An Hour of Prayer with the Global Outreach Team
Summer brings a lot of changes and new opportunities for many of our missionaries and for our own body. Below are some highlights that our Global Outreach team will be praying for next Sunday evening. Anyone interested can join us in the Fireside Room June 24th at 5PM.
Jon & Andrea Hoglund Theological Training×Hanoi Bible CollegeTraining Leaders International
Jon and Andrea Hoglund had previously served in Ukraine for five years in Bible college ministry. They returned to Grace Church in 2013 while Jon completed his PhD work and served as the interim Youth Minister. In 2015, Grace Church sent them out to teach at the recently established Hanoi Bible College (HBC) in Vietnam. HBC works to train pastors and Christian leaders as well as serve Christians in northern Vietnam.
Learn more about the work Jon and Andrea are involved in, how you can support them, and how you can contact them at Training Leaders International.
The Kashtan's are active members of the Grace & Truth Christian Congregation near Tel Aviv. They are involved in outreach and discipleship opportunities in their areas and run the HaChotam Christian Publishing house.
In 1992, we sent Eitan & Orit Kashtan back to Israel for gospel ministry. They have been active in the leadership and ministry at the Grace & Truth Congregation near Tel Aviv. The church has about 260 attendees on the Sabbath service.
Orit is involved in preparing material and leading the children’s ministry. Eitan serves in the youth ministry and is an elder at the church. Community work is coordinated by Eitan which consists of helping with a school for children with autism and those who have been abandoned and work among the deaf in the community.
The Kashtan’s primary ministry is the HaChotam Christian publishing house which produces separate periodicals geared towards adults, youth and children, as well as publication of many Christian resources into Hebrew. Through this ministry the Kashtans are able to instruct Israeli Christians in sound doctrine and practice. They also sponsor Christian conferences and festivals in Israel.
In 1997, Tim & Linda Kelly were sent out to plant a church in Germany. In 2011, the church completed building its current location of worship and registered as Freie Evangelische Bibelgemeinde Meine (Free Evangelical Bible Church in Meine).
The church has trained pastors in Kazakhstan, continued to reach out to their own community with the gospel, and been a light to other regions of Germany by posting Tim’s sermons online. Additionally, Grace Church of DuPage has conducted marriage conferences and a Biblical Counseling conference at Freie Evangelische Bibelgemeinde Meine.
Tim is currently teaching Hermeneutics and the Pastoral Epistles at the European Bible Training Center in Berlin and Zurich. These bible training centers are associated with The Master’s Academy, a ministry of the Master’s Seminary located in Sun Valley, California. Tim has also taught these subjects at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Armenia.
In 2013, Grace Church of DuPage began to support Sasoon Margaryan as a church planter in Akhaltsike, Georgia. Sasoon and his wife Sirosh were born and raised in Georgia, where about half a million Armenians reside.
Sasoon began his gospel ministry in 2010, after graduating from the Baptist Seminary. Although Sasoon and Sirosh primarily reach out to Armenians, they also look to minister to the Georgian and Jewish peoples who live in Akhaltsike.
Georgia Baptist Union allows the Margaryans to use two of their buildings rent-free. One building serves as their church in Akhaltsike, the other as their home. Sasoon preaches at Sunday worship and teaches a Thursday night Bible study in his apartment.
Claire grew up the daughter of Josiah Venture leaders Dave & Connie Patty. Through her experience as an MK and during training at Moody Bible Institute, she developed a heart to equip and support JV kids and their families in the challenges they face as "third-culture" kids. Grace Church of DuPage is Claire's sending church. Claire is based out of the Czech Republic, but serves JV kids and their families all across Central and Eastern Europe.
LEARN MORE & SUPPORT CLAIRE'S MINISTRY ➝
READ CLAIRE'S BLOG ➝
Grace Church began supporting Dave & Connie Patty in the Czech Republic in 1993 to help churches establish strong youth ministries. Dave is the Founder and Executive Director of Josiah Venture, a ministry that is now flourishing in 14 countries, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe.
Josiah Venture (JV) exists to establish a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. The focus of JV has been to train up youth ministry leaders and to evangelize the youth.
LEARN MORE & SUPPORT DAVE & CONNIE'S MINISTRY ➝
SERMONS BY DAVE AT GRACE CHURCH OF DUPAGE ➝
READ CONNIE'S BLOG ➝
Tyler & Lara Patty (with their two young boys) are a family equipping young national leaders in the Czech Republic. Tyler grew up there as an MK, while Lara hails from Chattanooga, TN. They arrived in the city of Ostrava in January 2018, where they will be involved with the church-planting ministries of CityChurch. In addition, Tyler will be the Czech formation Director of a theological institution called ForMission which is based in the UK. Tyler will lead and teach the local Czech students in their 3-year accredited studies in "Theology & Missions."
Don and Dana Larimer have been a part of the Grace Church family since June of 2005. They have served together in Marriage Builders small groups, men’s and women’s discipleship groups, special needs events, fellowship committee, and Dana served on the women’s leadership team and Don served as an elder. A strong call for discipling young adults grew during their time at Grace and as they served with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries’ On Eagles’ Wings teams every summer.
On November 2 of 2020 Don and Dana were led to full-time ministry with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries’ On Eagles’ Wings and moved to Arkansas to serve as the administrator and dean of students for the new On Eagles’ Wings Discipleship Center. The mission of the residential center is to provide discipleship and training to committed Native leaders equipping them to be lifetime Jesus-followers, prepared with the skills and strategies needed for Native ministry and assistance in placement for a lifetime career in ministry.
Please pray with them that the Lord will raise up the first Jesus-Generation of Native America led by fully equipped Native leaders, transforming Native communities through the power of Christ’s Gospel and their Christlike lives.
Ray & Bobbi have been members of Grace Church for 25 years, with Ray serving on the Elder Board and on staff as the Pastor of Outreach and Shepherding for over 21 years. They also served together in our Biblical Counseling, Special Needs & FLOCK ministries. Together they served in Iraqi Kurdistan for six months reaching out to the Kurdish people.
As Global Outreach Pastor, Ray was involved in equipping & sending Global Workers. His position on staff also afforded Ray (and Bobbi) the opportunity to lead evangelistic teams to serve alongside our workers in several countries. Ray taught systematic theology in Armenia twice per year for 20 years.
Ray retired from Grace Church in April 2020, but through an old friend, the Lord called Ray to serve again in Global Outreach. In October, Ray began serving as the Vice President for Church Planting with the To Every Tribe missions agency, located in Los Fresnos, Texas. Ray will be working with current field staff and new trainees to plant churches among unreached peoples.
We are blessed to have Theresa Kerns serving with us from the states as she supports the work God is doing through Josiah Venture from their home office in Wheaton, IL. Theresa began serving full-time with Josiah Venture as Human Resource Director in 2002. Theresa builds relationships with Josiah Venture team members by providing admin assistance to those on the field and by preparing new workers for the field. She also spends time visiting the JV women overseas, encouraging and helping the women better serve the Lord, their families, and the nationals.
In addition to her work in Eastern Europe, Theresa has also conducted women’s seminars in Israel in conjunction with the Kashtan Family.
We are praising God with the Hoglunds for the first graduating class at Hanoi Bible College.
The Kashtans are planning for their July Women's Conference on July 6th. Orit will be teaching and would appreciate prayers for wisdom while she prepares the lesson.
The Kelly's congregation will be holding a version of VBS this summer the week of 7/30-8/3. Prayers for the children and their theme on being peacemakers.
Some of Josiah Venture's biggest events of the year fall in and around the summer camps for students. Prayers for Theresa as she helps coordinate and support the JV workers as HR director.
Prayers for the Margaryan's ministry growth, unity, and outreach in the city of Akhaltsike, Georgia.
For the JV kids during the busy summer months. And prayers for Claire's relationships with each of them. May the Lord direct her steps.
Dave and Connie will be traveling to several places through the month of June. Prayer for their travels and for the 123 evangelistic camps being held across 14 countries this summer. There are a 109 summer interns and over a thousand people on short term teams from the US, Canada, UK and Ireland!
Prayers for Lara's visa to arrive before June 24th. Also, for the Patty's local ministry and relationship building in Ostrava.
Grace Church has donated $300 for the Sofiyan's VBS this summer. May much fruit be born through this ministry and through their church in Artashat, Armenia.
For Karis during camp promotion and the upcoming Fusion camp in Maribor at the beginning of July with our Grace Church team.
Our global outreach family serving in Southeast Asia that they would be a light in a dark area of the world and that the Lord would bless the work of their hands.
For our short term interns to Slovenia: Heidi Ansiel and Kaci Stecker, the Slovenia Team June 28th-July 12th, & for those participating in the Warrenville 4th of July Parade. Please also be keeping VBS in prayer this week.
There are so many opportunities to serve the Lord and share the good news this summer for our Global Outreach partners and our church. We hope to see you Sunday night as we bring these before the Lord in prayer!