Todd Peterson, Pastor at Cross of Grace Church, El Paso, Texas, and Emerging Nations Representative to India along with Erik Rangel, Lead Pastor of Legacy Church in Yuma, Arizona, have been working separately in India for about 20 years combined and started working together in the last 3 years.

They recently traveled to Prayagraj, which is in northern India in the state of Utter Pradesh to meet with a pastor that Erik has been working with for the last 12 years as a partner in their Bible College which has planted nearly 100 churches in the region around Prayagraj. This pastor is interested in getting to know Sovereign Grace more formally and they are excited about the possibilities of partnership and serving there.

Todd and Erik were also able to visit a church in Bhubaneswar, Odisha of about 200 in the heart of one of the biggest slums in India, to explore partnership with them. During this time they were able to see the city and the surrounding region, meet their families and spend many hours trying to understand the challenges that they face. They look forward to continuing to move this relationship forward.

The last stop was the southern village of Gundugolanu, Andhra Pradesh, the home village of pastor Jaya Prakash (JP) Ravuri who became a fully ordained pastor in SGC. One of the purposes of this stop was to be there on Sunday at his church to formally ordain JP as a Sovereign Grace elder. The ordination service was a tremendous blessing! 

Valley Creek Church, Malvern, Pennsylvania, a church planted by Covenant Fellowship Church on October 2nd, launched in strength with 52 adults and 40+ kids (most under the age of 10!). This is a group of people committed to the Gospel and eager to serve.

An update from Nick Kidwell, Senior Pastor:

What a joy it is to share with you all what God has been doing in and through Valley Creek Church thus far. Thank you for all the many and varied ways that you have provided support for us along the way. We are so grateful that we do not walk this path alone!

“Two roads diverged in a chaotic world and they, the pastors of Sovereign Grace, they took the one less traveled by. And that made all the difference.” ~Mark Prater

Last month at the Council of Elders meeting, the day before the Pastors Conference, Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, gave his annual “State of the Union” address titled: The Sure and Righteous Path.

Follow Sovereign Grace Churches on Instagram: @SovGraceChurches

We Plant & Strengthen Churches for the Glory of God

I am excited to share that we have officially launched an Instagram account for Sovereign Grace Churches.

Our goal is not to gain a massive following, but to provide a more accessible form of communication about and from SGC for our pastors, church members, global partners, and anyone interested in learning more about SGC.

This account will highlight local churches around the world, updates from our leadership team, stories from our Emerging Nations, latest Sovereign Grace Journal updates, and more.

Follow @SovGraceChurches to catch the latest updates, photos, videos, and resources from SGC churches, missions, and leaders.

Join us as we celebrate all that God is doing in SGC and throughout the world!

Lauren Maples, Content Strategist for Sovereign Grace Churches

One of the ways Jesus taught us to pray is to ask that God’s "will be done" (Matthew 6:10). Praying that short phrase, “your will be done” has wonderful theological and practical implications for our lives. In his book, “Prayer and the Knowledge of God” Graeme Goldsworthy writes, "God graciously allows us to be involved in the carrying out of his will. He gives us the privilege of identifying with his will by asking him to do what he has already determined to do.” It’s stunning that God allows us to be involved in the carrying out of His will, and that begins with us asking Him to do what He has already determined to do.

I’ve listed the "Sovereign Grace Fourth Quarter Prayer Requests” below so that we can participate in the carrying out of God’s will for our family of churches by asking Him to do what He has already determined to do. As we offer up these specific requests in prayer, let us also pray for His will to be done in Sovereign Grace.

Thank you for praying for our family of churches.

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•  Pray that God would draw unbelievers to Sovereign Grace churches as we hold our Christmas related events and services in December.

• Pray that God would give the members of Sovereign Grace churches opportunities to share the gospel with unbelieving family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers over the holiday season.

• Pray for the Arche Church in Dnipro, Ukraine that Sovereign Grace is relating to, and sending money for war relief efforts, asking God to protect them, and to use them to offer gospel hope as the war continues in that nation.

• Pray for the men who are participating in our Church Planting Cohort: Ramon Flores (Yuma, AZ), Gabriel Magill (Warren, PA), Perry Wang (Charleston, SC), Jeremy Hetrick (Harrisburg, PA), asking God to use the Cohort to equip them to plant a Sovereign Grace church in the next year or two.

• Pray for Dave Taylor (Director of Global Missions) and the Sovereign Grace Leadership Team asking God to give them wisdom in exploring partnership opportunities with churches in Poland and Sweden.

• Pray that God would use the Sovereign Grace Music “Prepare Him Room” concerts in various cities in December to celebrate the birth of Christ and to declare the good news of the gospel.

•  Pray that God would continue to provide financially for Sovereign Grace Churches so that we can fund the gospel opportunities He is giving us throughout the world.

Graphic created by Ken Delage, Senior Pastor, Mercy Hill Community Church

Our small family of churches continues to become more global in our mission to advance the gospel by planting and strengthening churches for the glory of God, including a relationship with a church in Ukraine. Because of the generosity of Sovereign Grace supporters, we have been able to send about $4000/week to this church for war relief. However, we will run out of money earmarked for Ukraine war relief efforts by the end of 2022. It appears that the war will continue well into next year, and therefore the needs people have for food, medical supplies, shelter, etc., will also continue.

Here is an e-mail I received from our contact in Ukraine:

I thank you for your service and help to the suffering people of Ukraine.

We are approached for help by people whose houses were completely destroyed by bombs and rockets. Thanks to your generous donations, we can give them food, warm clothes, blankets. We continue to distribute food to 300 people a week. Throughout the war, we have served many thousands. Our greatest joy and passion is to share the gospel with these people. God opens their hearts to faith in Jesus. Many of them found in our city not only a new place to live, but also a church. 12 refugee women were at the women's meeting. Each of them has their own story of grief, loss and suffering due to the war, but each of them has a testimony that the Lord was good to them and gave them grace for a new life in Christ.

 This night our city was attacked by Russian drones. Unfortunately, not all drones were able to shoot down our air defenses. All the inhabitants of the city did not sleep because of a series of powerful explosions. A mail terminal was blown up near my house. 4 young guys, the workers were badly injured, and now they are in the hospital in intensive care, unconscious. One of them is my neighbor. I pray that the Lord will heal him and that I can meet with him to talk about Jesus. 

God is using difficult and challenging circumstances to save people in Ukraine through the service of this pastor and the members of the Arche Church in Dnipro. I believe we are to continue to financially support their work in Ukraine in 2023 so that practical needs can be met, and the gospel can continue to be declared to war refugees in that nation. Will you consider giving to the Europe Development Fund with the goal of raising $208,000 now so that we can commit to sending $4000/week to Ukraine for all of 2023?

As you prayerfully ponder my question, consider the example of our brothers in the Philippines, who recently just endured a devastating hurricane, yet all of the SGC pastors there desired to contribute, and “gave out of their poverty in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Regardless of the amount given, may it be faith-filled believing that God will use our collective generosity as a global family of churches to support the good gospel work in Ukraine.

Should you or your church decide to give, you can give to the Europe Development Fund here.  When you do, please indicate that your financial gift is for the Ukraine war relief effort. Your generosity is not just meeting practical needs, your generosity is being used to advance the gospel. If you give, please know my deep appreciation for your generosity.