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.

The blog post Coming Soon: A Preview of the Knowing God Album originally appeared on Christ Over All on December 22, 2023 and was reposted with permission.

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2023 marked the 50th anniversary of J.I. Packer’s classic book, Knowing God. What originated as a series of magazine articles has become a tool that God has used to shape, deepen, and ignite the theology of five decades of Christians, including me. Since I first read it in the late 70s, I’ve quoted and referred to it more times than I can count. Kevin DeYoung called it “easily one of the most influential books of the last half century.”

So when my son, Devon, suggested that Sovereign Grace Music write and record an album of songs based on Packer’s book, it was a no-brainer. First, it would be an opportunity to highlight how God has used Knowing God to make theology not only accessible, but delightful. Second, we knew Packer’s book would be a rich resource for songs that connect the head and the heart. Third, we hoped it would cause those who have never read it to do so, and stir those who have already read it to read it again! Finally, good theology always leads to glad doxology. Knowing God isn’t simply a book to read. It’s songs waiting to be sung.

So in early 2022, we began writing them. It would be an overwhelming task to try to write a song for each of the twenty-two chapters, and would also make for an excessively long album. Instead, we based our songs on sentences, paragraphs, or chapters that inspired us. Sometimes the connection was obvious. Other times, Packer’s words served as a springboard for articulating related themes.

It was moving to see the reaction of people who had never read the book. “Where has this book been? . . . This is amazing! . . . Packer communicates such deep thoughts in such a clear and understandable way!” But those familiar with the book responded similarly. “I forgot how helpful this book was . . . His writing is so biblical and affecting . . . Why haven’t I read this every year?”

We ended up with over 100 songs, which isn’t unusual when we’re working on a recording. Here are some of the songs that made the cut after a year and a half of writing.

Sing

Sing is a jubilant call to worship that reflects a single sentence in chapter thirteen, “The Grace of God.” Packer quotes the lyrics to an Isaac Watts hymn and then says, “The people who can sincerely take Watts’ words on their lips will not soon tire of singing the praises of grace.”

So verse three of Sing proclaims:

On the final day when the Lord on high returns in majesty

We will bow in wonder before the Lamb

and evermore the saints will sing

yes, evermore the saints will sing . . .

Morning and evening everything breathing must sing, oh sing

All of creation rise up and praise the King of kings

The One who created and redeemed us is worthy of unending songs of passionate praise. 

Christ Our Wisdom

Christ Our Wisdom is an extended meditation on chapters nine and ten, in which Packer reminds us how God often hides his purposes so we learn to trust his wisdom and not our own. 

“The New Testament tells us that the fruit of wisdom is Christlikeness—peace, and humility, and love (James 3:17)—and the root of it is faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Timothy 3:15) as the manifested wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30).”

As we look to Christ as our wisdom, we learn to trust God even when we can’t see the way ahead. 

Christ our wisdom, we are humbled when you hide your ways from us

You have purposes unnumbered, each one good and glorious 

Help us trust when we grow weary, free us from our anxious thoughts 

Give us grace to see more clearly You are God and we are not    

We Are Yours Forever

We Are Yours Forever was an attempt to capture one of the most impacting chapters in Knowing God, “Sons of God.” Few have written so eloquently or powerfully on the privilege, reality, and effect of being adopted into God’s family. 

“Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship—he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection, and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater.”

We tried to express the greatness of that family relationship in this chorus:

Oh, what a love you have lavished on us 

To call us Your children, daughters and sons

One with the Savior, bought by his blood 

We are yours forever

All Things

All Things is a simple song that reflects this section from chapter twelve, “The Love of God.” 

“As believers, we find in the cross of Christ assurance that we, as individuals, are beloved of God; ‘the Son of God . . . loved me and gave himself for me’ (Gal. 2:20). Knowing this, we are able to apply to ourselves the promise that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). Not just some things, note, but all things!”

The last verse of the song directs our eyes to the faithfulness of God in all things, even to the end:

Til the day you come in power or I reach my final hour

You will keep me

You’re the Author of my story,

You are faithful, you are for me 

I will praise you, I will praise you

Additional Songs

The rest of the album includes some revised and modern hymns, a communion song, and songs that focus on living to pleasing the Lord, the Spirit’s work in helping us see Christ, and the final judgment. And as a bonus, we’ve included a new version of Before the Throne of God Above.

The album isn’t out yet, but we’ll be releasing a single a month starting in February 2024, and Lord willing, the rest of the album in July.

We pray that as you listen to and sing these songs from Knowing God you’ll appreciate more than ever how our best theology will always lead to passionate praise.

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Bob Kauflin is a pastor, songwriter, worship leader, and author with over thirty-five years of experience. After serving as a pastor in Sovereign Grace Churches for twelve years, he assumed the role of Director of Sovereign Grace Music in 1997. Through conferences, seminars, and his blog (www.worshipmatters.com), he seeks to equip pastors, musicians, and songwriters in the theology and practice of congregational worship. He is currently one of the pastors at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, KY, led by C.J. Mahaney. Bob and his wife Julie are blessed with six adult children and an ever-growing number of grandchildren.

Recent graduates of the Arche Pastors College in Hamburg, Germany.

An update from Markus Kniesel, Dean of the Arche Pastors College in Hamburg, Germany:

In a few months, the Arche Pastors College (APC) will have existed for 10 years in Germany. We are glad to share with you with much gratitude to God how He has built and blessed the APC for His Kingdom during this time.

The model for the development of the APC has been the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Churches that was located in former times in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Christian Wegert, Senior Pastor of the Arche church, and myself, Dean of the Arche Pastors College, were able to receive our pastoral training (in 2007-2008, and 2011-2012 respectively).

In February 2014, the APC was founded out of the desire to plant and to strengthen gospel centered churches in Germany and beyond. According to 2 Timothy 2:2, it is our goal to train men for pastoral ministry through 3 things: theological training, building character, and practical serving in the local church. The APC is not a full-time program. Rather, within 4 to 5  years the students undertake 4 modules each year. Each module is taught on Friday, Saturday, and Monday in the classroom. Since 2017, parallel to the lectures, the wives of the students meet with my wife, Kati on Saturdays to prepare them for ministry by their husband's side and to be strengthened in their personal spiritual lives.

Sovereign Grace Churches has been a great support in the development of the APC, both in an advisory and practical way. From the beginning, we have been supported by pastors and theologians who also teach at the US SG Pastors College. These men include Pastor Josh Blount (SGC Living Faith, Franklin, West Virginia), and Dr. Thomas Schreiner (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky). We are especially grateful to Jeff Purswell for his personal commitment to come to Germany every year whenever possible to teach one out of four of the yearly modules.

Since the very first module which was taught by Jeff Purswell in March 2014, two cohorts of students have graduated from the APC. In 2018, the first class of 11 men from German churches and Arche Church plants in Ukraine and Russia graduated. The second graduation took place in May 2022 with 15 more students after 4 to 5 years of training. Several of the graduates now serve in full-time ministry in Germany, in the Arche churches of Hamburg, Stade, and Hannover as well as in our daughter churches in Ukraine and Russia. We see that the APC is serving to be a church planting and mission project.

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The article Partnering with Our Brothers in Germany was originally posted by Yvonne Gordon on the Sovereign Grace Missions blog on December 5, 2023.

Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches giving his State of the Union address at the 2023 Council of Elders Meeting preceding the Pastors Conference: The Church of Christ and the Triumph of Truth.

The 2023 Sovereign Grace Churches State of the Union address is posted on the Sovereign Grace website along with all Pastors Conference resources. On his recent podcast, Mark highlighted three key points from his annual State of the Union Address:

1. Developing Future Pastors

2. Risk to Plant Churches in the United States

3. Protecting and Promoting Our Gospel Heritage

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“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”— Matthew 9:37

A Church Planter is a:

1. Discipler: A church planter is someone marked by a sense of mission to lead others to follow Jesus. He is a disciple-making disciple.

2. Pastor: A church planter is also a pastor and must fulfill the biblical requirements for character and teaching. He is a gifted preacher and qualified elder.

3. Missionary: A church planter will think and live like a missionary, with a heart for a particular place and people, and discernment to proclaim the gospel effectively. He is a Spirit-called missionary.

4. Equipper: A church planter must equip and position others to participate in the work of ministry. He is a contagious leader and equipper.

5. Churchman: A church planter will display a heart and skill for building the local church. He is a churchman and community builder.

6. Pioneer: A church planter must be able to bring into reality something that doesn’t exist yet. He is a visionary architect.

7. Optimist: A church planter maintains a hope-filled faith in God through the ups and downs of church planting. He is a God-centered optimist.

Get Help in Assessing Your Call to Church Planting

The 7-Traits of a Church Planter assessment tool is aimed at guiding and identifying those the Lord of the harvest is preparing to be sent into the harvest. It’s the result of bringing together biblical principles, practical wisdom, and lessons learned in planting churches for over 30 years as a family of churches in Sovereign Grace. This tool is meant to be profitable for self-assessment, but it is also designed to be part of a larger conversation with your pastors and those around you.

Regardless of what particular role each disciple plays in advancing the mission (as a church planter, pastor, small group leader, etc.) every disciple is part of Jesus’s mission. May this assessment serve to stir your desire to be a faithful disciple of Jesus for the glory of God.

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