This past month has been filled with some amazing ministry opportunities for us. I (Joel) was able to help lead a team of youth and young adults on a Mexico trip, where our church’s heart is to get the students stirred up for the cause of reaching the nations with the gospel. Joel’s main goal there was to help lead and disciple the students through that process, as well as taking a few opportunities to step out of his comfort zone and lead some worship in Spanish (a language he doesn’t speak!).
Loading up care packages Leading worship in Spanish
Amy had the opportunity to teach for a women’s event at our church. She spoke to a group of moms about establishing a biblical vision for routines, rhythms, and rest in our homes. Opportunities for this can be hard to come by for a busy mom of four, so it was a blessing for me (Joel) to see that she did such an amazing job pouring into other busy moms.
Amy teaching at a mom’s group at CCSG
Thank you all for supporting us in our ministry! Please be in prayer for Joel, that more opportunities to take trips to help strengthen our SGWM missionaries arrive as vaccines open up more doors. Also pray as he helps lead the vision of missionary sending and care from the home office.
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
Hey everyone! Here is a short video update on our family and ministry. I encourage you all to meditate on Romans 15:30-33 and its implications for all of us as missionary SENDERS! We are so blessed by all of your support and prayers!
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
I’m sure we were all ready for a fresh start in 2021. For our church, we started off the year with a week of prayer and fasting together, which was such an eye-opening time of denying our flesh and pressing into Jesus together. There’s no better way for us to start our year!
On the SGWM front, it has been so refreshing for me moving forward in our vision for missionary care, which I am privileged to lead. This has involved me meeting with multiple SGWM missionaries each week to get to know them better, wrap my head around their ministries and their needs, and simply let them know that SGWM is here for them. It’s like linking arms with missionaries all over the globe, and it’s exciting to have that kind of direction to sink my teeth into and do what I was made to do: simply play a part in the Great Commission! And I want to tell you, wherever you are and whatever vocation you are in, that you are called to play a role as well. In fact, those of you who support and pray for our family are playing a role in that way, and I can’t tell you how much I praise God for that!
Our family is doing well. Thank God we have all been able to stay healthy. Maggie just celebrated her 7th birthday! It is a fun, loud, and busy season with the four kids running around, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. Amy and I continue to lead our young adults ministry, where we’ve just begun going through the book of Galatians. And Amy is helping out a few other ladies in our church with a ministry for moms to receive encouragement and discipleship. I get so much joy out of seeing the Lord use her in ways like this!
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
This year has had its ups and downs. Well, let’s face it, for many of us, it feels like this year in particular has been chock full of downs. But as I (Joel) was in a staff Christmas gathering this morning, we talked about all of the good things God has done this year through our ministry, and the amazing teams He has placed around us to make it happen. And that got me to thinking about the amazing team my family has: all of you who read these updates, pray for us, and support us financially. Seriously, it blows us away that you guys support us and stand behind all that the Lord does in and through us for the sake of the gospel going to our neighbors and the nations. We are so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.
So while turning the calendar on 2020 doesn’t mean that everything will magically change and the woes of this year will end, it also doesn’t mean that God will stop moving; He won’t! Thank you for being used by Him. Your faithfulness is not just a blessing to us, but a way that you are actively involved in the kingdom from wherever you are. We couldn’t do it without you, and we wouldn’t want to.
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
Hello Friends & Family! We bring you this month’s Garcia Family Update in the form of a video 🙂 Check it out, and be encouraged to keep trusting, keep moving, and keep perspective in the midst of these tumultuous times!
Please pray for us:
1. That the Lord would continue to give us energy and wisdom for raising our wonderful kids!
2. That the Lord would sustain Joel’s voice, as he has a nagging cough that comes with the high usage of his voice in teaching and leading worship.
3. That the Lord would provide all that we need financially through this coming holiday season and into the new year when our rental lease renews.
4. For our amazing missionaries around the world whose ministries are affected in various ways due to COVID.
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
Just a quick update from the Garcia Family as we enter my favorite time of year: the Fall and Winter seasons. It has certainly been a strange season for everyone in the world this year, and our family and church has been no exception. We thank God for the ways He has drawn us closer to Him and challenged us as we do both local and worldwide ministry and raise young kids during a worldwide pandemic and social and political unrest in our country. All in all, our kids and family have done amazing and flourished during this time. We couldn’t be more proud of our kids and thankful for the Lord’s work in their lives. But COVID has changed a lot of things, from the way we grocery shop to the way we visit grandparents
One really cool thing that COVID prompted SGWM to do was to set up a monthly Zoom prayer meeting with all of our missionaries. It is such a sweet time the first Thursday of every month, and I had the privilege of leading it this month!
And speaking of new seasons, it was bittersweet this month to officially send off our intern Jorden Skiles to his other home church in Northern California, where he will begin official preparations to head off to the Middle East next year! It is so cool to see our first intern whom the Lord has fully prepared to send out on the field, and I am excited for him to move under my leadership in the missionary sending ministry of SGWM.
Send off Sunday for Jorden!
Thank you all for all of your prayers and support! We could not do what the Lord has called us to do without all of you.
We would ask that you pray for the Lord to meet our financial needs and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? – The Apostle Paul, Romans 10:14, 15
In my last update, I talked about how the Lord has used me in two of the three major ministries of SGWM: equipping future missionaries through our School of Missions and internship, and church planting in the 10/40 window as I help teach classes via Skype to one of our South Asia schools and discipling some young men here in the states to do the same. But I also alluded to the fact that I have taken on the role of Director of Missionary Sending for SGWM. I want to talk a little bit about that in this update.
In this role, my job will be to provide oversight over the ministry of taking care of American missionaries on the foreign mission field. SGWM provides a lot of administrative help in sending missionaries all over the world! We provide an avenue for missionaries to receive funds in a hassle-free way; we provide pastoral care where needed; we post and send out missionaries’ updates to their supporters; and so much more! I am excited to take on this role, to say the least! I have a passion for missions, so to be able to focus my efforts more to this role will be really helpful for me. Pray that the Lord continually provides fresh wisdom and vision for me in this role!
Things on the family front continue to go well. Maggie and Harrison are excelling in their schooling, and Jude and Clara are happy, healthy, and bring so much joy and fun to our home! Amy and I continue to lead our growing young adults group for CCSG, and we are excited to teach a family discipleship class at the church this winter. Pray for me and the other pastors at our church for wisdom and vision concerning moving forward as a church from the ways that COVID affected us.
We would ask that you pray for our finances and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? – The Apostle Paul, Romans 10:14, 15
SGWM is all about planting churches among those who have never heard the good news of Jesus, especially those who previously have never had access to that good news. We do this in three ways: 1) by being a missionary sending ministry, where we send missionaries from the U.S. into the foreign mission field and help care for them, 2) by working with nationals in other countries who plant churches and Bible schools to train other nationals to go do the same, with a current focus in South Asia, and 3) by equipping young people passionate about foreign missions at our yearly Calvary School of Missions and through our internship program. These three ministries of SGWM are our response to Paul’s questions in Romans 10.
Teaching a class at CSOM
As I alluded to in my last update, I’ve taken on a new role with SGWM leading the first ministry mentioned above as Director of Missionary Sending. I’ll talk about that more in my next update, but for this update, I want to mention how I’ve been involved with the other two aspects of SGWM over this last month. First of all, I have been teaching a class through the book of Hebrews via Skype for one of our South Asia Bible Schools. The goal of these schools is to train nationals in these countries in order to reach the unreached in their own culture with the Gospel. I pray that there are students in this class I am teaching who will plant churches among the unreached!
Leading worship at CSOM
As I mentioned last time, I am also using this opportunity to train two of our interns in cross-cultural Bible teaching. Jorden has been doing an amazing job as we’ve switched off teaching the past few weeks, and I will be training Bryan, who just returned home from helping lead our School of Missions in Mexico, over the next three weeks. At that time, I will fully pass the baton over to them for this class. This experience will be invaluable for these two young men who want to start a Bible School in the Middle East!
Speaking of our School of Missions, I was so blessed to be able to visit it twice over this last month! Of course, both times I led worship for our students and leaders. The first time, I taught a class to the students on how the Bible defines worship, and how that relates to our heart for missions and practical matters of worship cross-culturally. The second time, I mostly just connected with the students to see how their experience was going and how the Lord was speaking to them, and I also had the opportunity to connect with 3 of our missionary families in Mexico, including our newest SGWM missionary who pastors Calvary Chapel Acapulco and was teaching a class at CSOM. I’m so thankful to the Lord for setting up these opportunities for me! And I’m also thankful for authentic Mexican tacos; no others can compare!
I love tacos, and I love these dear friends and co-laborers in Christ
Our family is doing great! Maggie (age 6) just started 1st grade, and Harrison (who just turned 5!) just started Kindergarten. Pray for Amy as she primarily homeschools them during the day while caring for and training Jude (3) and Clara (1). We certainly have our hands full! I also continue to lead the worship ministry and Life Group ministry at CCSG, and Amy and I lead our young adults group with my sister Jenn. It is an interesting time to be a pastor for a local church, but I wouldn’t trade this calling for anything.
With Harrison at his 5th birthday party
We would ask that you pray for our finances and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at our update. It means so much to us that you would care about what is going on in our lives and pray for us. Lately, the Lord has been moving me toward being more devoted as an individual and as a family as we move forward in our calling for His work. He has done this by bringing me to passages in my daily reading like:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2
“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build…” 1 Chronicles 22:19
“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
We all have a tremendous calling on our lives to devote ourselves, heart, mind, soul, and body, to the work of reaching the nations for Christ!
Family
The family is doing great! Clara is walking now, which we are (hesitantly) excited about, and Harrison is doing great reading and will begin “official” schooling soon! Please pray for us, as we have been hit with an unusual amount of spiritual warfare lately, from nightmares to sleeplessness to anxiety. It is good to be reminded that we are in a spiritual battle.
CSOM
The SGWM Calvary School of Missions is underway! The new batch of students are doing great in Mexico, and Pastor Mike and myself are leading the SGWM home office team as well as the weekly church administration while many of our leaders are down there with the school. I am thankful that I will get to go down to the school twice for a couple of days to get to know the students better and lead them with some devotions and worship. We are praying that some of these new students will become interns over the course of this next year with SGWM and CCSG!
Speaking of interns… some of you may know that some new and intense persecution has risen in one of the South Asian countries we work with, meaning that much of our ministry is changing in that location. Thankfully, this has not effected our ability to teach a Bible school class via Skype for one campus in that country. This has provided me the opportunity to teach a Thursday evening class through the book of Hebrews to that group. This time, however, I am using the opportunity to train two of our interns, Jorden and Bryan, who feel a call to pastoral ministry on the foreign mission field, on how to teach the Bible cross-culturally through a translator, so they are co-teaching the class with me. Super exciting stuff! I encourage you to click on their names above to find out more about them and their ministry, and consider partnering with them! I plan to do this with each new batch of interns who feel a pastoral calling on their lives.
Bryan and I in Israel at the Temple Mount
Jorden and I in Israel at En Gedi
Looking Forward
Something exciting that will be happening for us in ministry is that I (Joel) will be taking on a new role with SGWM as Director of Missionary Sending. This is a big job that includes leadership over accepting, sending, and caring for all SGWM missionaries outside of South Asia and CSOM/Interns (which are two other departments of SGWM). I will give more details in the coming months, but please pray that the Lord would guide us with vision for this aspect of SGWM and the ability to manage my time well and do the job with excellence.
We would ask that you pray for our finances and consider partnering with our ministry financially as the Lord leads. If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
Here is a quick video update including how we are handling the world’s present circumstances in our family and ministry:
If you would like to donate to the SGWM COVID-19 Relief Fund, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
Please pray for our financial needs as we live largely off of financial support just like our international missionaries, and we are praying for the Lord to provide more financially to cover some increased costs of living. Please pray that the Lord may provide for us in His will, whatever amount of support He deems sufficient (Proverbs 30:7-9). If you feel led to partner with us financially, instructions are below.
If you would like to support us financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.
We also would love to keep you updated on our ministry via our newsletter email updates if you are interested. You can sign up for those by clicking the button below:
