RENEWED Ministries Update – 13 April 2024

NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATE!

This is the RENEWED Ministries update for 13 April, as provided by Reverend Courtney Richards.

Hello friends and prayer partners. Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you are doing well and abiding and abounding in the Lord.

I have been having a difficult time with my health of late with elevated levels of blood pressure and was referred to a cardiologist recently. He did checks and asked me several questions about my life and work and he concluded (what I already had in mind) that I am suffering from exhaustion!! Thankfully, the RENEWED Ministries Board had previously decided that I should take a mini sabbatical this year and not travel to Africa where I would ordinarily be right now (see below). So, I am on rest now and will be for the next several months. Praise God. I can report that with some adjustments to my medications, my blood pressure readings have returned to normal the past week and a half. Hallelujah. I continue to pay closer attention to my diet and exercise programs as well for sustained better health. Please pray for me as I face the challenges of preparing for succession planning and my retirement from leadership of RENEWED Ministries over the next few years. I thank God for our leadership teams here in the USA and in Africa as we all work together to pray and hear from God on the way forward. I will share more with you on a timely basis as things become clearer and decisions are made. But do pray for us that we might hear from God with great clarity what is the way forward for our ministry as He wills and desires!

I am also asking you to pray for RENEWED Ministries Africa missions 2024. Our trainers team arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today for the training there next week. We are only doing training in two countries this year: Ethiopia and South Sudan. The other 4 countries were not ready in their leadership decisions and preparations so those trainings have been postponed for later. The trainers this year are the first all-Africa team we’ve had. They are three of my African sons – pastors Juma Peter Maritim (our all Africa Administrative leader who is from Kenya) and Isiko Charles and Hamidu Lukwago (from Uganda). The training in Ethiopia begins this coming Monday, April 15th and ends on Wednesday, April 17th. Then they travel to Juba, South Sudan, on Friday, April 19th for the training there beginning Monday, April 22nd and ending Wednesday, April 24th. They’re scheduled to return to their respective homes on Thursday, April 25th. These are the first African leaders that we are training to lead the ministry and conduct training all over Africa. We will shortly be adding other leaders, male and female, to be on the Africa trainers/leadership team. Our philosophy and goal is to have Africans lead and train Africans. They are just as capable as we are. We need to continue to mentor, train, equip and empower them to lead and train their own people and let them do it!

Please also pray for safe travels for everyone attending and participating in each training; for significant and transforming learning experiences about following Jesus and making and multiplying disciples, “The Jesus Way”; and for a commitment to go live like Jesus after the training. Pray for great impact and the uncommon anointing of the Holy Spirit. We anticipate great things to happen and a wonderful harvest of disciples and disciple-makers in the years ahead for God’s Kingdom and glory.

Thanks for your prayers and support. We NEED both, constantly! Please remember to continue to send your financial gifts to us at RENEWED Ministries, P.O. Box 1229, Mishawaka, Indiana, USA 46546 or give via PayPal on our website at: www.renewed-ministries.org  If you wish to do a bank wire transfer, please let me know and I can get the information to you on that. Thanks.

May God’s wonderful love and grace always fill your life by His Spirit. And, may Christ be formed in you to the glory of His Father.

Coram Deo,
Always in God’s grip,
Courtney

For more on Reverend Richards’ missionary journey, go to our Archive pages.