Winter 2022

When we write we generally try to share pictures and stories to illustrate how your partnership with us, through prayer and financial support, is impacting the ministry…but as we close out the year, we thought it would be helpful and encouraging to see some numbers from 2022. Behind the numbers are many stories and wonderful people being called out of darkness, making great sacrifices and leading with inspiring faith. It is an honor to serve Jesus and His people! Thank you for being a part. 

A lot of what we do is empower others to do the ministry by coaching and equipping them and connecting leaders, pastors and under resourced churches and ministries to resources that they need. We are involved in training in two main areas: Trauma Healing and Church Planting:

Here is a picture of us at our church’s annual Christmas Banquet. As always Christ was shared, we had good food and a lot of laughter. 

Beniah, our youngest, sure looks a lot like Santa!

I love this picture because it has some of the most genuine laughter from our family – but it was at my expense. You know how you set the timer on your camera and then run to get into place before the picture takes…well, that is what we were trying, but I sort of tripped, and face planted on my way to the picture….and this is what you get…everyone laughing. 😊

Wishing you a very joy-filled Christmas!

 

Trauma Healing Group Testimonies

This has been such a full year of training and equipping pastors and leaders who are expanding the impact of the Good News of Jesus around the city and world. We have walked several cohorts of people through different levels of training in Trauma Ministry and Church Planting this year touching various neighborhoods in Los Angeles as well as North, Central and South America and Africa. In just one of our most recent advanced Trauma Trainings in Spanish the trainers sent in reports of over 200 people that have gone through the Trauma Healing Groups (that was the impact of just 5 leaders leading two groups each in 7 months). It is rewarding to train these trainers, those that have come through our healing groups and are now helping us expand these ministries into new places.  

Here are testimonies from two leaders that we have trained as trauma healing group facilitators:

“I believe more pastors, maybe all pastors, should take this course so that they know how to really help people and bring healing – it goes beyond just learning how to preach the Word, but to guide people to the Word and to bring true healing through the Word into the deepest parts of our hearts.” – Julio (Julio and his wife are now partnering with us to train new facilitators.)

Pastor Noe shared many stories from his latest trauma healing group in the country of Burundi. He said the response has been massive as there is such a need - they want more (so we need to train more of his collegues to help him!). He shared of people suffering from war, local violence, AIDS, suicide, being abandonded by family, extreme poverty, and a poor understanding of Scripture and how trauma affects them individually and as a community. 

Pastor Noe is pictured below facilitating a healing group at a community church with a group of youth. 

Thank you for joining us in prayer for:

• The 1,000s of people that have begun their healing journey because they have gone through a healing group led by one of the facilitators we have trained this year.
• A special time celebrating Christmas this year (our last year before Rebecca goes away for college).
• Our Dean training for our Evangel School of Church Planting for internationals this January. Pray that all the key leaders would get their visas in time and the fruit of new churches across the globe would be greater than we can imagine.