call, and the call to plant gospel centered churches in their beautiful region of Colombia.

The city of Sincelejo, like so many others in the area, does not have even one church where the gospel is preached and with a sound ecclesiology. This led them to start the ‘Back to the Book’ conference which was attended by 200 people, including some pastors and leaders from local churches. The response was greater than the organizers expected.

With Jacobis and family (His wife Keila and their sons Santiago and Jacobo).

It is evident there is a gospel environment both in the churches and in the relationship between these pastors. We might possibly hear in the following years of at least another 4 churches being planted by these brothers.

One of the best ways we can support this beautiful work in Colombia is by praying for them. Here are some prayer suggestions:

• May the Lord continue to add his grace to these pastors and their churches to continue advancing the Gospel of Christ in this beautiful land.

• May the Lord help them disciple more men who can serve in church planting.

• May the Lord give them grace to face difficulties and oppositions for the sake of the Gospel.

Iglesia Biblica Soberana Gracia (Santa Marta City) celebrates 8 years.

Psalm 93, ‘The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, for evermore.’

None of us really knows what the weather ahead looks like in 2024, but what we do know, and what we can be absolutely confident about, is that the LORD reigns! The majestic and mighty LORD, our sovereign protector and ruler, He reigns!!

With that beautiful truth in mind, here’s how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...

1. Please pray for Josh Kruger Jr and his family, as they relocate in January back to Namibia, as they prepare to plant Sovereign Grace Church, Windhoek. Please be praying for them as they readjust to being back home and as they begin to pull together the planting team. May the Lord’s favour abound to them in this noble endeavour.

2. Please pray for Marty Machowski (Pastor in Covenant Fellowship Church, Glenn Mills, US) as he heads to Seoul, South Korea, January 9th-17th to serve Songhwan Kang and Lord’s Grace Church. Marty will be spending time with Songhwan and his wife Miran, teaching the married couples in the Church on marriage and parenting, and preaching on the shaping virtue of encouragement on the Sunday morning. In addition, he’ll be training a group of leaders that Songhwan is discipling, on gospel-centered counselling. It will be a full trip for Marty and so pleased pray for much grace for him.

3. Please pray for Greg Dirnberger, as he leads the US National Church Planting Assessment, January 18th-20th. Please pray for the assessment team (Greg and Laurie Dirnberger, John and Nancy Loftness, and Christopher and Stephanie Warren) as they consider each of the candidate’s references, resumes, and then observe them preach, cast vision, evangelize, and communicate to them God’s developmental process in their lives. The purpose of this National Assessment is to serve local elderships, and regional church planting committees by offering potential candidates discernment in their process of determining God’s call on them for planting Sovereign Grace churches. There are eight brothers being assessed and so please be praying for everyone involved.

4. Please pray for the Sovereign Grace Churches RELAY Conference, January 4th-6th in Glenn Mills, PA. Over 650 young adults from Sovereign Grace Churches in a few different nations will be attending this conference. Please pray that God meets with the next generation of Sovereign Grace in wonderful ways as we gather!

… May we never forget… The LORD reigns!

This is the one time of year when rather than give you several different updates, it’s my joy to just give you the one.

I recently got to give this Global Update at our Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference in Orlando, Florida, which I began with a short Slideshow. I hope it encourages you, excites you, and reminds you of just how good the Lord has been to us!

What a wonderful year it has been…

In an previous prayer email to our Pastors, Mark Prater wrote the following…

‘One of the ways Jesus taught us to pray is to ask that God’s "will be done" (Matthew 6:10). Praying that short phrase, “your will be done” has wonderful theological and practical implications for our lives. In his book, “Prayer and the Knowledge of God” Graeme Goldsworthy writes, "God graciously allows us to be involved in the carrying out of his will. He gives us the privilege of identifying with his will by asking him to do what he has already determined to do.” It’s stunning that God allows us to be involved in the carrying out of His will, and that begins with us asking Him to do what He has already determined to do.’

Stunning it is! In God’s kindness, we get to participate in the carrying out of His will for our family of churches, 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 draw unbelievers to Sovereign Grace churches, and save them, as we hold our Christmas related events and services across the world this month.

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

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

4. Please pray for our two church plants in Mexico, one in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and one in Huajuapan Oaxaca asking God to provide for their needs, strengthen their church planting teams, and draw unbelievers to both churches.

5. Please pray that God would bring peace and end the wars in Ukraine and in Israel. Pray that God would turn the tragedies of war into gospel opportunities in both nations. Please continue to pray for the Ark Church, our sister church in Dnipro, Ukraine, asking God to protect them, and to use them to meet practical needs, and to offer gospel hope to people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.

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

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

An update from Markus Kniesel, Dean of the Arche Pastors College in Hamburg, Germany...

In a few months, the Arche Pastors College (APC) will have existed for 10 years in Germany. We are glad to share with you with much gratitude to God how He has built and blessed the APC for His Kingdom during this time.

The model for the development of the APC has been the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Churches that was located in former times in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Christian Wegert, Senior Pastor of the Arche church, and myself, Dean of the Arche Pastors College, were able to receive our pastoral training (in 2007-2008, and 2011-2012 respectively).

In February 2014, the APC was founded out of the desire to plant and to strengthen gospel centered churches in Germany and beyond. According to 2 Timothy 2:2, it is our goal to train men for pastoral ministry through 3 things: theological training, building character, and practical serving in the local church. The APC is not a full-time program. Rather, within 4 to 5  years the students undertake 4 modules each year. Each module is taught on Friday, Saturday, and Monday in the classroom. Since 2017, parallel to the lectures, the wives of the students meet with my wife, Kati on Saturdays to prepare them for ministry by their husband's side and to be strengthened in their personal spiritual lives.

Sovereign Grace Churches has been a great support in the development of the APC, both in an advisory and practical way. From the beginning, we have been supported by pastors and theologians who also teach at the US SG Pastors College. These men include Pastor Josh Blount (SGC Living Faith, Franklin, West Virginia), and Dr. Thomas Schreiner (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky). We are especially grateful to Jeff Purswell for his personal commitment to come to Germany every year whenever possible to teach one out of four of the yearly modules.

Since the very first module which was taught by Jeff Purswell in March 2014, two cohorts of students have graduated from the APC. In 2018, the first class of 11 men from German churches and Arche Church plants in Ukraine and Russia graduated. The second graduation took place in May 2022 with 15 more students after 4 to 5 years of training. Several of the graduates now serve in full-time ministry in Germany, in the Arche churches of Hamburg, Stade, and Hannover as well as in our daughter churches in Ukraine and Russia. We see that the APC is serving to be a church planting and mission project.

Over the years, the students of the APC have consistently expressed gratitude for theology taught in a true-to-life manner and the high quality of education. We are deeply grateful to God for this wonderful partnership with Sovereign Grace Churches in the gospel!

Currently about 25 students are being trained at the APC. Our prayer is that God would use the APC to equip our students to be godly, skilled, and faithful shepherds who lead and care for local churches in Germany and beyond.

May God use the APC to equip a lot of men to spread out God`s gospel over Germany and beyond to save sinners like me and you. We have the hope that each student, his family, and the church he will serve will be strengthened as we endeavor to proclaim in our ministries and reflect in our lives the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.

Watch this overview video to get an idea of the Antioch Program.

An update from Ricky Alcantar…

For the last two years I’ve had the privilege of sitting in a room with other Sovereign Grace pastors as we studied Scripture, prayed, and strategized about how to advance the gospel beyond our own local churches. And as I’ve done this something powerful often happens. 

One retreat in particular I was fighting some persistent health issues and discouragement about mission in our local church. Spending three days thinking and praying about mission felt like it might only add to a sense of frustration or burden. But in fact, the opposite happened.

• As we spent time around God’s Word and as brothers in Sovereign Grace led us in teaching and discussion the mission that might feel vague and overwhelming began to feel much more specific and concrete. 

• As we spent time in prayer and ministry to one another my sense of excitement for God’s mission and faith for playing a part in it grew. 

• As we spent time around good meals (many of them!) I no longer felt isolated or alone in pursuing the mission, but felt I was linking arms with other brothers and churches. 

The Antioch program was created exactly for these reasons. 

The main piece of the Antioch program is a retreat for pastors in Sovereign Grace focused on equipping churches at the intersection of ecclesiology and missiology to be sending churches. It’s called “Antioch” because we want to see our churches become Antioch churches in the model of Acts 11-13. The retreat is followed and supported by coaching from a trained church planting coach in Sovereign Grace and the project will wrap up with a meeting just before the 2024 Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference. 

Our hope is to see Sovereign Grace churches intentionally, effectively, sacrificially, and consistently pursuing church planting and mission work. We believe every church regardless of its size, location, and resources can participate in this work. It will not look the same in every context but should be marked by the same consistent faithful pursuit. 

As we gathered in 2022 and 2023 God met us and we’re seeing God do some amazing and encouraging things in churches as a result. That only builds our anticipation for what God could do in the future.

Our next planned Antioch retreat is March 2024. Please let us know if you’re interested, and we’d love to get you more information. 

Also, I just wrote an article in the recent SGC Journal on the church in Antioch and what we can learn from it.

Ricky serves on the National Church Planting Group with Sovereign Grace Churches, leading the Antioch Program, and is the lead pastor at Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, Texas, USA.