WHY DO ALLIANCE PEOPLE STILL GIVE SO MUCH TO MISSIONS?
A legacy of joyful sacrifice and global impact pg. 8
ALL OF JESUS IS ALL I NEED How the true King reveals Himself and His Kingdom pg. 12
A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE AND THE GOD WHO PURSUES When “impossible” meets the gospel pg. 26
As a young boy, I remember a banner that hung on the wall at church just behind the pastor at the back of the platform. The words on it came from Paul, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
My six-year-old self read those words repeatedly but didn’t really grasp what they meant. But in the next few years, I began to understand more why that gift is “indescribable.” The magnitude of the Father’s grace is simply beyond our ability to fully comprehend. In this Christmas season, when a lot of gifts will be opened, it’s worth pondering what makes God’s gift so unfathomable.
In Hebrews 2:3, for example, the author says we have “so great a salvation” and then highlights the wonder of this gift. First, Jesus freed “those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:15). For those who trust in Him, the sting of death has been removed, and we have an eternal home to look forward to.
More than that, Jesus removes all our guilt. He became one of us in order to “take away the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17, NLT). We are justified; it’s as if we’d never sinned. Our union with Jesus means that His holiness covers us and we are completely accepted by our perfectly righteous Father.
The gift is also extraordinary because of how Jesus continues to help us even today. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18). The author says— present tense—that Jesus is able. It’s a reminder that Jesus is alive today. His tomb is empty, and His limitless strength is available for us right now. Jesus is everything we need—our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. He is truly the Father’s indescribable gift!
What’s an appropriate response to such a gift? We trust Him, we love Him, and we allow Him to live His life through us. We reflect His heart. One way to do that? In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul recognizes that receiving such an extraordinary gift compels us to extraordinary generosity. When we give, we look increasingly like the Father. He’s the most generous Person ever, and we’re called to imitate Him.
If your life has been shaped by the wondrous gift of Christ, will you join in giving generously so that other people can experience the gift of Jesus? As a fellow pastor put it, every time you give, you become more like Jesus. Every time you give, your heart grows and you break the grip of materialism in your life. Every time you give, you win a spiritual victory.
You know what is inspiring to me? Paul says that our “generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:11). One day, we will meet people in heaven who will say, “Thank you! Your generosity made an eternal difference in my life.”
Friend, we’re on mission together to take All of Jesus to all peoples. Everyone deserves the chance to choose Jesus and receive His peace. Thanks for joining us in sharing this indescribable gift!
Jonathan Schaeffer President of the C&MA
Hannah Castro
Emily Smith
Editorial Assistant
Lauren Toney
Circulation Fulfillment
Julie Connon
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CARRY THE STORY FORWARD
Oral storytelling as a pathway to encountering the Living God by Melanie Wendel | pg. 4
WHY DO ALLIANCE PEOPLE STILL GIVE SO MUCH TO MISSIONS? A legacy of joyful sacrifice and global impact by Paul J. Crosby | pg. 8
ALL OF JESUS IS ALL I NEED How the true King reveals Himself and His Kingdom by David Long | pg. 12
FREE VERSE
Quotes from the Kingdom | pg. 15
TOZER ANTHOLOGY
Compiled by Harry Verploegh | pg. 15 18 Acts 1:8
FOUNDATIONS This Is It! by Henry A. Paasonen | pg. 18
YOUR GENOROSITY IN ACTION Life Beyond Bars | by Tim and Cleo, Alliance workers serving in the Philippines pg. 20 A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE AND THE GOD WHO PURSUES When “impossible” meets the gospel | by Hannah Castro | pg. 26 40 Family PRAYER
by Melanie Wendel
Jesus repeatedly asks in the New Testament: “Do you understand?” Until personal understanding takes place in a person’s heart, spiritual transformation cannot happen.
Biblical storytelling and orality is a gift that gives a glimpse into the heart of the hearer. It is an interactive approach to presenting God’s Word in a non-threatening, relational way that can be used in home groups, children’s or youth gatherings, sermons, ESL ministries, mission outreach—or even a friendly meetup over coffee.
“What did you like most?” I asked as I debriefed the orality workshop in which 50 pastors and wives from our indigenous church in Colombia had participated.
The leader’s response saddened me.
“Since our people first became Christians 100 years ago, our church life has consisted of people sitting in rows,
with one person standing in front preaching or teaching. While all the rest of our lives, the passing along and retelling of our native stories, our history, our traditions, our values, and any decisions that are made, are all done sitting around a campfire in community. Why haven’t we done this with our spiritual formation as well?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. All I knew was that these stories of God had travelled from their heads to their hearts and would transform them in ways that literary methods hadn’t.
Statistics show that 70–80 percent of the global population, regardless of their educational or cultural background, are primary or secondary oral learners and communicators. When we only use literary forms and styles to share the gospel and to disciple, we risk only speaking to a very limited segment of the world.
Story is humanity’s innate language. Before any of us ever learned to read, we were making up our own songs, expressing ourselves, picking up values and rules, learning cause and effect, interpreting language, and making connections. Our lives consisted of relationships, love, affection, and laughter, listening to each other and responding. What if we were to use this natural oral preference approach as we seek to influence others and share God’s truth and love with them?
Stories give a pathway through which to engage the whole person—the aesthetic, cognitive, emotional, and relational sides—connecting the teller with the hearers.
The Bible itself is mostly composed of stories that naturally draw the hearer in.
Not only do individual stories of God transform lives, but the entire book is the complete story of God’s love, plan, and promise for us through the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ.
But in the practice of biblical storytelling, we are not simply telling another good story; there are many of those out there. We are creating sacred space and asking others to enter that space, where we know that through His Spirit, God will go before us and continue to work in the lives of others.
After our family left Spain in 2011, where my husband and I had served as international workers (IWs), we were told our daughter’s nine-year-old best friend once made the sign of the cross as she walked past our old apartment. Her mother, startled, asked her why she did that. She responded, “Because that is where I met God.” This little girl had been on holy ground in the living room of our apartment, and the only way she knew to express that was to cross herself in her Roman Catholic tradition.
Through storytelling, our hearers begin to feel the presence of God even before they have language to describe, express, or reject it. As we share stories from the Bible, we begin to provide a place for people to be able to identify, name, value, remember, recognize, and desire a continuation of a beautiful relationship with Someone whose character and actions they have come to know through the story!
One Alliance church planter, formerly an international worker physician, says, “As I watch people encounter Bible stories, often ones they have never heard, I am amazed at how, through the stories, God makes an end run around antagonistic worldviews and presuppositions and surmounts all sorts of blockages and still manages to present Himself accurately to the hearts and minds of people who do not yet know Him.”
Through telling the story to listeners and processing it together through open-ended, honest questions, we get to see a glimpse into each person. Questions often reveal what’s in a heart. We get to peek into a person’s worldviews, hurts, distrusts, and the lies that the enemy has used to keep them in bondage. We see a glimpse of the existential limits they are wrestling with: security, freedom, meaning and purpose, being seen and loved.
When we ask processing questions, we reflect our Rabbi,
Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus asks over 300 questions. And of the 183 questions asked of Him, He only answered eight—not always directly, and often with another question. His questions always went straight to the heart, cutting to the marrow.
What do you want?
Who is it you want?
Who do people say the Son of Man is?
Who do you say I am?
What do you want Me to do for you?
Do you understand what I have done for you?
Have I not chosen you?
Do you love Me?
Why are you so afraid?
Do you still not understand?
Through questions like these, Jesus extends an invitation—into His story and His transformation.
“What part of this story is for you?” I asked this question to a group of IWs after an orality training. I was using a Montessori-type methodology for telling biblical stories where wooden figures representing Abraham and Sarah walked through sand, laying stones for remembrance at “Shechem” and “Bethel.”
One IW leaned over and drew in the sand. “In the village in which we live, men go into the city to sell their livestock and goods. When they return, they will tell their circle of friends how it went, sharing the ‘story’ in the dirt. By using stones or sticks, they are able to represent different elements of the story, the shop they went to, the animals they sold, how much they were paid. Now I see how easily I can share the story of God by simply having some rocks and wooden figures in my back pocket!”
Inviting someone into this sacred space of encounter involves preparation. First, in your own heart. Ask the Lord what story He wants you to memorize and have ready. Then ask Him who He wants you to share it with.
Perhaps there is a question that could serve as an icebreaker as you create a safe space and community with one another. Sitting in a circle or across a table from someone puts us all on level ground. Depending on your setting, you may wish to use physical elements to tell the story or just simply tell it. Let’s use the story of Abraham and Sarah as an example.
Ask an opening question.
“I wonder if you’ve ever had to move. What was that like for you?”
As you begin the story, perhaps moving your hands through the pile of sand in a “desert bag,” say, “For our story today, we need a bit of the desert. Many amazing
and incredible things happened to the people of God in the desert, but it is a dangerous place. No one goes into the desert unless they absolutely have to.”
As you lay down a block of wood (Ur of the Chaldeans) and two strips of blue ribbon (the rivers Euphrates and Tigris), tell the story of how Abram and Sarai left their home in Ur and traveled to Haran. They followed the rivers that gave them water and marked their way. Then God called them out to go to a new land, and this time they had to trust God completely. They wondered if God would be with them in this new land . . .1
After you finish telling the story, ask the following four questions:
1. What did you like most about the story?
2. What was the most important part of the story for you?
3. Is there anything that we can take out of the story and still have everything we need?
4. Where are you in this story? Or what part of this story is about you?
For even deeper discussion, ask:
5. What does this story teach us about humankind?
6. What does it teach us about God?
After, make space for a time of response. Invite the hearers to sit in silence; we can hear God speak when we are silent. If possible, provide space for journaling, drawing, or creating something using simple materials. This response time allows the story to sink in even deeper as God’s Spirit works in each heart. At the end, ask if anyone would like to share something they heard, saw, or felt as they reflected.
You can also share a meal together or ask how you can pray for them. Sing together, if appropriate—this is another form of orality!
Through biblical storytelling, we invite God’s presence and touch our most basic human needs:
To be loved (unconditionally).
To be in community with others.
To learn about the world in an innate way.
To understand our own existential limits and discover how only God can meet them.
To work out and process these limits.
To have a safe place.
To experience moments of wonder—the grandeur of something greater than ourselves.
I would like to leave you with a passage from a beautiful psalm about the importance of storytelling.
“My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands” (Psalm 78:1–7).
Melanie Wendel and her husband, Tim, are the aXcess regional directors for Latin America, serving IWs and partnering with national churches. She is also a third culture kid advocate. Melanie first fell in love with orality in Spain, and as a trainer and practitioner, she has seen the invaluable beauty of storytelling for all ages. Melanie and Tim have four grown children, three daughters-in-law, and one granddaughter.
by Paul J. Crosby
Across the decades, one of the questions that has echoed from observers inside and outside The Alliance has been, “Why do Alliance people give so much to missions?” The giving of our people has long defied expectations—both in scale and consistency. From humble beginnings to global impact, the story of Alliance giving is one of spiritual depth, conviction, and joyful, disproportionate generosity that has resulted in compounded impact.
In 1905, Rev. A. B. Simpson, founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, wrote an article, titled “Why Our People Give So Much for Missions,” on the remarkable generosity of Alliance members toward global missions. Their giving, often far exceeding expectations based on their numbers or financial means, had drawn attention from several news outlets, including The New York Times In his article, Simpson noted three key motivators: “spiritual preparation,” “intelligent sympathy with God’s plan,” and “enthusiasm.” As I have reflected on my experience with the Alliance family over the past decade, these key motivators continue to hold true of Alliance people.
In the early days, some skeptics dismissed our giving as emotional hype or manipulation. But year after year, audited reports confirmed the pledges were not only made—they were fulfilled. At conventions in places like Old Orchard Beach,
Maine, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, thousands of dollars were committed to missions, often by people of modest means. In the district of Pennsylvania alone, fewer than 3,000 members gave over $40,000 annually, averaging $15 per person, compared to the typical U.S. church average at that time of less than $1 per person. Today, according to a national study done on denominational giving to missions, The Alliance is the number one denomination in giving to global missions in terms of percentage of income.1
See, this wasn’t a passing trend. It was, and still is, a movement rooted in spiritual conviction. As Simpson wrote, “These quiet outpourings of beneficence . . . are evidently the result of some deep conviction and spiritual impulse.”
The Alliance is a deeper-life movement, and Alliance people have always sought connection with Christ as their top priority. This deeper-life experience has resulted in not only courageous going but also bold generosity. Early Alliance conventions were not just fundraising events—they were spiritual encounters. Before any offering was taken, attendees spent days immersed in teaching on consecration, surrender, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Giving flowed naturally from hearts transformed by God’s presence. When people are captivated by the love of God and transformed by His presence, they respond freely and boldly.
Simpson observed, “Christian giving is the result of entire sanctification and Spirit-filled lives.” When people experience the joy of God’s presence, they respond with open hands and willing hearts.
Since our early days, The Alliance has been a ragtag group of people, transformed by the love and life of Christ, who have rallied together to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, to the overlooked in our neighborhoods and the nations. As opposed to a group of goers looking for senders, we have been a group of senders looking for and mobilizing goers.
Early Alliance givers took the mission of God as their guide for giving. In a world full of urgent needs and great people accomplishing important endeavors, the generosity of Alliance people has been shaped by a clear understanding of God’s plan for the world and an attunement to His voice.
Simpson called this “intelligent sympathy with God’s plan,” quoting Matthew 24:14: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (KJV). Our giving has been rooted in a calling to see the gospel of the Kingdom preached to all peoples—especially the
overlooked and those without access to the gospel.
When asked by a reporter to predict the date of Christ’s return, Simpson replied, “God’s chronology is not measured by human times and seasons, but by great spiritual preparations.” Our urgency in missions is not about numbers—it’s about obedience and hope. We give because we long to see the Bridegroom come in His fullness to all peoples.
In this world, there is a measure of giving that is natural and that we see in everyday life. It’s a reflection of our Creator, the Giver of life. So often, though, when we speak about giving, we talk about proportional giving, in terms of what we can afford to give or what is “right” to give. Perhaps what has been most striking about Alliance giving has been the joy and disproportionate generosity of it.
In his article, Simpson referenced 2 Corinthians 9:7, interpreting it as “God loveth a hilarious giver.” That word, hilarious, meaning “boisterously joyful,” captures the spirit of Alliance offerings. Giving is not a duty; it’s a celebration. It’s a response to the unspeakable gift of Christ and the eternal reward awaiting those who serve with Him. It is an act that doesn’t always make human sense. I remember what my grandfather used to say: “You can’t out-give God, but it’s fun to try.” That joyfilled faith to join the greatest Giver on mission together is beautiful—and hilarious.
While A. B. Simpson didn’t use the term “compound impact,” when I look back over The Alliance’s more than 130-year history, it’s clear our people understood it intuitively. They gave early, often, and together. Like compound interest—where earnings generate more earnings—Alliance generosity has produced a multiplying effect over time. Small, sacrificial gifts have grown into movements that have transformed lives and communities across the globe.
One powerful example is the response to the Southeast Asia refugee crisis in the mid-1970s. Groups of churches and individuals, many from modest backgrounds, gave above and beyond to meet urgent needs. Those early gifts helped launch what is now CAMA Services, the relief and development arm of The Alliance. But the impact didn’t stop there.
From those seeds of generosity, entire ministries and communities were born. The Hmong District, now the largest district in the U.S. Alliance by membership, emerged from that moment of crisis and compassion. Today, it includes over 115 churches and more than 35,000 members. Similarly, the Vietnamese District, now one of the five largest districts in The Alliance with
over 100 churches, grew from that same movement of generosity and mission.
The ripple effects continued—national churches in Southeast Asia gained strength and independence, now home to more than 1.6 million believers. In the U.S., churches expanded ESL ministries to serve incoming refugees, creating new pathways for outreach and discipleship.
But it wasn’t just ministry impact that compounded over time—it was the transformation of the givers themselves. Generosity is contagious. As it was lived out in community, it spread from person to person and generation to generation. Many Alliance givers today trace their own commitment to missions back to the example of others in their church— parents, pastors, or peers who gave sacrificially and joyfully.
This is the legacy of Alliance giving: not just dollars raised, but lives changed. Not just projects funded, but movements launched. Not just onetime gifts, but a culture of generosity that continues to grow.
Paul J. Crosby is the vice president for Development at the Alliance National Office. Born and raised in the Philippines as an Alliance third culture kid, Paul has a passion for seeing individuals and communities transformed. He holds degrees from Toccoa Falls College and and Fuller Theological Seminary and was ordained by The Alliance in 2007. Paul and his wife, Sarah, are the proud parents of identical twin boys.
by David Long
My son was born December 23, 2023. And I was the most useless person in the room.
It was a scary few minutes before he arrived—his heart rate kept dropping with every push. I could see the fear in the doctor’s eyes as they contemplated the point at which they would need to call for an emergency Csection. But one final prayer was answered before my son’s arrival, and Spencer came crying into the world. The umbilical cord was wrapped around him three times, which explained his heart rate dropping. But otherwise, he was happy and healthy.
I wasn’t prepared for the uselessness I felt in that room. At the end of the day, all my preparation, classes, questions, and efforts were futile. What happened next was up to my wife, my son, the staff, and—maybe most frustratingly—God.
Being out of control is often the place of encounter. It’s a point of convergence, a place where the end of you meets the outstretched hand of God.
I think of Adam hiding his nakedness and hearing God call out, “Where are you?” Or Jacob being asked by God during their wrestling match, “What is your name?” There’s a recognition invited by those questions that confronts the reality of reaching the end of yourself.
In that hospital room, I wondered, Why can’t I be enough?
Relief did flood my body once Spencer was born, unwrapped and being comforted in his mother’s arms. But the space between one surety and another lies that oft-used place of encounter. Why does God choose to operate there, between chaos screaming in the soul and doubt eroding faith?
Isaiah, the prophet who promised the arrival of our greatest gift, said the Christ would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6b). Titles are one of Scripture’s ways of highlighting, underlining, and hyperlinking what’s important. And in this passage, we see a picture of what “All of Jesus” brings us—the beautiful transformation found in Christ alone.
Isaiah preached in a time of turmoil—when Judah’s enemies were at the gates and the people were rejecting God. Isaiah proclaimed judgement on Israel for turning away from God, but his ultimate message was that a coming King—characterized by wisdom, justice, and steadfastness—would establish a good rule, a perfect rule. That times of chaos, filled with fear, were the proving ground for the prophet’s promise of hope.
Fear isn’t pulled out of thin air into a moment, but from a memory being relived, a desire threatened, or a pain wished to be avoided. And my uselessness in that hospital room wasn’t about my lack of preparation but all three of those points of fear colliding at once. How could I have possibly coped with the loss of this beautiful gift, our son, before I’d even held him? Why would God have allowed a tragedy at the end of our pregnancy when we had already faced a traumatic miscarriage just over a year before? That doesn’t seem right or good, both things my vision of God claims Him to be.
And yet, the place of encounter and transformation lies in this wilderness at the end of ourselves. This is the place where our assumed vision of God is met with His actual presence. The place where all of Jesus is recognized and responded to.
by Erin Lillie
In the hospital room before Spencer was born, I wondered why I couldn’t be enough. But the issue with that question is the centrality of me—my desire to do what is right in my eyes. And that’s the problem. We aren’t meant to wrest control from our Creator, but work in partnership with His good and wise ways. To desire control is to desire the Kingdom, and the benefits of the Kingdom, without the rightful King.
So, God meets us in the chaos and speaks promisefilled words to draw our attention up and out of ourselves. The place of encounter, where you are at the end of yourself, allows you to see the world as it really is—a false kingdom built without the true King.
Isaiah preached this message and prophesied so that people would know what our true King looks like— Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Reading this Christmas passage opened my eyes anew to the beauty of the Fourfold Gospel so central to the DNA of our Alliance family. Not only do we know what kind of King is to rule the Kingdom, but also the fullness of Jesus and His transformative work in us to become stewards of that Kingdom.
Wonderful Counselor is not just a title of comfort for the afflicted, though Jesus brings that kind of comfort. And it’s not a title of gentle humility, though Jesus is both humble and gentle. Wonderful Counselor is a title related to salvation, akin to heralding the triumphant leader whose very wisdom brought forth victory in the face of evil. Jesus’ wisdom is redemptive, and our Savior counsels us to imitate His surrender. By dying to ourselves, we find salvation and fullness of life in Him. To experience Jesus as Savior is to experience the wisdom of the life He brings, and to surrender to that wisdom. He is our Wonderful Counselor and Wise Savior.
Peter wrote that Jesus’ “divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Pet. 1:3). Jesus is the Mighty God, and it’s His power that sanctifies us wholly. The true King wields His power well and empowers His people well. Our Mighty God’s sanctifying power has been gifted to us for life in the Kingdom.
Isaiah also said we would know our true King as Everlasting Father. His reign is not short-lived, marred by corruption, injustice, or rebellion, but is steadfast and defined by love, joy, and peace. His leadership is redeeming for His people, healing for His people. And He fathers us. Every wound we carry, the scars sin has carved, and the places ceded to the enemy are and will
be lovingly and completely redeemed under His care. Our Everlasting Father heals us.
The beauty of Isaiah’s titles is that they are all true already. But the fullness of these realities is not yet here—and won’t be entirely realized until all of Jesus is preached in all the world. Because the eternal reign of the Prince of Peace will bring the saving wisdom, sanctifying power, and fatherly healing to every corner of His Kingdom. Peace does not define our world now, and it didn’t define the world Isaiah preached in, but peace does define you and me when we believe in the One of whom Isaiah prophesied. Jesus is our Coming King, and that gives us peace now, even while we wait for His return. In Christ, we have peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace despite any circumstance. This peace surpasses understanding because it surpasses the temporary and fleeting desires of our hearts. It does not depend on the fickleness of humanity and human leadership, but on the steadfastness of the Prince who will reign for eternity.
Why must we relinquish control? And why is it that the wilderness experience that makes me reach the end of myself serves as the place of encounter with the outstretched hand of God? Because it is there that you and I discover that all of Jesus is all we need. There that the glory of God’s Kingdom is the most beautiful thing we can participate in. No matter what pain, scar, regret, loss, wound, or betrayal we may receive or cause, Jesus is the Redeemer. His redemption of our pain and healing of our wounds and scars reveal His power over all things.
Isaiah preached a message of judgement and hope— judgement on the world that rejected God but hope in what the world would find when the true King sat on the throne. Jesus is displaying His wisdom and power and steadfastness, not through aggressive and violent restoration of His rule, but through the slow, intentional work of a Father lovingly growing His children up into the Kingdom He has prepared for them. By demonstrating the characteristics of His Kingdom, Jesus brings about His Kingdom. Instead of marching troops or royal decrees, His leadership looks like meeting a scared father in a hospital room—one who is finally ready to receive more of what only the true King can give.
All of Jesus is all I need.
David Long is an associate pastor at The Cross Walk Church in Columbus, Ohio. After working in Christian radio for 10 years, he is grateful God called him to the deeper life and missions movement of The Alliance.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
“Jesus, properly understood as shalom, coming into the world from the shalom community of the Trinity, is the intention of God’s once-and-for-all mission. That is, the mission of birthing and restoring shalom to the world is in Christ, by Christ, and for the honor of Christ.”
—RANDY S. WOODLEY
“For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him . . .”
—COLOSSIANS 2:9–10 (CSB)
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
1:17
Compiled by Harry Verploegh
Adapted by Alliance Life staff
God made us for Himself: that is the only explanation that satisfies the heart of a thinking person, whatever their wild reason may say.
God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we as well as He can in divine communion enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile.
At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself wanting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His Presence.
The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His presence. The instant cure for most of our religious ills would be to center the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged.
God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is.
—from The Pursuit of God. Originally published in The Alliance Witness on June 5, 1983
”The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
—John 1:4–5, NLT
by Henry A. Paasonen
Originally published in The Alliance Witness on September 5, 1979. Edited by Alliance Life staff.
The sorceress lifted her shrill voice above the clamor. Instantly the discussion among the Hmong tribespeople ceased.
“This is it!” she cried. “This is what I told you about two years ago.” They had been talking with two visitors: a young Lao Christian, Nai Kheng, and a former sorcerer from another village, Po Si—the very first Hmong tribesman in Laos to “enter into Jesus.”
As the sorceress rushed forward and into the center of the group, all eyes were fixed on her. She looked around from face to face.
“This is it!” She declared. “Listen to these two! They are telling us about God Himself, Fua Tai.”
Shortly thereafter, she led her entire village in follow-
ing after Fua-Tai-Yesu and in burning the fetishes from every home.
The year was 1949. The great movement to Jesus Christ among the Hmong of Laos had begun. Month after month, hundreds of people turned to the Savior. As the smoke from burning piles of wooden idols and fetishes rose from one village and then the next, it was as if a fire was sweeping the northern hills of Laos.
And it was—in the hearts of men and women coming out of the darkness of centuries into the glorious light of God’s Son. By the end of 1954, more than 6,000 believers were worshiping Christ in 96 villages.
The movement continued. When the Communists swept over Laos in 1975, there were close to 15,000 Hmong believers.
Just weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting some of these Christians—among the 50,000 refugees in the Nong Khai camp in Thailand.
As I enter the gates of this restricted area, I am immediately struck by the look in the eyes of the refugees. There is death at work here. The light of life itself seems to be going out of these human beings.
Once the proud tribespeople of the Laos mountains, the fierce fighters and deadly enemy of the Communist Viet Minh, these are survivors of the systematic extermination directed against them in Laos by the Vietnamese forces.
Opposite: Youa Va Lo (left) and his wife (right) pose with Rev. Mua Lao and his wife and children at Nong Khai.
These are the few who have made it through the enemy lines, the barrage from MIG aircraft and 155-millimeter howitzers, the jungles of the Laos plain, and the swift currents of the Mekong River.
The Hmong are mountain people. They know little about the jungle, and they cannot swim. Estimates are that less than 25 percent of those who try to escape make it to Thailand. Yet the Nong Khai camp alone receives on average about 1,800 new refugees every month.
In these enclosures, the ethnic pride that has held the Hmong together as a tribal people and given each a sense of personal worth has drained away. In Nong Khai, the emptiness of months and years of waiting threatens to break their spirit and accomplish what genocide in Laos has yet failed to do.
The Christian part of the camp is just ahead, I am told, as I advance further among the gray barracks and bamboo huts. Suddenly there is a smile on a face. Then another, and another. Flower gardens bloom in front of several huts. Vegetable patches and cornstalks are in the backyards.
Some women are busy weaving cloth on looms attached to a barracks wall. Several men are working at a forge, shaping and hammering out iron tools. The children are everywhere, their cries echoing the activity around them.
The words of our Lord come to mind: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13a). What a difference the salt of Christians makes! Not only are ethnic values preserved, but a new sense of personal worth, of hope, is evident here.
Their simple church, a long building with a corrugated steel roof and open sides, is set in a cleared area surrounded by a neat bamboo fence to keep the chickens out.
Nearby is the center for CAMACrafts, the handicraft enterprise initiated by CAMA Services, the emergency relief agency of the C&MA. The colorful weaving and intricate embroidery, as well as applique work, is run by the Hmong themselves.
These beautiful and unique handicrafts are marketed in Bangkok, North America, and Europe. Not only does this project bring substantial revenue to the refugees but it channels their energies and gives expression to their artistic heritage.
At the CAMACrafts center, I was introduced to Rev. Mua Lao, a graduate of the Laos Bible Training Center in Vientiane. He graciously invited me to his home—a platform area in one of the barracks. There I met his aged father-in-law, Mr. Youa Va Lo, one of the very first Hmong Christians.
The old man’s smile was the brighter for the gold caps on all his front teeth. As he recollected for us the early days of the movement to Christ among the Hmong, his eyes shone. They expressed such a joy that I forgot the physical poverty that surrounded us.
This man, I thought, is the richest person I have ever met. What a privilege and blessing it was to meet him!
“How did it all begin?” I wanted to know.
“It all started with a gospel tract,” he said. In 1949, a young Lao Bible student had come to his tribe in Xieng Khouang. His name was Nai Kheng. He went about giving people tracts and Scripture portions.
The Alliance missionaries who had just begun their language study in that area, Ted and Ruth Andrianoff, had left for the annual conference in Dalat, Vietnam. Weather conditions prevented them from returning for several months. When they did get back, more than a thousand newborn believers awaited them.
The power of God’s Word through the printed page is vividly illustrated in the testimony of another Hmong man: “When I read the Book and when I thought about Jesus, my heart ached inside me. It told me He is the true Savior and that He will forgive my sins. It told me He is the One I must worship and serve.
But right quick then, inside me, all the demons made warfare on me. Darkness and doubts filled my mind, and I could not think. Then I did not know, I did not know.” The man paused, as though mentally reliving the struggle. “I sent my wife over the mountains to visit, and I read alone. I read and I read. I had to know for sure.”
He, too, decided to “enter into Jesus.”
“This is it!” was the cry of expectancy that met the gospel in a tract brought to the Hmong people.
by Olivia,
by Tim and Cleo, Alliance workers serving in the Philippines
Tim: When many think about farming, they imagine generations of agricultural knowledge being passed down from parent to child, a heritage deeply rooted in the soil. But for my wife, Cleo, and me, our farming story began quite differently. The son of Alliance workers, I was raised in Southeast Asia. My childhood was shaped not by farm life but by crosscultural living and the rhythms of a family dedicated to Christian service and sustained by ministry partners who faithfully supported and prayed for our family. The furrows in my life were not plowed by tractors but by the gospel and the unique opportunities that came from growing up in a missionary household.
In 1986, after completing college, seminary, and some pastoral experience, I accepted a call to the Philippines, not to cultivate fields, but to teach the Bible at Alliance Graduate School. My initial years were marked by classroom instruction and mentoring as I helped young men and women from all over Asia prepare for ministry. Among my students was a bright young woman named Cleo, who had been raised in a farming family. Our shared love for God’s Word, discipleship, and ministry blossomed into a deeper partnership, and in 1991, we were married.
Soon after our marriage, our journey took us far from the Philippines. We spent time in Israel studying and later in the United States. While I pursued graduate studies, Cleo worked to help support our little family of three. The years abroad were valuable, filled with academic growth and cross-cultural encounters that broadened our perspectives. Yet, at the heart of our travels was a growing conviction: we wanted to return to the Philippines—a center for education in Asia—to mentor the next generation of leaders preparing for ministry. So, propelled by the generosity and prayers of so many in the Alliance family, Cleo, our daughter, Raquel, and I returned in 2004.
Cleo: While Tim’s ministry focused mostly on mentoring students, my heart was drawn to a highly critical mission field—women in prison—a passion Tim also picked up on. Just six months after returning, I was invited to speak at the Correctional Institute for Women, a large prison in Manila.
Many of the women there are incarcerated for crimes born of desperation and poverty. Their struggles do not end behind bars; many are mothers whose families— especially their children—suffer immensely from their absence. There, I heard firsthand about the challenges these women and their children face. Can you imagine what the children go through after they are separated from their mothers? Some become victims of abuse and neglect, eating their meals only after their guardian relatives have finished eating—that is, if any leftovers are even on the table. If there aren’t leftovers, these “second-class” members of the house just curl up their thin bodies in a small corner of the relative’s house, clutching their tummies and asking, “Mom, when are you coming home?”
It was a wrenching feeling for me to imagine these children with tears streaming down their faces, wondering when Mom might show up at the door to put an end to the nightmare. The mothers stuck behind bars writhe in agony for their children’s welfare.
In this new ministry venture, I wanted to do more than preach encouragement; I wanted to take it a few steps higher by helping incarcerated women and their families break free from the cycle of poverty and marginalization. Through the generosity and prayers of our Alliance family, Ina-Inakay (“Mother and Fledglings”) Center, Inc. was born on May 11, 2006. As you drive the work of this organization forward, you provide support not only to female inmates but also to their children, offering scholarships to help them stay in school. Education becomes a lifeline—a chance to step away from the shadows of their mothers’ incarceration, and into a brighter, more stable future.
The only jobs some poor Filipinos can land are seasonal, such as rice planting or construction. Take Dona, for example. While she was in prison, you provided scholarship assistance through Inakay to her children Jarmi,* then a first grader, and Lona,* a third grader. Before receiving this assistance, these children would stop at garbage bins of restaurants as they came home from school, scavenging thrown-out food for dinner. Now, because of you, Dona continues to work as Inakay’s main craft artisan. Jarmi finished college and is now working at a company. After high school, Lona decided to work at a major food chain while pursuing a college degree. Another previous scholar is now a member of our staff, assisting admin and programs. Other college graduates you have helped are working in various capacities.
Cleo: In 2017, the vision planted in our hearts—and made possible by so many of you—expanded dramatically when Levi,* a generous benefactor we have never
When you give to Project Countryside, you support the professional, educational, and spiritual development of needy families desperate for a brighter future. To provide released female inmates and their families with vocational training in agriculture, educational assistance, and opportunities to participate in Bible discussion groups in a safe environment, visit cmalliance.org/ ProjectCountryside. Learn more about other Alliance strategic projects throughout the world in need of your prayers and financial support by accessing the 2025–2026 Strategic Giving Opportunities Gift Catalog at cmalliance.org/gift-catalog or by calling toll-free (866) 443-8262.
met, made a pivotal donation. His sizable gift enabled us to purchase land on which to build a haven for released female inmates. This was not just a plot of soil; it was the seed of something transformative—a place where women could transition back into society, receive mentorship, and rediscover dignity and purpose.
Since then, the 22 acres has grown into a vibrant hub of activity. Tucked into the beautiful hills and mountains of Central Luzon Island, and under ongoing development, the farm contains animals, birds, and crops. It will provide not only a fresh start for women leaving prison but also is currently providing opportunities for the surrounding community. Jobs have been created for locals, especially those in need, who find employment tending the land and supporting farm operations. Scholarships have been extended to poor children in the surrounding villages as well as children of prisoners in the nearby city of Tarlac.
Education, livelihood, and restoration—all of these strands weave together into a fabric of hope that the farm embodies.
This was not just a plot of soil; it was the seed of something transformative.
Tim: Although we have never met Levi, we are thankful that the Lord has given him a heart for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. Like others who make our work in the Philippines possible, he glorifies God with every dollar given—for land and scholarships and now to a solar-to-electric plant that offers sustainability for the farm as well as a model of renewable energy for the community.
Additionally, 12 buildings will be constructed on the land. In fact, the first building for residents is already going up. These structures will serve multiple purposes. They will provide transitional housing for women released from prison and enable us to open our doors to the wider community. The facilities will be used for conferences, retreats, and gatherings that encourage learning, collaboration, and spiritual renewal.
These buildings are more than bricks and mortar— they are spaces of healing, empowerment, and fellowship. Yet, the project is far from finished. The vision is to fully outfit these structures with beds and bedding, chairs, tables, educational tools, and materials for proper acoustics for a conference center. Beyond our budget, roads on the property still need further development, and additional water pumps are required to ensure a reliable supply of water as well as an elevated storage tank for dispersion both for both farming and residential needs. We welcome many who, like Levi, would like to partner with us in offering hope and healing to people in need.
*Name changed
When “impossible” meets the gospel
by Hannah Castro
The sound of cattle bells marks the movement of the Fulani people across West Africa—the atmosphere heavy with history. For centuries, this proud, nomadic people have shepherded their livestock, wandering from place to place, often living on the fringes of farming communities. One of the largest and most widely dispersed ethnic groups in Africa, the Fulani number an estimated 25–40 million people. In certain countries on the continent, they make up almost 40 percent of the population.
The Fulani people’s nomadic lifestyle has made this people both distinct and, at times, misunderstood. Outsiders often look down on them; as a whole, interactions between the Fulani and neighboring ethnic groups are often full of friction.
Historically, the Fulani have been torchbearers for Islam. The religion is deeply ingrained in their culture, and it has been central to Fulani life, being that they were among the earliest people in West Africa to embrace Islam.
Their itinerant roots have carried them across borders, and with them, a religion that has shaped the spiritual life of an entire continent. Living as nomads has given the Fulani a proud, independent spirit. They are used to being different, to standing apart from surrounding communities. But that pride also comes with pain. Fulani families have faced prejudice, suspicion, and sometimes outright hostility in the form of persecution. In response, they have leaned even harder into their cultural identity—especially their Muslim identity— holding fast to the traditions that define them.
For centuries, if you asked anyone whether a Fulani person could become a Christian, the answer would be swift and unanimous: impossible. For this very reason, in 1923, The Alliance began to focus on the Fulani people in West Africa. One Alliance international worker (IW) recounted of those pioneer missionaries: “There’s a story that they traveled up to a northern city and met with an Islamic leader, trying to gather information about the Fulani, and the Islamic leader said very clearly to them, ‘You can come here and work for 100 years, and not one of us will ever follow your Jesus.’”
But impossible met the gospel. Today, more than a century later, hundreds of Fulani men and women are quietly, courageously choosing Christ. As more and more Fulani people witness this, it challenges the stereotype that says “to be Fulani is to be Muslim.”
Jesus is shaking up their ground.
Fulani people coming to know Jesus and renouncing their Islamic faith has come through deep relationshipbuilding, soul care, discipleship, and partnership
between international workers and Fulani leaders. Testimonies often include Jesus visiting people in dreams, miraculous healings, and perseverance through severe persecution—social ostracism, loss of family, economic pressure, poisoning, and even death threats. Deep transformation is taking place. The once unthinkable thing—a Christian Fulani—is now a very present reality. Praise God!
“When we arrived [in this West African country], we kept saying, ‘We’re starting to see cracks in the wall.’ But we really are now,” says one Alliance international worker. “We don’t know many Fulani believers. Our goal really, as we disciple them, is to see all of the Fulani for Jesus.”
Their resistance to the gospel has begun to wither as more and more Fulani embrace the good news and share with one another. Increasingly, Fulani people are now leading other Fulani to Christ. What was once solely missionary-driven has become the start of a movement among their own people. As a culturally distrustful group, who better to trust than your own people?
“I’m always an outside influence, no matter how well I know the culture, no matter how well I speak the language; my appearance just gives it away. I’m not one of them,” notes Jake, an IW who has served in West Africa for 16 years. “But when they encounter one of them who grew up like them, who’s embraced this identity, they start to say, ‘Wow, there could be something different here.’ And they’re able to speak at a heart-level about some of these things that I just can’t get at.”
Our Alliance work takes place among the Fulani in several African countries and has for decades; the once untilled soil has been broken up again and again, and the response is evident. Many Fulani Christians are boldly living out their testimonies and faith. Cracks are appearing in the once solid walls of resistance.
The spiritual landscape in West Africa among the Fulani is actively shifting. “There’s something that’s changing. There’s a more responsive attitude. There are more workers coming,” Jake says. “I personally believe it’s a result of prayer. We’ve been praying for the Fulani for years, for decades. Our own Alliance family has adopted them as a people group to pray for.”
It’s no small feat to minister among an incredibly resistant group of people. But we believe that prayer shifts even the most rugged spiritual climates, and the toiling is worth it—for the sake of the good news. To see all of Jesus in all the world. Many of our Alliance workers serving in West Africa believe that when the Fulani are reached with the gospel, all of Africa—and beyond—will be reached. The Fulani are a deeply significant people
group, and as they embrace Jesus, encounter with the Living God spreads thoroughly across their networks.
Following Jesus, however, comes at a cost, and there remains a real danger for the Fulani in professing faith. Believers are often expelled from their families, denied access to village wells, or stripped of their inheritance. Some face threats of violence, and punishment by death is not unheard of. There’s a cultural sense that to become a Christian is to become something terrible and shameful. A Fulani who comes to Christ often faces immediate rejection from their families, which is perhaps one of the greatest barriers for Fulani in coming to Christ—instantaneous isolation. That’s why presence matters—it’s why our Alliance workers are so passionate about staying the course in the hardest places, among the hardest-to-reach people.
But the gates that are often barricades—the cost of following Jesus—are being flung wide open. The Fulani are often considered a “gateway people” because of the incredible impact they have as a whole, particularly when they embrace the gospel. They reach their people, who reach their people, who reach their people, and so on. The Lord longs to throw open the doors of their hearts and the gates of community.
The Lord longs to throw open the doors of their hearts and the gates of community.
“We believe that God will bring Fulani and other hardto-reach people to Himself through suffering—His people willing to suffer and demonstrate His grace to a suffering people,” says another Alliance worker. “The one thing that the enemy of our souls cannot duplicate is grace under fire.”
The long-standing work among the least-reached is arduous, but how will they know unless someone tells them?
It’s evident from the hundreds who are coming to know Him that God is at work among the Fulani, and not just in West Africa. Their reach now extends to the United States—many Fulani live in places like New York City, Chicago, and Columbus, Ohio. There are over 30,000 Fulani people in the U.S., and that number is growing steadily. Opportunities for gospel witness are rising.
A new Fulani-focused church plant has been approved in The Alliance’s Ohio Valley District. A non-traditional church plant, it is set to span across states, focusing on discipleship and development that multiplies. The district sees a very active need: the Fulani are here; we should meet them where they are.
Some of our Alliance workers in New York City housed three Fulani men in their home over the course of almost two years, living life and chasing after Jesus with them.
Many Fulani long to live in America, and perhaps they will meet Jesus in the U.S. in ways they would not
have been able to in their home countries. Away from the pressures of village life, some are hearing the gospel with new openness. There is ample opportunity for many of us to do life with the Fulani people, even in our own neighborhoods. These nomadic people are still on the move.
Alliance international workers who have served in West Africa for years, even decades, say that the Fulani diaspora in the States is an answer to intentional prayer. The global team—particularly in the U.S.—is seeing the same spiritual shift international are seeing happen as they witness the Lord position them for exactly a time such as this.
There is incredible opportunity to hear a Fulani person’s story, to show them the love of God, to pray for power of Christ to move in their lives, and to speak the truth of the gospel over them. For such a time as this, God has equipped us to be His hands and feet. He has brought one of the largest unreached people groups in the entire world, a gateway-for-the-gospel people, to our very doorsteps.
The opportunities are endless, but they are necessary for the whole gospel to reach the whole world. Sometimes, opportunities call for new means of creativity.
Sharing the gospel with the Fulani is not exclusive to West Africa. They are here—in the U.S. How are we welcoming and being Jesus to them? Jesus is for them. That’s what we need to showcase.
The Lord longs for every people, every people group, to embrace Him. How incredible it is to know that God
The Lord longs for every people, every people group, to embrace Him.
loves the Fulani so much that He’s willing to mobilize His people to be sent to the furthest corners of the world to witness to them, to also bring them to a place like the U.S.— where they have greater opportunity to hear about the good news—and to draw them to Himself.
One practical way of reaching the Fulani is to just be with them, be in relationship with them, and build relationships that can support the truth of the good news. We also need to pray boldly.
“We need the Alliance family to be engaged in prayer specifically for this: Lord, would You continue to open doors among the Fulani? Would You continue to empower the ministry of the Fulani where they’re at?” Jake pleads. “But we also need workers. Joshua Project estimates that in [my country] alone, we need 85 new workers engaged to even have a 50,000-to-1 ratio of worker to unreached.”
The need is great. The gospel is greater. What does it look like for you to pray about where the Lord might be leading you to minister among the Fulani people? Could you be one of those 85 new workers?
The Alliance has always been committed to reaching the leastreached peoples of the world. When we consider the Fulani—who by some estimates are only 0.01
percent evangelical Christian—the need for gospel access is undeniable. The Fulani are a people who deserve a chance to know the Lord, and we are called to create access to the gospel where it has scarcely been heard— even in the United States.
To imagine the Fulani not only receiving the good news but spreading it across West Africa and the rest of the world should stir our hearts. This is the very vision of The Alliance—taking all of Jesus to all the world. It’s what we believe in, what we pray for, and what we labor toward with hope. For the Fulani, we will keep believing, keep praying that God would raise up more workers to be sent, and keep laboring in hope.
“We believe in All of Jesus for All the World . And a part of that world is the Fulani people,” says Jake. “That mission of All of Jesus for All the World won’t be complete until we see the Fulani well-represented in Jesus Christ.”
We are called to create access to the gospel where it has scarcely been heard.
”The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
—John 1:14
We have been asking for prayer for Mr. R to come to saving faith in Jesus since January, when the early morning prayer team met and befriended this elderly gentleman. Mr. R began attending our Friday night fellowship group very faithfully. Every week, he shares a word of thanks for how God has been helping him (he is recovering from a stroke he had five years ago). He began studying more about God and his faith continued to grow. He now eagerly attends Sunday morning worship. The first week in August, the men studied about the death of Jesus. Mr. R had tears in his eyes when he thought about how Jesus painfully suffered for his sin and that Jesus, who is holy and righteous, would die in his place for his sin. As he confessed his sin to the men, Mr. R asked Jesus to forgive him and come into his life. He said, “I love Jesus so much. I believe in Jesus a lot. Friends tell me I am crazy when I tell them about Jesus, but I don’t care. Jesus has helped me so much. I am amazed that God would bring you from the other side of the world to tell me about Jesus. I am so thankful that I have had the chance to hear about Jesus at 72 years of age before I die.” Please continue to pray for Mr. R’s faith and for others to come to know the Lord as well.
—an Alliance international worker couple serving with aXcess
This past Saturday (in August), I got to co-facilitate a kintsugi workshop together with a certified instructor from the U.S. who was in town to visit. Kintsugi is a Japanese art form, taking broken pottery and repairing it with gold. It offers a picture of how Jesus desires to restore wholeness and of His promise to redeem and transform our sorrow and brokenness into beauty. There were 14 women around the table—two more than had been planned for and expected! As I was watching these women walk through the activity, I kept seeing the strands of God’s redemption in it and feeling the rightness of it all.
The time ended up being a beautiful demonstration of cultures making space for one another and bore immediate fruit. One girl in her early 20s reflected that she felt something within her noticeably shift during the time; others deeply resonated with the reality of pieces sometimes not fitting back the way they had before; a Palestinian woman noted a calming spirit in the space and asked for the secret; and yet another eagerly asked when the next get-together would be. We had France, Germany, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and the U.S. represented around the table. Please pray for these women, that they would feel the Lord’s presence drawing them toward Himself and would be responsive towards Him.
—an Alliance international worker serving with aXcess
From around the block to the ends of the earth
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Laura R. Eckman, in July. Laura serves with aXcess.
Mark D. and Kathleen E. Eikost, in July. The Eikosts serve with aXcess.
SENEGAL
Macie M. Ruble, in July. Macie serves with CAMA.
WEST AFRICA
Andrew J. and Esther C. Schaeffer, in July. The Schaeffers serve with aXcess.
GUINEA
Arnold R. and Cheryl R. Solvig, in July. The Solvigs serve with aXcess.
INDONESIA
Stuart and Rebecca Guild and family, in July. The Guilds serve with aXcess.
CAMBODIA
Dan J. and Naomi R. Kern, in July. The Kerns serve with aXcess.
Bounoeuy and Chanthan Kes, in July. The Keses serve with aXcess.
Kandi Y. Lay, in July. Kandi serves with aXcess.
Jeffrey A. and Heather A. Williams, in July. The Williamses serve with aXcess.
Stephen E. and Kelli J. Nelson and family, in July. The Nelsons serve with aXcess.
Deborah M. Vik, in July. Deborah serves with aXcess.
Richard and Elisa Brown, in July. The Browns serve with Envision.
Joseph A. and Yolanda Grover, in July. The Grovers serve with aXcess.
TWIN CITIES
Richard W. and Kirsten A. Wallace, in July. The Wallaces serve with Envision.
Michael L. Ashley, non-Alliance assignment, North Central District
Leonardo Ayala, pastor de formacion espiritual, La Alianza en la Ciudad, San Juan, P.R.
Dawn E. Bailey, ministry associate, Calvary Church, Milford, Conn.
Matthew T. Bazemore, nonAlliance assignment, Central District
Andrew G. Brackmann, lead pastor, Bridges Alliance Church, Selinsgrove, Pa.
Philip N. Chapman, chaplain, Central District
Cody P. Edwards, director of community connection, New Hope Church, Lebanon, Ore.
Bryan S. Faltynski, assistant to the district superintendent for church development, Rocky Mountain District
Kevin L. Frank, pastor, Desert Road Community Church, Apache Junction, Ariz.
Randall S. Friberg, pastor, Parkview Alliance Church, Van Buren, Ariz.
Melissa Guay, director of kids ministry and women’s ministry, Pine Knolls Alliance Church, South Glen Falls, N.Y.
Stephen D. Hagen, special assignment, Alliance Southeast
Timothy C. Hall, special assignment, Ohio Valley District
Andrew T. Hastie, non-Alliance assignment, Metropolitan District
Darea N. Hastie, non-Alliance assignment, Metropolitan District
Brian W. Heath, interim pastor, Main Street Church, Vancouver, Wash.
Tami Jones, pastor of discipleship, Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church, Fall City, Wash.
Clement N. Kigugu, pastor, The Over Comers Church of God, Concord, N.H.
Jordan D. Lang, senior high youth pastor, Eagle Church, Whitestown, Ind.
Gordon W. Lanpher, children’s pastor, Leeward Community Church, Pearl City, Hawaii
Erica Lara, associate pastor, The Table NYC, Sunnyside, N.Y.
Rafael E. Lara, pastor, The Table NYC, Sunnyside, N.Y.
John H. Lee, church planting pastor, Christ Centered Church, Washington, N.J.
Dale L. Lemke, special assignment, MidAmerica District
Coobvam L. Lor, senior pastor, Hmong Alliance Church, Coon Rapids, Minn.
Sze H. Lui, pastor, Norwich (Conn.) Chinese Christian Church
Damian W. Mericka, pastor, Greenhouse Community Church, Houston, Tex.
Lauren R. Muniak, coordinator of disciplemaking discipleship, Central District
Pun Naenphan, associate pastor, Highway International Christian Fellowship, Fairfield, Calif.
Hector D. Olavarria, pastor, ACyM de San Sebastian (P.R.)
Jonatan L. Martinez Otero, pastor, La Alianza en la Ciudad, San Juan, P.R.
Edgar N. Gomez Oviedo, pastor, Harvest Fellowship Church, Oshkosh, Wis.
Judd A. Parker, lead pastor, Faith Bible Alliance Church, Neosho, Wis.
Stanley Samuel, associate pastor/ English teaching pastor, Plano (Tex.) Chinese Alliance Church
Gabriela Martinez Seda, assistant pastor, La Alianza en la Ciudad, San Juan, P.R.
Jason P. Seibert, lead pastor, Plains (Mont.) Alliance Church
Bradley R. Sickler, interim pastor, DuBois (Pa.) C&MA Church
Daih Siu, president, Association of Montagnard Churches, Greensboro, N.C.
Laura G. Slezak, special assignment, Alliance Southeast
Mark V. Smith, special assignment, Great Lakes District
Robert R. Thomas II, church planter, North Central Ohio Micro Church Network
Olaf P. Valli, pastor of ministry development, Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church, Brewster, Mass.
Nao Vang, senior pastor, First United Hmong Alliance Church, Denver, Colo.
Peter Vincent, pastor of pastoral care, Salem (Ore.) Alliance Church
Cody J. Whelsky, pastor, Trinity Alliance Church, Rochester, N.Y.
Leng T. Yang, pastor, Hope City Alliance Church, Onalaska, Wis.
Akron, Ohio, Freedom Alliance Church, 2433 Main St., 44319
Canton, Mich., New Generation Alliance Church, 42690 Cherry Hill Rd., 48187
Woodland, Calif., Vision Espiritual, 940 Campbell Cir., 95776
Matthew D. Awtrey, campus pastor, Columbia Crossroads Alliance Church, Chapin, S.C.
Amit A. Bhatia, pastor, Dallas (Ore.) Alliance Church
Onesime B. Bokweya, church planter, Amour du Christ, Cleveland, Ohio
Steven Bolin, lead pastor, Paradise (Calif.) Alliance Church
Logan M. Brunsting, coordinator of student ministries, Alliance Church – Hortonville (Wis.)
Albert S. Buni, church planter, Amour du Christ, Cleveland, Ohio
Guy M. Cecchi, pastoral counselor, Cape Cod Bible Alliance Church, Brewster, Mass.
Sarina Chatman, disciplemaking ministries – team development lead, Allegheny Center C&MA Church, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Lukas Dunn, pastor, Fairlawn Community Church, Cogan Station, Pa.
Xristian A. Escala, associate pastor for English ministry, Agape Chinese Alliance Church, San Diego, Calif.
Rebecca Finter, administrator, Riverside Chapel, Florence, N.J.
Bryan S. Flanery, pastor, Crossroads Fellowship, Clarksville, Tenn.
Scott P. Fox, pastor of student ministries, Kenmore Alliance Church, Tonawanda, N.Y.
William J. Roa Gil, associate pastor, ACM Manati-Pueblo (P.R.)
Rigoberto Gomez, assistant pastor, Iglesia Alianza Vida, Houston, Tex.
Jamyra L. Harrell, education and outreach programs facilitator, Envision Cleveland
Cole R. Heffer, church planting resident, River of Life Alliance Church, Grand Junction, Colo.
Ramon A. Hernandez, pastor, Cristo Es La Puerta, Novato, Calif.
Blaine K. Hewitt, church planter, Massillon (Ohio) Alliance Church
Kyle D. Hines, associate/youth pastor, Journey Church, Center Conway, N.H.
Mackenzie L. Huffaker, other ministry, Woodinville (Wash.) Alliance Church
Daniel A. Humbert, special assignment, Ohio Valley District
Katie E. Ignatowski, executive director, Crosspoint Community Church, Oconomowoc, Wis.
Clement N. Kigugu, pastor, The Over Comers Church of God, Concord, N.H.
Christopher M. Kingston, special assignment, Ohio Valley District
Michael B. Larkin, Albany Park youth director, Midwest District
Lydia E. Lillquist, resident, Mosaic Alliance Church, St. Paul, Minn.
Jody F. MacFarlane, administrative coordinator and director for disciplemaking ministries, Cross Connections Alliance Church, McDonald, Pa.
Mikyla J. Malone, youth pastor, Rose Hill Alliance Church, Roseville, Minn.
Lukas J. Montgomery, associate pastor, Menomonie (Wis.) Alliance Church
Elijah D. Morris, youth pastor, Hawley (Minn.) Alliance Church
Elba I. Robles Muniz, assistant pastor, ACM Isabela, Arecibo, P.R.
Peter Neiderheiser, church planter, Alliance New England
Vinh T. Nguyen, pastor, Vietnamese Alliance Church, Phoenix, Ariz.
Ashley R. Njenga, young adult pastor, Allegheny Center C&MA Church, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Eric F. Concepcion Oriol, associate pastor, ACM Sabana Hoyos (P.R.)
Isaiah J. Ream, director of worship and production, First Alliance Church, Erie, Pa.
German Rizo, pastor, Renew Church, Visalia, Calif.
Jose G. Rodriguez, church planter, Alliance South Central
Cynthia Romberg, field shepherd, MidAmerica District
Chris A. Rose, executive pastor, Fellowship Alliance Chapel, Medford, N.J.
Johanna R. Ruby, children’s director, Alliance Missionary Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.
Joost F. Sanders, youth director, Kiel (Wis.) Alliance Church
Joshua C. Sanders, lead pastor, Midwest District
Walter R. Starkey II, director of kidstown, NorthGate Community Church, Cathedral City, Calif.
David Sumaya, district personnel, True Life Church, Brick, N.J.
Biniam Teweldemedhin, church planter, Alliance South Central
At Shell Point® , you’ll enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle where you can explore, worship, learn, grow and even continue to serve. And with new additions to our campus, like Tribby Arts Center, a sparkling centerpiece for the arts, and the state-of-the-art Larsen Health Center, you can rest on a firm foundation, knowing that your needs will be taken care of – both now and in the future.
Unparalleled setting. Unparalleled lifestyle.™
Shell Point is located in Fort Myers, Florida, just minutes from the islands of Sanibel and Captiva.
Charles R. Thomas, church planter, Massillon (Ohio) Alliance Church
Temesgen S. Tilahun, church planter, Ebenezer Church, Cleveland, Ohio
Terasue A. Trempert, leadership pipeline manager, MidAmerica District
Frank Tuzi, director of equipping, Forest (Va.) Alliance Church
Lee Vang, senior pastor, Kansas City (Kans.) Hmong Alliance Church
Clint D. Walker, youth pastor, Exit Church, Gas City, Ind.
Joy Weyand-Campos, director of Baraka Workforce Development, Salem (Ore.) Alliance Church
Scott J. Williams, other ministry, Discovery Christian Community, Salk Lake City, Utah
Cheng F. Xiong, care pastor, Hmong Alliance Church, Stevens Point, Wis.
Michael T. Xiong, assistant pastor, Victory Hmong Alliance Church, Madison, Wis.
Tanya Xiong, middle school pastor, Salem (Ore.) Alliance Church
Tom Xiong, youth/English pastor, Hmong Alliance Church, Stevens Point, Wis.
Xai Yang, youth pastor, St. Paul Alliance Church, Maplewood, Minn.
Allen R. Biere, MidAmerica District
Stephen V. Elliott, Ohio Valley District
James E. Evans, Rocky Mountain District
R. Daniel Hammond Jr., Western PA District
Teng C. Herr, Hmong District
Paul R. Keidel, Eastern PA District
Steven M. Kellett, Rocky Mountain District
Joel Martinez, Spanish Eastern District
Porfirio Medina, Spanish Eastern District
William S. Strader Jr., Central District
Lider Sun, Central Pacific District
Doris (Embree) Boldt
December 7, 1929–July 18, 2025
Doris was born in Hanna, Alberta, Canada, the oldest of three daughters, and her faith in Jesus came during her early years. Doris attended the Western Canadian Bible Institute in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, where she met Walter, whom she later married September 28, 1952. She took her role as pastor’s wife seriously, serving alongside Walter in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Doris is remembered for being at her self-appointed post by the main door of the church, greeting hundreds of individual attendees. Doris had a great memory for dates and family connections, and many remember the warmth of her inquiries as to the well-being of their families, as well as her remembrance of birthdays and anniversaries. Upon retirement, the Boldts moved to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. After Walter’s death in 2011, Doris found routines of bowling, outings, traveling, attending church, volunteering, attending senior worship services, Canasta nights, coffee time, and nightly visits with friends at Gordon Park. Doris is predeceased by her parents, infant brother, and husband. She is survived by her children Wayne, Melanie, and Sandra; eight grandchildren; and fifteen great-grandchildren.
Jane Ann (Clause) Stutzman
July 25, 1933–May 12, 2025
Jane was born in Monroe, Michigan, to the late Rev. Carrollton and Georgia Clause. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, Michigan, in 1951 and from Nyack (N.Y.) College in 1954. Although she worked as both a secretary and executive secretary in several banks during and after her college years, it was her role as a pastor’s wife that brought her the most joy and fulfillment.
Jane married the love of her life, Rev. Bruce W. Stutzman, in 1955 and served faithfully by his side in five different churches in Peckville and Watsontown, Pa.; Owego, N.Y.; and Portsmouth, Va., over the course of nearly 40 years. She enjoyed teaching Sunday school classes, Bible studies, and Good News Clubs for Child Evangelism Fellowship. Jane was predeceased by her husband. She is survived by her two daughters Kathy and Cheri; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Grace Elizabeth Nelson
August 10, 1929–April 26, 2025
Grace spent her life going and making disciples. On October 19, 1954, she left the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to follow the Lord’s call for her to go to Gabon, Africa.
In Gabon, Grace taught religious education, learned and taught new missionaries the local language of Yipunu, and evangelized. Every Sunday, she also traveled a 45-mile stretch, teaching in five villages along the way. In 1964, Grace was assigned the task of translating the New Testament into the Yipunu language. Little did the team know how long this assignment would take to complete.
Just one day shy of 19 years in Gabon, on October 18, 1973, the final manuscript of the New Testament was sent to print, and three years later, the team held the printed copy of the Yipunu New Testament in their hands. After this accomplishment, Grace was asked to continue on with translating the Old Testament. Grace’s final years on the mission field were spent on this task, deep in the Word of God.
God had given her the desires of her heart— being a missionary had been even better than her young self could have imagined. Upon returning to the States, Grace spent the next few decades working with the C&MA to serve a retirement community and women’s groups. Grace served the Lord with her entire being, and it shone through all that she did.
Grace is predeceased by her parents, Axel and Dorthea; brothers Charles and David; and nephew Steve. Grace is survived by her niece Christy; nephews Tim, John, Paul, Mark, and David; and her great-nephews and -nieces.
February 28, 1935–July 2, 2025
Joyce was born in Drake County, Ohio, to Glen and Bernice Arnett. She attended Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bible College and had been a member of the Greenville, Ohio, CMA Church since 1956.
Joyce and her husband, Lowell, met attending an Alliance youth group and were married in 1959. Together, they ministered in C&MA churches in Richmond, Ind.; Kenton and Columbus, Ohio; Hudsonville and Wyandotte, Mich.; and three non-Alliance churches.
Since Lowell was blind from birth, Joyce became his “eyes” as she chauffeured him for ministry calls. She was also the church pianist and secretary and worked outside the home as a telephone operator, bank teller, receptionist, and chiropractic assistant. Joyce was a loving mother to three children and a dedicated homemaker who always welcomed in missionaries and evangelists throughout years of ministry.
Joyce is survived by her husband; their three children Darolyn, Eugene, and Joel; six grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
My name is Solada,* and I live in a small village in Thailand.
My life hasn’t been easy. Since I was young, I’ve worked hard to support my family. In the past few years, especially, I have worried constantly about money. The expenses are endless, and I barely have enough to get by. I spent many nights alone, wondering, How can I keep going? But I didn’t tell anyone about my struggles. I was afraid of becoming a burden.
One day, my neighbor invited me to a small Alliance church in our village. I went, not expecting anything—but I heard the words of Jesus that day: “Do not worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Your heavenly Father knows that you need these things.”
It felt as if Jesus was speaking directly to me, straight to the burden that I had carried for so long. That night, I prayed for the first time in my life, “Jesus, help me. I’m exhausted. Let me know You.”
And He answered—not with a sudden fortune, but with peace in my heart. Instead of constantly worrying, I started to notice how Jesus made sure I always had enough. That was when I began to truly believe—Jesus is the One who provides.
*Name changed
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