Grace and Peace to Our Family in the EPC, in the name of the incarnate Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ!

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I am deeply grateful for each of you and your invaluable contribution to the vision and mission of the EPC. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support and your partnership in advancing the kingdom of God. This year, your efforts have helped us “carry out the Great Commission of Jesus as a family of Presbyterian, Reformed, Evangelical, and Missional congregations”.

It is important to take a moment to acknowledge how God has graced us to make an impact through our churches, communities, cities, states, country and beyond. Through our Gospel Priorities, we’ve witnessed significant progress.

 

Church Planting – From Tom Ricks

Latino people are expected to constitute 24% of the US population by 2050 through a doubling of their current population. This will equate to a significant impact, not only on the country but on the US Church. As we consider the future of church planting in the EPC, we must make inroads into cross-ethnic planting if we will have a missional impact. Praise God; he is already making provisions for us to do so.

Alfredo is a Cuban pastor who migrated to the US within the last two years. He dedicated twenty-seven years to pastoral ministry in Cuba, focusing on leading church planting initiatives in the eastern region of his homeland for the last fifteen years. He also served as president of the Los Pinos Nuevos Seminary in Cuba for ten years and the head of a church planting training center that trained and sent out over 1000 planters.

Alfredo, through a relationship with TE Tom Masterson (Hope, San Antonio), came to San Antonio believing God called him to the US to escape persecution, but also praying God would use him in the US to plant churches. Through Tom’s introduction of Alfredo to Richard Rieves (CP Regional Director of the South) and Hunter Bailey (CP Regional Director of the Heartland), a partnership formed, which is already bearing fruit. Alfredo has brought six fellow Cuban and Latino planters to the EPC. Two planters, including Alfredo, have transferred their ordination to the EPC, two more lack their final exam before the Florida/CA Presbytery, and the others are in process.

We praise God for this partnership, which is rapidly opening doors for Latino planting, allowing the EPC to fulfill its evangelistic mission through church planting!

 

Church Health – From Bob Stauffer

In the area of church health we celebrated the work of The Forge Church in North Carolina (our Bart Hess Award winners), that with the help of their transitional pastor turned their church over to a new group of people who were able to help them have a greater impact on their community for the Gospel and transform into a thriving community. That video is available on our YouTube (here).

In transitional pastoring, we recently heard from a firm that helps church search teams identify new pastors for their churches. They called to ask how we were training our transitional pastors. When asked why, they said that the churches who have employed our transitional pastors are by far the best prepared churches that they have ever seen to not only be prepared for a new pastor, but to look for the “right pastoral fit” to help them accomplish a vision that has already been formed.

And for evangelism we would point to Lebanon EPC in West Mifflin, PA who took very seriously our evangelism training last year and have been very intentionally getting out into their neighborhood through prayer walks and finding intentional ways to share the Gospel through relationships with the local school by their church. They are seeing the culture of an outward focus influencing their longtime members expectantly welcoming and integrating their many new visitors each Sundy morning, We are working with them now on developing an even deeper missional presence in the community through their evangelistic efforts.

 

World Outreach – From Johnny Long (via a global worker)

Hard places. This phrase not only describes where EPC World Outreach is called to go, it also says much about what it’s like to get there, what it’s like to live there and what it’s like to give of yourself while you’re there. This is where we go; this is what we do; this is what we call our denomination to do.

Go to the hard places. So we went. This summer. Seven of us. To Central Asia. Long, exhausting trip. We went there to support our global workers, P&J, who love living there! We were privileged to serve as the behind-the-scenes work crew for a Young Life Capernaum (Special Needs) Day Camp. We did everything from chopping vegetables to setting up crafts and games to cleaning the squatty potties – so the volunteer leaders could share the Gospel in Word and Deed with the campers and their families.

So what? Here’s what:

• We personally helped build and extend the ministry of P&J and Young Life
• Seven of us – along with our churches – caught the vision to reach the Unreached
• Two of us will return to this ministry on a permanent basis next summer
• Two of us plan to invite others on a return trip in the next 18 months
• All of us, along with many others, pray more consistently and fervently for our workers, our new friends and this people group

Praise God for his faithfulness in moving the needle toward more churches and resources committed to loving and serving the hard places at the ends of the earth.

 

Effective Biblical Leadership – From Annie Rose

In May, the Ministerial Vocation Committee wrapped up its 10-month Pastoral Health and Effectiveness pilot program, where pastors met online in cohorts every month to grow in their health and effectiveness in ministry. About 30 pastors from across the EPC stayed in the program from beginning to end, setting aside time every month to learn in community. Here is what one pastor gained from the pilot program:

“I am not alone! I have brothers & sisters who are walking the same road with courage and that encourages me. I appreciated their vulnerability and utter lack of competitiveness. I also appreciated being able to/being required to engage with the readings. This is too rare for me, and will change!”

Another pastor shared: “Each of these books added a needed insight into my life and ministry. I appreciate someone sounding the alarm on pastoral health within our denomination and so many people clearly committed to getting better and healthier as pastors.”

 

Looking Ahead

My prayer is that this letter would encourage each of you to continue supporting this work in whatever ways you are able. Our continued unity as the body of Christ around our common mission, vision, and beliefs is a witness to a hurting world who needs to know the Messiah who came to save them (John 17).

Looking ahead, 2025 will come with its challenges but it will also present incredible opportunities to share the Gospel in new and meaningful ways. Let us face the future with expectation, trusting that His glory will be revealed and let us consider with readiness how we can each play a part in His great purpose!

 

Coram Deo!

Dean

Rev. Dr. D. Dean Weaver,

Stated Clerk