Dear praying reader,

This month I took some weeks off to stay home while my wife was in her confinement period after the delivery of our second son, Elia. I took care of her, Josiah and the household. This time that I spent at home helped me to appreciate more the hard work that my wife does every day. Since I was at home most of the time, there are not many notable things to report. However, I would like to give you a brief update on my ministry in Frankfurt.

Church Planting Efforts in Frankfurt

More and more people are coming to our evening services in Frankfurt. Quite a few of them are not yet baptized or members of a church. Please pray for all those who come to listen to the Word of God. One of our young ladies will be baptized in July, Lord willing. Please pray for her. I developed an extensive church survey for all those who come to our meetings. I want to make sure that people are satisfied with the church planting work and this is one of the ways I seek to prevent frustration. Thanks to God’s grace, the people are grateful and pleased. They say that they are growing in their faith and feel like they are part of the church plant. One person said, “I was never so aware of my utter lostness without Christ“. This is exactly what I pray for and hope to see, a greater and greater appreciation of Christ’s person and work among the people.

Please pray that the Lord might continue to bless His work in Frankfurt so that saints might be built up in the most holy faith, sinners might be saved and we all together treasure Christ more and more.

The next step in my ministry is to train a group of five men. Over the next six months, we will only concentrate on spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, prayer, serving, fasting, silence and solitude, stewardship of possession and time, personal evangelism and so on. It’s all about living a godly life and having a Christ-like character.

After these six months, I will begin to train those who proved faithful on how to preach and how to teach others. Please pray for these men that they might be adequately equipped for a godly life, but also for the ministry of the Word. Please pray that God would fill them with the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life worthy of the gospel in every respect.

These past months, I have preached through Philippians 2. This chapter teaches us to think and act like Jesus Christ in humility and sacrificial unselfishness. It teaches us to pour out our life for others so that Christ might be glorified. Please pray that we all are of the same mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, having the same love, being in full accord. Please pray that we do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves. If there is one thing that we as a church plant, and especially what I need, it is more Christ-likeness.

I greatly appreciate your prayers on my behalf!
May the Lord bless you!