Dear Friends of The Antioch Partners (TAP),
Grace and peace to you all in the midst of this challenging time!
Update on Partners,
Most of the TAP Partners are staying in their ministry locations around the world, though some have returned to the U.S. for various reasons.
I’m encouraged that even in the midst of lockdowns and other constraints, God continues to open opportunities for Partners to bless and serve those around them in Jesus’ name. For example, Partners in Guatemala (the Stone family) are working alongside a local church in an under-resourced community outside of Zacapa to assist families in poverty and provide income generation opportunities for women. A Partner in Kenya, Lauren Scharstein, is serving with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) as they reach out to at-risk kids and vulnerable families. As Lauren writes, “The challenge is that 65% of Kenya’s workforce depends on daily wages. People who don’t work today will not eat tomorrow. The PCEA is stepping in wherever possible to provide emergency relief food for affected families.” A Partner in Asia is serving with a campus ministry in a Muslim country and they, like student ministries around the world, are navigating how to minister to students virtually and God is working in powerful ways. Please continue holding all the TAP Partners up in prayer!
An Opportunity to Give
Given this crisis and it’s cascading economic impact, some Partners are facing unexpected financial needs. We know many here in the U.S. are facing serious financial challenges as well. For those who have the capacity to give, I encourage you to prayerfully consider a special gift to TAP’s Partner Special Needs Fund. This Fund is used to provide for unexpected, emergency needs, like financial needs related to the impact of COVID-19. If you are able to give, thank you! Regardless of whether you can give now, you can pray, and I know God is using those prayers in ways beyond our understanding.
Priority number one for TAP is caring for the TAP Partners and their families. We are using every means possible to serve, and minster to, the Partners. We are committed to seeing all the Partners thrive spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically, even in the midst of these difficult times. As you would expect, we are spending lots of time communicating with Partners via video-conference calls, WhatsApp calls, etc. I am deeply grateful for TAP’s Member Care Coordinator, Carol Friesen, and the entire Member Care Resource Team.
One of the ways we help Partners thrive spiritually is by offering spiritual formation opportunities. One current initiative we are doing is a community-wide book study. We are studying together The Fellowship of the Suffering: How Hardship Shapes Us for Ministry and Mission (by Paul Borthwick and Dave Ripper), and if you have not read this book, it is a good one and it’s particularly relevant now. Here’s one quote that has really spoken to me:
“Perhaps the reason God allows hardship into our lives as much as he does is because it affords us to become more like Christ in ways we’d never freely choose. The more we become like Jesus through our trials, the more we will be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those going through trials of their own. This is the calling of the fellowship of the suffering” (p. 111).
As we go through the hardship of this pandemic, may we allow God to use it in our lives to make us more like Jesus so that “we will be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those going through trials of their own.” May we embrace our calling to be part of this “fellowship of the suffering” to the glory of God.
Grateful for your partnership,
Andrew Adair
Executive Director, The Antioch Partners
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