August was a very sweet month for me, in that over a stretch of twelve days, I got to visit both Zambia & Namibia to seek to do all that I can to strengthen our work there... And what a sweet time it was!

First up was Zambia, where I was warmly greeted at the airport by Ector Makaliki (Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church) and his leadership team. I have known about Christ Community Church for many years, remembering when the late Wilbroad Chanda actually planted the church some fifteen years ago, and so to finally be with them was such a joy. I found the church to be exactly what I had expected: joyful, gracious, encouraging, zealous, gospel-centred, to name but a few.

The Sunday gathering was a highlight, to finally be with the gathered saints of CCC. Their unwavering expressiveness in song will always remain with me, what a wonderful picture of heaven they are. Likewise gathering with all of their leadership group and seeing their heart for the lost, both locally and globally was such an encouragement to me. CCC was the first church in Africa to be in full partnership with Sovereign Grace as an Emerging Nation Church, something it was a joy to remind them of and celebrate with them about.

During my stay I also got to spend some time with Zicky Chanda and her son, Penjani Chanda, as we toured the work of Covenant Mercies together, and in particular the work of Lighthouse Christian School. It’s been nearly 20 years now since this school was founded, serving over 400 children in the area, many of whom are orphans and are able to attend through Covenant Mercies sponsorships. It is an outstanding ministry and one I’m thrilled we get to partner with.

This update was originally posted on our SGC Missions blog and was written by Dave Taylor, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Sydney and Director of Global Missions for Sovereign Grace Churches..

An update from Jeff Purswell, Director of Theology for Sovereign Grace Churches and Dean of the US Pastors College.

If you had wandered past the Pastors College classroom just a few months ago, you likely would have detected a medley of English, Spanish, and Portuguese echoing from our Louisville, Kentucky location. The “US” Pastors College hosted its most global class to date, the class of 2024, which graduated in June. Two of the six students traveled to us from outside the United States (Mexico and Brazil), while two of the four Americans hailed from Spanish-speaking backgrounds. And yet, despite the vast diversity of background and culture, these six men and their families formed a tight partnership and brotherhood that vividly displayed the gospel’s unifying power.  

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a PC class bond more quickly than these six students. Laughter filled the classroom from orientation day to graduation, and these men opened up their lives and hearts to one another from the very beginning. What a privilege it was to watch them link arms together, diving headlong into a year of rigorous theological study and discipleship, all for the purpose of fruitful gospel ministry.

Equally impressive were their wives. It was the first time we’ve ever brought in translators for our monthly PC wives’ meetings, and we needed two translators each time — one for Spanish and one for Portuguese! All the wives radiated exceptional courage and sacrifice over the year, which in God’s kindness, produced a harvest of godly fellowship and growth.

We witnessed deep friendships form across cultures as these families cared for one another throughout the year…

This blog was originally posted on September 24 on the SG Missions website. Click here to view the original post.

Recently on the Mark Prater podcast, Mark shared about the recent leadership team retreat where they discussed everything from church adoptions, to publishing efforts, to the upcoming 2024 Pastors Conference. One of the highlights were details on some upcoming church plants. Here is a clip from that conversation with Ben Kreps. The full podcast is linked below.

The Church Planting Group and Joel Shorey, our new Director of Church Planting, just had a retreat last month. And so Jon gave us an update on that. It's just so encouraging to see what work our church planting group is doing and now the leadership that Joel is bringing not only to them, but to our church planting efforts. And that's just very timely because we have six to seven, I think, church plants planned here in the states over the next two years. (Ben: "let's go") And then another 10 outside the states over the next two to three years. So in the next two to three years, we're going to plant somewhere between 16 and 17 churches if things go as planned.

At the SGC Pastors Conference last year I played a short 4 minute video of some of the Global Missions highlights from 2023, and ever since then, I’ve had a number of folk ask me if there’d be something like this that could be played and used at a local church level.

Well, good news, there is now!! The following video is a gift to your church to use as you see fit. It is without a date and so should give you a timeless snapshot of so many of the highlights of our work around the world.

I trust it blesses and encourages your congregation. God has been so faithful to us as a family of churches!

In addition, if you’d like to get more people in your church signed up for this newsletter, then here’s a graphic you can use with a quick sign-up QR Code.

What a joy it is to highlight the great work of our Saviour across the world, and how kind He is to let us play our part.

*This blog was originally posted on our SGC Missions site. Click here to read the original post and/or to read and subscribe to the Missions blog.

An update from Abelardo Munoz, a Pastor in Gracia Soberana de Ciudad Juarez…

On Wednesday, August 7th, Mexico's Council of Elders and National Assembly of Elders gathered for the very first time at Iglesia Gracia Soberana of Ciudad Juárez.

The 4-hour meeting was conducted by our national leader, Carlos Contreras, and was attended by all the delegates of the Council of Elders, and 23 of the 25 elders who make up the National Assembly of Elders. These men represent a number of different churches and regions across Mexico.

While these meetings help us grow relationally, they are also a means for us to come together to make crucial decisions relating to the polity, governance, and leadership of Sovereign Grace Churches in Mexico. These gatherings allow us to achieve so much in a short window of time.

For the Council of Elders, we were able to address a number of items on our agenda. We voted unanimously to confirm Carlos Contreras as our national leader, as well as for members for our National Leadership Team and National Polity Committee. We also separated our churches into two provisional regions; the 'North/Central' region and the 'Bajío' region, and appointed regional leaders for each. Financial matters were also discussed, and approval was granted for our 2025 budget.

For the National Assembly of Elders, similarly we were able to nominate and confirm men as members of the National Conflict Resolution Committee and National Ordination Committee. With joy, we were able to officially approve two church plants; one in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and one in Huajuapan, Oaxaca, and were thrilled to hear updates from both church planters. Both churches meet in the homes of these two men and have an average attendance of 15-30 people. The next step for these churches is to find a suitable location big enough to accommodate the growth they expect in the coming months. We are looking forward to officially presenting these churches as Iglesias Gracia Soberana of Reynosa and Iglesias Gracia Soberana of Huajuapan.

While these meetings are necessary in helping us move forward together as a nation, we do not forget that each of these elders represents individual churches. These individual churches are made up of men and women whom Christ died and whose lives have been graciously redeemed.

Please continue to pray for SGC Mexico, in particular the elders who serve on the Council of Elders and National Assembly of Elders. May God be glorified as they press on together in His glorious mission!

This post first appeared on the Sovereign Grace Missions blog on Sept. 4, 2024. Click here to visit the original post.

This video includes just a few highlights from our 2024 Relay Conference. You can find sermons, breakout sessions and more from this conference here, or register for our upcoming 2025 Relay Conference via the button below.