Friday, November 30, 2007

Missionary Spotlight ~ Steve & Rita Williams, New Zealand

Since 1990 the Williams family has served with Mission to the World. Much of their earlier ministry was in Germany and Austria where they established an interdenominational retreat-counseling ministry for vocational Christian workers called Barnabas Zentrum.

In early 2006 the Williams redeployed to New Zealand where they now serve with the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Steve serves as Coordinator of the Grace Care Community, a ministry providing pastoral oversight and counselor training for the GPCNZ. Rita works alongside her husband as Program Administrator. They are also involved in establishing Barnabas Pacific, a retreat-counseling ministry for Christian workers serving throughout the South Pacific. On the Bethlehem Campus Steve serves as a consultant with the Christian Education Trust where he is involved in interdenominational ministry, particularly in family life education providing marital preparation training for young adults. The Williams family also plans to be a core family for a church plant in their city of Tauranga, one of the fastest growing areas of New Zealand.

Steve, born in Jackson, Mississippi, grew up in Huntsville, AL and is a graduate of Grissom High School. He obtained the PhD degree from Florida State University with concentrations in both Family Social Science and Family Therapy. He also holds an M.A. degree from Wheaton Graduate School with concentrations in theology and interpersonal relations. He formerly served as adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson. MS) and as Director of Family Science at Montreat College (Montreat, NC). Rita, a native of Asheville, NC, holds a B.S. in Psychology from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA). She later served with Ben Lippen Ministries. The Williams are the parents of April (11/11/89) and Stefan (01/27/92) and live in Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty. The Williams family can be contacted at: stevewwilliams@yahoo.com

Their present prayer requests are as follows:

(1) Their soon to be published book Intimate Odyssey: A Journey in Discovering Your Marriage Partner (Xulon Press) is designed to be used as a ministry tool in homes, churches and Christian schools. Pray that the Lord would use this book to bless, instruct, encourage, and challenge those who read it.

(2) Finally, please continue to pray for Grace Theological College (Auckland). While there has been some continuing interest in counseling, there has been a decrease in the number of men preparing for pastoral ministry. This is a note of concern as there is a great need for men to serve as pastors in this newly developing denomination. Please pray that God will raise up men who will be called to serve as pastors and receive training at GTC.

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Friday, November 16, 2007

Missionary Spotlight ~ Tom & Ann Austin, Cape Town, South Africa

Tom and Ann Austin are currently training leaders through MTW in South Africa and have been since 1983. Tom’s main concentration is on facilitating and guiding MTW ministries in theological education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ann is serving through leading a women’s Bible study. She is also a speaker for women’s groups in the area. Previously Tom and Ann served in Kenya where they were involved in the Nairobi International School of Theology from 1987-1995. Tom served on the faculty while Ann taught Bible courses to the wives of seminary students. The couple has 2 daughters, Anna and Rebecca.

Prayer Requests:
(1) Pray for both their daughters who are in college. Pray for continued spiritual growth and development.

(2) Pray for financial support. They will need to raise their travel budget to cover their new responsibilities in Africa.

(3) Pray for Tom as he trains leaders in South Africa.

(4) Pray for safety as they travel.
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Thursday, November 08, 2007

Missionary Spotlight ~ Jay & Maureen Kyle, New York City, New York

Jay is currently the Coordinator of Intercultural Church Planning in New York City, New York for the Redeemer Church Planting Center. He coordinates church plants in large Asian global cities, and directs the China Partnership. Jay and Maureen previously worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators and founded the short-term missions program for Mission to the World. They served with MTW in Mexico City for fifteen years. Jay and Maureen both attended Belhaven College in Jackson, MS, and Jay later attended Reformed Theological Seminary. They have three children.

Prayer Requests:
(1) Pray for a quick recovery for their son Jeff who recently had neck surgery.
(2) Pray for Jay as he leads a seminar on East Asia at the PCA Global Missions Conference in November.
(3) Pray for safety as they travel back and forth from New York to Asia.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007

Missionary Spotlight ~ Wayne and Amy Newsome, Japan

Wayne is originally from Chattanooga, TN, and Amy is from Enterprise, AL. After serving with MTW in Japan since 1990, the Newsomes are more encouraged than ever before about what God is doing. Their team has been involved in planting four churches and is moving into a new phase of ministry.

With “Equipping Japanese to Reach the World” as the motto, the Nagoya Church-planting Team’s new vision encompasses a variety of ministries. The Newsomes work to expand church-planting ministries by partnering with Japanese co-workers to target new locations for new church plants. The team is also involved in beginning a seminary to enable Japanese Christians to identify their gifts and receive training for ministry. The International Christian Academy of Nagoya, which the team stared in 1999, meets the educational needs of many children in central Japan. Team members and Japanese co-workers are preparing for a counseling ministry with a desire to assist local churches in developing lay counseling programs to serve and help their communities. And with 50,000 university students in the area, the student ministry continues to be a high priority for the team.

Wayne and Amy have five children: Katelyn, Samuel, Mary Grace, Sarah, and Joshua.

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