Dear friends,

As we approach the end of another year, I have been thinking of the plan of God and His marvelous grace for those who are in it. The year has been rife with disasters, warfare, political madness, growing antisemitism, invasion of illegals into the country, and economic uncertainty. But in the midst of it all there is that wonderful inner peace that comes from knowing that our sovereign God is in control, that everything is moving toward the culmination of His plan.

It is a marvelous time to be alive. Many people look at their circumstances and despair, but we who believe the Word of God should not be despondent for God has promised to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God has not called us to comfort and ease, to success and prosperity; He has called us to be faithful to Him. We are here to fulfill His purposes, not our own. Whatever God has called us to do, what is required is faithfulness.

Reviewing this past year has been humbling as we consider all the grace that has been given to us, having traveled to six different countries to preach the gospel and to teach the Word of God. We were able to spend some time in the war-torn country of Ukraine, where we rejoiced to see people we trained for ministry faithfully presenting a free grace gospel and teaching sound doctrine, even under adverse conditions. We also went into Poland and Romania to teach in churches hungry for the Word. As we have done for many years, we also did many hours of teaching in Zambia and Brazil.

The photo is a display of flags from all of the countries where I have had the privilege or preaching the Word of God.

In addition, we went to Tahiti where we joined Mark and Rene Perkins for a few weeks of teaching. People seem to have the idea that Tahiti is a tropical paradise, and that doing ministry there would just be like working in the garden of Eden. I assure you that such is not the case. It is a small island with mixture of indigenous Tahitians and French, and the number of evangelical Christians is quite small. Most of the indigenous people are still steeped in their animistic religion, cults from America are proliferating, and Catholicism is also strong. The Perkins are working intently to establish a grace gospel and sound Bible teaching there.

While in the US we have also been able to do a lot of teaching in several churches around Texas and in a few other states. Our desire is to be able to return to Ukraine, but apparently the Lord has other plans for us at the present time, and He has given us many opportunities to teach in other places. Our calendar is already full through June of next year.

The Lord has blessed us so greatly, and it is our privilege to serve Him. We are most thankful for the mental and physical health we enjoy, making it possible for us to maintain this very active schedule. We are grateful for all of you who have a part in this ministry through your intercessory prayers and your support.

Sola Gratia (by grace alone),

Jim

Dear Friends,

In case you're wondering what Jim has been up to as of late, he's has been providing pulpit supply for Dr. Dean at West Houston Bible Church since September 19.

Jim's been teaching through Psalm 119. You can view these wonderful lessons here. And, don't forget to do your homework!

Dear Friends,

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

We can’t change the world; we can’t change the political climate; we can’t control circumstances. We are not responsible to do so, but we are called to be faithful. It is so easy to be distracted by all of the chaos in the world and to forget why we are here in the world. It is not to be comfortable or successful, but to glorify the Lord in all circumstances. The question to be answered is not how can I change the world, but how can I glorify the Lord in my circumstances right now. As the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “We make it our aim … to be well pleasing to Him.”

In the spring we spent several weeks in Europe. Along with Dr. Robby Dean we taught conferences in a variety of churches in Poland and Romania. Some of these churches have not been exposed to the categorical and exegetical type of teaching from Scripture such as we do. The response was amazingly enthusiastic. Even before we finished they were already asking us to come back. In fact, they asked if we could come back in the next month. We plan to go back, but it will have to wait until after the first of the year.

After the conferences in Romania, Phyllis and I went back to Ukraine. We faced no imminent danger in the places where we visited, but we did hear warning sirens almost every night. In many places we saw devastation as a result of the drone and missile attacks. Three-fourths of the power-generating stations in Ukraine have been destroyed by the Russians. The result is black-outs for hours every day. Walking down the street in Kyiv almost requires ear plugs because almost every business has a gasoline generator roaring in front of their building to provide lights inside.

Next week we will go all the way to French Polynesia in the South Pacific to work with missionary Mark Perkins and his wife Rene. In October we will go to the Philippines for several weeks of teaching in different places. And we already have conferences planned for four different countries in 2025. Please remember to pray for us as we travel and take the Word of God to these far-flung places.

I know this sounds like a vigorous schedule—and it is—but it is what the Lord has given us to do, so we just get up in the morning and go to work. We praise the Lord for His abundant provision that enables us. And we thank you for the huge role you play in making it possible for us to carry on. We are grateful for your prayers. We do not take that lightly, but recognize that the Lord hears and answers prayers. We also give thanks for all you who have supported us through giving. We give thanks to the Father who has so abundantly supplied our needs through you.

Please remember also to pray for Ukraine. The war is still raging there, even though it doesn’t get much coverage in our American media. Below is a list of names of men from our church and our Bible college who are serving in the military. They are fighting for their families, their homeland, their freedom.

• Maxim Goryachkin
• Yura Chugai
• Sergei Chepara
• Oleg Gatsenko
• Sasha Tymoshenko
• Ivan
• Vova Lozinski
• Vasya Andreev
• Vlad Khyzhnyak
• Sasha Kudlaev

Also, there are some stalwart pastors who are faithfully ministering under difficult circumstances. Some of them are also taking opportunities to minister to soldiers on the front lines. The chaplain corps in the Ukrainian military is almost non-existent, and there is opposition to evangelical chaplains coming from the Orthodox Church. These pastors keep on in spite of the difficulties. They are heroes in my estimation. Please keep them on your prayer list.

• Oleg Lozinski
• Sasha Petrenko
• Vasily Munko
• Viktor Munko
• Genady Sinkovka
• Andrei Chikilov
• Roman Ovcherenko

By grace alone,

Jim

Dear Friends,

It is so good to be back, even if it is just for a few days. I have been in Africa for the past two weeks, and such a rewarding and exciting trip. We taught in four different venues in Zambia, teaching six hours per day, starting at 9:00 in the morning and going until 4:00 in the afternoon. So we were able to log about 60 hours of teaching in 11 days. The topic was “Aspects of Christology: The death of Christ, His Resurrection, Ascension, and Session.” For many it was the first time for them to hear biblical teaching about these doctrines. The response was enthusiastic, to say the least. They begged us to come back as soon as possible so we could teach them more.

In each of the first three cities we averaged well over 100 pastors and church leaders every day. They came from various denominations and backgrounds, but we had no opposition to what we were teaching. One man said that you couldn’t argue with what was being taught, for then you would be arguing with the Word of God.

Traveling and teaching with me was Pastor Mark Kvam from Minnesota. I didn’t know him before this trip. A friend of his heard me speak at Austin Bible Church several months ago, and called him to tell him that he might enjoy going on a mission trip with me. So we corresponded a bit and talked on the telephone, and we decided that we could work together. Really, though, we didn’t meet until we joined up at the airport in Atlanta. This was a life-changing experience for him. He had never been to Africa nor had he taught in a foreign culture. Fearful at first, he quickly adapted and just fell in love with the people and the work. He thinks that he would like to continue going on such journeys in the future to take the Gospel to other parts of the world.

Also teaching with us were two Zambia pastors that I have had the joy of teaching and training over the more than 20 years of going there. Charles Musonda is a pastor in Livingstone. He is a truly gifted communicator with a free-grace gospel and a solid theology. He is also a capable administrator who takes care of all the arrangement for our travel, accommodations and teaching. The other man is Benjamin Sakala, pastor in a small village. I met Benjamin in 2001, and he has been a faithful student ever since. Even though he is in a somewhat remote area (no electricity or running water), he has a well-taught congregation. It is truly exciting for me to go there and find people who know the Word of God and who can quote Scripture. It ought to be that way in every church. Both of these men have gained reputations as Bible teachers and are being called upon to go to other places to teach.

On Sunday last I went to Lusaka Bible Church. This is a young church and quite small. It was planted by two men who became oriented to verse-by-verse, exegetical teaching. This approach is almost unknown in that part of the world. When I walked in the pastor was teaching verse-by-verse through the book of Galatians. You can’t imagine how thrilling that was for me.

The Lord has been so gracious and merciful to give me the strength and the means to carry on this work. I am convinced that this is in large part due to your participation through prayer and support. Thank you so much. The Father has been pleased to answer your prayers.

Next week Phyllis and I will be traveling again, this time for about six weeks, going to several countries in Europe. Conferences are planned for Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Later in the year we have plans to teach in French Polynesia and in the Philippines. Please remember us before the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

All of grace,

Jim