Check out this video update from our missionaries Rachel and Nelson in Mexico.
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
Check out this video update from our missionaries Rachel and Nelson in Mexico.
Kia Ora koutou
Proverbs 25:25 says, "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." It's always encouraging to hear how God is working through our missionaries and their teams. They are involved in a wide range of projects, and it's inspiring to hear their latest updates and how God is on the move in so many different ways.
Some of our Missionaries work cross-culturally amongst people from different tribes and nations, and I was interested to discover that here in New Zealand, we have 92 different people groups, with 28 of them still unreached. (An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelise that people group. Joshua Project.) This equates to 30% of our population. We are all called to share the good news of the Gospel, and if you don't feel called to go overseas, there are opportunities for cross-cultural evangelism right here at home. Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His field." Let's be praying for those in our world who haven't yet heard the good news of the Gospel, and look for opportunities to be salt and light in your community.
If you’d like to subscribe to future newsletters, please register your interest by emailing missions@thestreet.org.nz
Merrie Reddington
Missions Pastor
Nick and Sarah
The Way
“A movement of everyday missionaries, a collective of home churches.”
Dear friends. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.
We love to know you are praying regarding these matters:
NZ: We are running a “No Place Left” four-day training in both the North and South Islands over King's Birthday weekend and the following weekend. This is a really key moment, as we pull together many of those already active in the work, deepening their understanding and strengthening them in the work.
The goal continues to be a “no place left goal”, that is, that there would be nowhere in NZ where there is not a multiplying gospel work and healthy ‘New Testament style’ churches. We are eager for your prayer coverage over these training weekends.
Uganda: Currently there are two couples who we are investing in. Daniel and Ereanor are doing a great work in the village, sharing Jesus, discipling people, and even establishing a small a co-operative. As Ereanor said, “We are sharing Jesus, but the people need food too.” The Lord is giving them business wisdom and courage. Please pray that the work deepens into multiplication, where those they are discipling become disciple-makers. This is the next step. Samuel and Jessica (the other couple) are new to us, and we are forming a relationship. Please pray for spiritual discernment as we prayerfully consider our involvement with them.
Serbia: Recent baptisms and continued discipleship! One of the new disciples (Ana) is an artist with a gallery. Over Easter, she ran an Easter Exhibition and welcomed many people into the gallery to see works of art depicting the Easter story. She also shared her testimony and gave people cards with wonderful Scriptures on them. Please pray for these new believers and several people who are currently in Bible studies with them, but don’t yet follow Jesus.
NZ: Some dear friends are heading to an Asian country in the new year. Although they go there in a work capacity, they know that they are also missionaries and ambassadors of Christ. We really believe that they will make a Kingdom impact and we are loving walking together with them through this time, training them as they prepare to go. Please cover them and their family in prayer!
NZ: Quaylen & Susanna are soon to do the Te Araroa trail (the length of New Zealand) in order to share Jesus with as many people as possible. They don’t know how many months they will be devoting to the trail, but our prayer is that they will sow the seed and that there will be disciples made. They are doing all they can to train and prepare for this and it is our joy to walk alongside them and invest whatever we can. Please cover Quay & Susanna and family in prayer!
Raetihi: A small group of people in Raetihi are hungry to learn and we will be spending time training them. This is a huge answer to prayer, as we have been asking the Lord to open the door into the central North Island.
Please pray as we train them in the Great Commission
Personal: The Lord shut the door on our plans to sell our home, so we will stay here! We are seeing much fruit in the church that meets in our home, and in our own local outreach. It seems that this is where we are to be at this stage. We are trusting the Lord and are content.
Please pray for the Lord to reach more people in our street.
Please pray that we will keep in step with Jesus in every move we make.
“What is that to you? You must follow me.” Jesus to Peter. (John 21:22)
Ester
Wycliffe Bible Translators NZ
Pray for my next assignment after almost 5 years working with the website and apps team. I have been advised to rest before Wycliffe NZ helps me look for another team to serve with.
Before Easter, our local church had a 4WD outing to Macetown - a former mining town with 48 river crossings just after Arrowtown. The ride was bumpy and the winding road a challenge to navigate … but not for our experienced 4WD drivers! It was a multi-generational outing - both adults and children/teens had as much dangerous adventure as they were prepared to handle. I was content to be a passenger, but an enthusiastic participant in the BBQ lunch in Macetown!
Thank you for your prayers for good health to enable me to continue being a part of God's Mission during this time of transition.
Paul & Barby
Auckland
Through April, Barby and I have been enjoying times as a complete extended family. Our youngest son, Joseph, together with Zoe and their children Jeremiah and Isabella, have been back for a few weeks from their mission work in South Asia. There was time for a photo of all ten grandchildren, most of whom are looking in the right direction, with at least a hint of a smile on their faces…
But the good times came to a close on Monday, 28 April, with our little family returning to Asia and me/Paul headed off on an extended trip in my role as Programme Director with Langham Preaching. Here, let me tell you about what I expect to be doing:
First stop is Izmir, Turkey, for the annual in-person meeting of the Global Leadership Team (GLT), which he leads. Can I introduce them to you, one by one, because they are the focus of my role? Alongside me, sharing the leadership, is Ruth Slater (UK) as my Associate. We meet each week on Zoom with Maggy Samir (Egypt) as a little triad at the core of the ministry. Then there are the four continental Directors, each with their own teams: Igor Améstegui (Latin America, based in Bolivia); Femi Adeleye (Africa, based in Ghana); Andy Oatridge (Europe & Caribbean, based in Hungary); and Dwi Maria Handayani (Asia & South Pacific, based in Indonesia). Then there are two people in ‘portfolio roles: Esteban Améstegui (Prayer Coordinator, based in Bolivia) and Dionisio Orjuela (Preaching Club Coordinator, based in Colombia).
The Global Leadership Team in 2024
From left: Mark (succeeded this year by Andy); Igor, Dionisio, Ruth, Esteban, Dwi, Paul, Maggy and Femi.
I get out of bed in the morning to help these people shine in their roles—and the biggest challenge in doing so is being based in distant New Zealand.
Langham Preaching is one of three Langham ministries. The others are Langham Scholars and Langham Literature. Would you believe it? The leadership groups of these three ministries have never met together in-person! So, immediately following our GLT meeting, that first, historic meeting will take place in Izmir—with lots of people to meet for the first time and an agenda with lots to discuss in it.
After these meetings, there are even more meetings—as Paul makes his way to Carlisle (UK) for a week with the Senior Leadership Team of the entire Langham Partnership ministry, as well as the annual meeting of its governance body—the International Council.
That doesn’t sound particularly exciting, does it?! So let me conclude with a couple of exciting developments.
Back in 2019 I/Paul made a case to one other Kiwi (Geoff New, in Dunedin) and two Latinos (Wilfredo, in Argentina; Esteban, in Bolivia) that they collaborate, across English and Spanish, on a book on preaching the parables. And so it came to pass—after many months of Zooms—in April 2025!
Then in June, visa-permitting, 30 Langham Preaching leaders meet for the annual weeklong Global Forum. This year the theme is ‘locally-raised support’, as we look to move towards being financially self-sustaining at the level of our local preaching movement, of which there are now 120 worldwide. Please pray with us for those visas (it has become so much harder) and for good outcomes.
It means so much to both of us, Barby and Paul, to have you standing with us in this ministry. You are part of it!
Thank-you.
Ben and Bekah
East Asia
Intern Debrief: In April our family travelled up to Chiang Rai, where Bekah gave leadership to the Intern Debrief Conference for Cru interns serving across Thailand. It was inspiring to hear their stories of God’s work in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai. These interns have served in diverse roles, from campus ministry on university campuses to teaching at an international school.
We were also encouraged to hear what God has next for each of them. Five of them plan on returning to serve a second year in Thailand. Others plan to return to Thailand to work with churches and schools, others plan to enter the workforce in the United States, and others are still seeking God’s guidance for their next steps. Pray for wisdom and direction for them as they explore a big world of opportunity!
We are passionate about investing in these young adults as they transition first from university to interning with our ministry and then from interning into the next season of life. We pray that we are sending them out even better equipped to walk with the Lord and share the love of Christ with their neighbours all over the world!
Earthquake: Thank you to all who checked in with us after the Myanmar earthquake on March 29th. Our apartment swayed for almost five minutes, but thankfully, we didn't have any damage. We are so grateful that most of Bangkok remained standing, and all of our friends remained unharmed. We continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones and for the devastation in Myanmar.
Over the weeks in April, we heard many stories of how people experienced the earthquake. Many who were in high-rise buildings were sure that their lives were about to end. It was an anxiety-inducing experience for many, and it has given us the opportunity to encourage our brothers and sisters and to open up conversations with others about finding peace in God when the earth beneath our feet is unsteady.
Furlough: We left Bangkok on Sunday, April 13th, and are currently in New Zealand. Then, on June 11th, we'll be off to America, where we'll stay through mid-August.
We'd love to connect with as many of you as possible during our visits. If you're interested in having us share about our ministry and current needs with your church or small group, please reach out to us and we'll set something up! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Rachel and Nelson
Mexico
This quarter has meant many firsts for our family. Nelson caught our precious baby girl, Lani Neve Carreño, who was born on the 27th of January. Then we spent an amazing 8 weeks with my (Rachel) parents in the beautiful Naki learning how to parent and spending some lovely times with friends and family before leaving Kiwiland. We then spent an incredible 10 days with Nelson’s family in Charlotte (USA) before returning to Mazatlan, Mexico.
Nelson returned to work the next day in the marketing department helping to lead their team of creatives. He continues to work towards teaching the team marketing skills by increasing the quantity of the content and sharing more of God's message through social media.
He also continues to connect with the local surf community and is being intentional with both the youth of our neighbourhood as well as the adult surf community drawn to our area for the good surf. This next week he is continuing to make relationships with both local and international surfers by helping out in one of the biggest longboard surf competitions in Latin America, which is here in Mazatlan, with his design also chosen as the brand for this year.
I personally have talked with my leaders about returning to a part-time leadership role in the ships team to help oversee personal care and maintain stability in our team on the base as people rotate on and off the boat and in the field on outreach.
Next week we have the opportunity to travel as a family 6 hours south of Mazatlan and meet up with the ship. Our aim is to connect with the Surf the Nations outreach team who is currently on the boat and do ministry with them. We are excited for this first opportunity to do outreach with Lani and to see what it looks like to travel in missions as a family.
In other exciting news, God has completely met our needs and supplied us with a car. We feel so grateful and blessed to everyone who helped make it happen and to God for making the way in the complicated Mexican car purchase process.
Prayer points:
Nelson’s marketing department in discipling the team and for their rebranding process.
Rachel finding a good pattern for work and being a mum and also being a support for other mums.
Ministry trip next week to support the boat The Amazing Grace and the ships team.
Continued open doors to connect with local surfers.
Continued financial provision for car insurance and Lani’s residency visa.
Sally Hong
Student Life, Wellington
God has been moving across the university campuses in Aotearoa! It’s been amazing hearing across the country of students being reached with the gospel and students stepping out to share their faith. Outreach started off strong with us giving away over 2200 cups in a week at the start of the campus year. In light of the responses, over the course of the first term, we called the 646 students who indicated they were interested in a conversation about God and the 100 Christians keen to learn in sharing their faith. As we cast the net wide, we met with some of these students who we were able to reach over the phone and got the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Over that time, we’ve seen some of these students pray to receive Jesus into their life, explore faith and had Christians come out to share their faith alongside us on campus on a weekly basis.
An overview of what’s happened is in the image below!
One of the students that I’ve had the blessing to journey with through this outreach has been Lasaini:
I met Lasaini on the third week of campus. “I’m a Christian”, she indicated on the survey. But as we met she shared she had never made the faith that she grew up with as her own. She hadn’t yet been invited to accept a relationship with God. So as I asked her “Would you want to start a personal relationship with God? Not one that is through your parents, but a direct, personal relationship, between you and God.” Lasaini prayed to receive Jesus that day. Since then we’ve caught up weekly, going through the foundations of living life as a Christian. I clearly remember our first catch up a couple days after. As we went through the parable of the Prodigal Son I asked her - “what stands out to you?” She answered “that the son was dead and is alive. It reminds me that my wairua was dead and now is alive because of Jesus.” Praise God that he brings us from death to life!
I’m continuing to catch up with Lasaini and she even brought a friend to one of our meetings which was awesome to see God use Lasaini to share Jesus with her friend!
Since then, we’ve also had some awesome conversations through our regular evangelism times on campus (Called Hour of Faith). We’ve had students regularly step out to share the gospel alongside us each week and In the last week we had 2 students pray to receive Christ! Not only that, I had a student I met the previous week message me that she’d actually like to meet again for a conversation again! Praise God!
Coming Up: National Mid-Year Student Conference ‘Follow’
Our mid-year conference has been a marker over the years, where we see students make life-long commitments to Jesus, catch fire for the Great Commission, and take steps of faith in being a disciple-maker. This year students across the North and South Island will gather on the 29th June - 4th July for this and some of them will be non-Christian students exploring faith. We are trusting for the move of the Holy Spirit in the students’ lives and for God to provide the finances needed for every student to make it there through our fundraising walkathon. Would please join us in prayer these next 2 months for God to be using conference to transform lives? I wonder how many more stories like Lasaini’s will come about because of how we pray, how we seek God to be moving, and the steps of faith we take to see our world changed one prayer and one student at a time.
One personal prayer request during this time would be that as I help direct National Conference this year, I would abide in Jesus. That my strength, wisdom, and all things stem from walking in step in the Spirit.
Thank you always for your partnership in the gospel. It’s through your prayers, generosity and friendship that I get to be a part of what God is doing in Wellington!
Caitlin Ormiston
TSCF, Wellington
Reaching students for Christ, changing students for life.
Kia ora church family,
Thanks so much for your prayers for students to be transformed by the good news of Jesus! We have had an encouraging start to the year: groups have swelled, with believers and spiritually curious alike coming along to explore who Jesus is together. Give thanks to God for all he is doing amongst the student generation on campuses across the country.
Thanks for praying for new staff for the field and the TSCF resource team (‘the office’). We are grateful to God for the provision of new team members in Auckland, Tauranga, the office, and, soon, in Wellington, too. Students are the ones at the forefront of mission to the campus, but we know that their impact grows when we have more staff able to support them on the ground. We are grateful for each addition to the team and looking forward to what God will do through them.
Please pray for Summit ’25: Walking with Jesus – faith that endures. tscf.org.nz/summit
Our mid-year national student camp, Summit, is a time to step away from the hustle and bustle of studies and explore not only a different part of the country, but the beauty of Jesus and the work He’s doing in the lives of students. Alongside the main talks which dig into the Bible, there’ll be a range of workshops to help students go deeper in their walk with Jesus, and time in small groups to process their learning together.
Pray that by gathering students from across the whole country, we would enable a mission team of students to be sent out, equipped to take Jesus to their courses, their campuses, and the communities around them. Pray also that God would use Summit to speak into the lives of those who don’t yet know him, that it would be a welcoming and safe space to explore who Jesus is.
Finally, I am currently away on sabbatical, for a much-needed time of rest, reflection and refuelling. I’d value your prayers for this time away from the daily rhythms, that it would be focused time especially with God, and in his word. Pray that God would bring me refreshed and that I would return restored and ready for the next season. Please pray for the resource team in my absence, too, that they would be equipped and able to carry things well.
Thank you for partnering with me!
Caitlin
Gabe
Nepal
Hello everyone and Jai Masih from Nepal! (That is the Christian greeting over here which means Victory to the Messiah!)
I’ve been here for just over 2 months working with a base called Oral Mother Tongue (OMT), a base dedicated to getting the Bible into every language and dialect in Nepal and beyond. It has been an eventful trip to say the least! A trip full of connecting with locals, getting to witness their translation work, attending and running Bible classes and even hosting very close friends and coworkers who came to see the translation work. Here at the base I’m with we are currently translating the Bible into 10 different languages! What has been such a blessing though is seeing how people connect so deeply with God when they hear these stories in a language they are familiar with and communicate deeply in, their heart language.
In fact we hosted an outreach team from Singapore, where my family is from, and translated some stories into one of our local languages and I was so blessed to experience this first hand! To hear God speak and communicate in this language, for me, communicated His Father-heart and humility in a way no other translation has done before.
I’ve spent the last few weeks praying about what steps to take moving forward from this trip. The Lord has opened quite a few doors to help with this OMT work but the one I feel would be best for now is to return back to NZ. I have spent quite a bit of time with the YWAM Furnace base in Tauranga and I know they feel strongly from God to begin this work with OMT back home in NZ and as I’ve been praying, God has put it on my heart to help start this up and I also feel like there is a huge opportunity in the NZ church to be involved with this. NZ is home to so many immigrants who don’t have a Bible in their heart language and who come from countries where it would be dangerous to engage in this work. NZ also has a huge opportunity to be partnering in prayer and finances with countries overseas that need our support to get the Bible into every language.
So I’ll be back in NZ later this year, probably around July and will commit a year, for now, to this base in Tauranga and in navigating our involvement in this OMT work.
Please help me pray for the following things:
My exit route out of Asia. There are a few bases in South-East Asia that want to get involved with OMT work. We are currently talking to see if it would be helpful for me to pass through and run some workshops with them. Please pray for God to help in navigating the logistics with this and to provide a way forward if it’ll help bring people to Him in these places.
Connections in NZ. I’ll be reaching out to local churches to share this vision of OMT and to see if they would like to be involved. Please pray that God would put it on their hearts to see the Word translated into every language and dialect and that we could figure out together how we can mobilise the church in NZ for this!
Thank you all for your prayers and support, I have so many testimonies of God being with me and supporting me through the prayers of loved ones. It means so much having your support.
Until next time! Pachi bhetam la (see you later),
Gabe