Movements of grace
12-MONTH MINISTRY REPORT JUNE 2023 – MAY 2024
Dear Friend,
Thank you for loving people and being a vital part of this mission of grace.
This picture is one of my favorites — Rose Marie Miller traveling with Tommy L. Over 40 years ago, Rose Marie co-founded Serge, and at 99, she’s our oldest missionary and needed help returning to her London mission team. Tommy, one of our youngest, was deploying to London as a new long-term missionary. So they traveled together.
The photo illustrates Serge’s present story as a mission in transition from old to new leadership. It’s an exciting future. For the last decade, I have been focused on leadership transition. Our leadership training curriculum was created to build the capacity for staff to grow into new roles, and I see the fruit of this everywhere.
Sonship was initially created as a training tool for our missionaries. Then it exploded into a resource for anyone around the world. I believe our leadership training is on that same trajectory.
Our God empowers His people to lay down their lives for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ — loving and serving in challenging places for a long time.
One example of leadership is our Mobilization team. I’ve watched them examine, pivot, and reach the next generation for missionary service. It takes a new strategy, and we’re so happy to have Generation Z signing up to go! There are over 14 sites around the world where we train, challenge, and call young people to a Kingdom life, whether serving overseas or back in North America.
My favorite reports are baptisms by church plants in unlikely places — representing years of investment. There are lots of those stories in this report, and they point to the power of longevity. Our God empowers His people to lay down their lives for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ — loving and serving in challenging places for a long time. I’m so proud to know them.
Your partnership to love the world is displayed in this report. You’re one of the three crucial members of this work — a powerful triad of sacrificial givers (you), missionaries, and home office staff. It couldn’t be done without you. As you read, enjoy the fruit of our work together.
For the world’s good and God’s glory,
Bob Osborne EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Because of you people are hearing about Jesus and being transformed by THE GOSPEL.
YOUR GENEROSITY has enabled gospel ministry to flourish in places of great need and darkness.
We’re excited to share this report on some of the things YOU’VE HELPED MAKE POSSIBLE over the last year.
From June 2023 through May 2024 More than
325 MISSIONARIES SERVING IN 25+ Countires
16 newly deployed missionaries to 7 countries
28 new missionaries appointed to 14 teams including 13 appointed to 5 understaffed teams
2 new teams launched: • Spain • United Kingdom
3 new books published in The Gospel-Centered Life in the Bible series (Galatians, Philippians, and 2 Peter)
299 people mentored through Sonship
614 Go Forms received —a 13% increase over last year—that’s 614 people exploring missions opportunities. This Year
You Are Building Gospel Communities
…through Medical Missions
■ A medical clinic in a remote mountainous region in Asia has become the center of a revival. Each person coming through the clinic is offered instruction about Jesus’ saving power. Later, home visits are made to follow up on their physical and spiritual health.
■ A construction guild, born out of medical missions over ten years ago in Burundi, inducted its first woman into the guild. She was also at the top of her class.
■ Your investment in medical missionaries means medical school graduates carry on the vision to care for the poor and vulnerable. Graduates have started a clinic in the capital of Burundi. They focus on prenatal and OB care, leading to education, social services, and evangelism. Another graduate runs the only rape crisis center in the country to serve vulnerable women and girls.
■ In Guatemala City, near the landfill, 40,000 people live within a three-mile radius. A diabetes clinic serves patients who have no other place to find medical help or medicine to fight this deadly disease.
■ Families must provide basic care and food at hospitals in the internally displaced people (IDP) camp in the DR Congo. The lack of food is the biggest barrier to families taking their children to the hospital. The Serge medical team hired a local restaurant to cook two meals daily for all hospitalized IDPs and their caregivers. It has made a huge difference in care.
■ You helped the team in Kenya perform the hospital’s first-ever exchange blood transfusion! The team worked hard to get a vital and common medication in the States for premature babies with undeveloped lungs. They have seen premature babies make significant progress after receiving it.
■ Over ten years ago, a team arrived in Burundi expecting great things from God and attempting great things for Him. But the team could not have imagined a 10x increase in doctors, a 3x increase in inpatient beds and delivery rooms, and a doubling of the operating rooms and staff.
The new 130-bed Pediatrics Ward at Kibuye Hope Hospital in Burundi has an acute-severe malnutrition ward and neonatology service. And the hospital is now 99.9% off the grid for power and water.
…through Business for Transformation
■ Because of you, five companies have ongoing revenue, two are just beginning to record revenues and an eighth is in the capital-raising, pre-launch phase. These companies represent significant local employment and financial benefits for communities in five countries.
■ You’ve sent the gospel into places that are closed to traditional missions. Missionary entrepreneurs report people and communities are being transformed.
■ You helped start a new business In North Africa that enables the team to reach people in the remote interior of the country.
■ In Thailand, the team has started a business to train pastors to do airplane engine repair and to fly.
■ Another cafe is under construction and will open later this year. This cafe has already hired ten more women from the red-light district. In this location, baked goods will be made for birthdays, weddings, and special occasions and will also be placed in grocery stores. More baking means more jobs and more freedom for women!
Record-setting, historic numbers of attacks on Christians were seen this year. Hundreds of places of worship were destroyed, and thousands have been arrested in recent years for preaching the gospel. Laws have been passed prohibiting conversion to Christianity. The penalty for an accusation of conversion is a 10-year prison sentence without bail.
But a day has dawned among an unreached people group. And last Christmas was anything but a silent night. Dancing and celebration sprung forth among the house fellowships! Some were so large they drew attention to what was happening. These celebrations challenged my heart to regain the joy of Emmanuel, God with us, the hope of glory, and the joy of the whole earth.
Thirteen years ago, the team’s vision was that there would be a church among this unreached people group one day. What joy to see celebrations happening before our eyes in many house churches. Give thanks to our sojourn-loving, lost-seeking God for these first-generation followers of Jesus, expressing their joy of knowing a risen savior who is God with them. Praise God that He’s working among the nations to bring people from all languages and people groups to be a part of His family.
Your Global IMPACT
God is growing His Kingdom around the world through missionaries and donors like you — laying down our lives together to share the gospel with others.
People will go to hard places and do hard things for a really long time when they know that someone has their back. Thank you for having these missionaries’ backs.
Each of these dots represents a snapshot of the incredible gospel impact you have had in the lives of countless individuals, families, and communities.*
USA
Leadership Lab launched. Grace at the Fray podcast completed its third season with over 29,000 downloads/views. Renewal Team hosted Sonship Week and two Gospel-Centered Life Weekends. And the Carolinas Hub promoted gospel renewal, helped recruit missionaries, and connected donors with global missions.
Guatemala
The teams serve vulnerable people in a challenging context combating homelessness and addiction in the streets of some of the toughest neighborhoods in Guatemala City. Despite a political crisis and protests, teams continue to minister the gospel in the region. The team began an addiction recovery group that meets in various places in the city. And the street church is seeking a building. They also lead a diabetes clinic for patients with no other place to find medical help to fight this disease.
Peru
Despite the continued uncertainty of the country’s political future, the team continued to minister the gospel in the region. Both formal and informal theological training has deepened relationships. Non-believing families have begun a weekly study of the person of Jesus. And a newly designed Sonship Weekend was held in Lima.
Chile
The team’s teaching ministries continue. A part of their work is discipling pastors and leaders who minister to Chilean as well as the Mapuche people who have only the New Testament in their language.
Netherlands
The team serves as coaches, guiding teams, raising up a new generation of leaders serving in faith and love, and baptizing new believers. They train and mentor in evangelism, the arts, and leadership among Dutch church planters and global missionaries.
UK
A church plant is growing in maturity and numbers among the immigrant communities in London. Attendance doubled this year. Believers are being baptized, intentionally discipled, and trained to serve as potential leaders in God’s Kingdom.
Ireland and Northern Ireland
The team helped initiate and oversee the building of a new church within walking distance of an 18,000-student campus. This church plant was the first of what are now nine church plants in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) in 90 years.
Spain
Thriving internship and apprenticeship programs contribute to a range of gospel ministry outreach initiatives led by the long-term teams. Adult baptisms in a church plant include Russian immigrants who have fled the war. And a rental space was secured and renovated for a neighborhood community center.
Dominican Republic
The team continues to host short-term teams to address material needs such as water and construction projects. Several new initiatives were launched, including a Kids’ Club, English classes, and health education. And a large oven was installed, and baking classes have begun to train people at the Crucero Bakery Pilot Program.
North Africa
There is a strong interest in the gospel among young people, and the church is growing. With political unrest, instability, and war impacting the region, the team wisely ministers as conversations abound about religion. Seven people were baptized on Easter including one whole family!
DR Congo
One family is back in Nyankunde, providing surgical and OB/GYN care. Another family works with a sister hospital in Bunia and its medical school and also provides medical care in two camps filled with thousands of Congolese displaced due to tribal conflicts. Thankfully, a third family with two nurses will join the team.
Rwanda
At the Rwanda International Institute of Ophthalmology, two ophthalmology residents graduated, and 13 more continue to be trained and discipled. Despite flooding and rebel activity, sight-restoring surgeries continued through partnerships in Eastern Congo via the Eye Love Africa project.
Germany
Pastors and ministry leaders are mentored through Sonship. The church plant moved into a new building. And at the cultural center, work was completed on a second version of cultural renewal training.
Czech Republic
DoSlova, a church in Prague, has a growing group of teen attendees from several countries. Some have publicly professed faith in Christ.
Austria
The team helped with multiple church and denominational retreats. Preaching, teaching, and leadership opportunities have flourished. A bi-annual pastor’s conference has successfully been established. Church planters are being encouraged and equipped. And a training program for church leaders and future pastors has new graduates.
Romania
The team ministers to university students, young professionals, and creatives. They work alongside a local seminary teacher and pastor. And they minister among Roma youth.
Middle East
People from other religions report having dreams about Jesus. And intimidation and opposition from officials has also increased.
South Asia
A fourth bakery rescuing more women from human trafficking has been delayed by local corruption. New church fellowships have started and are thriving. Revival continues in a mountain region and, with it, the oppression and persecution of local believers.
Uganda
Christ School Bundibugyo (CSB) is the #1 school in Bundibugyo District (75% of students scored Division 1 or 2) and #363 in Uganda (out of 3,350 secondary schools), putting them at the top 10.8% nationally. 62% of their Division 1 students came from the Orphan & Vulnerable Scholarship Program. And 100% encounter the gospel in the teaching and lives of their staff.
Kenya
Chogoria medical team trained 28 Christian healthcare workers in emergency medicine courses. The long-term team doubled in size. A first-of-its-kind mental health clinic and support group started.
Malawi
The team helped train the first generation of writers for the Chichewa Bible commentary project. And they partnered to bring Chronological Bible Storying training to Malawi.
Burundi
Over the last ten years, 339 new doctors have been trained (42% female). Recently neonatology, special clinics, and comprehensive care for cleft palate have been developed. The hospital’s motto is, “We work for God; He heals and gives life.”
Movements of grace reaching
all people, renewing all believers, and restoring all things for the world’s good and God’s glory.
Japan
In an unreached region, a former Japanese intern has planted a church near the heart of the Ishikawa earthquake. They provided relief and shared the gospel with members of the community impacted by the quake.
Thailand
The team empowers Thai pastors… to plant Thai churches… that reach Thai people. They work with Thai musicians to translate hymns and encourage the writing of theologically sound hymns in Thai.
Singapore
Singapore is a strategic location for gospel expansion and transformation in Asia. The team teaches at Singapore Bible College, where students represent 25 countries.
Southeast Asia
Another cafe is under construction and will open later this year. This cafe has already hired ten more women from the red-light district. In this location, baked goods will be made for birthdays, weddings, and special occasions and will also be placed in grocery stores. More baking means more jobs and more freedom for women!
You Are Building Gospel Communities
…through Church Planting and Pastoral Ministry
■ A missionary in Spain, teaching his kids to play baseball, found neighborhood kids who wanted to join and make a team. Their fathers, standing around watching, wanted to as well. Because of bold gospel witness, many new relationships have formed, one culminating in a baptism.
■ Hounslow Town Church in London is growing every week. Along with the rapid growth in attendance, there have been 10 baptisms in the past four months. Each of these converts is from another faith background!
■ Serge missionaries are often asked, “What are you doing here in our country?” One missionary responded with gospel boldness, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I have come to tell others about how to be in a relationship with the Creator of the world.” He knew the politics and occupation of the woman asking this question and was shocked by her reply, “Let me know the next time you do the mass at your church, and I will come. I would like to hear you.”
■ Missionaries encounter hard questions from school children and their moms in Europe. Real questions are posed: “If we are made in His image, and He is good, what about all the bad in the world?” Offering a listening ear and the ability to address their questions with the life-giving Word of God, their relationships have grown even deeper.
■ Thanks to you, Serge staff helped initiate and oversee the building of a new church within walking distance of an 18,000-student campus. It’s called by locals “the Jesus Loves Me church.” This church plant was the first of nine churches planted in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) in 90 years.
■ Apprentices are a huge blessing to Serge teams around the world. They invest in their communities and the churches they serve. Apprentices clearly articulate how they see God’s faithfulness to them in their victories and their disappointments. The Holy Spirit is changing their hearts and lives for the future!
…through Renewal, Discipleship, and Missionary Care
■ This year, the first public Kinship conference was held in Atlanta. The Kinship conference is a collaboration between Serge and a group of African-American pastors/leaders to adapt Sonship to their culture. Another conference is planned for 2025 along with publishing the content.
■ 2023 Sonship Week was held in Florida with 65 participants and included Kinship leaders Howard & Kellie Brown and Wy & Shirley Plummer as speakers.
“I came to [Sonship Week] hard-hearted, not knowing if my marriage would make it, but the gospel has restored hope.”
■ Grace at the Fray podcast continues to grow with over 29,000 total downloads and views. The most popular podcast is on Shame.
■ Thanks to you, Leadership Lab officially launched. It currently has 28 participants in four cohorts, and interest
Serge donors Angela and Jess Correll were looking for a place of worship during their stay in Italy. After some effort, they found a good church that loved the gospel, making their new home even better.
The Corrells asked their pastor how they could help before returning to the States. He handed them a book and said, “If I could get this book translated into Italian, it would be a dream come true. I love it. It has given me new power for my work here, and I want to give it to my parishioners.” Angela put it into her suitcase as they packed for home.
The Corrells live in Stanford, KY, the home of Southern National Bank, started by Jess years ago. The bank’s CEO at the time was on the Serge board and had invited the board to come to Stanford for their meeting. Angela and Jess were
continues to grow. And work has begun on a Mandarin translation of Leadership Lab.
“Discipleship Lab has been robust in enrollment and rich in discussion... I have already recommended it to others. It’s helped me go deeper in my faith and given me new tools and frameworks for approaching my discipleship of others... I am very grateful! Thank you!”
■ Your care for missionaries promotes longevity. One Serge couple has lived on the same cul-de-sac for 20 years and on a walk with a neighbor was asked, “I don’t understand a faith that can get you through things like you have been through. You keep talking about Jesus. I need to be a part of something like that.” The majority faith in their country is a form of Christianity that is so void of hope and life that most have been inoculated against any hope of a real connection with God. But they’ve found their way into faith through the back door of relationships, vulnerability, and weakness.
■ The Third-Culture Kid (TCK) team is comprised of four people who connect with 344 kids from birth to 26 years old in weekly Zoom hangouts, where they play games, read books together, and talk through hard experiences. Many TCKs return to the field to serve with Serge. Onethird of our interns this year were TCKs.
eager to meet the Serge board, and they spent time together several times over the weekend.
Something clicked in Jess’s mind about the book the Italian pastor had given him. Jess asked why the publisher of the book and the group meeting had the same name. He pulled the book out, and sure enough, it was The GospelCentered Life, one of Serge’s core gospel tools.
The coincidence was eerie to everyone watching this realization unfold. Jess finally said, “I want this book translated into Italian. What would it take to make this happen?”
It wasn’t long before The Gospel-Centered Life was published in Italian. And Jess and Angela’s Italian church is now discipling their congregation with this powerful tool.
Thank You!
Without you, this work would not be possible.
Your support has transformed lives around the world — from new church plants in immigrant communities to gospel-renewing discipleship in postChristian Europe to life-saving surgeries in rural Africa.
On behalf of all the lives that you’ve touched, thank you!
Lydia is a gifted Kenyan footballer. Towards the end of her career, Lydia attended a coach training course by Serge missionaries. There, she heard a new message about her identity, “God was her Father. He loved her and promised to be with her no matter what.” This was both transformational and triggering for Lydia. She had never known her Dad.
On the outside, Lydia was put together as a famous and gifted winner. But on the inside, she was lost, wounded, performance-driven, confused, and frightened that her career was ending.
Lydia requested a meeting with the Serge staff at the end of the training week. She repeated what she had learned about her Heavenly Father. Lydia declared to the team, “I never had a father, and many of the men, mostly coaches, in my life have been harsh and inappropriate. I want a fatherly blessing prayed over me before I leave this week, and I will not leave until I get it.” She mirrored Jacob’s story in the Bible, and the staff prayed over her right there.
SERGE LEADERSHIP
That week of training started a long friendship with Lydia and Serge, but the following weeks after she left were difficult. She experienced Satan mocking her new faith in God. She questioned her view of being a daughter of the King. Lydia reported Jesus coming to her and affirming her status as a beloved daughter. She began to flourish and wanted to serve him.
Lydia lives in a crowded section of Nairobi with little open space. With no room for football, Lydia looked for alternatives to use her ministry as a coach Someone encouraged her to learn to jump rope to connect with students. She began her outreach by simply jumping rope in front of her son’s school as the kids left for home. As she formed relationships, jumping rope spread like wildfire among the children.
“Lydia,” someone asked her one day, “what happened to your passion for football? ” She replied, “I still have that passion, but I love Jesus more.”
Prayer Requests for 2025
■ Leadership transition and succession continue as Matt Allison was appointed Deputy Executive Director by the board. Pray for him as he works alongside Bob Osborne.
■ Pray for wisdom in recruiting the next generation of missionaries (Gen Z).
■ The renewal team has more requests than capacity to put on gospel conferences in North America.
■ Pray for an extraordinary outpouring of grace so that people hear and respond to the gospel. Praise God for all the baptisms over the past year, and pray for more.
Executive Leadership Team
Bob Osborne
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Joel Hylton
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MISSION
Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Jim Dickenson CHAIRMAN
Mechanical Engineer – retired Jacksonville, FL
Matt Allison
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Lindsay Kimball SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
Chief Financial Officer Vacaville, CA
Tamara Ehlert, MD INCOMING SECRETARY/TREASURER
Craig Wood VICE CHAIRMAN Attorney Charlottesville, VA Ivan Jones OUTGOING
Facial Plastic Surgeon – retired St. Louis, MO
MEMBERS
Josh Boehr Pastor, Ministry & Mission Saline, MI
Phyllis Calhoun Christian Ministry/Counselor Winston-Salem, NC
Vicki Carr Counselor – Retired Lewisville, NC
Loretta Erickson
Business Executive – retired Fernandina Beach, FL
Irwyn Ince, DMin Pastor & Executive Director Washington, DC
Sarah Jones, MD INCOMING Physician Vacaville, CA
Erin Karandish, MD Counselor
Gastroenterologist, Retired St. Louis, MO
Robert Kim, DMin Pastor & Professor St. Louis, MO
Horace Lamb CPA
Arlington, VA
Kevin McMullen, MD
Medical Director Indianapolis, IN
Cindy Pfister OUTGOING Education Nashville, TN
Dave Stadler INCOMING Consultant - Retired Annapolis, MD
Michael Tibbetts, MD Ophthalmologist/ Business Executive Fort Myers, FL
Kip Turnage, MD Orthopedic Surgeon Pensacola, FL
Brian Whisler OUTGOING Attorney Oakton, VA
FISCAL YEAR 2024 FINANCIALS
June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024
