Around the World: Global Updates
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast - where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace Churches with our executive director. Mark, anybody who checks out the podcast knows that you are regularly giving encouraging updates about our family of churches growing globally because there has been significant surprising expansion in partnerships across the globe in Sovereign Grace. Everyone loves growth and we love the updates in the stories and adding new churches and ordinations and all of that. That's exciting stuff. But behind the scenes, it's necessary for there to be thoughtfulness and careful planning when it comes to acclimating and accommodating all of this activity. I know you and the leadership team - Dave Taylor - works tirelessly towards this, but talk to us about some of the ways that you think about how this all works as we build globally.
Mark Prater:
Yes, I agree. First of all, we continue to be amazed, don't we, at how God is expanding us throughout the world in nations we never thought we would be doing ministry. It still boggles my mind, and I say that because God alone deserves all the glory. He's the one who's doing this and we're just trying to run behind and follow him. I think it does need thoughtfulness in terms of expansion. It needs planning for this reason. We can add some churches and we're all happy but then you start doing life together and there's no clarity and definition to it. And then things can get a little messy if you don't have that obviously. In the way that we've thought about how to build, I think there's three ways primarily that we think about it.
First, it’s the foundations that are theological in nature - it's our statement of faith - that we have that not only brings a wonderful worship in our hearts towards God when we read it, it's actually very helpful in expanding globally for any denomination, in this case, Sovereign Grace, because we must have theological compatibility. Our unity is found in the word of God alone. I'll speak in a minute about building relationships. We want to build relationally, but our unity won't be found in that. Our unity will be found in theological foundation.
Second, as we expand, it needs definition, and we really have that in our book of church order. Polity brings definition and it defines the partnership. It really defines how the partnership functions, and that brings a lot of clarity to folks (not just definition). We want to continue to build relationally so we lay foundations theologically, we define things through our BCO, or at least our partnership through our BCO. And then we look to build relationally because we are truly a global family of churches. And all of those things provide clarity and they provide definition, which just makes the process a lot easier. And then if you do hit issues along the way, we've defined how do we speak into those issues or those problems so that as we expand, we continue to do two things. We're not distracted by issues - we're focused on advancing the gospel -and knowing how to work through issues we might face we can give God glory. So it's really about the advancement of the gospel and the glory of God ultimately in defining what our expansion looks like.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. It is been said that - gospel doctrine without gospel culture is hypocritical and harsh. Gospel culture without gospel doctrine is ephemeral and has nothing to stand on. But gospel doctrine and gospel culture married together, there's power there. And that's exactly what we are interested in as we grow together in Sovereign Grace. And speaking of global expansion and what God's doing in Sovereign Grace, you have some updates for us from across the globe.
Mark Prater:
I do exciting updates, timely updates. I share them for two reasons. One, to encourage all those who are reading or listening, but mostly I'm sharing them again to give God all the glory. I'm just going to walk through just different parts of the world. I'm going to start in the Asia Pacific part of the world.
Pray for the first Sovereign Grace Churches Philippines informal regional assembly of elders meeting. It is occurring in Sabu City in July 9 – 12th (you are hearing of this after). This is all for the ordained elders in the Philippines that are gathering to get updates. They're going to build relationally to just discuss and address different ministry issues in the churches in the Philippines, and then continue to work through their thoughts and recommendations in writing and forming what will become the Sovereign Grace Churches Philippines book of church order. When they have that together and that gets ratified and approved, then we will have another nation. We have, of course, the United States, we have Mexico and now up next few years, Sovereign Grace Churches of Philippines. So it's just an exciting time in the Philippines with all that's going on. Continue to pray for Jeffrey Joe in Manila and leads a wonderful gospel centered joyful church, but also is leading that nation. So that's the Asia Pacific.
We're going to go over to Latin America next. Jacobis Aldana - who is the lead pastor of a candidate church in Santa Marta, Columbia - will be ordained on Sunday, July 12th. He will become our first ordained Sovereign Grace elder in that nation.
Benjamin Kreps:
Oh, come on!
Mark Prater:
And then his church will become an emerging nation partner church. We'll have our first ordained elder in a first full partner church in Columbia. Joselo Mercado and Rich Richardson are going to be there for the ordination and staying a few extra days - July 14th through the 16th - for the first Latin America Pastor's Retreat in Santa Marta. It's the first one of its kind outside of Mexico (they've had them in Mexico over the last few years but this is the first one outside of Mexico). There'll be pastors there from Columbia, Bolivia and Costa Rica. And again, time to build relationally, time to get updates, time to talk through pastoral issues they're facing, and a time to dream and pray about how to build Sovereign Grace in Latin America. Joselo and Rich will be leading that time so please pray for those two men as they lead and pray for those brothers Latin America.
Okay, let's go to Africa. Just a couple of quick updates there. Bart Lipscomb is going to be traveling to Africa - Bart is the senior pastor of Christ Church in Conroe, Texas and the area leader in Africa. He's going to be traveling and spending time in Zambia and Namibia - July 11th through 18th. Please pray that God uses him to strengthen those pastoral teams and churches. And we just made final plans for the first Sovereign Grace Africa Pastor's retreat that will be for ordained Sovereign Grace elders in Africa. That will be happening in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Trinity Fellowship has been so kind to host that. It'll be in March of 2026. So begin to pray about that event as well.
Let’s move over to Europe. This will be a little bit quicker, but I want to give this update. I want to point out what our brothers are facing in a couple of places in Europe and how you can pray for them. So for our church plant in Torino, Italy (led by Ed O'Mara) and a church that is pursuing an emerging nation partner status Oasis Church in London, England where Pat and Dana Tedeschi just went last year to begin to lead that church and lead them into Sovereign Grace. Both of those churches, the one in Torino and the one in London is in search of meeting different location.
For the case in Torino, Italy. They've been meeting in a home, they've gotten to a place, they just need a bigger space. So pray for them in God's provision, which isn't easy to find in Italy, for them to have a suitable meeting location on a Sunday morning. And then the same in London. Pat just thinks we need to be in a different place of London and in a different building. So pray that God provides not just the building for both of those locations, but the resources they need, and that as they begin to meet, maybe even in new communities, in both parts of their cities, they would have a chance to reach new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then let me just finish up here in the United States.
Benjamin Kreps:
Last but not least!
Mark Prater:
Last but not least, the good old USA. We have five church plants here in the United States that will be launched this fall. I think most all of them in September, if I have my facts right. But certainly this fall. So that would be Emmanuel Church in Coatesville, Pennsylvania (led by Nathan Smith), Trinity Church in Galloway, New Jersey (led by Eric Huber), Christ Community Church in North Knoxville, Tennessee (led by Josh Varnedoe), Hope Community Church in SpringHill, Tennessee (led by Howard Vornado – Josh’s father), and then one more in North Manchester, Indiana. So those are our five different locations in the United States where church plants are being launched, sending churches are sacrificing because they're sending their best and they're sending resources and they're sending money, and they're doing all that for the sake of the gospel and advancing the gospel. In terms of this - we plant churches to reach people we've not reached yet with the good news of Jesus Christ. So those are a few updates that just describe how good God is being to our small family of churches.
Benjamin Kreps:
Wonderful. Well, thank you for the updates, and thank you all for checking out the podcast, and we'll see you here next week. Lord willing. Bye for now.