On behalf of the Leadership Team of Sovereign Grace Churches, I want to communicate our deep sorrow for the effects of sin that have been magnified by the events of the past few weeks. The evidence of injustice, suffering, and fragmentation within our communities breaks our hearts.

We are humbled by our inability to remedy the evils of this fallen world. Yet we are hopeful, knowing that Jesus Christ has the power to rescue sinners, transform hearts, heal the deepest of wounds, and reconcile the bitterest of enemies.

Over the past few weeks we have thought it appropriate that our local churches, in their varied nations, communities and circumstances, speak to these recent issues, and we’ve been encouraged by the compassionate and wise response of our pastors. However, we desire to express our dependence on Jesus Christ together by calling for a Day of Prayer on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

The prayer requests below reflect not only the burdens on all of our hearts, but also the promises and faithfulness of God revealed in his Word. It is to Him that we pray in faith asking for His divine help.

• Pray that God would comfort those who have lost loved ones, who are saddened and wearied by injustices, and who are experiencing deep sorrow for the effects of sin that have been magnified recently in our culture. As a family of churches, we “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15b) and pray knowing that God draws near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).

• Pray that God would give us wisdom and discernment as we look beyond political, economic, or social factors to the biblical issues of the human heart underlying the brokenness in our world (Mark 7:21-23). Pray that our responses to current events would be humble, patient, compassionate, and biblically informed.

• Pray that God would deepen our conviction that every man and woman is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and that we would value everyone—including those different from us—and treat everyone with compassion, kindness, and generosity that is in keeping with the intrinsic dignity and value that is theirs as an image bearer of God (James 3:9).

• Pray that God would give us grace to walk humbly with Him, asking the Spirit to show us any sinful ways in our own hearts (Mark 7:21-23), seeking forgiveness that is ours in Christ. (Ephesians 1:7) Pray that we might also forgive others extending to them the grace that we ourselves have received (Ephesians 4:32).

• Pray that our righteous and just God would work in any unjust or oppressive situation in our communities to establish justice. Pray for all those in authority, that they may govern and lead righteously, wisely, and compassionately (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Ask God to give us as His people opportunities to reflect his character—and so to “do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8) all for His glory because “all his ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

• Pray that our churches would display the power of the gospel that not only reconciles sinners to God but also unites diverse, formerly estranged people into “one new man”—a new humanity united in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:11-16).

• Pray that God would grant unity and peace where there is disharmony and strife in our churches and communities, making us “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) for the display of his glory.

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to motivate and empower our declaration of the gospel as the only hope of reconciliation with God, and with each other. Ask God for specific opportunities to adorn the gospel with the good works He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10), sharing the gospel, and demonstrating His love to those in our lives and communities.

• Pray that God would deepen our trust in His sovereign rule and reign over all (Psalm 33:11, Isaiah 37:26), even when we don’t see and understand all that He is doing, believing that He is working all things for His good purposes and for His glory (Romans 8:28).

As a Leadership Team, we thank God for the pastors and members in Sovereign Grace churches throughout the world for their devotion to Jesus Christ, who alone has the power to unite people from every tongue, tribe and nation through his saving work on the cross—and all for His glory alone.

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

Among our 7 Shared Values is the value of “ Church Planting, Outreach and Global Mission.” It states: “Our gospel-centrality entails no only treasuring the gospel personally but sharing it passionately. The risen Christ commissioned His church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). We believe that commission falls to us and to all believers and that it is fulfilled in a primary way through church planting, whereby the gospel is proclaimed and converts are formed into communities of disciples (Acts 2:21-47; 14:23).” It’s woven into our DNA—we are always thinking about church planting because we are committed to this glorious shared mission.

In the fall of 2018, one of our local churches, Covenant Fellowship Church, planted a church about 45 min away in Newark, DE. Redeemer Fellowship started with 27 adults and has since grown. Our newest mission video tells the story of Colby who was born again because Redeemer Fellowship was faithful to warmly welcome him, and share the gospel with him. When you watch, be reminded that while this is the work of Christ alone, he used the care and labors of gospel loving people to passionately proclaim the name of Christ. I hope your heart will be stirred towards gospel mission!

We are grateful for every opportunity to reach the lost. May we all be reminded that our world needs to hear the hope of the gospel. May we be reminded that we are surrounded by Colby’s who are impacted by simple greetings and the care of patient listening. And may we be reminded that Christ has always at work around us, in us and through us. What a glorious Savior! What a glorious mission!

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

There doesn’t seem to be a nation that is untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic. For our small denomination, Sovereign Grace Churches, the pandemic is a reminder that the pastors and churches we are currently working with in 32 different nations are being impacted by the COVID-19 virus. The needs in these nations are different but very real and one of the ways we can serve them is to pray. The Apostle Paul writes, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 5:18). The word “all” is used four times in this one verse meaning that we are to pray at ALL times for ALL the saints that are in ALL the nations. Therefore, please join Sovereign Grace Churches for a Day of Prayer for the Nations on Friday, April 24. Here is a partial list of items you can pray for:

• Pray that God would protect the saints in the churches we are working with around the world from being infected with the COVID-19 virus.

• Pray that God would heal any of the saints that are sick, especially those who test positive for COVID-19.

• Pray for Dyonah Thomas and the eight churches he serves in Liberia asking God to provide finances and resources to purchase food and supplies for the saints in those churches.

• Pray for Carlos Contreras as he serves our churches in Mexico and Central America asking God to provide for the churches that are facing financial challenges.

• Pray for Jorge and David Del Castillo who just planted Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Santa Cruz, Bolivia who only had the opportunity to hold a few public services before shut in orders were given in that nation. Please pray that God would provide for this new church.

• Pray for Jeffery Jo (Manila), Pete Valdez (Bohol), Cornelio Nebo (Cebu City) who care for churches in the Philippines asking God to provide finances and resources to purchase food and supplies for the saints in that nation.

• Pray for pastors we are relating to in Costa Rica, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Brazil, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Korea, Australia, India, Nepal, England, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Belarus, and Thailand asking God to give them wisdom to lead their churches and provide for their needs.

• Pray for Dave Taylor, our Director of Emerging Nations, asking God to give him wisdom as he and his team serve the saints in different nations during this unprecedented time.

This is only a partial list of prayer requests. So, as you pray in the Spirit, please lift up any other needs you are aware of, or the Spirit brings to mind.

Thanks for praying for ALL the saints!

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

Late last year, Cornerstone Church in Knoxville planted a church in Athens, TN. They sent a team of folks from their congregation, along with one of their elders, Walt Alexander, and his family. Trinity Grace Church has sought to reach out to the community, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost. We wanted you to see a bit about what God has been doing in that corner of the world, so we produced this short mission video to give you a snapshot. As you watch it, please join us in thanking God for his grace in the mission we’ve embarked on together and how he has allowed us to participate in his plans to save folks in Athens.

We say it often, but we’re serious about it: in Sovereign Grace, a large focus of our mission is to plant churches for the glory of God. We believe that this is one of the significant ways God instructs us to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). We don’t take God’s blessings on these efforts for granted but are so thankful to be able to see how he has allowed Walt and his church to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. May he provide many more opportunities!

We often find ourselves in a place where our gospel opportunities outrun our financial resources. Please consider financially supporting our church planting efforts by giving to Sovereign Grace Churches. You can find out more about how to do that here.

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

We say this often in Sovereign Grace: “church planting is in our DNA.” From our start nearly 40 years ago we have planted churches because we want people to hear the good news of the gospel. Currently, we are planting churches in:

• Santa Ana, California

• Zapresic, Croatia

• Rogers, Arkansas

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Frankford section)

Each of these locations is picked with one goal in mind: to see people worshipping Jesus everywhere. This is the vision that my friend, Stephen Bowne shares for his church plant in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia in our first mission video for 2018. With the theme, “Throughout the World”, we wanted you to hear how God is using our small family of churches to do kingdom work. He’s using the members of our local churches to plant new churches, reach unbelievers, and disciple new Christians. As I say in this video, this isn’t really about what Sovereign Grace is doing. This video is simply an update of what God is doing through you, the members of our local churches in Sovereign Grace.

In the next two years, we also intend to plant churches in:

• Wilmington, North Carolina

• Salem, Massachusetts

• Des Moines, Iowa

• Kingston, Jamaica

• Sao Paulo, Brazil

• Newark, Delaware

• Sydney, Australia

You will hear more about these church plants in the coming months. But, in the meantime, please pray. Pray that God would establish these churches. Pray that he would provide strong launch teams. Pray that the gospel would be a light through these churches in the neighborhoods where they are established.

And take time to watch the mission video below. Without you, without your participation, without your prayers, without your financial support of Sovereign Grace, ventures like this would not be possible. We have more gospel opportunities than we can fund. So if you are not currently giving to Sovereign Grace, please consider a financial donation via our give page. You can choose how your donation is applied so please take time to consider those options.

We, the Leadership Team of Sovereign Grace, “give thanks to God always for all of you” (1 Thess 1:2). Thank you for being church members who love Jesus and his gospel. Thank you for loving unbelievers and sharing the hope of the gospel in dark places. Thank you for making it financially possible to plant churches. We thank God for you.

If you are interested in further information on the mission of Sovereign Grace, we have an electronic copy of our mission fund booklet posted here.

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Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.

The Sovereign Grace Council of Elders approved the following statement on May 25, 2013:

As the Sovereign Grace Council of Elders, representing the elderships that govern local churches, we believe that Brent Detwiler has repeatedly and grievously slandered our churches and our leaders.[1] We denounce as sinful and unbiblical his determined effort to accuse our brethren.[2] Consequently, we urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to avoid giving audience to Brent Detwiler’s unbiblical speech until such a time that he repents of this ungodly pattern. Such harmful speech is ruinous to the church of God.

Furthermore, in contradiction to Brent Detwiler’s ongoing statements, we vigorously reiterate our support of C.J. Mahaney as a qualified minister of the gospel.[3] While we wholeheartedly support our reformation in polity, we also publicly declare our gratefulness for C.J.’s many years of service and commend his ongoing ministry of the gospel.[4]

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[1] This belief is based on the numerous public statements Brent has made accusing leaders of Sovereign Grace churches of lying, deception, hypocrisy, conspiracy, abuse, etc. without due process nor sufficient information and at times blatantly contrary to the facts.
[2] See Exodus 23:1, Proverbs 11:9,13, 20:19, 26:20, 1 Corinthians 13:7, Ephesians 4:29-32, 1 Timothy 5:19, Titus 3:1-3, James 4:11-12, and 1 Peter 2:1.
[3] Per Interim Board announcement on the review panels dated January 25, 2012 and Preliminary Panel Report dated July 27, 2011.
[4] C.J. serves as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville but does not hold a staff position with Sovereign Grace Churches, Inc.