Recently on the podcast I shared five hopes I have for Sovereign Grace Churches in 2024. Here is a summary of the hopes with the linked podcast episode below if you’d like to watch or listen or read the full transcript, with additional explanation and resources for deeper understanding.

1. The first hope is that we would be a family of churches that have a pronounced zeal for Christ. From Romans 12:11. "Do not be slothful in zeal but fervent in spirit." May our churches be filled with zealous people; that we love nothing more than Jesus Christ.

2. The second hope is that we would have joy in Christ; that Sovereign Grace churches would be happy churches, full of joy, because we are stunned and amazed in an ongoing way for what Christ has done for us in the gospel through the finished work of Christ. And so may that continue by the grace of God in our churches.

3. The third hope is growth in Christlikeness. That our churches would work out our salvation with fear and trembling as God works in every one of us, from Philippians 2:12-13, that ongoing Christ-like transformation by the grace of God. And may we be intentional to pursue it. And I'm praying that by the transforming grace of God that happens in each of our churches.

4. A fourth hope is to continue to have theological clarity and strength. This is very important right now because of the culture that we live in, which is not only moving away from God's word, but also very confused. So, we want to be very clear about what we believe and how we live and to share it with love.

5. That we would be churches that are marked by the love of Christ. From Corinthians 13, the distinguishing mark of the Christian and of the Christian Church is that of love as biblically defined; that is other-centered, patient and its kind. It keeps no record of wrongs; it does not boast. It believes all things, hopes all things, and loves at all times.

If we live out these five hopes by the grace of God, I think we will be a light in darkness and will continue to have opportunities to tell people about the good news of Jesus Christ.

And lastly, I thank God for the pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches and for their wives, and for the members of Sovereign Grace Churches. We are just ordinary pastors and ordinary church members that are trying to live out the good of the gospel in our lives and I'm so glad I get to do it with our family of churches.

At the end of December 2023 on the weekly podcast with Benjamin Kreps, I spoke about how good God has been to our family of churches over the last year and recounted a few of these blessings that I’m so grateful for. Here’s a summary of what I shared with Ben. To watch or listen to the full podcast or read the complete transcript, see the link to the podcast below.

1. I'm grateful for the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches who have a clear commitment to gospel centrality reflected in a gospel culture that is captured in our seven shaping virtues: humility, joy, gratitude, generosity, encouragement, servanthood, godliness. It is really the fruit of the gospel and God's power at work in us through the spirit to transform us and make us more like Christ. It's an amazing work and God deserves all the glory.

2. I’m really grateful for the number of new Christians, new believers, that I've met in Sovereign Grace churches and it's such a joy to interact with them. And you can see the impact that has on a congregation that someone new in Christ is among them and their own love for Christ affects all the others who have been loving Christ for years and it just makes it exponentially greater.

3. Another thing I'm grateful for is how God has continued to give us opportunities to plant churches and partner with churches throughout the world. We have churches in about 20 different nations now. And it's just been a wonderful season for us to expand globally and to see how God is using our churches throughout the world to advance the gospel. Another evidence of that this year, our Council of Elders voted that Mexico become the first ecclesiastical nation outside the United States.

4. I thank God for the young people in our churches. I see younger generations of people, the teen years into the twenties and early thirties, who really love Jesus and are excited about the work of the gospel and love their Sovereign Grace churches. It really is encouraging to see and evidence that we might be a multi-generational family of churches, by the grace of God. So I'm very grateful to God for the young people in our churches.

5. Another thing I'm grateful for is the pastors of Sovereign Grace who faithfully preach sound doctrine and build their churches on sound doctrine. And that's not easy to do right now in this cultural moment. So not only for the theological precision in preaching, but the courage to preach it. And brothers, pastors in Sovereign Grace, you have done that well and I thank God for you. And it’s just one of the many evidences of the grace of God on your lives.

6. I'm also grateful for our commitment to build together relationally as a family of churches. When we codified the BCO and approved it in 2013, we became a denomination. But since then we've continued to build relationally. And I think that's always marked us. And it's something that makes doing gospel ministry together sweeter and just so much better. And so that is the grace of God on our lives. It's another expression of his goodness towards us.

7. I thank God for the wives of the pastors in Sovereign Grace Churches. These ladies are the real heroes in Sovereign Grace. Not because of how they selflessly serve in their homes and also in the church, but how they also pray for their husbands, encourage their husbands, and speak truth to their husbands. And so I'm just very grateful for their love for their husbands, service to them, and willingness to speak truth to them. And that has only strengthened us.

8. One other thing; I want to express gratitude for you, Ben. Thank you for doing this podcast with me yet again another year. I believe we've probably recorded 50 podcasts this year, and I just thank God for how you make it so much better. And thank you for making the time and the effort to do this. We both have said that we do this podcast to serve the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches and I'm so glad I get to do that with you. So thank you.

WorshipGod: hosted by Sovereign Grace Music for anyone who plans, leads, or participates in the Sunday gathering.

Every WorshipGod conference seeks to equip and encourage pastors, leaders, musicians, tech personnel, and songwriters in three areas related to planning and leading congregational worship:

• Theology, covering areas like the nature and character of God, a biblical theology of worship, the primacy of God’s Word and the gospel, and more.

• Heart, addressing the attitudes, motives, purity, integrity, family life, and passion of the worshiper.

• Skill, applying to areas like musicianship, leadership, and communication.

Each WorshipGod conference also features general topics that benefit non-musicians and non-leaders.

Every WorshipGod conference includes giveaways in each session, free lunches, lots of laughter, and a serious pursuit of encountering God. Participants tend to want a biblical foundation for what they do, see worship in life as important as worship in song, and highly value the local church. We aim for a family, non-hype feel at the conference, well aware that Sunday mornings shouldn’t be characterized primarily by production and performance, but by the participation of God’s people.

---

Conference resources are now posted on the website: audio & video for the main sessions, breakout sessions with outlines, testimonies and a Spotify playlist.

“I would encourage you to listen or watch those main sessions and do it in the order that they were preached, which is how they're listed on the website because there was something unique I think about this conference about how God took each of those messages and knitted them together in a way that man can't plan for and actually can't do.” ~Mark Prater, on his recent podcast.

The RELAY Conference will be held Jan 4-6, 2024 at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA.

Our desire is to inspire this generation to personalize and carry forward our shared doctrine, values, and mission that we cherish as Sovereign Grace churches. As we gather together from many churches to hear God’s word, sing God’s praises, build relationships across churches, and invest in future leaders, we are asking God to use this conference for his glory and the strengthening of our churches for decades to come.

While the conference is aimed at college students and young adults (18-25 years old), as well as their leaders, we welcome mature high school students (aged 16 & 17) and those in their late 20s or 30s. We don’t have strict age limits. And while the conference aims at serving Sovereign Grace churches, we welcome and encourage those in other churches to attend.

An update by David Del Castillo, Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

This has been a time of growth for our church. Although we have already started conducting pastoral interviews for the group that finished the last membership process, we have many waiting to start the process because they arrived once it had already begun. They are very encouraged to be part of our church!

So much so, that our place is already getting too small. We added 15 more chairs which is the capacity limit and after worship time we have to wait for the children to go to Sunday school so that people have a chair to sit in. Every Sunday we have between 80 - 90 people in attendance and so we pray that God guides us in what to do, since the place we have is very low cost compared to the increase we would have to pay for a new meeting place.