Hurricane Irma Relief Fund

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Thank you for your prayers for the Caribbean islands and the Southeastern United States in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Converge churches and communities across the islands and the Southeast are in the process of recovering from the destruction caused by the hurricane.

As church leaders and members of their congregations minister to others in the aftermath of one of the largest storms on record, many of them are facing the same circumstances as those they are serving.

How you can help
First, pray for the people in the Caribbean and the Southeastern U.S. as they return to their homes and communities that were battered by Hurricane Irma. Pray for our Converge pastors and leaders who are ministering in their neighbors’ time of need.

Next, make a financial gift to the relief efforts. There are two ways to make a gift:

A Hurricane Irma Flood Relief account has been initiated. Your gift will be used to assist pastors, church planters, their congregations and communities in cleanup, repair and recovery efforts. You may donate to Hurricane Irma Flood Relief on this page.
You can also give to One by One Haiti to help address the needs Scott outlined in the video.
Thank you for your prayerful concern and willingness to help. In times like this, we are reminded again that we are better together.

Donate Here

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

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You’ve seen the news reports on Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey striking the Texas coast and moving inland, the first category 4 hurricane to hit Texas in many years. Converge Texas church planters Justin & Rebecca Moore (Cypress Community Church) and their family were driven from their home by flooding.

We are contacting other Converge Texas churches and Vision Texas church plants to discover their situations. We’re also checking in with Converge churches in Louisiana―also recipients of excessive rainfall and flooding. Converge Southwest district has initiated the Hurricane Harvey Flood Relief account to receive funds. Monies received will be used to assist our pastors/planters, their congregations and communities in clean up, repair and recovery efforts. We are saddened by the loss of five lives so far, but grateful that many more did not perish.

Donate Here

International Food Festival

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Thank you everyone who came out and supported the Missions trips at WCC! If you missed the fun, check below to watch.

Pastor Joseph Moses : Gospel Torch, India

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“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke:2:14 
Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came to this world to seek and save the sick, sinful and the suffering! Praise God the Father who manifested His Love, Glory and Power through and in His Son Jesus Christ! 

It is immense joy and a great blessing to come back to you in this New Year. As you know pretty well about our road accident and Fannie’s surgery, the Lord strengthened us to proclaim the Gospel of Christmas starting from 29th Nov. to 30th Dec. all over the mission field and in the city of Vijayawada though 42 Christmas Programs, travelling almost 5,200 kilometers. Honestly saying, your intercession for our humble family and mission work is great strength behind us to press on in sowing the seeds without taking a single step back. So, we, as Gospel Torch Family and team, are thanking you very personally for your prayer and love shown through your mails, phone calls, and contributions. 

Here is a glimpse of the fruit of your prayer and sacrifice in regard with Gospel Torch ministry during the Christmas 2016. All our Pastors teams, Children Home boys, members of the congregations, youth, my wife, my two daughters-Fannie & Joanny involved themselves in all the programs to glorify the Lord. Many new people accepted the Lord as their personal Savior at various places! Please do join your hearts in this vast mission work in reaching the unreached and to bring salvation to the unsaved. 

Do continue to pray for the Open-Air Gospel Meetings, Construction of the Churches, Children Home, Pastors and their needs, and expansion of the mission work to the other unreached parts of the state, and finally for the needed resources for all the above needs. 

 Thanking you with deep gratitude,
Pastors Joseph & Annie Moses


Mission Movers: Eric & Lyn Taylor – Makanalani Kids, Kauai, HI

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We have had an amazing October here at Makanalani and we have seen God at work in the lives of so many.

Early in the month a group of pastors from several churches in Kauai met for three days and enjoyed a time of fellowship as well as being refreshed & energized.

Following was a group from Oahu. Navigators brought young military men & women who serve in Oahu to Makanalani for a time of getting into the Word and serving. These young adults ages 19-25 from all over the mainland. Some come from very difficult situations & Navigators does a great job of mentoring & teaching them about God’s love.

Next group were the leaders and support staff for Camp Agape. A great Christian organization who serve the kids of parents who are incarcerated. They had just completed a camp & were able to take time to regroup & prepare for 2017. The group included young adults being mentored and trained up.

As the Camp Agape people left; 24 beautiful young women arrived. All “beautifully flawed” as the camp was called due to amputation of limbs. Friends of Bethany (Bethany Hamilton of Soul Surfer) brought these amazing young people to Kauai from all over the USA. It was very humbling experience to meet these courageous young women see how they were able to use the adversity & turn it into an opportunity to show how they were loved by God.

Moms in Prayer group arrived as they were packing up which was very quick turn over! The island is small and many of the moms stepped in to help them pack up and clean. The power of prayer for our children, both young and adult, is amazing. The Hawaiian islands is fortunate to have a group of very passionate leaders for Moms in Prayer who are constantly encouraging women to join and pray for their children & also for their schools and teachers.

Surfing the Nations followed Moms in Prayer with a few hours to prepare. Vans arrived with 35 college age youth from all over the world including the USA. None of them knew where they were going to be staying while on Kauai so to see the expressions on their faces was priceless. Some were even crying!! These youth are part of a 3-month internship program through STN in Oahu where they stay and learn about Christ, serve others & learn to surf. They spent a day helping us a Makanalani cleaning & clearing the property and the house. Such a blessing to us.

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Mission Movers: Godfrey Sr. & Gloria Catanus

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The ministry events of the last several months could well be described as “affirming”. We are truly experiencing the hand of the Lord in our ministry here. We had been host to the special ministry of our Brother Jonathan Smith & his family to our pastors here in July. Also, the visit of Bill & Elizabeth Barthelemy in August (our missionary-pastors with the Commission to Every Nation, Kerrville, Texas). They too, had a ministry of inspiration and encouragement to our pastors and partners in ministry. And lately, the coming of Dr. & Mrs. Richfield Cudal, the professor of Biblical languages of Hark Theological Seminary with which we share our facility for the graduate studies of some of our pastors. We have eleven students enrolled in Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew courses.

This month of October has been for us – historic! In July we had a “soft launch” worship service. We started with twenty in attendance and by the next month of August we had an average attendance of sixty. In September, we organized our Leadership Team and decided that we hold a special celebration and dedication of our building, The Hope Christian Center after which we will have our first and official worship service.

These had all been accomplished, and we give God the glory. Our building dedication service on October 1 was special as Rev. And Mrs. Rick Malm, founder and President of the Commission To Every Nation came to conduct a “Marriage and Family Seminar” and then dedicated our building for “ THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO JESUS CHRIST WHO IS OUR HOPE”. Our joy has truly been full because on October 2, for our first official worship the Lord has blessed us with ONE HUNDRED FIFTY PEOPLE in attendance.

The construction project is still going on. We are still praying for about twelve thousand dollars to bring this to completion. We are still organizing our children, youth, young professionals, and seniors’ ministry. We will still survey the area for possible cell-groups in every community (subdivisions- we are in the middle of thirteen communities). We want to “attempt great things for God and expect great things from God”.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and for your generous financial support. We are in this work TOGETHER.

Please pray for us as we seek to evangelize the lost, edify the believers, and equip the saints in the fullfilment of the Great Commission.

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Gordon & Becki West: KidZ at Heart International, AZ

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We want to share with you, our friends and supporters, some unexpected news that we received recently. In early June, Becki had a routine surgical procedure followed by a pathology report that revealed internal melanoma.
This news has rocked me to the depth of my soul, but I have repeatedly heard God say two very important truths:
“I am (still) God, just as I have shown you over, and over, and over.”
“I love Becki even more than you do.”
The past few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for our whole
family. Our days have been filled with scans and tests and visits to various doctors. In the midst of this, we have seen God’s hand in providing brilliant and compassionate caregivers and miraculous openings in appointment books.
The best news is that a post-surgery, full-body PET scan revealed no active melanoma. Therefore, Becki will not need chemotherapy or radiation at this time. The sobering news is that we do not know what tomorrow brings. We will now maintain a vigorous surveillance regimen of visits to the oncologist & dermatologist.
We are blessed by your friendship, and we would like to invite you to join us in this faith-building season. While we do not believe that getting more people to pray somehow gets God to do what we want, we do want to share with you our needs and our journey and ask that you watch, with us, to see what God is doing and will do in our lives.
We ask you to pray that each member of our family would continue drawing upon his strength, trusting in his goodness, and enjoying his blessings for
today. Please pray that we are able to trust God for tomorrow and leave those cares in his hands. And, of course, please ask God to stop all growth of cancer and to rid Becki’s body of every last melanoma cell.
What’s next? We will be leaving (July) on an international training trip (So. Africa, Uganda & Moldova) to graduate our first class of the KidZ Ministry Certification Program’s Basic Teacher Certificate recipients, certify our first set of certification program trainers, and join representatives of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as we train leaders to reach kids through sports camps.
After the work is over, Becki and I will be continuing on for a vacation visiting the Holy Land & the pyramids to celebrate our 35-year love affair.
And we are thankful for you, your friendship and support.

Philippines Mission 2016 Report

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Highlights in iRC (Ikthus Redeemed Community). 7/20 – 26

iRC Cabacungan ministers to more than 2,000 people through their satellite churches.
They have a strong discipleship program using stories (orality method) because many are illiterate.
> The team met with Pastor Steve Indino at iRC Cabacungan, his staff & volunteers, &
the 28 kids in the orphanage. The team encouraged the iRC team and loved on the
kids in the orphanage.
> The team worked with iRC staff & kids in making ginger tea & sweet potato chips,
which are the income-generating project of iRC Cabacungan.
> Ministered & taught worship songs & helped with their worship equipment.
> Painted 3 houses that were built through Bahay-Buhay (Home-Life) Project funded by
WCC. These houses were burned down last March 2016. We also give an additional
fund to build one more house.
> Conducted Teachers’ Training & taught around 100 kids about our Lord Jesus.
> On Sunday, we visited 3 satellite churches and shared testimonies, sang & ministered
to the main service in iRC Cabacungan through skits & a message from Pastor Vince.
> Traveled by land to the southern part of Negros & visited iRC Valencia & Du –
maguete. Took a ferry the following day to go to Cebu island to visit iRC Algeria
& iRC Cebu and met with leaders/pastors of iRC Carmen & Danao.

Highlights in Breakthrough Church in Payatas in Quezon City. 7/27 – 31
> Taught (80) children about Jesus to the areas where we have the Feeding Program.
> Conducted medical/dental outreach to the children of Breakthrough Christian
Academy. The number of people seen was 373 for medical & 230 for dental.
> Distributed 250 grocery bags (rice, canned goods, noodles).
> Visited homes and prayed for people who are sick.
> Traveled to Trece Martirez (2 1/2 hr. drive outside Manila) for a Medical/Dental
outreach. The team shared Jesus & prayed for people. The village was so thankful for
our visit.
> The men in the team ministered to around 50 men/dads & our moms/daughters
ministered to the moms/daughters in Breakthrough church.
> The team ministered at Breakthrough’s evening youth service. One of our youth
shared the Word. People were blessed.

Godfrey and Gloria Catanus

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MISSION UPDATE

June 28, 2016

Godfrey and Gloria Catanus

Iloilo, Philippines

By God’s grace, there has never been a dull moment in our ministry here since we came back on June 11. Just four days after arriving from Toronto, Canada, we hosted a mission team from the Filipino-Immanuel Baptist Church of Chicago. To some of them, this was a first visit to the land of their parents’ birth. This then was a memorable experience for them, but more than just the cultural experience, we thank God that they had been blessed even as they had been a blessing to approximately 200 young people here.

The next days, June 25-27, Gloria and I went to Boracay, Aklan, for the prophetic lectures upon the invitation of two churches there. It has been our joy to teach the Word about our “blessed hope” and the prophetic words of warning of His coming judgment.

The month of July will even be more exciting. On Sunday, July 3, we will have our first pre-launch Worship Service. On July 18, our brother and sister, Jonathan and Mercy Smith, from Woodbridge Community Church, Irvine, California, are visiting for a special ministry to our pastors. The months of August to October will be hectic as we anticipate our pastors’ classes, youth meetings, and our much-anticipated Building Dedication / Thanksgiving Worship Service on October 1-2.

Thank you very much, for your prayers and for your generous support of our ministry here. Your recent gift has truly been God’s provision towards the construction of our Multi-purpose ministry center. There are still some needs towards a full completion, but we believe God will provide in due time.

We surely appreciate your partnership in our work of evangelism, discipleship, pastors’ training, youth and children’s ministries. May He find us faithful “till He comes”.

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Camille & Esther Ntoto: Africa New Day (AND), Congo

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Ministry updates:
-Praise the Lord that building continues to go well at the Africa New Day Center! They were recently excited to meet with the architect and review plans for the “upcoming buildings to house extra classrooms, administrative offices, and a chapel.”
-They reviewed the organizational chart that would best help them to reach their goals. Unfortunately, some staff will need to be let go and reassigned. They write, “Please pray with us as this is a difficult but important process to be more effective.”
-They’ve also recently found a new location to house California guests when they come out! The place, called Kivu Lodge, is a good size and close to the AND Center.
The political climate in DR Congo right now was also under discussion. Congo has an “elected President,” but the government is still riddled with corruption and the end of a president’s term always comes with fears of bloodshed and strife rather than peaceful turnover of power.
The highest judiciary court in the land has recently ruled that the incumbent president is to stay in power until his successor is duly elected. This legally prolongs his term beyond the December 19th deadline, which is causing some stir in the country. Please pray it does not escalate.
Also, a very popular and wealthy former governor of the mineral rich Katanga province (state) has publicly announced his candidacy for president. That has caused a lot of turmoil in the power structure. Almost coincidently, the government is now accusing him of hiring US mercenaries to destabilize the country. He went to court three days in a row accompanied by major crowds. The last day, there were violent confrontations between police and protestors.
This accusation of the governor has suddenly made getting visas very difficult for the churches and other organizations from the US who partner with Africa New Day. It is a very frustrating situation and a diplomatic crisis! Several groups had planned to come for extended stays. Please pray this gets sorted out so their ministry partners can come see and contribute to the work in Congo.
Camille has had some stomach issues that plagued him recently. He is feeling better now. Esther on the other hand has some health challenges so please lift her up in prayer. Their life is so fast paced that prayers are always appreciated for health physically and emotionally.

Camille will also be in CA for a short trip this month, June. Pray for a safe and successful trip!