Serving With:

(request more info from the church office)

Background:  

After years of ministry among those with leprosy in India, Sujai & Lavanya responded to God’s call to minister to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS (India’s lowest “caste”). Under their dedicated and capable leadership, a medical work started in 2004 in a small way as an out-patient based clinic in the living room of their home. [Seed money provided from CPC’s Ministry Expansion Fund was used to help launch the ministry.]  The clinic quickly outgrew their home.  Now, a main clinic in Hyderabad and a second location cater to the needs of hundreds of individuals and families each month affected by HIV and leprosy.

Ministry:

AIDS Care, Education & Treatment is a community based organization dedicated to the Christ-like compassionate care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS and leprosy using a holistic approach. The work is based in the medical clinics and in community outreach. It’s key work focus is on providing counselling, medical care, training and empowerment of women, socio-economic, spiritual care and support. 

Prayer Requests:

• That the clinic would truly be a place of hope.
• That the medical staff would be strengthened in their particular leadership roles.
• That God will supply the resources (financial, dedicated personnel, facilities) to continue this ministry. 
• For protection in all times and all locations.

Background:

Compassion's history began in 1952 out of one man’s determination to help 35 children orphaned by the Korean War.

Reverend Everett Swanson flew to South Korea to minister to American troops fighting in the war but grew increasingly troubled by the sight of hundreds of war orphans trying to survive alone on the frigid sidewalks of Seoul, where many died of starvation, exposure and disease. Swanson vowed to find a way to help the children. He raised enough money to support a Korean orphanage and established an organization that gave American sponsors the opportunity to help by paying a small monthly fee to cover the orphans food, shelter, health care and Bible-based education.

Ministry:

Today, Compassion is a global ministry that shares the love of Jesus and serves more than 2.2 million babies, children, and young adults in 29 countries to help break the cycle of poverty. The Child Sponsorship Program is at the core of Compassion’s holistic child development model and is delivered at child development centers, which are administered by thousands of indigenous church partners. The program provides individualized attention to each child and focuses on the four areas of child development: health, education, social skills, and Christian faith.

Compassion.com

Pray for:

• the national churches and leaders that serve the children and their families
• health and wellness of children in difficult circumstances
• more sponsors to support, write, and pray for waiting kids

Serving With:

World Evangelization for Christ (WEC) in Japan

Background:

Matt was born and raised by missionary parents in Japan. He received his M.Div. degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2008. He has 11 years of teaching and preaching experience in various inner-city ministries in South Philadelphia, PA including deacon, youth leader, and Sunday School superintendent. Annette is a family nurse practitioner with 13 years of experience in Hispanic inner-city settings, including some time in Central America. Both did a year of missionary internship in Japan from 2008 to 2009. Matt and Annette have five children: Karissa, Ethan, Paul, Noah, and John.

Ministry:

Matt and Annette have served in Japan since 2013. In 2016, they began church planting in Sendai, Japan, the site of the 2011 earthquake and Tsunami. Matt grew up in Sendai and his parents ministered there for 30 years, giving them history and relationships in this city of 1.2 million. They run a ministry center called the Joy Center on the first floor of their large home. Here they host English classes, children's events, a cooking class, seasonal and special events, and various Bible studies. A single missionary assists them. Please pray with them for people from their Bible studies to come to faith and for a community of faith to be born.  

Prayer Requests:

• For God's blessing on our various ministries and events
• For those studying the Bible with us to believe in Jesus
• For more teammates to share the Gospel in this area
• Spiritual protection and blessing on our marriage and children

Serving With

Mission to the World (MTW)

Background

David was raised in Louisiana and Tennessee. He accepted Christ in high school while participating in a short-term mission trip and has felt the call to missions since that time. Eowyn is the daughter of MTW missionaries who served in France. She came to faith at a young age and sensed a call to missions in her teens. They have five children; Jesse, Liam, Alethea, Emmanuelle, and Ethan.

Ministry

The Stoddards have served with MTW in Berlin, Germany since 2001 as church planters. David currently serves as international director for Europe, overseeing MTW’s vision, strategy, and personnel. Eowyn assists David in his role and supports church-planting through evangelism, teaching, and women’s initiatives. They have five grown children.

David is involved in the education of church leaders in Germany through a new Reformed Seminary called the Martin Bucer Seminary. In 2024 the Stoddards began a church-planting work in Munich. "We’ve acclimated well since moving to Munich. We love our new area, our growing church plant, and the opportunities we have here to be involved in what God is doing!"

Prayer Requests:

• For increased support and their new location in Munich
• For the Lord’s provision of a bigger venue for their growing church
• For their children: Jesse, Liam, Alethea, Emma, and Ethan
• For increased opportunities to form relationships to share the Gospel

Wycliffe - SIL and Seed Company

Background:

Christine grew up in Ohio and came to know the power, love, and compassion of the Lord during high school through Young Life and Campaigners. After spending 20+ years in the corporate world in marketing and product development she followed the Lord’s call on her life and joined Wycliffe, a Bible Translation Organization. From a young age, Christine always had a strong interest in Bible Translation, mainly due to the knowledge that there were still languages without one verse of Scripture in their mother tongue. This knowledge ultimately led her to the role she currently has today.

Ministry:

Spending much of her time in East Africa working with tribes in South Sudan, Christine has partnered with Jesus Film and Faith Comes By Hearing to assist oral-based cultures in translating Scripture and Scripture materials into their mother tongue through visual and audio means. Due to 70% of the remaining languages being orally based, the tools and methods for reaching these tribes and people groups require Christian organizations to work together to share strengths and offer unique innovative solutions that cater to the needs of these challenging languages. 

Work with Uganda area refugee camps has exploded with women's Bible study groups and micro-businesses. Opportunities also developed to build and run a small children's home as well as a primary school!

Prayer Requests:

• For health and safety during travels, and continued provision and support.
• Praise for the many thriving projects among the refugee camps that are sharing God's love!
• For protection from spiritual warfare as the Word of God is sent out - especially for those leaders in the camps.
• Guidance from the Holy Spirit and for all the glory to be given to God. 

Serving with:

Mission to the World - MTW

Background:

God first gave the Underwood family a heart and love for the people of Scotland during their first visit back in 2014. Josh was active-duty military, living in Germany at the time, but Josh and Ashley both knew the Lord would call them back overseas for ministry work. The next six years Josh and Ashley served the church by co-leading a college group and discipling and ministering to high school and middle school students. In 2020 Josh retired from the USAF and their family moved to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, so Josh could attend Covenant College.

Ministry:

In a post-Christian secular society like Scotland there is a great need for gospel workers. The Free Church has a vision to see a healthy gospel church for every community in Scotland and to plant 30 new churches by 2030. In order to do that, they must train and equip over 70 new ministers. The Underwoods plan to work alongside the Free Church in this monumental endeavor with the skills and talents that the Lord has given them, particularly through discipleship and evangelism.

Prayer Requests:

• for their marriage and family adjusting to the move to Scotland
• for gospel relationships with their neighbors
• for further discipleship of the church leaders

Serving with:

https://www.harvestusa.org/

Background:

Yohan grew up in South Korea and Brazil with missionary parents who labored with church plant ministries. He had a previous legal career before coming to faith and served youth ministries for many seasons. He graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary and lives with his beloved wife, in the greater Philadelphia area. Yohan is on the Men’s Ministry staff at Harvest USA. He assists in the equipping mission through preaching, teaching, and creating content for the local church and blog posts. He also facilitates biblical support groups and serves with individual discipleship.

Ministry:

Harvest USA began in 1983 as an outreach ministry in Center City, Philadelphia to care for those affected by the AIDS crisis. Founded as a ministry to those particularly struggling with same-sex attraction, Harvest USA has since expanded its outreach to include those who struggle with sexual issues of all types. Harvest USA brings the truth and mercy of Jesus Christ by helping individuals and families affected by sexual struggles and by providing resources that address biblical sexuality to individuals and churches. Their purpose is to partner with and equip the Church in bringing the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform the lives of those affected by sexual sin. Harvest USA seeks to be a resource to the local church, equipping individual congregations and the Church at large to better care for and disciple those affected by sexual brokenness. They provide excellent resources through blogs, videos, seminars, presentations, and books. It also provides one-on-one discipleship and support groups for men, women, and parents in the Philadelphia office.

Prayer Requests:

• The men and women in small, local Bible study and support groups and for those in the continuing online groups. Ask God to powerfully meet these ministry participants, bringing hope and healing as they seek to see and follow Jesus in new ways.
• The impact of our new curriculum, Jesus and Your Unwanted Journey, for wives facing the pain of sexual betrayal and struggle in their marriages. There were over 600 downloads of the participant’s and leader’s guides from women from several different countries in just the first month of this free resource being available!
• The open staff positions we have here in Women’s Ministry, Parents’ Ministry, and Student Services Ministry. Ask the Lord to provide staff who are burdened in these areas to join the Harvest USA team.

Serving With:

Mission to the World (MTW)

Background:

Pete was reared in South Korea, the son of missionaries. Pete and Ruth met at King College. After their marriage in 1985, they moved to Boston. Then Pete studied at Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 the Lord led the Mitchells to join the MTW church planting team in Marseille, France. Roger, Charlie, James, and Mary Ellen are Pete and Ruth’s four children. Ruth went home to the Lord in December 2024.

Currently, Pete is church-planting in Toulouse, France.

Ministry:

Pete serves on a church planting team with a vision to build up the Reformed Evangelical Churches in southeastern France. Pete also serves on national and presbytery committees of the French church. They have worked closely with Joel Landes, the French national pastor-evangelist. Pete desires that many come to a living faith in the risen Christ.

Prayer Requests:

• For life-transforming work of the Gospel in all of France
• For the husbands of several church members to come to Christ
• For Pete's mourning and adjustment to being without Ruth
• For financial provision to meet the needs of the whole Toulouse team

Serving With :

International Christian School, Budapest, Hungary

(under Mesa Global/United World Mission)

Background:

Heidi was born in Asheville, NC, and grew up attending Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Covenant College in 2003. Her interest in special education started in high school when babysitting for a young boy who had Downs Syndrome. She had opportunities to work with special needs children while in college and her interest continued to grow. Heidi has been in Budapest, Hungary since 2004.

Ministry:

Heidi spent many years as a special education teacher at a Christian school that also accepts non-Christian students and students of other nationalities. Heidi’s main reason for going to the school in Budapest was to be an educational shadow to children with learning disabilities. She worked with many students using the NILD (National Institute for Learning Development) program based in Norfolk, VA. The goal is to help students develop the weaker areas of their brains so that they can function in a standard classroom. She attends Calvary Church in Budapest where she worships and ministers with a multicultural, multilingual congregation. Heidi also leads Bible studies for young girls.

Heidi has recently joined the SHARE Education Services as part of their Testing and Assessment team. SHARE primarily serves English-speaking families in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East by offering the following areas of support to families:

• Help parents identify needs, assess options, and choose education strategies for their children as they live cross-culturally

• Evaluate and recommend appropriate education resources

• Provide parents with information to help them evaluate their children’s learning and measure their progress

• Support secondary students in career guidance for selection of post-secondary work and/or education.

The support and services are offered through consultations provided online, at area mission conferences, or at SHARE led family conferences.

Prayer Requests:

• For transition into her new role with SHARE
• Provision for housing needs as inflation continues
• Daily wisdom in teaching and guiding students, both in academic and spiritual needs.

Serving With:

Equipping Farmers International

Background:

God’s providential hand has been evident throughout Frank's life, beginning with his unlikely conversion to Christ after growing up in a Jewish family. Frank and Cindy spent six years in the US working with the PCA organization Church Without Walls helping equip churches to reach out to Muslims in northern Virginia and DC. Then they spent 10 years in west Africa where they saw a new denomination formed, expanding from an initial church plant to a growing denomination of 30 churches. Frank has worked with emerging churches, national leaders, MTW regional directors, team leaders, and US churches to build deeper, more effective partnerships and to develop innovative ways to help accelerate the growth of the Church. A new nonprofit called Equipping Farmers International (EFI) has been set up to manage a rapidly growing agricultural-development work. 

Ministry:

Equipping Farmers International (EFI) exists to engage the global church in agricultural discipleship that results in food security and improved livelihoods. The Church in the Majority World can play an invaluable dual role in addressing both physical and spiritual needs. Equipping Farmers International (EFI), in collaboration with local churches and other ministry partners, recognizes the interconnectedness of agricultural development and church growth in these regions. We work diligently to provide comprehensive training in conservation agriculture methods, empowering farming families to not only sustainably provide for their households but also to steward their lands effectively. This holistic approach, addressing both physical sustenance and spiritual well-being, reflects the potential for transformative change across the Majority World, where agricultural abundance and spiritual growth intersect to create a brighter future for communities and the world at large.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for Frank's many travels - health, safety, stamina, and support for the costs.
• Pray for the farming families we work with in the Global South, as food insecurity is on the rise.
• Pray for a number of people joining the work in East Africa and the work of EFI (the agricultural work) for wisdom and direction in their callings.
• Pray for continued effective and fruitful work of the Gospel.