It’s an exciting time as we countdown to The Street’s first missions trip in 15 years! A team of eight people from across our Locations are heading to Thailand from November 11-27 to see and experience what God is doing through various missionaries and mission agencies in different parts of the country.
We’ve intentionally called this an ‘exposure trip’ as our team is going with the humble posture of learners and observers to what God is doing, rather than the ones going in to have a meaningful impact. We hope and pray to be a blessing to the people we meet by encouraging them and praying with them and, when invited, to work alongside them.
We will spend a few days with The Street’s missionaries Ben and Bekah Baker in Bangkok, doing campus outreach alongside them. We will also spend a day with an anti-trafficking organisation, meet some local Thai Christians, visit Southeast Asia’s largest red light district in Pattaya and see outreach organisations at work there; then we’ll head to the far north and see some trafficking prevention work, community development projects and possibly some agricultural outreach too!
It’s going to be a packed two weeks but we are excited and expectant for all that we’ll experience and all that God will do. Pray for us as we go, for travelling safety, for meaningful encounters with non-believers in Thailand, and that we would be a refreshing presence to all who we meet.
If you’d like to subscribe to future newsletters, please register your interest by emailing missions@thestreet.org.nz
Jerram Watts
Teaching Pastor
Nick and Sarah
The Way
A movement of everyday missionaries, multiplying disciples and churches for the glory of God.
It’s a joy to reflect on what the Lord is doing in the Way. Thank you for praying for the work, and for us personally. We deeply appreciate it. Here are a few things we would treasure your prayer for:
Quaylen and Susanna: Along with their three young babies, this is a couple dedicated to living the Great Commission. Quaylen will be in Taumaranui / Piriaka training some new believers in some Great Commission tools. Praise God for this!
Please pray for a move of God in the Ruapehu region.In a couple of weeks’ time, Q & S and kids will begin the Te Araroa Trail (from top of North Island to bottom of South Island) in order to share Jesus, disciple people, do discovery Bible studies, and train believers in the Great Commission tools. They are also praying that churches will be planted, as disciples are multiplied.
Please pray for the Holy Spirit to position people along the track and in camp grounds.Marriage On Mission: This weekend (12-13 September), Nick and Sarah will be speaking at the Family First conference entitled, “Marriage On Mission” in Auckland. We will be training couples in how to disciple their children. Along with this we will be training in two effective Great Commission tools which can be used anywhere.
Please pray for the fruit of families who are “on” the Great Commission.Four Fields Intensive Training Weekends: Over the weekends of 20 - 21 September and 4 - 5 October we will be running this intensive training in Wellington. We’ve seen a huge amount of Kingdom fruit from the last Intensives we ran in June and are expecting that the Lord will powerfully work in people again, for His glory.
Please pray for all those who attend - that there will be the fruit of abiding in Christ, entering the harvest field, sharing the gospel, discipling new believers, planting healthy churches, and training others to do the same.Serbia: Vesna (young believer from Wellington) is going to her homeland of Serbia through the month of October, in order to train and strengthen the new believers she has led to the Lord and is discipling.
Please pray for strength, protection, discernment and supernatural power for Vesna.
Please pray for the right people to work with her.
Please pray for the new believers in Serbia to grow strong in the Lord, that they would be active in sharing the gospel, and that a healthy church will be planted.Churches and Groups: We would love your prayers for the churches and outreach groups (discovery Bible studies) in Auckland, Taumaranui, Wellington, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Fairlie, Timaru, Dunedin, Queenstown, Cromwell, Tasman.
Please pray for the leaders to be good shepherds of the flocks.
Please pray for the churches to remain on the Great Commission.
Please pray for salvation and disciples through the ministry of the discovery groups.Caleb: Caleb is a young man living in Raetihi, in the Ruapehu district. He came to the Intensive training in June and the Lord has been working deeply in him. As a result, he’s heading off to spend time with a number of No Place Left workers in the U.S.A., Germany, Greece, and some other spots. This is likely to be incredibly life changing, as he is immersed in the work of the Great Commission in a number of cultural settings, before returning home.
Please pray for Caleb - that the Lord will grow him, he will learn well, he will be led by the Lord towards the plans that God has for him in this next chapter of his life.
Please pray for Kingdom impact here in NZ and overseas as a result of the weeks Caleb spends learning from other labourers in the harvest field.South Island Trip: November 13th - 25th we will be in the South Island, strengthening and encouraging the disciples and churches in various towns and cities; looking for Divine appointments along the way; spending quality time with leaders of home churches; running a second training with a bunch of great folk in Fairlie!
Please pray that the Holy Spirit will be in charge and the Lord will be glorified!
Please pray for spiritual fruit from the training in Fairlie.
Please pray that the believers will be strengthened, encouraged and refreshed.
Please pray that any ‘issues’ will come to light as we meet with leaders, so that there is a deepening in maturity and leadership.
Please pray for Divine appointments with lost people and with believers who need to be trained.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!
There is so much more to share, but this is a taster and we value your prayers so very much. Please pray for us as we seek to be always led by the Lord, serving Him in His mission with these precious people.
GRACE & PEACE
Nick and Sarah
Ester
Wycliffe Bible Translators NZ
We believe in the universal access to God's Word.
Praise God for springtime and His provision of a new remote team to work with!
The team specializes in supporting a typesetting software called ‘PTXprint’. It was developed to make the typesetting of Scripture free to use and more accessible to all translation teams. Prior to its existence, translation teams had to rely on expensive commercial software. Praise God too that I will be mentored by another WBTNZ Kiwi member based in Auckland, one of the original software team (team of 4 before I joined).
Pray for wisdom to learn the software and good time management during the period of learning the software online with the help of my new WBTNZ teammate.
Praise our God and Saviour for good health to be able to continue in His Mission for His Name's Sake and Glory.
Rachel and Nelson
Mexico
We feel like we have been so blessed this year. Not only has God blessed us with beautiful Lani, but soon after we returned to Mexico He blessed us with a car that we literally saw on the side of the street not a block from our house. We want to thank the amazing people who helped make this possible, because it was only through God that we could buy this car which has been a life saver as we headed into the Mazatlan hot summer months.
Another fun blessing we received was when our friends asked us to look after their house while they were away for the summer. So we have spent three months in a lovely house right across the street from the base. We have had so much fun popping to base for meals and to the beach for morning swims. It has also meant we can have meetings and ministry times at our house.
We are so thankful to God for such a lovely season.
Rachel: Since returning to the base Rachel has been asked to lead the medical team with YWAM Ships. With the ship ministry expanding rapidly the ship leadership has now been split into different parts. So as medical lead, she oversees the medical staff and has been working on organising medical outreaches on the boat and compiling medical contacts for future brigades. Along with the other leaders, she has also been planning the schedule for next year to be able to invite bigger medical teams for the brigades. She also organises health discussions on the base to better educate people about treatment and prevention of common injuries she treats on a weekly basis and to encourage healthier living.
God has also continued to open doors specifically in women's health. Rachel was fortunate enough to organise a three day training about anti-human trafficking for YWAM and other local ministries in the city after being contacted by a missionary friend who teaches on this topic.
Another opportunity arose in August when a group of YWAM Doula’s visited the base for outreach. Rachel helped to plan their outreach, which included education sessions on bases for women in YWAM and in the community. They also held a session in her house to further educate pregnant mothers from the community as maternity education is almost nonexistent here.
Nelson: Nelson has been leading the marketing department at YWAM Mazatlán, and it’s been an exciting season of growth and new opportunities. Along with overseeing the team, he’s been teaching and mentoring both students and interns, helping them develop their creativity, media skills, and vision for communication.
Beyond the media and marketing side, Nelson is also deeply focused on discipleship. He’s been investing time into leading Bible studies and walking with young people, with the goal of seeing God’s Word bring real transformation in Mexico.
A big part of his role has been partnering with churches and other ministries—coming alongside them to develop vision, design marketing campaigns, and strengthen their communication. His heart is not just to create content, but to help build teams and equip them for recruitment to share the gospel to the nations. He has also been asked to teach on other practical topics such as tools in fundraising and finances.
It’s been amazing to see how these efforts—both practical and spiritual—are empowering ministries and individuals, giving them confidence, sustainability, and a stronger foundation in Christ.
Remnant Surf: One change we have made to Remnant surf this year was shifting ministry time to a Thursday. This is the normal ministry day for our base and now with a family it has allowed us to have a more balanced week. It has also meant instead of drawing in younger kids learning how to surf on Saturdays our older teenage kids are able to attend since many of them now work on the weekends. We have also connected with more local surfers and one guy has just enrolled in September discipleship school. MEXI LOG FEST. Nelson was also involved in the Mexi Log Fest again this year, which is a long board international surf competition. His design for the main branding was chosen for the event logo. So that was very exciting.
Prayer requests:
Continued prayer for the ship and volunteers and funding.
For our surf boys especially the ones enrolled and considering a DTS.
Rachel is praying about future ministry opportunities in woman’s health and if this is a direction God is leading her in. There are other women on and around the base who are feeling a shift in this direction also.
Nelson’s marketing team and continued opening of doors in different ministries in Mexico.
General prayer for our family and baby Lani.
Paul & Barby
Auckland
Nurturing movements of biblical preaching in the countries of the majority world.
After his busiest travel schedule in the first half of this year, Paul is enjoying three months of no border-crossing at all. Leading a global ministry from the edge of the world continues to be a challenge, with a different angle on it emerging recently. In his 12 years as the Programme Director for Langham Preaching, we are yet to have any of the team he leads in our home with us. Not a single one! However this changes in December when the Director for Asia and South Pacific, Dwi Maria Handayani (Bandung, Indonesia) comes to New Zealand for a short writing sabbatical—on reading the stories of the Gospels through an honour-shame lens—as well as a weeklong meeting with leaders across the work in the South Pacific. We are so excited.
One of the highlights of recent months was the opportunity for Paul to join Dwi’s team in Sydney for their annual in-person meeting. Way back in 2008 Paul was appointed to get the work started in Asia & South Pacific. It was a very slow, stuttering beginning... But under Dwi’s leadership (since 2019) the work has grown from 15 to 44 preaching movements. (Dwi is on the far right in the photo)
Every two years Langham Preaching has a Global Forum, in which we gather people from across the ministry to progress some pressing issue in the ministry. In July, 25 people from 18 countries gathered in Tirana, Albania for a Forum on “Locally-Raised Support”—as we look to move towards a financial self-sustainability at the level of our local preaching movements, now numbering 120 worldwide. Paul has just completed a draft report with recommendations for the Global Leadership Team (GLT) to consider (later tonight!). Please pray for wisdom.
This GLT, through which Paul leads the work, is undergoing a lot of transitions. Through 2024-2025 more than half of the personnel will change. After the Forum, we travelled to Budapest (Hungary) to commission the new Director for Europe & the Caribbean (Andy Oakridge, on the far right) and to linger for a few days with his family. With the retirement of the Director for Africa, Femi Adeleye, in December, Paul is in the midst of the process to find a new person. Please pray for the Lord’s provision.
Barby continues in her strategic calling to work with primary age children at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Mãngere. We are now moving towards selling our home in Henderson so that we are closer to her work. It is a horrendous drive! Last time we tried to sell, it didn’t happen. Please pray that things will go better this time. Paul has been granted a short sabbatical (December-February) and our plan is to split the time between him working on a writing project and returning to India for a lingering visit, climaxed with 10 days in Kerala with our Joseph, Zoe, Jeremiah and Isabella who are based in South Asia in a mission capacity.
Ben and Bekah
Thailand
Dear friends,
The past three months have been a whirlwind for our family, and we are grateful to pause and share a little update with you.
As many of you know, we spent this autumn/spring on home assignment in New Zealand and the US. It was a rich time of reconnecting with family, friends, and ministry partners, and sharing about what God is doing in Thailand. We are especially thankful for the new relationships He provided and the faithful encouragement of those who have walked with us for many years.
On August 21st, we returned to Bangkok. We were so thankful that both Lucia and Rosa slept really well on the plane; it made the long journey much easier! They adjusted to the time difference quickly and are now doing great. We’ve resettled into our previous apartment. Our team has chosen to live in a different part of the city this year, but for us it didn’t make sense to move with the timing of our lease, so we’re grateful to have a familiar home to return to
As a family, we’re enjoying settling back into previous rhythms. We’re thankful for the church we attend, which continues to be a source of encouragement and fellowship. Last year, we did a Bible Study Fellowship course on Revelation. This year, we are both studying “Exile and Return,” walking through the exilic books of the Old Testament. It’s been a rich blessing to be encouraged weekly by believers from many walks of life and cultures.
We also see God uniquely placing people in our lives who are truly experiencing exile. Ben has become friends with a Pakistani Christian refugee whose family fled severe Islamic oppression. Bekah has been getting to know East Asian friends who left their country due to religious persecution. We sense that God is using our own cross-cultural experiences to create spaces of connection with people who are longing for belonging and hope. Please pray that we would be attentive to the Spirit’s leading as we walk with them.
We are still in a season of raising support, and we’d love your prayers for God’s provision. We long to be freed up to focus fully on the ministry in front of us, and reaching full support will allow us to give all our time and energy to the work here.
One highlight of this new season has been welcoming four new interns to our team—Antone, Josh, Adam, and Serena. It’s been such a joy to begin getting to know them, hearing their stories, and seeing their eagerness to step into God’s calling here in Thailand. We’re thankful for their willingness to serve and excited to see how God will work through them in the year ahead.
As we step into this next chapter of ministry, we’re encouraged by God’s faithfulness and reminded of the great need around us. Thailand remains a country where less than 1% of people know Jesus, and yet we believe He is at work, transforming lives through conversations, friendships, and the quiet, steady witness of the gospel.
Thank you for standing with us through your prayers, encouragement, and generosity. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and couldn’t be here without you.
Blessings,
Ben & Bekah
Praise
Safe return to Thailand and smooth travel (the girls slept wonderfully on the plane!).
Quick adjustment after jetlag.
A familiar home to return to.
Encouraging new team members - Antone, Josh, Adam, and Serena.
Rich fellowship through church and Bible Study Fellowship.
Prayer
For God to provide the remaining support quickly so we can give full focus to ministry.
That we would walk faithfully and humbly with refugees and persecuted believers God has placed in our lives.
Wisdom and strength as we welcome and disciple our new interns.
For open doors among Thai students, and for hearts to be softened to the gospel.
Sally Hong
Student Life, Wellington
Hi church whānau,
The campus calendar is coming to a close as we head into October! From our National Mid-Year Conference, to students at Victoria University responding to the gospel - there’s a lot to praise God for. So here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening and what we’d appreciate prayer for.
National Mid-Year Conference:
Thank you so much for your prayers over this conference! We had 263 students from across the country gather for 5 days to dive into God’s Word, go deeper in community and be challenged to step out in faith as we explored what it meant to follow Jesus. God was definitely at work, as we saw students commit to taking steps of faith to reach their campuses and the people around them, as well as seeing 14 students who were exploring faith place their trust in Jesus.
Semester 2:
This last semester of campus, we’ve continued to engage with students on campus as we share the gospel weekly through walk-up evangelism, meet up with those exploring faith and build into students who are seeking to grow in their faith.
Recently we had 2 baptisms of students who came to faith through our mid-year conference (Kendall and Nicky)! It was such a special moment as we got to see these students proclaim their faith and seek to live it out.
Another way we’ve seen students grow in their faith over this semester has been through seeing them apply to go on a mission trip with us over the Summer! It’s been encouraging to see students desire to go to Taiwan, Nelson and Auckland to evangelise as we partner with the local churches to see more people come to know and follow Jesus.
As the campus calendar comes to a close, the staff team and I are celebrating the many things shared above. But one thing that we are really praising God for is the answer to more local graduating students joining us in full-time ministry so we can reach Victoria University more effectively. We have 2 graduating students, Isabelle and Sean, joining us next year in our internship on staff! They have been key students who have come to faith through our ministry as well as led and discipled students in our movement. So thank you for praying for them over their journey as God has called them to full-time mission.
Prayer Points:
Please pray for all the students as they head into exam season. That God would give them peace and strength, as well as it to be an opportunity where they get to meet and experience Jesus.
Pray for our new believers, that they would be solidified in their faith going into the summer. That they would find local churches and a community that they can continue to grow in.
Pray that all our students would be growing in their faith, going from strength to strength. That God would use them over summer to reach their families, friends, co-workers with the gospel.
Pray for our Summer Mission Projects: Taiwan, Nelson and Auckland. Pray for provision over this project and for people to hear and receive the gospel.
Pray for students who are considering/committing to stepping into leadership with us next year. For wisdom, maturity and a Spirit-filled life in the student leaders of our ministry going into 2026.
Pray for Isabelle and Sean as they step into full time ministry next year. Pray that God would provide for them both spiritually and physically, as they seek to find a team of ministry partners who will back them financially and prayerfully for the season ahead.
Thank you always for your partnership in the gospel to see the lives of students here in Wellington transformed by Jesus. Myself and our Wellington Student Life Team couldn’t be a part of what God is doing without your prayers, friendship and support.
In Christ,
Sally Hong
Caitlin Ormiston
TSCF, Wellington
Reaching students for Christ, changing students for life
Kia ora church,
I’ve just recently returned from an extended sabbatical, a time of much needed rest and refreshment. I give thanks to God for His clear hand over this time, and that he holds all things in his gracious hands. In particular, it was a real privilege to visit some of the Biblical sites on a tour of Turkey, especially ahead of the recent ‘In The End’ series here at the Street. It was also precious to spend extended time with family, the value of which cannot be understated. Thanks so much for praying for me during my sabbatical. It’s now good to be back in Wellington, settling into a rhythm and getting back into TSCF, church life and other activities.
Thanks for praying for TSCF’s national camp Summit in July. My colleagues found it a joy to have students from across New Zealand to be equipped for mission on campus, considering together what it means to ‘Walk with Jesus’. Even from the first day we had members of our groups expressing courage to step into new leadership roles, and others testifying to how God was growing their faith and trust in him. Give thanks to God!
As we now head towards the final stages of the year, please pray for students heading into exams and final assignments. This can be a really stressful time for students – pray that those who know Jesus would keep looking to him as the source of all peace. Pray that they would be able to bear witness to him as they approach their studies. Pray that those who don’t know him would come to find peace and hope in Jesus.
Coming up at the end of October is our Staff Training, one of just three times across the whole year when the whole team gathers together, this is always a time of encouragement as we reflect on the year and look ahead to 2026. Pray for encouragement and unity in the gospel as we spend time looking at God’s word, praying and worshipping together, and looking at a few key topics facing ministry together.
Finally, we are thrilled that Will and Esther Chu have recently joined the team here in Wellington. Will and Esther bring several years of experience working with students with our sister movement InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the USA. These guys are a real answer to prayer! They are spending the coming months acclimatising to Wellington and learning about our cultural context.
Esther will also be giving some of her time to the office team, and I’m really looking forward to having her join us. I’m really looking forward to working with Esther in the office, where she will bring an invaluable blend of gospel ministry experience and admin – ministry experience. Please pray for Will and Esther as they settle into TSCF and Wellington life.
Thanks for holding me, and TSCF, in prayer. Your partnership is precious!
Caitlin
Gabe
YWAM, Tauranga
Hello family!
I feel many people, myself included, get to any part of the year and say, “I can’t believe it is ___ already.” But this year feels different, it feels quite easy for me to believe it is September. Not with any good or bad connotation attached to that. It’s just been a full year, I can imagine that it has taken 8-9 months to fit all that in!
I stepped into my first season of missions in Nepal to check out and learn from the Oral Mother Tongue movement that has taken place there, to get the Bible into all mother tongues. It was good to learn the process of empowering locals to translate the Bible but more than that, it was exciting to see peoples’ faces as they hear God’s word in their own heart language for the first time, some of them don’t even speak the trade language so they really have never heard scripture before! The base I was at hosted an outreach team from Singapore too and in that time we did a first draft of the Gospel of Luke in Singlish (the local slang that is looked down on and discouraged over there) and that is where I was able to experience for myself, the nuances and perspectives that come up when you hear God speak in a language you grew up around. Take the prodigal son for example, I have had much experience of Asian men and authority figures in my life. My Dad is a very godly man, a great role model but I have never heard an Asian/Singaporean Father speak that humbly to his son! It allowed me to experience God as a Dad in a much more personal way, Praise God!
I was in Nepal for a total of four months and as I prayed about next steps, I felt that it would be good to return to NZ, to the YWAM Furnace base in Tauranga, to help them navigate what it could look like to support this OMT movement, through the YWAM NZ body and eventually the church body of Aotearoa. That may look like engaging with translations for local mother tongues or working alongside recent immigrants who may not have God’s word in their heart language. Pray for us as we journey alongside God in seeing this unfold. I have committed 1 year to start with at this base.
During my time here, I’ll also be involved in other YWAM Furnace ministries. To start I will staff a school called Word By Heart, a three month school to help people unpack the historical and cultural context in scripture, to experience these stories and events as if we were the eyewitnesses and allow God to show us how He was moving and who He is. At the end of the school all students give a 90 minute presentation of a curated selection of Bible stories off by heart! I did this school last year and it completely changed the way I read scripture and hear from God.
Super excited to start this final quarter of the year. Would love if you could join me and support me in praying for the following points:
Direction as we pray about how we can support this OMT movement. That God will connect us with people who will burn for this vision.
Pray for us as staff to set a family culture with students and that we will teach what God wants to share in class. Students arrive next Thursday 18 September!
God’s guidance as I prepare to settle into Tauranga and as I get set up to be a missionary here in NZ.
Warmth and love,
Gabe
