An update from Dyonah Thomas, Lead Pastor of Grace Life Church in Monrovia, Liberia...

It has been a great joy and encouragement in this developing relationship to see more and more gospel-centered foundations being built in my life and the ripples in other leaders lives. 

I have monthly meetings with Dave Taylor that I believe are not actually just catch up times, but Spirit directed and lead, resulting in doctrinal definition, gospel clarity and insight into gospel ministry. For example, sharing with us the series on the ‘Five Solas’ was groundbreaking for us. I walked the ministry team through it and taught it in our local church. One of the young men on our team said in an exciting way, “The light is on.”

My story with Sovereign Grace Churches started with music. Music actually drew me to this ministry, and it was then that I started to interact with quality men. Seven years on I’ve had the opportunity to interact and forge friendships with some real quality elders, husbands and fathers, and I just can’t stop thanking God for how safe I feel to be in this relationship.

One development from last year came as I prayerfully thought about revisiting the worship culture in our local church. It was more ‘me’ centered then ‘God’ centered.  I understood that this was going to be a process, but we were eager to make some changes and so Dave Taylor gave me Bob Kauflin’s book, ‘Worship Matters’. I read it twice, I had our leaders read through it and then together we carved out a vision for Christ exalting, gospel centered worship. This included our song selection, training worship leaders, teaching the congregation and ongoing learning.

Upon returning from the 2019 Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, I downloaded the worship matters course and so we now have Bob Kauflin teaching us via video. After each session, we’ve spent time discussing the teachings in light of our context, prayed and discussed practical transitions. One of the initial gains is that we now have a new and updated list of biblical songs that we are beginning to use in worship. We’re aware that there is whole lot more to see God do here in this and other areas, but we are overwhelmed with joy at these beginnings. This is an awesome journey for us, and we are thankful. 

On another note, our Grace Life Seminary has recently commenced a three-year Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry and Church Planting in partnership with TLI (Training Leaders International). Dave was able to get hold of 20 copies of C.J. Mahaney’s book, ‘Humility’, kindly donated to us by Sovereign Grace Churches. This text formed the main text for my Spiritual Formation class and so for 13 weeks, 18 guys and myself went deep into God’s Word, into CJ’s book, and into supplementary material, and in God’s kindness there were as result so many confessions to the Lord and to one another. 

The subject of humility confronts the big boss type leadership style in African cultures that influences both home and the church. Each one of us then saw ourselves in light of God’s Word and the Spirit has begun a good work in our lives, that He will surely continue. We are so blessed.  

An update from Joel Bain, Senior Pastor of Grace Family Church, Caymanas Estate, St Catherine, Jamaica…

As I reflect on our first year, I am amazed and humbled by the kindness of God to us at Grace Family Church. It has been a joy-filled year of gathering people and laying the foundations of gospel-shaped community. 

Planting for us has been slow going. But God has used that to teach us patience and steadfastness. We’re learning to welcome people with the love of Christ and point them to the grace of Christ each Sunday, and to see and call attention to the grace of God at work in the lives of those he’s given us. We’ve recognized a unique opportunity we have to build deep relationships and culture of grace. And our confidence in the power of the gospel has grown as we preached through Colossians and taught on our shared values and what it means to be a local church. 

On November 17, with great joy, a total of 19 adults (with 11 children between us) committed to pursuing Jesus together as members of our local church! We also officially ordained Sean Taylor and Sheldon Campbell as elders. These men have led and served alongside me from day one, so it was particularly delightful to see them affirmed and embraced as pastors by our members. It is humbling to look out at our congregation each Sunday and to see people whom I didn’t know at all months ago who are now treasured members of our family. 

At the beginning of this year, God opened the door for my family to move into Caymanas Estate,  the area where our church meets. We are confident that God has put us exactly where he wants us to be because he loves many who live near to us but are far from him. And we’re looking forward as a local church to learning to love those around us - in this neighbourhood and beyond. 

In the next few weeks, we’re looking forward to beginning to preach through the gospel of Mark and to starting small group meetings. We long to see Jesus more clearly, to grow in our understanding of what it means to follow him, and to help each other to be more faithful disciples who make disciples of others. 

May it all be for His glory.

A testimony from Michael Granger, Sovereign Grace Church Planter in Ethiopia…

A bit over a year ago I found myself preaching at an international church just outside of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Upon concluding, a man in his late 30’s approached me to articulate how he’d been affected by the sermon. Through conversation, I eventually asked where he was from (there are over 80 different languages and people groups in Ethiopia). “I’m a Muslim background believer from Somalia,” he answered. I was ready to leap into the air, I may have done so. To know anything about the spiritual state of that war-torn failed country is to know the population is over 99.9% Muslim. And so my new friend Muhammad (name changed for his protection) was and is a pronounced proclamation of the miracle of regeneration. What is more, I had been praying for the Lord to bring me a Somali believer to partner with for a couple of years.

As the months rolled by and our friendship developed I became aware that Muhammad has quite a bit of influence amongst the small numbers of Somali believers. And also amongst the unbelievers. Since his conversion he’s been arrested 14 times for the faith, been beaten unconscious multiple times for his faith, his wife and children left him because he left Islam, and he’s had many friends assassinated for the faith. On top of all of that, a major terrorist network has a hit out on his life. 

The first time Muhammad asked me to preach to his small community of believers, it was a three-point sermon from Genesis 1-3. Point 1) Men and Women created in the image of God; Point 2) That image marred: & Point 3) Future restoration of that image. Oh, how I wish you could have seen these converted Somali women sitting on the edge of their seats upon discovering that they too are created in the image of God. I had become the feminist in the room simply by preaching complementarianism! In their religion and culture, they are merely cattle: husbands are permitted 7 wives and if they are good they will receive 70 virgins when they die. But the wives – just property.

I met up with Muhammad a week later for coffee. He was wearing huge black sunglasses inside on a dark rainy day. I noticed what appeared to be a long gash down the side of his face and I asked, “What happened?” He took off his glasses only to reveal a bashed face and an eye filled with blood; he responded, “I was beaten by the Muslim husband of one of the women listening to us preaching last week. He gathered other men from the neighborhood and they beat me unconscious." But this sort of treatment doesn’t stop them, they have a theology of persecution. And if you ask Muhammad what he thinks about going underground, he sort of grimaces his face and cocks it to the side like a confused puppy.  Endeavoring to be gracious, he replies, "It's not love to go underground.  My people are dying and going to hell, and if we go underground they won't hear the gospel.  And more than that, Christ was publicly crucified for me and my sins. I want to be public about him." I was asked to return later that week and teach on the core beliefs of the Church.  For 8 straight hours with only a lunch break in the middle, I lectured from Sovereign Grace’s Statement of Faith. For them, clarity in doctrine is mesmerizing.

I’d like to share one more story. Back on September 21st Muhammad and I spent 3 hours training some Somali believing youth to evangelize, then we got down on our knees and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill us. This wasn’t a prayer for the gift of tongues, or prophecy, or healing. This was a prayer for the Holy Spirit to help us be bold in the face of persecution, freshly stirred affections for Christ, and gospel clarity in our proclamation. While on our knees Muhammed picked up my phone and asked if he could take a picture. I though that sounded silly because what we were doing seemed so insignificant. Amid that training, I had passed around bibles in their language only to discover that half of them are illiterate. As a result, by the time we finished, I thought it had been a complete waste of time. I couldn’t have been more mistaken. Three weeks later Muhammed wrote to tell me that those young believers had already led 27 Muslims to Christ. It is uncanny how near the Lord feels in answered prayer. 

In 2020 we will endeavor to see more Somalis trained and equipped, and by God’s grace, perhaps we may even see the birth of a Somali church. 

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 commission that we have been given as Christians is far bigger than we could have ever asked or imagined... For a start, the world is a big place isn’t it!! But how wonderful, comforting and motivating it is to know that the One who has called us, is always with us, even to the end of the age. What hope and exhilaration that brings!!

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

1. Please pray for the 15 or so Sovereign Grace Pastors, from all over the world, that are taking part in the Moore College PTC ‘Demonstration Course’ over the next few months. They’ll be looking to familiarise themselves with the content of the course and how it is administered, before we look to role this out to the wider Sovereign Grace world in the months ahead. With English not spoken in so many countries and good education sometimes at a minimum, it continues to be our hope that we could use this mouldable course as part of our training for some of our partners around the world. Please pray for ongoing favour and wisdom for all involved in this.

2. Please pray for the Grangers as they head back to Ethiopia on January 4th following their furlough in the USA. Please pray for Michael as he looks to start a Christ-Centered Church in Addis Ababa that would serve as a model to all of Ethiopia. To that end, please pray that God would continue to give Michael grace for a life-long sustained obsessing love for the person of Christ, as well as many faithful and gifted indigenous partners to disciple and train for ministry.

3. Please pray for Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, and his wife Kathy, as they head to Puerto Rico (11th-13th) and then Colombia (24th-25th) to run two Marriage Conferences. Please pray for favour on their lives, safe travels, and a wonderful time of refreshing and teaching for all involved. 

4. Please pray for Sovereign Grace Churches of Australia as they launch into their first ever Pastors & Wives Retreat, January 13-15th. Please pray that it would be a wonderful time of fellowship and discussion, as well as vision casting and planning for the year ahead.

5. Please pray for Jorge & David Del Castillo (and their families) as they look to launch Gracia Soberana Iglesia Cristiana - Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Sunday 19th January. Please pray that God would continue to give them more people for their planting team, as well as favour and blessing in their work. May God establish the work of their hands and shower them with much grace in the year ahead.

… May the One who has commissioned us, He who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, be ever with us. Oh how gloriously we need Him! Amen.

Just last month, I had the privilege of heading over to South Korea once again, along with Andrew Leung (my Executive Assistant) and John Leung (Andrew’s Dad and member of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney), to spend time with Songhwan Kang (Lead Pastor) and his church, Lord’s Grace Church. 

Spending time with Songhwan & Miran Kang is always a treat. Their love for the Lord and the glorious Gospel is so good to be around and the maturity in which the Gospel is being built into Lord’s Grace Church is an absolute testament to Songhwan’s leadership.

Time and time again we would talk with people about their history in the Church, both new and old, and it wouldn’t take long for them to be sharing about how the Gospel has changed their lives and marriages and families. The fruits of Gospel centrality are on full display throughout Lord’s Grace Church. In headline, they’re such a grateful, enthusiastic and mature Church to be around!

It’s also wonderful to see how the Church is increasingly embracing evangelism, mission & thoughts of church planting. To that end, Songhwan has been investing into 15 or so Church Planters over the past two years, all from Seoul and the surrounding areas, and on this trip I had the privilege to once again be with them all and to spend some time investing into them.

The task Songhwan assigned to me was to teach through the Sovereign Grace 'Seven Shared Values’ and so I had the privilege of doing that, and we then followed that up with several hours of Q & A, which for me was once again a highlight. They are an enthusiastic and inquisitive group and I so appreciate their zeal and desire to learn. 

Please pray for Songhwan as he seeks to discern the best way forward with this Church Planting Group, and in particular, that from their number there may be one or two of them that may go on to plant Sovereign Grace Churches.

Please also pray for Lord’s Grace Church, that grace may abound to them and that their passion for planting more Churches may only grow stronger. It is truly an honour to have Lord’s Grace Church as part of the Sovereign Grace family!!

Another year older, another year wiser (hopefully), and another year enjoying the amazing grace of God to us!

This is our year in review…

‘For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.’ - Romans 12.36

An update from Andrew Leung, Executive Assistant to Dave Taylor (Sydney, Australia)…

Dave Taylor, John Leung (my Dad) and I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong in early December 2019.  It was an exploratory trip to see whether God might be opening the door for Sovereign Grace to plant a church there.  Hong Kong is a dynamic and international city, a city of contrasts: where east meets west, and old meets new.  It is also a strategic platform into China (notwithstanding the protests and riots over the last six months).  And for me, Hong Kong has always held a special place in my heart, as I spent a considerable amount of my childhood growing up there.

In a short space of time (3 days), we were able to connect and relate to a number of pastors in Hong Kong from various evangelical churches and denominations, both indigenous (Cantonese and Mandarin speaking) and international (English speaking).  Through these interactions, we got to better understand the church scene and culture, and the opportunities and challenges of planting a church in Hong Kong. 

We also got an insight into the current state of play of churches in China, both registered and house churches, leveraging the church network Dad has partnered with over the last 15 years with ministries into China.  And we are excited for the opportunities for the gospel, and what God can do to bless the Chinese nation through Sovereign Grace Churches. 

There are many churches in Hong Kong,  though many would have gatherings where the gospel is assumed, rather than application to everyday life.  But we thank God for the opportunity to connect with a few like-minded pastors who are supportive of gospel-centered church planting in Hong Kong. 

Promisingly, it is a city where an international or an indigenous pastor would work equally well from a cultural perspective.  Lets be praying that God would be raising up the right leader/church planter called to the task! (And if your interested personally, then please drop Dave Taylor a line!!)   

Going forward, we are thankful that Sovereign Grace already has a few songs translated into Chinese (Mandarin): All I have is Christ, Behold Our God and O Great God.  We were able to share these songs with Chinese speaking pastors, and we will continue to do so through our church networks. 

Over the next couple of months, we will begin translating the seven shared values into Chinese for strategic distribution to both pastors in Hong Kong and China.  We will also be looking into translating classic Sovereign Grace books into Chinese (like Living the Cross Centered Life and Humility by CJ Mahaney).  Our prayer is that these gospel saturated materials would serve the network of churches in Hong Kong and China, helping build millions of Chinese believers into the gospel, and God- willing, raise up potential future indigenous church planters.

On my last day in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to visit my Uncle who lives alone in Hong Kong.  He is in his mid- 80s, had been successful in the eyes of the world, but now in his old age, lives with the consequences of marriage and family breakdown.  Praise the Lord he has come to know our Savior towards his later life, albeit intermittent faith over the years.  It was such a joy to share Chinese Sovereign Grace songs with him, with the hope of strengthening his faith and bringing joy and pleasures in the gospel.  I pray that through the ministry of Sovereign Grace, many in Hong Kong and China may come to be blessed and strengthened in the gospel for the glory of God, just like him.  

God is on the move!

An update from Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg…

Mexico (7th-9th December)

I arrived at scorching hot Michoacan on Saturday, December 7.  After a two hour drive from Ixtapa Airport to Lazaro Cardenas, I only had half an hour to change and go to the church.  Iglesias Emanuel is a group of 10 churches that are friends of Sovereign Grace Churches through a relationship with Carlos Contreras. Emanuel Guitierrez and his father Alfredo are regular attendants to Fieles in Juarez.  

I was there for less than 24 hours, but it was a prosperous time. I preached in their yearly conference where the ten churches get together. Abelardo Muñuz from Juarez was the other guest speaker. I believe the churches were encouraged, and the pastor strengthened. One of the most significant times was dinner with Emanuel, Alfredo, and their families. It was just a sweet time of fellowship.  

On my way back home, I had a layover in Mexico City.  I used the time to go to dinner with a church planter that I met at a conference in November. During dinner time, it was evident that they require care. This is a common theme in all my travels, pastors that are lonely, that need encouragement.  I'm so grateful that in my pastoral journey, I have never been isolated, Sovereign Grace is such a blessing to the pastors that they serve, and we then want to be a blessing to others in the nations. 

Cuba (17th-19th December)

Arriving at Havana Airport is a combination of entering a communist country, with the vibrant atmosphere of a Caribbean Island. It is like you are entering two worlds that are inconsistent with one another, yet somehow manage to work together. It is also like entering a time machine. Although there has been much progress in the last decade, there are still some areas where technology and Western way of life has not arrived. 

In this reality, we have two churches that are seeking adoption from Sovereign Grace Churches. The gospel is moving forward, but they have a day to day challenges. One of the pastors says that the challenges of the day to day living can be draining. The purpose of my visit was to encourage pastors and be of help for them and their families. I was able to have multiple dinners with the pastors, laugh, cry, and have fellowship. 

With the help of the US Mid-Atlantic Region, our local church was able to make a donation to one of the churches to help them finish their church building. Earlier this year, half of the building did not have a proper roof. So with donations from Grace Church in Clarksburg, MD, and Crosspoint in Arnold, MD we sent the needed money to finish the work.  I was able to stand on top of the roof and experience the beauty of the Gospel partnership.

Revelation 7. 9-12, ‘After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Oh my, what a day it will be... Every tribe, people, language and nation… Beholding our God.

May our eyes always be fixed on that day, running hard this day, in light of that glorious day to come.

Soli Deo Gloria!!

As we continue to walk through the global doors that the Lord has opened to us, we do so full of faith. For He is good and merciful and gracious and wise. His Gospel is powerful, and Jesus is always the answer!

And yet we are consistently aware of our profound need for Him as we step through the doors, and that’s why we also need to be on our knees. Reliant on Him for wisdom and insight and favour and discernment and clarity and sustenance and protection.

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

1. Please pray for myself (Dave Taylor), Andrew Leung (my Executive Assistant) and his Dad, John Leung, as we head to Hong Kong on an exploratory trip, 2nd - 5th December. Hong Kong is an incredibly strategic city as a gateway into so much of Asia, and as a place where East meets West. God has given us many incredible contacts in Hong Kong and so please pray for us as we look to dream together, asking the Lord for wisdom and direction in all of this. Please also pray for safety for the team as Hong Kong continues to go through political unrest and difficulty.

2. Please pray for Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, as he a heads to Michoacan, Mexico, December 7-8th with Aberlado (Pastor of Gracia Soberana de Ciudad, Juarez) to preach at a denominational conference for a group of churches that relate to Carlos Contreras. Please pray for security as this is one of the Mexican states hardest hit with violence. Please also for pray him as he heads to Cuba, December 17-19th, to visit the two churches there that Sovereign Grace is relating to, to strengthen our relationships with the Pastors there and encourage them.

3. Please pray for the many countries that are presently working with Pastors and Churches that would like to become a part of Sovereign Grace, particularly post Pastors Conference. Please pray for wisdom, clarity and discernment as the conversations continue, and that the Lord would direct our path.

4. Please pray for the many opportunities our Global Churches will have to share the gospel with unbelievers this Christmas. In so many countries of the world, Christmas provides a very natural opportunity to speak into our cultures the glorious message of Jesus Christ. May we take it and would many come to know Him as Lord and Saviour in the month ahead.

… May He who opens the doors, be glorified in all that we do. Soli Deo Gloria!

This years Pastors Conference was a pure joy to attend! We had 18 different nations in attendance. Heard the word of God read in 8 different languages. Enjoyed excellent preaching from Jared Mellinger, Josh Blount, Jeff Purswell, Rick Gamache and H.B.Charles. And sang, fellowshipped, prayed and ate together for three delightful days. For those travelling in for the conference, it was worth every mile of the trip!!!

Here then is just a sampling of how those travelling in from overseas found it… Soli Deo Gloria!

Michael Granger, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 

“I was surprised to find myself in the midst of an international movement centered on the person and work of Christ.  Shocked at the Lord’s kindness to allow me to be a part of such a thing.”

 David and Jadwy Del Castillo, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 

“This Conference was so good! We especially loved the preaching! Also the international dinner was a blessing for us, because it allowed us to see and hear about the goodness of God through out the world! We loved to see the example of Mexico and how much they are growing and developing everything in Spanish, even the ordination exam which will help us for the future. Thank you so much for serving us so well! We can’t wait to see you guys next year 🙂”

 Patrick Chavez, Sydney, Australia, 

“Attending the 2019 Pastor's Conference was a wonderful gift of grace. The exuberant corporate singing, solid teaching & rich biblical fellowship experienced as a team and with others within our family of churches was a taste of heaven.”

 Riley Spring, Parramatta, Australia, 

“For me, I found Jeff Purswell’s and Josh Blount’s messages incredibly clarifying, prescient, and prophetic. I am often captivated and interested by Christian cultural analysis and plans to see the Kingdom expand over the earth but can get ahead of myself with excitement about the plans and lose sight of the reality that the Word and the gospel is both the foundation AND the method! I feel as though these messages reoriented my course and saved me from a lot of potential wasted energy and time. I so look forward to hearing sermons from men I trust, love, and respect!”

 Songhwan & Miran Kang, Seoul, South Korea, 

"Attending the conference this year, my wife and I experienced the greatest grace and encouragement for the year. Through the lectures, we were able to look back to the time when I sought for my own glory, and I prayed once again to become a servant only serving the Lord for His glory. The worship, fellowship, and the grace from His Word that we experienced through the conference raised our weakened hearts."

 Wilbroad & Zicky Chanda, Zambia, 

“My wife and I were encouraged through all the sessions of the 2019 SGC Pastors Conference in Orlando. One of our major highlights was the panel discussion on team (plural) leadership. The panelists brought out some important truths from their pastoral experience. My (Wilbroad) take from the session was that I need to be deliberate in leading, caring for and humbly serving all the members of the pastoral team. Thank you so much.”

Jeff & Jeannie Jo, Cavite, Philippines, 

“This year's SGC pastor's conference brought our hearts to the wonder of God's greatness over our lives, our union as husband and wife, and the ministry He has entrusted upon our care. As we reflect in every sermon that we've heard in this conference, we were humbled to realize of our dependence on God in every detail of our lives and to rely alone on His grace and faithfulness. Thanks SGC, we will be forever grateful.”

Dyonah Thomas, Monrovia, Liberia, 

“The schedule was perfect as it created more time for connecting and personal ministry as the Lord leads. I was personally prophectically served with specific life and ministry direction.”

Joel Bain, Jamaica, 

“This year's conference was exfoliating: I felt like God was removing ministry dead skin and I left refreshed and re-energized and with a renewed focus on our God, who knows exactly what he's doing.”

Richard Lacey, Worcester, UK, 

"What an amazing few days: an encouraging, refreshing, joy-filled Christ-exalting, gospel-saturated time that revived my heart and sent me back to my church excited to serve them."

Nathan Smith, Bristol, UK, 

"Great to be back among the family! Loved the rich feast from God's Word we were served; loved singing praises to our gracious God together; loved laughing with, and enjoying the company of good friends and gospel brothers from all over the world.  Heart full. God is good!”

Greg Cruse, Yatton, UK,

"Have come back with a full heart amazed by God and eager to serve."

Simon Dowland, Bristol, UK,  

"It was a joy from start to finish. Wonderful Spirit filled, Christ glorifying biblical preaching complemented by loving relationships and God exalting sung worship.  Soli Deo Gloria!"

The Chandas 2019_4454.JPG

An update from Doug Hayes, Pastor in Covenant Fellowship, PA, and Executive Director of Covenant Mercies…

As we gathered last month in Orlando for the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, a very special and even historic event occurred that probably flew under the radar for most, but deserves to be celebrated on this blog.  

Wilbroad Chanda, pastor of Christ Community Church in Ndola, Zambia, sat for his oral ordination exam (he had passed his written exams with flying colors earlier this year) and scored a 92%.  At our RAE meeting later in the week, the Northeast Region (which stewarded his ordination process) was blessed to affirm Wilbroad’s ordination and lay hands on him as the first African pastor ordained by Sovereign Grace Churches. 

As an effective church planter himself – and as pastor well-equipped to train other pastors and church planters – we are praying that Wilbroad’s ordination is the first step toward the development of a region of Sovereign Grace churches in Zambia and southern Africa.  Please pray with us toward that end, to the praise of God’s glorious grace! 

An update from Bob Kauflin, Director of Sovereign Grace Music,

For the past number of years, Fabiano Medeiros (SG church planter in São Paulo), has been faithfully working with a team of skilled translators and editors to produce Sovereign Grace songs in Portuguese. We’ve finally been able to record 15 of our most well-known songs for an album, “Minha Vida É Cristo” (All I Have is Christ), due to be released in January/February 2020.

Steve Cook traveled to Brazil to work with producer/musician Elivelton Horst, and we used Brazilian instrumentalists and vocalists.

Albums that feature translated Sovereign Grace Music songs now include Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, German, and Ukranian. We’ll be posting lyric videos of the songs on YouTube and are looking forward to another Portuguese project in 2021!

An update from Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg;

On Thursday, November 7, my son Joey and I arrived in Queretaro, Mexico, to be part of Lifeway Equipa, a conference designed to equip the church with Gospel centered teaching.

The main theme was Discipleship, and I had the opportunity to teach the main session on Discipleship and Marriage. I was able to point to the glorious image that marriage is of the Gospel and how the husband is called to wash their wives with the word.

Over 2,500 people were able to receive Gospel centered teaching. I also was able to be part of a panel discussion on biblical counceling where I think God allowed us to encourage the churches to equip all members to be able to participate in the task of helping each other with Gospel truths.

I want to spend some time giving glory to God for the life of my son Joey. It brings me so much joy to have him with me on the trip. I receive multiple emails from people that they were very encouraged by his life and godliness. How our love, care, and relationship for each other reflected the Gospel not only in my preaching but also on how we live our lives. All glory to God!

We finished our trip spending two days with the SGC Silao. They are such a wonderful gospel centered church. We came away so encouraged by the great job the pastoral team is doing to build this church in the gospel and SGC values.

Tony Cuellar, a close friend of mine and a member of an SGC in NJ, came with me on the trip. He grew up in Silao as his father planted a church in that area in the 1980s. It was so amazing to see the faithfulness of God as members of Tony's church were now part of SGC Silao. It is such a joy to partner with godly people all over the world to proclaim the truths of the glorious gospel!

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.'

Those verses so wonderfully represent the cry of the Emerging Nations team. We serve the Lord of the harvest, who holds the whole world in His hands, and oh how we need Him in our endeavours.

With another full month ahead then, here’s how you can be praying for us…

1. Please pray for the many pastors and wives who will be gathering from around the world for the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference in Orlando, November 5th - 7th. Please pray for their travel, and once there, that the conference would provide for them a wonderful time of refreshing and encouragement. Please pray that God would give us many opportunities to care for one another and strengthen our global relationships, and that we’d be increasingly united and strengthened in the wonderful gospel mission we share.

2. Please pray for Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, as he and his son Joey head to Quertaro Mexico in early November, for a Lifeway sponsored conference on discipleship.  They are expecting over 2,500 people. Joselo will be preaching alongside Miguel Nuñez, and a few other very well respected pastors in Latin America. Joselo will preach on marriage, discipleship and evangelism.  After that, Josleo will visit a fellow SGC church in Silao, Mexico where he will teach a marriage conference, as well as preach in their Sunday service. Pray for much fruit at the conference and for Pastor Manolo Quintal of Silao to be encouraged by his visit.  

3. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Brazil as they look to launch our very first Sovereign Grace Music album in Portuguese this month. Please pray for Steve Cook as he looks to finalise the project and for all those involved in distribution. Would this album be a great blessing to all those in Brazil and beyond.

4. Please pray for myself (Dave Taylor), Andrew Leung (my Executive Assistant) and his Dad, John Leung, as we head to South Korea & Hong Kong at the end of November. The trip to South Korea will be a time of serving Songhwan, Lead Pastor of Lord’s Grace Church in Seoul, his Church, and a growing number of Church Planters that he’s seeking to build into. Our trip to Hong Kong is then a ‘Church Planting Exploratory Trip’ as we look and dream together, asking the Lord for wisdom and direction for the future, and building relationally with a number of Hong Kong Pastors.

… May the One who made the heavens and the earth provide all that we need. What a wonderful King He is!

An update from Allen Dicharry, a Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Midland, TX, USA;

“One of the biggest barriers to the spread of the gospel in Nepal is that Christian men leave the country to work abroad because they cannot find sustainable work locally,” said a prominent church-planting pastor in Nepal. This reality leaves the Christian home fatherless and, sometimes, a young church pastorless. Ultimately it hinders or at least slows the spread of the gospel to the unreached people groups of Nepal. 

In the same way that unreached people groups have little to no access to the gospel, the pastors living among or nearby them have little to no access to pastoral resources or training. The need for sustainable work and pastoral training is clearer than ever.

Over the last few years of building a relationship with a Nepali pastor, we have continually asked the question “How can we serve?” He has requested that we teach the 7 Shared Values of Sovereign Grace Churches to small groups of pastors who belong to his network of 175 churches. Like us, he has a shared conviction that churches should partner together for gospel advancement.  That partnership is made more effective if we also help local believers develop sustainable income so they do not have to leave. Through Biblical teaching and practical skills training, our hope is that more men can stay in the country, lead their families, pastor churches, and effectively reach the unreached around them. 

This October, a team of 10 men and women from 3 Sovereign Grace churches travelled to the rural parts of Nepal. Pastors Billy Raies (Midland, TX), Allen Dicharry (Midland, TX) Aaron Mayfield (Round Rock, TX), and Dr. Leroy Kim (Frisco, TX) taught the 7 shared values to about 130 pastors and leaders. In the Makwanpur region, the team helped local believers with a work project at a local government building, which opened avenues for sharing the gospel. In the Everest region, another team answered a request to teach local Christian cooks how to prepare American-style meals. These cooks operate small food establishments along popular trekking routes.  Providing familiar food for Western travellers will prosper their businesses and enable more believers to stay in the county. 

During a testimony time after the teaching, a common theme from the Nepali church leaders was their desire to “apply it” and “pass it on.” One elderly pastor said, “I may be the oldest one here, but I am just a child when it comes to these things - I have learned so much and still have so much to learn. I thank God for bringing these brothers all the way out here to serve us.” That kind of humility was common to see among these leaders. 

God is moving among Nepali people. Much spiritual and practical development is necessary to see the church strengthened. We are thankful for our Nepali connection and are deeply grateful to be able to play a part.

Preaching with Passion Workshop in Puerto Rico

An update from Jared Mellinger, Senior Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, USA;

On October 18-19, Joselo Mercado and I traveled to Puerto Rico for a workshop on preaching with passion. The workshop was sponsored by Sovereign Grace Churches and Reformados, a ministry devoted to rescuing the purity of the gospel in pulpits throughout Puerto Rico. Iglesia la Travesia, a PCA church in San Juan led by Ronnie Garcia, hosted the event and provided generous hospitality. There were around 130 people in attendance, most of whom were pastors and leaders.

In planning the event, Joselo’s desire was to encourage pastors to not only preach messages that are theologically sound and expositionally faithful, but also to be filled with the Spirit and to communicate God’s truth with appropriate liveliness, zeal, and joy. The gospel rightly understood will set a preacher’s heart on fire, giving those who hear a sense of God’s presence and power.

Joselo taught on the priority of preaching, and I taught sessions on the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching and the role of emotions in preaching. Joselo led several panels further applying the content of the messages. The time with local leaders was a great encouragement: new friendships were made, joy abounded, stories of churches being planted in Puerto Rico were shared, and all the brothers were built up through the gift of fellowship.

Preaching Workshop in Monterrey, México

A report from Carlos Contreras, Senior Pastor of Gracia Soberana de Ciudad Juarez and Regional Leader for Mexico…

Every year we host 2 Preaching workshops in México. One in the church in Guadalajara and the other in our church in Juarez. However, we are trying to expand the reach and availability of these workshops in partnership with the Charles Simeon Trust. Because of this, Manolo Quintal, Sr. pastor of the newly adopted Sovereign Grace church in the city of Silao, Guanajuato and myself, participated as instructors in the new workshop in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. We were also joined by Kristian Tucker, pastor of Gracia Soberana Durango and Carlos Martinez from our sister church in the city of Torreon who served as Small Group leaders.

This new initiative attracted 70 pastors mostly from the Monterrey region, and we were amazed by the eagerness to learn of mostly young and humble pastors. We were very encouraged and will be returning next year to continue with further workshops. 

These workshops have proven to be a very useful tool to make connections with like-minded leaders as well as to follow-up with leaders that have sought us out for training. Through this partnership we have been able to bring Gospel-centered Biblical theology and expository preaching to many throughout Mexico. We also are planning with CST to possibly opening up another workshop in Mexico City by late 2020 or in 2021. This will allow us to cover the majority of the country and reach and serve our friends and more interested pastors. 

A report from Carlos Contreras, Senior Pastor of Gracia Soberana de Ciudad Juarez and Regional Leader for Mexico…

By many reports this has been the best conference experience we have had in the last 6 years that we have undertaken the effort to encourage and equip the pastors, leaders and the wives of our family of churches in Latin America, as well as many of those that are looking to Sovereign Grace as a friend in ministry.

This year we changed the date for the conference in an attempt to make it more accessible financially, but we ended up with fewer attendees probably because we went from a vacation month to a non-holiday date.

However, most of the 230 registered attendees were leaders that had attended before. This made the conference feel much more like a family gathering with much joy, fellowship and freedom to receive and enjoy God’s grace. And our faithful God, in His kindness, did in fact pour out much grace and blessed our desire to encourage, equip and provide a refreshing experience for many pastors.

The highlights of the main sessions were the two classic messages that CJ brought on Cultivating Joy and Gospel Centered Pastors. Teachings that have defined Sovereign Grace for decades were freshly laid as foundation stones for the growing SG Mexican churches. It was a joy to see folks approach CJ with great gratitude after hearing him. One leader from Colombia was so impacted by the message on joy that he asked permission to send out the translated message to all his contacts in South America.

Another highlight was the message and workshop by Bob Kauflin on dealing Biblically with Spiritual Depression. His humility in opening up about his own past struggles with this issue touched many lives and resulted in a heartfelt time of ministry with much tears and encouragement for many.

I had the privilege of opening the Conference with a message on 1Peter 2 and we also invited Kike Torres, a young pastor who leads a large church in the city of Queretaro to speak on Biblical Fellowship. We also enjoyed powerful messages on the Humility of Christ from Jon Payne from Austin, on the Need to be people full of faith and the Spirit by Hellman Avila from El Paso, and on a culture of Grace by Joselo Mercado to close the Conference.

In all we are extremely grateful that God again poured out His Spirit among us as we gathered to receive from His goodness and are very excited to do it again next year!

An update from Mike Seaver, Lead Pastor of Risen Hope Church in Summerville, SC, USA;

Since we planted our church in 2011, we have wanted to paint a picture of God’s heart for the nations for our congregation.  We desired to send gifted, called, and qualified missionaries to serve in the 10/40 Window.  We prayed, “Lord, let us send our best!”

A couple of years into our church plant, our first missionary, yes, one of our best, went to Southeast Asia to serve a mission agency’s office to prepare and assist missionaries all over their country.  Within a couple of years, God stirred a young family who were beloved leaders to go serve in that same country.  

It has been an honor to send financial support, prayers, and “Marco Polo’s” their way, but over the last year, we’ve been stirred to send ourselves.  My wife, Kristin, felt like the Lord was calling the Seaver family to go with our 5 daughters to spend time loving on and refreshing our missionaries.

We asked God to provide a way for us to go and God kindly exceeded our expectations!  After spending nine days with both the family and our single friend, we have a better understanding of what their daily life looks like, and how to pray for them in both their joys and challenges. Our friends who moved there with four small children told us how they were growing weary on the mission field prior to our arrival.  Language study is hard.  A new culture is hard.  Parenting is hard.  On the final day of our trip, they shared with us, “We were weary, but now we are refreshed…thank you for coming!”  The Lord kindly brought refreshment through hours of conversations, children’s laughter, lots of meals, singing, and prayer together.

What an honor to love on and encourage those going to hard places.  May the Lord allow us to “send our best” to the 10/40 window that the nations may be glad in Jesus!  

God bless, Mike Seaver

Jesus said in Matt 28:28 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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 Sovereign Grace Emerging Nations team strives to follow this command through the establishment of healthy gospel centred churches throughout the world. And what joy and privilege to know that Jesus, the One with all authority in heaven and on earth, is with us as we embark on this task. There is then no more effective means than to humbly ask our glorious Saviour and Shepherd to sustain and empower us in this task as the team embarks on the various initiatives around the world in the month of October. We invite you to pray along with us!

1. Please pray for a team of 10 gathered from the three SG churches in Texas who will be going to Nepal to conduct two pastors conference in remote areas of Nepal. The team will be split into two sub-teams, one headed by Billy Raies (Senior Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Midlands Texas) and Leroy Kim (Grace Church Frisco Texas), and the other to be headed by Allen Dicharry (Executive Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Midlands Texas) and Aaron Mayfield (Redemption Hill - Round Rock Texas). They are expecting between 80-100 pastors who will be travelling down the mountains to attend these conferences. Please pray for protection whilst travelling, the unreached people groups the local pastors are reaching out to, for Billy, Leroy, Allen and Aaron to teach and preach with clarity and passion, and for the others in the team not formally teaching to share their lives with the pastors so they can see the seven shared values lived out. Pray that the team’s love, witness and outreach would leave a lasting impact on the pastors and all they come in contact with.

2. Please pray for Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg, as he heads to both Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, Columbia to speak at the conventions of CLC, as well as different churches in both countries whilst he is there. CLC is a christian literature distribution in South America and the biggest partner of Lifeway Publishing in the region. They have invited Joselo to talk about his book on marriage. Please pray that the gospel will be clearly presented and that people can see how the Gospel is a need for the believer everyday life.

3. Please pray for Joselo (as above) and Jared Mellinger, Senior Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church in Pennsylvania as they head to Puerto Rico to speak at a Sovereign Grace sponsored workshop about preaching with passion. The influence of reform doctrine has developed deep preaching, but often lacking in passion. The workshop hopes to encourage preachers to continue pursuing deep preaching, but to allow the depth of the knowledge of the Gospel to affect their hearts as they preach. They are expecting over 125 pastors and leaders.

4. Please pray for Joselo (as above) as he and his son Joey heads to Quertaro Mexico early November for a Lifeway sponsored conference on discipleship.  They are expecting over 2,500 people. Joselo will be preaching along side Miguel Nuñez, and a few other very well respected pastors in Latin America. Joselo will preach on marriage, discipleship and evangelism.  After that, Josleo will visit a fellow SGC church in Silao Mexico where he will teach a marriage conference, as well as preach in their Sunday service. Pray for much fruit at the conference and for Pastor Manolo Quintal of Silao to be encouraged by his visit.