Category: Reflections

Looking Back On 2023

Merry Christmas from Deming, New Mexico!

Dallas, Texas

We wish you a very merry Christmas as you remember the birth of our Saviour and hopefully also enjoy some time off over the holidays.  

We are enjoying our sabbatical (an extended time of rest offered by our organization every few years). We are grateful for the slower pace that allows us extended time in Bible study and doing what our hearts desire.

It also allowed us to reflect on all we experienced in 2023.

Highlights

  1. In the last year, our 2,730 church planting missionaries have trained about 80,000 church planters and facilitated the planting of 23,563 churches of various sizes; the average size of the church is 38 people. We have seen at least two generations of church multiplication in 116 countries, with the highest being 30 generations in Tanzania, 26 in an Asian country, and 21 in Ethiopia. Generations mean churches planting churches that are planting churches. Stefan continues to help our church planters in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. 
  2. Our sabbatical!
  3. Kenneth loves his geomatics studies at university and has received several scholarships.
  4. Monica moved to Boston and is enjoying her studies and exploring New England.
  5. Marie’s Mom came to visit us in Orlando.

Lowlights

  1. The ongoing wars and unrest that several of our co-workers are experiencing in the 32 active conflicts around the world. The stories we hear are heartbreaking, yet we know the Lord is also at work amid all the tears.
  2. The persecution many Christians are experiencing, especially in some of the countries Stefan is involved with.

Looking Forward

We are thrilled to announce that our JESUS Film Project team is producing a new, feature-length animated family film about the life of Jesus, which we hope to release worldwide around Christmas 2025. Anchored in the Gospels, this film re-imagines the 1979 JESUS film, using much of its dialogue in a refreshed script. Here is a quick look into what is already happening!

Thank you for your friendship, prayers, encouragement and support during 2023. May the Lord richly bless and use you!

Looking Back on 2022

Merry Christmas!

It has been our privilege to partner with you as we serve the Lord in His harvest field. Your prayers and financial support have been invaluable in this adventure. 

As the year comes to an end, here are a few highlights and lowlights of 2022:

Highlights:

  1. Seeing the Lord build His church even under challenging circumstances. For example, Stefan has just returned from the Netherlands, where he visited some church planters. A young Ukrainian couple he met started a bible study with 10 people and it is now regularly attended by 150 refugees. God is building His church!
  2. Partnerships among Christians from different organizations and denominations is at an all-time high. Shoulder-to-shoulder, Christians are doing everything they can to see the gospel go to the ends of the earth. 
  3. Our family visit to South Africa was our best visit ever!
  4. We celebrated 25 years of marriage.
  5. Each family member celebrated some milestone – from learning to scuba dive and visiting a place on Marie’s bucket list for 30 years.

Lowlights:

  1. It was a rough year to renew passports and apply for visas. There were many obstacles and nail-biting moments to get the right documents in time.
  2. The death of our former president and friend, Steve Douglass, was a shock. He regularly checked in to pray for and encouraged us. We miss him. 
  3. Moonshadow, our cat, disappeared in May. A neighbor also lost a cat, so we speculate that a coyote was in the area at that time.
  4. A South Asian country, where Stefan connected a lot in the past, has seen increased hostility towards Christians and even new laws that restrict the work of our missionaries and church planters. It is discouraging and hard for our workers there.

Thank you for standing with us through the highs and the lows of 2022! We look forward to what the Lord has in store for 2023.

Blessings 

Stefan & Marie

Celebrate 50 With Me!

This week I (Marie) celebrate my 50th birthday. Wow, it is hard to believe that I have been alive for half a century! I feel that I have so much to learn and discover, so I can’t wait for the next 50 years!

As children, we used to say, “one day, when I am big, I am going to …”. Many of those wishes were silly, but some of them were deep-rooted dreams. My dream was to be a missionary. Even though the details weren’t clear, I knew I wanted to tell others about Jesus.

So, needless to say, I am living my dream! What a privilege that is, and you enable me to have a front-row seat to be part of what God is doing around the world. Thank you!

My favourite bible verse is Ps. 23:5b “ …my cup overflows.” I certainly can testify that the Lord’s blessings and goodness to our family and me overflow so much that I have to drink out of the saucer to keep up!

Prayer requests:

  1. Thank the Lord for my good health and many blessings.
  2. Praise the Lord that we could book tickets to visit South Africa during June and July. We can’t wait to see everyone. Three years is a long time!
  3. Pray for our 120 missionaries from Ukraine. You can follow their live feed prayer requests and sign up for a slot on the 24h prayer chain. We are grateful for the Lord’s protection over them so far.

Looking Back on 2021

Merry Christmas from the Manatees in Florida!

Merry Christmas!

We celebrate the birth of our Saviour and want to thank the Lord for what He has done in 2021. There were hardships and some great things that happened this year. Here are a few:

Highlights:

  1. Kenneth completed his school career and was accepted at the top university in Florida.
  2. Stefan and Monica had an opportunity to travel to South Africa and visit our families.
  3. Marie started a new role as the Global Communications Director.
  4. In the last three months, Stefan has traveled to meet face-to-face with several of our church planters around the world. These times together has been a blessing.
  5. Over 3.4 million personal gospel presentations were made through our ministry despite the pandemic, leading to over 435,500 personal decisions. Some of these occurred in some of the most challenging parts of the world to reach with the gospel.

Lowlights:

  1. The death of dear friends and co-workers to Covid and cancer.
  2. Continued restrictions due to the Covid pandemic and also the economic impact on our beloved South Africa.

Your partnership with us enabled us to continue to serve the Lord as missionaries. We do not take the privilege lightly.

We are praying that you and your loved ones have a special Christmas. We celebrate that “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). What a privilege we have to tell others about His grace and truth!

Merry Christmas!

The High and Lowlights of 2019

Winter Fun in Tennessee

Over the course of 2019, we saw the Lord do so many things in our own lives and in the world.   Thank you so much for your encouragement, prayers and support. May Zephaniah 3:17 be true for you every moment of 2020:

“The Lord your God is with you,

    the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

    but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

LOOKING BACK:

Highlights in 2019:

  1. Our visit to South Africa!
  2. We have seen 185,861,910 users exposed to content – either evangelistic or for discipleship through our digital platforms this year.
  3. We have seen encouraging church growth in hard to reach places.
  4. Kenneth got his driver’s license and started some university courses as part of a free dual-enrollment program. He is working hard but enjoys it.

Lowlights of 2019:

  1. Several of our ministry partners passed away this year. We rejoiced that they are with the Lord, but mourn their passing.
  2. Stefan’s Mom had a rough year and being far away makes it hard to support her and the rest of the family.
  3. Increased persecution in several nations around the world caused suffering for our co-workers and believers.

LOOKING FORWARD:

This year we continue to work with our partners to trust the Lord for 10 million multiplying disciples. Although we only have around 3.9 million at the moment, we are excited about the momentum and the growth of the church.

Pray with us that the Lord will raise up men and women that believe in Him and who will continue to share the gospel around the world.

We appreciate you!

2019 Is Here! But Let’s Look Back And Celebrate 2018

We want to wish you a very special 2019 in which you will see the Lord’s goodness every day. We look back at 2018 with gratefulness to the Lord.

Highlights:

  1. The Lord’s provision through our partners, their continued prayer support and encouragement. After 24 years in ministry, this is one of the most extraordinary confirmations of the Lord’s calling.
  2. Kenneth and Monica had a fun and full year at school. They loved the sport and club activities that included: tennis, swimming, waterpolo, robotics, green team, science olympiad, chess, math club and tech sazzy girls club.
  3. Marie’s added responsibilities have help her connect with our missionaries who use digital tools and platforms to reach people for Jesus. She loves connecting them with resources and best practices.
  4. Stefan enjoys working with our church planters in South Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. A trip to the country of Georgia counted among his highlights for the year as he personally had the opportunity to help lead a professor to the Lord. (See the story below)

Lowlights:

  1. Toward the end of the year we had three car accidents within 45 days.
  2. Stefan broke his left leg in one of the accidents and is in a wheelchair for three months.
  3. Monica was diagnosed with an impacted tooth and will require braces to have it corrected.
  4. The unfavorable exchange rate made our finances very tight this year and we know many of our ministry partners also felt the strain of the harsh economic climate.

Thank you for your part in our lives!

The story below from Stefan is a reminder why celebrating the birth of Jesus is so special – He came to make a way for all of us to be reunited with God. Thank you Jesus!

It was Wednesday afternoon, and my colleague Virgil and I felt a bit off from jet-lag since arriving in Tbilisi, Georgia. All the Georgians were going out to practice the first sessions of the church planting training we were there to present. Even though we needed some rest, the thought that moved us out the door was “Our training is so simple. Just walk up to students and show them the 2-minute clip on your phone. Yes, The Amazing Question clip would make it easy.”

Our group took the metro and then walked to the University.  After sharing with some students, we moved to the next group who were open to speak to us and give their feedback to the video clip. Except it turned  out that the 4 “students” were either professors or PHD candidates. We invited them to meet again on Saturday evening at one of the restaurants. Two came. Besides an amazing conversation around the 2-minute clip, we finished the evening going through an evangelistic Gospel track. The one professor accepted Jesus into his life. It was such a special time of celebration and he continues to keep contact with us and the local ministry.

Dinner with the Professors in the Republic of Georgia

Have a wonderful 2019!

Twenty Years Later …

2011 Visit to Namibia

This week we received a letter from our dear friends Helmuth and Niina Garoeb from Namibia who reminded us of a wonderful experience we had twenty years ago and the subsequent fruit. Helmuth was a student involved in our ministry at the University of Durban Westville until 1997, where he studied geology.

In 1998, with Helmuth as our in-country organiser, we led a team with participants from Finland, South Africa and Swaziland  for three weeks in Windhoek to launch Campus Crusade for Christ Namibia at the University of Namibia. Niina was a Finnish exchange student at the time and volunteered with us.

Looking back, we hardly knew what we were doing, however, it was a great opportunity to see God at work. Now twenty years later, Helmuth has been a part of it all from volunteer to board member to joining as missionary (13 years ago) with Niina also in the mix for most of this time.

Helmuth and Niina look back at some of the things God has done the past twenty years:
“We want to thank God for His continuous faithfulness. We do not even know all the stories of what God has done and continues to do in people’s lives but here are some things that we can praise God for:

  • All the main campuses in Windhoek (plus Ondangwa, Rundu and Katima Mulilo) have (had) student movements of evangelism and discipleship.
  • Jesus Film teams travelled all over Namibia, visiting villages and local churches. Now local pastors become Jesus Film partners to do the work in their local communities.
  • The Jesus Film has been recorded (lip sync) into Kwanyama, Otjiherero and Khoekhoegowab.
  • The “Knowing God Personally” track has been translated into Kwanyama, Afrikaans and Otjiherero.
  • The “Walking with Jesus” follow-up DVD-series has been recorded in Kwanyama.
  • We currently have six full time staff, two interns, two salaried staff and dozens of volunteers.
  • The national office was built with local resources and all current staff are locally hired.
  • We work in collaboration with several local churches and some other Christian organisations.
  • And the work continues… there are many who still are to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ!”

Wow! THANK YOU for partnering with us in this part of God’s work and mission in Namibia. Little could we have known that a student project in September 1998 would spark such a movement of God.

Continue to pray for Helmuth, Niina and our other missionaries working in Namibia. Also pray for the teams that have recently left to start ministries in countries we can not even mention. Pray that the fruit we have seen in Namibia will also be true for these countries!

2017 Highs and Lows

Missionary co-workers recently shared their experience: “One visit in a village was especially memorable. They have a tradition of showing respect to a person who is superior or in authority over them by cupping their hands and and bowing down on one knee. They then clap their cupped hands to show honor. We sat in a top leader’s home, himself a chief, telling the people present why Christ went to the cross for their sins. We invited them to watch the JESUS film that night and told them about the Holy Spirit … that He was everywhere. ‘He’s in this room with us right now.’

“As we spoke, the all dropped to one knee and started giving the hollow clap to show honor to the Holy Spirit. Like the wind they could not see, they knew He was there. They gave Him respect. Even the ultimate leader in that village was on his knee. This is the work of the Holy Spirit Who goes before us, opening hearts, setting the captive free. We praise God.”

We also praise God for all our missionary co-workers who take the gospel to those who have never heard, who plant new churches and help them grow in Christ. We also praise God for your partnership with us.

At the end of 2017 we look back with gratefulness:

Highlights:

  1. Our visit to South Africa in June-July.
  2. Stefan witnessing the baptism of 16 new believers in a river in India and seeing God multiply the church planting efforts there.
  3. Marie seeing progress in the ways our organization digitally communicates with those curious about being Christ followers, those looking for resources to reach their friends as well as our staff members around the world.
  4. Kenneth being in high school and joining the marching band and Monica being chosen for the robotics team.
  5. Our study tour to Israel in September.

Lowlights:

  1. Hurricanes Irma and Maria and dealing with the effects.
  2. The persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ in various places around the world. Meeting pastors who had their homes burnt down because of their beliefs.
  3. Journeying with people who are going through extreme hardships.
  4. Adjusting to the new school schedules of a high schooler and middle schooler that start and finish schools two hours apart and juggling the car rides.

As we celebrate the birth of Immanuel – “God with us” this Christmas season, let us drop to our knees, cup our hands together and give honor to Jesus. Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a public holiday here in America that we can participate in despite not being American or understanding the history.

Being thankful to the Lord in all circumstances is a wonderful discipline and blessing.

Here are five things we are most thankful for this year:

  1. Our family – those near and far.
  2. Our jobs – we excitedly look forward to everyday, knowing how privileged we are to be missionaries.
  3. Our partners – your prayers, encouragement and generosity still humbles us.
  4. Our visit to South Africa during June and July.
  5. Our hobbies – having the opportunity to pursue our interest: playing tuba, knitting, reading and swimming (guess which hobby belongs to who …)

May you also take a moment to thank the Lord for the many blessings in your life.

From Irma to Israel

Jordan River

We will remember the month of September as a month of a deep “lowlight” and a wonderful highlight!

Lowlight:

Florida is still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Irma. Our children lost six days of school, and so many tests and events were rescheduled. The evidence of Irma’s destruction is everywhere, and it will be months before all the debris is cleared and repairs done.

Florida is also the home of many Puerto Ricans, and we have felt their pain as Hurricane Maria ripped through their island. Many of our friends are trying to bring their families from the island to Florida.

Despite some chaos, everyone continues with life as normally as possible. God has made mankind very resilient!

Highlight:

Stefan and I just returned from Israel, where we attended a Senior Leaders’ Development Study tour. We joined forty colleagues, representing 21 countries. The focus of the tour was to study the process Jesus used in building His “disciple-making movement” that resulted in us, over 2,000 years later, also following Him.One of many study stops

It was a privilege to experience and see the context in which Jesus connected with people, won them over to His kingdom and built them up in their faith, while training and preparing them to be sent out as His disciple-makers.

Magdala Synagogue:

A personal highlight was to stand in the first century A.D. synagogue in Magdala (earlier manuscripts mention Magadon). Magdala is located four miles north of Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Mary Magdalene is believed to be from Magdala. She is mentioned 12 times in the four gospels, more than most disciples. I am named after her–my full name is Maria Magdalena.

No one really knew the location of Mary’s authentic hometown until 2009, when it was discovered less than one foot under the topsoil. The excavation of the first century A.D. synagogue is significant, as it is one of only seven from that period. From the gospel of Matthew, we know that Jesus went through all Galilee and taught in the synagogues. It can be assumed that Jesus also preached in this beautiful synagogue.

Prayer requests:

  1. Thank the Lord for His protection during Hurricane Irma and pray for the ongoing restoration that needs to take place.
  2. Thank the Lord for the opportunity to visit Israel and experience the land of the Bible. We learnt so much. Pray that we will be good stewards of our new knowledge and experiences.
  3. Thank the Lord for Stefan’s sister Lauren, who came to help with our children while we were away.
  4. Pray for the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication meetings that take place this week in Minneapolis. This alliance includes our organization and 62 partner groups that are all striving to see 5 million churches planted by 2020. Learn more at www.gacx.io