Missions Opportunity in Cuba

 

The SGWM staff and I had the privilege of meeting with Fernando today. He is a Calvary Chapel Pastor from Cuba and has an incredible testimony of how God changed his life and the lives of his family living under communist rule and persecution. He has established a Calvary Chapel church plant in the central part of the island and is passionate about teaching Inductive Bible Study (IBS). IBS is a Bible study method that helps new and old believers approach and interpret the text of the Bible accurately. It focuses on three points – observation, interpretation, and application. Through these training seminars, Fernando has been able to equip countless Cubans in effective and accurate Bible study.

One of our faithful volunteers, Rebekah, connected Fernando with SGWM, and he came in to meet with us today to get our discipleship on how to equip his congregation in missions. He desires to see God raise up and send out missionaries from his fellowship and has a heart for Africa and Asia. We were able to brief him on our various ministries in both of these locations and extended the invite to him and his fellowship to come and visit SGWM’s works there.

It is amazing to see the influence God has blessed SGWM within the Calvary Chapel missions network. Just think, God could raise up a missions sending base in Cuba to help fulfill the Great Commission in Africa and Asia! How amazing is our God?

Lastly, as Fernando was leaving, he approached me about missionary training and invited me to come down to Cuba and host a conference and a missions training class with the Calvary Chapels down there. I would be so blessed an honored to be able to do this if the Lord provides the needed finances. Also, I would love for my friend Joel Garcia, who is a new addition to the SGWM staff, to be able to travel with me. It is my calling as a missionary to equip and send missionaries for the furtherance of the Gospel and for the Glory of God. When you partner with me financially, you are not merely providing an income to support my family; you are helping me, through the grace of God, equip and facilitate missions ventures to the nations.

If you would like to help further the reach of the Gospel through my ministry in Saving Grace World Missions, please prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner by clicking on the link below.

May God richly bless you!

Pastor Mike


Pastor Mike and his wife Erin serve State-side as full-time missionaries through Saving Grace World Missions and raise their own missionary support. If you would like to partner with Pastor Mike and Erin to help them further the ministry of Missions Training, please click the “ways to give” image below.

 




What’s My Role at SGWM?

Recently, I was asked to describe what I do as the Director of Saving Grace World Missions. Well, to answer that question, I would need to catalog a book-load of information. None of us have that kind of time, but I would like to share with you three important things that paint the picture of how I support missionaries, promote ministries, and help fulfill the Great Commission from my office here in So Cal. The following examples provide a snapshot of what God is currently doing as I serve at SGWM.

Cows for Uganda

My good friend and long-time SGWM missionary Pastor Brian Kanyike was in the US on a brief furlough. Taking the time to meet with missionaries is a priority in my ministry at SGWM. So, this meeting provided the opportunity for Pastor Brian to share how blessed a remote village has been with the funds that we raised to construct two wells that provide, for the first time, fresh drinkable water. He further expressed the desire to purchase two “milk cows” as he continues to reach out to the people in this village. His commitment to God’s people doesn’t stop there, the next level of need is a source of protein as most of the children are malnourished. My task was to organize the SGWM team, make the request known, and within one week we raised over $1,800.

Mission Class in Pakistan

As I am connected with missionaries around the world through SGWM, I was approached by Pastor Nadeem Messey about doing a missions class. While connecting with him online, he shared a need to get more Biblically grounded concerning missions. The purpose he shared was to be trained concerning the Biblical basis of missions so that he, in turn, could provide training and be equipped to send the Pakistan youth on short-term missions trips. The goal and hope is that the Lord would raise up, from this group, full-time church planters in Pakistan. I am amazed that from my desk, God is using me to stir up a passion for missions in places like Pakistan.

Church Planting in Mexico

People don’t often contemplate the magnitude of uprooting a family, moving to a cross-cultural situation, and starting a ministry. The level of specialized coaching that is needed is immense. As the director, this is my primary role at SGWM and requires much time and attention. The Brechtel’s recently returned from a one-year language school in Mexico and are starting the transition to become church planters through SGWM. This week, I started their missionary training in our home office. The purpose is to equip and coach them through this transition with the ultimate goal to send them fully trained and ready to establish a church in Oaxaca Mexico.

“On Tuesday we discussed with Pastor Mike the importance of developing a vision for communication as missionaries. The training was immensely profitable in giving us an understanding of the importance of maintaining relationships with those we partner with back home. We focused on the importance of the missionary taking the responsibility to share all that God is doing in their lives and ministries in the hope that those back home might be encouraged to take steps of faith with us for the furtherance of the Gospel.”

– Jon & Alison Brechtel SGWM Missionaries to Oaxaca Mexico.

Until Next Time

This update is merely a small snapshot of all that the Lord is doing in and through my ministry here at SGWM. I hope that this helped develop a clearer understanding of my day-to-day ministry life. Thank you for taking the time to read through this short update and thank you to everyone who has faithfully prayed and supported my family and me for the past twelve years.

If you are not a part of my support team and would like to partner with me as I advance, promote, and help fulfill the Great Commission, please CLICK HERE.

God Bless,

Pastor Mike


A few weeks ago Pastor Mike shared his desire to post weekly missions articles. Train4Missions.com is is the site that he is currently building. You can check it out, but remember that it is still in the “under development” stage.

Pastor Mike and his wife Erin serve State-side as full-time missionaries through Saving Grace World Missions and raise their own missionary support. If you would like to partner with Pastor Mike and Erin to help them further the ministry of Missions Training, please click the “ways to give” image below.

 

Christmas Fundraiser

In Pakistan, my good friend Nadeem has begun ministering to a group of people known as the Brick Makers. These individuals are living in extreme poverty and are trapped in slavery as brick makers. As a platform to minister the Gospel, Nadeem would like to host a Christmas party outreach in this community. To raise the needed funds, SGWM will be hosting a Christmas photo shoot courtesy of Captured Grace Photography. On November 16th, 17th, and 18th Captured Grace Photography will have a Christmas-themed studio set up for you and your families to get their Christmas photos taken for a minimum donation of $40. As a thank you, every donation will receive a custom metal Christmas ornament of their picture. All donations will go to SGWM Most Needed to fund this outreach. Additional prints, digital copies, and Christmas cards of your pictures can be purchased through Captured Grace Photography.

Nov. 17th 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 18th 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Nov. 19th 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

You need to reserve your spot by clicking the link below. Also, please help us make this fundraiser a success by sharing it to your social media and by inviting your family and friends.

 

A New Direction

Greetings,

It has been over twelve years since I came on staff as a missionary with Saving Grace World Missions. I have seen God do so many radical things that I could never have imagined. Recently, God has brought in a fantastic addition to the SGWM home office, my good friend Tim Pappas. Tim will be taking a lot of the day-to-day administrative tasks from my plate which will significantly free me up to lead SGWM into the future. God has blessed me with incredible opportunities and experiences that have provided significant hands-on mission training. After gaining this level of preparation, I am now transitioning my focus and taking what I have learned and put it together in three formats – books, a weekly missions article, and an online missions school.

Two Books
The first task that I will be focusing on is writing two books. The first book will be directed to the missionary and will answer the questions of how to transition from living in the States to becoming a full-time cross-cultural missionary living overseas. The second book will be directed towards pastors. My goal would be to provide them with the wisdom and encouragement needed to become a thoroughly equipped sending church.

Weekly Missions Articles
There will be three target audiences for these articles – the missionary, the sender, and the sending church. Each of these audiences fills a unique role in the context of missions, and I look forward to sparking up conversations and providing insight to equip everyone to become better missionaries and senders. CLICK HERE to view an article.

Online Missions School
This, of course, is an enormous undertaking. I will start by creating online classes that will focus on training SGWM missionaries all the way from pre-field departure to developing a re-entry plan and everything in between. Once I get the classes in place, and it has been thoroughly vetted our vision will be to open this training up to the public.

I am excited to start chipping away at these new projects, and I believe that the Lord will significantly use them to help equip others in the task of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Lastly, I want to say thank you for all the years of faithful prayer and support. Erin and I are exceedingly blessed. If anyone would like to join our financial team, you can do so by clicking the link to the below.

God Bless,
Pastor Mike