A Virtue Cycle | the Reach October 2026

by | Oct 28, 2026 | Diaspora, Field Story

Dear Friends,

We are all familiar with the concept of a vicious cycle—one destructive action leading to another, and then another. Recently, however, I heard a spin on this idea—the virtue cycle. A virtue cycle begins when one faithful act sparks another, creating a ripple effect of blessing, transformation, and Gospel impact.

In a world where Satan so often wreaks havoc through vicious cycles, it can be easy to lose sight of the redeeming virtue cycles where the Lord is powerfully at work.

One example comes from a city in the former Soviet Union where World Outreach worker B* has faithfully invested years of ministry. More than a decade ago, B led a seminar on how Christians can serve faithfully in society. Among those attending was a young pastor whose imagination was ignited as he caught a vision for what God could do through Christian leadership.

Not long afterward, that young pastor became the mayor of his city. Over the years, he has grown into an exceptional leader known for his integrity and faith. Recently, B returned to visit the city and preach at the church the mayor now attends.

“It was a perfect picture of how our work of training leaders for service in society inspires and uplifts the churches, expands their witness, and multiplies their impact,” B reflected.

The impact extends far beyond the church walls. Under this mayor’s leadership, the city has experienced remarkable economic growth. International companies have chosen it as the base for their operations in the country because they trust the city’s leadership. In a region where corruption is common, this mayor’s refusal to accept bribes and his commitment to honesty have distinguished both him and his city.

And the virtue cycle continues.

Inspired by his example, three other pastors in neighboring cities have also become mayors. As B explained, “Change one leader’s life, see that change other nearby leaders’ lives, and watch it spread through a nation over decades.”

God is at work. The soil is fertile. Lives are being transformed by the power of the Gospel, and that transformation is flowing into churches, communities, governments, and entire regions.

Stories like this are the result of the steady, day-by-day faithfulness of World Outreach workers. They show up year after year, investing in people, building relationships, and trusting God for the harvest. The joy of seeing communities transformed requires perseverance, dedication, and a deep reliance on the Lord.

But those who go are not the only ones called into God’s mission. Every World Outreach worker is sustained by faithful believers who pray, encourage, and give. The ministry that began with one seminar, shaped one pastor, and is now influencing an entire region was possible because others chose to partner in the work.

Will you help create the next virtue cycle? Your prayers and financial support enable World Outreach workers to continue investing in leaders, strengthening churches, and sharing the hope of the Gospel in places where transformation is desperately needed. As you give, you become part of these stories of changed lives, thriving communities, and the ongoing work of God’s kingdom around the world.

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*First initial given to protect identity

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R&R on the Field | the Reach September 2026

by | Oct 7, 2026 | Field Story

Dear Friends,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28

Every three years, the entire World Outreach community comes together for Family Gathering, a week filled with fun, encouragement, fellowship, and worship. This highly anticipated event provides workers and their children with an opportunity to reconnect, be refreshed, and spend meaningful time with one another.

One worker especially looking forward to the event was K, who serves in a Muslim country and is the mother of several young children. Summers where she lives are long, hot, and dry, and she and her family eagerly anticipated the reprieve that Family Gathering would bring. Hosted at a beautiful resort in Cyprus, the event conjured visions of the Mediterranean Sea, sparkling pools, and abundant food. Those expectations helped sustain the family through many long and grueling summer days.

When the long-awaited date finally arrived, K and her family checked into the resort and began reviewing the schedule for the week. What K had not anticipated was a program that included not only time to enjoy the Mediterranean, pools, and food, but also structured times of worship, teaching, and equipping. As she looked over the week ahead, her heart sank.

“I just wanted a break,” she sighed to her husband.

What K did not realize at the beginning of the week was that God was about to meet her and minister to her heart in ways she never could have imagined. The theme for the week was He is Our Firm Foundation, and as soon as she saw those words on the opening slide, she began to cry:

I suddenly had this overwhelming feeling that Jesus was in the room with me, and it was like He was saying, “You don’t need a pool. You need me.” The crying continued all week. I felt like a dry sponge soaking up every word each speaker said, every song that was sung, and every testimony shared. I came back to our host country with an intimate awareness of the Spirit that had dulled after a year of living here. These words are alive in me. He is with us, He has called us, He is real, and even though Allah is proclaimed king over a loud speaker five times a day here, Jesus is really King. And we get to proclaim that to the darkness. . . .

Everything in our host country is dry and shriveled up like a sponge without water, and only He can bring it to life again. For a while, I thought that conferences for workers were not really necessary, but I think that is the naivety of a first-year worker speaking, and I am super thankful for all the churches and the organization that made that week happen for us.

World Outreach workers carry many different burdens into Family Gathering, but for K and her family, the week became a source of true rest and refreshment in their Savior. She returned to her host country renewed and better equipped to minister both to her family and to those she serves. The Lord was present in this gathering, using it to strengthen and encourage those who are bringing the good news to people who have never heard.

Family Gathering and similar opportunities provide workers with the care, encouragement, and rest they need to continue faithfully in the work God has called them to. It is vital that those who pour into others are also cared for and poured into themselves.

When workers are refreshed, families are strengthened. When families are strengthened, ministries flourish. And when ministries flourish, more people have the opportunity to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

Would you prayerfully consider partnering with World Outreach through a monthly gift or a one-time contribution? Together, we can help ensure that workers around the world remain encouraged, equipped, and steadfast as they proclaim Christ where He is least known.

Pray for WO Workers

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Come to the Connecting Mission Leader Conference! | the Reach August 2026

by | Oct 7, 2026 | Church Partnership, Events

Tamara Matthew, Worship and Outreach Ministry Director at City of Refuge Church, was sitting in a breakout session at the Connecting Mission Leaders (CML) conference when speaker Rev. Dr. Lisa Pak mentioned the importance of giving and receiving wise counsel. Dr. Pak further said that she would gladly accept an invitation to engage in a mentor relationship as a way to practically live out this value. Tamara was struck by this, and after the session, introduced herself to Dr. Pak. That introduction began a friendship, and though they live in different countries, that friendship is alive and well two years after their first meeting.
 
The CML conference is a representation of World Outreach’s theme for General Assembly this year, On Mission Together. We, as the body of Christ, are called to bring the good news of the gospel to the whole world, and this is a mandate that requires teamwork, cooperation, and partnership. Tamara witnessed this firsthand at the CML conference in 2024. In Tamara’s words:

My relationships with those like Lisa, who are on mission, have demonstrated to me in consistent ways, the power of togetherness as co-laborers in the kingdom of God. Christians are called to engage in community, and ministry workers need that encouragement sometimes too! . . . To be a part of the mission of God is a grace. To do so with sisters and brothers in Christ is to live out this grace alongside tangible expressions of His love.

The Connecting Mission Leaders Conference—held this year at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX—offers a space for such connection and partnership to form. As Tamara said, “I am honored that God allowed [my and Lisa’s] paths to cross and grateful to CML for bringing together like-minded individuals that can spur each other on in all areas of life.”

This year, the conference will explore the theme A New Thing, drawing from Isaiah 43:18-19 which says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”

CML 2026 invites us to reflect on how God not only works through people but also renews people through participation in mission. As we engage across cultures, communities, and generations, we are reminded that mission is more than service or strategy. It also involves guiding churches with wisdom and equipping believers to participate faithfully in God’s work around the world. This conference explores how God continues making all things new in and through the Church around the world.
 
The conference runs from Thursday, October 22 through Saturday, October 24 and includes worship, four plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities.
 
You are invited to come and connect with other church mission leaders and be equipped and inspired as you mobilize your church for God’s global mission. We hope to see you there! 

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Meet the Newly Commissioned Workers | the Reach July 2026

by | Jul 27, 2026 | Church Partnership, Events

Dear Friends,

This year at the 46th General Assembly, with the theme of Better Together, World Outreach had the joy and privilege of commissioning 3 Global Workers. The commissioning service at General Assembly is a sacred time for the denomination to come alongside those who have undergone a rigorous assessment process and have been appointed by the World Outreach Committee as new Global Workers. We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest members of the World Outreach family.

Rebecca Lunceford is serving as the newly appointed executive director of the Philemon Project in Beirut, Lebanon. The Philemon Project empowers children through education. Serving vulnerable and marginalized families through two early childhood education centers, the project provides holistic family support and early childhood development all in the name of Christ. The centers provide for migrant and refugee families living in extreme poverty with a safe and nurturing environment that meets a tangible need for children’s education and opens doors to build relationships with parents. 

Based in the States and traveling back and forth to Beirut, Rebecca will work with a team of 25 national women to carry out the mission of The Philemon Project and open doors to the Gospel with the people the project serves.

Please pray for the work of the Philemon Project and for peace in Beirut. Pray for faithful partners to join Rebecca in this ministry, and pray that she would keep her eyes fixed on Christ. To learn more, contact Rebecca at rebeccalunceford@gmail.com or visit her support page here.

Carsten and Emily Weizer are currently based in Findlay, OH and are joining the World Outreach mobilization team. Carsten is coming on as World Outreach’s first Global Film Storyteller and will be responsible for traveling domestically and internationally to capture, produce, and share compelling visual stories that highlight the mission, impact, and global partnerships of EPC World Outreach. His work is to mobilize the church to pray, send, go, welcome, and mobilize all God’s people to His mission for the world through visual storytelling.

Emily’s background as an educator and behavior coach will allow her to support global worker families navigating one of the biggest challenges of cross-cultural life: their children’s education. She will serve alongside the International Field Director Team and help connect families with educational resources, monitor students’ progress, and provide encouragement as families face the unique joys and challenges of raising children overseas.

Please pray that God would draw them into greater faith, that He would provide community for them wherever they go, and that they would have safety and peace in their travels. If you would like to learn more, contact Carsten and Emily at carsten.w@epcwo.org and emily.w@epcwo.org, or visit their support page here.

We praise the Lord for raising up workers who are called to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the nations. Will you prayerfully consider partnering with those He has called? If you would like to double the impact of your giving, gifts to this fund will be matched up to $35,000! Your partnership is what makes this work possible—we truly are better together.

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Welcoming the Nations in Our Backyard | the Reach February 2026

by | Feb 20, 2026 | Church Partnership, Uncategorized

Dear Friends,

Across the EPC, churches are discovering that the nations are closer than they think. Through diaspora ministry—welcoming and engaging international neighbors whom God has brought to our communities—congregations are finding fresh ways to live out the Great Commission. One example comes from Grace Community Church in Lakin, Kansas, where Pastor Remington Dyas and his congregation are welcoming newcomers in their own backyard. Revs. Bill and Sharon A., members of the Presbytery of the West, coordinate the EPC World Outreach Diaspora Outreach Team, helping churches explore opportunities like these across the country.

On a typical Sunday morning in Lakin, Kansas, the back of the bulletin at Grace Community Church lists an unreached people group. It’s a simple but steady rhythm of prayer, one practical expression of their mission to be “Gospel Rooted, Growing Together, and Loving Lakin and the Nations.” Week after week, the congregation lifts its eyes beyond the edges of town.

Yet for Pastor Rem, that prayer emphasis began to press closer to home.

Lakin is a rural town of about 2,200 people. Fields stretch wide. Neighbors know one another. And just 25 minutes east in Garden City, the nations have quietly gathered. Immigrant families from Afghanistan, Somalia, and across Latin America now call western Kansas home.

“The nations are all around us,” Rem said. “They’re right over there. We drive there every week for groceries.”

Grace Lakin had also been praying a “big kingdom prayer”, that their church would increasingly reflect the demographic makeup of their own community. So when an opportunity arose to host a simple community meal that would include Afghan and Somali neighbors, they sensed the Lord might be answering both prayers at once.

The idea wasn’t complicated. A friend connected to newcomer communities in Garden City envisioned a shared meal, just food and conversation. Three local churches partnered together. The Veteran’s Memorial Building in Lakin was reserved. Members donated lamb. Invitations went out widely. Afghan and Somali families were personally invited.

No elaborate program. Just a potluck.

That June evening, more than 100 people gathered. A large grill smoked outside while lamb sizzled. Afghan and Somali guests brought traditional side dishes from their cultures. Children played hopscotch and tossed footballs. Adults lingered over board games and easy conversation.

“There was diversity in the air,” Rem reflected, “and yet people were laughing together, eating good food together… like they’d done it before.” He sensed the quiet work of the Holy Spirit making strangers into neighbors.

One conversation stayed with him. Rem sat with three Afghan men working in the United States while their families remained in Central Asia. They spoke of long separations and the slow process of trying to reunite with their wives and children. As they talked about family life, one man mentioned he was searching in matters of faith. Rem listened, learned, and prayed silently for them.

When he stood up from the table, he thought, “We just have so much to learn from one another.” He described himself as a sponge that evening, discovering that others could show him aspects of Jesus he had not yet tasted or treasured.

The dinner reshaped something in Grace Lakin. It reinforced their conviction that “programs don’t reach people, people reach people.” It showed them that loving the nations begins with knowing them. What felt ambitious for a small church in a small town became a living picture of the Great Commission.

“We’re the ones who overcomplicate things,” Rem said. “We’re just called to be faithful.”

In Lakin, faithfulness looked like setting a table and realizing that the nations were already near.

Stories like this are emerging across the EPC as churches discover that the nations are near. If you would like to explore how your congregation can engage international neighbors in your area, the EPC World Outreach Diaspora Outreach Team would be glad to connect with you. Bill: bill.a@epcwo.org | Sharon: sharon.a@epcwo.org

Pray for WO Workers

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