In Matthew 28, Jesus instructed his disciples: “go and make disciples of all the nations…” The outworking of the Great Commission is central to our work at SIM because we are convinced everyone needs to hear God’s Good News. Making disciples in least reached places cannot be done in isolation and requires partnership with churches, both in Australia and in the communities we are trying to reach. 

The SIM community is diverse, representing a variety of cultures, denominations and skills. However, no matter what part we play, we all share the same purpose of serving in God’s global mission to make disciples of Jesus. Read below how two of our mission workers are partnering with churches around the Peru to help disciple the youth.

After being delayed due to travel restrictions, praise God that Thomas and Joannah have arrived in Peru! The couple are looking forward to serving in the Central Highlands of Peru where they will be discipling youth, developing local youth leaders and running youth camps. Their first year will be dedicated to personal cultural and linguistic development for effective cross-cultural ministry. 

Although their departure to the field was significantly delayed, the Crowes saw God’s faithfulness at work during their waiting period. Thomas shared, “We saw God work in two key ways during this period. Firstly, He grew us immensely both in ministry experience and spiritual depth. Secondly, He enabled us to spend precious time with one family member in particular who recently died while we’ve been in Peru.” 

From the time they first applied to serve with SIM, the Crowes have felt the support of their prayer and financial partners in Australia. “Our supporters encourage us by letting us know they are praying and thinking of us, as well as raising awareness about our ministry in their churches.” 

Since arriving in Peru in May, the Crowes have connected with the SIM team, locals and expats in their language school. “The most exciting part for us so far has been what was initially most daunting -- language. We’ve been excited to see how far we’ve come in a second language, that on arrival we could hardly speak any of. This in turn has enabled us to begin building great relationships with locals.” 

As well as building relationships, they have had opportunities to share their faith with teachers and fellow students at their language school. Thomas shared, “There have been great opportunities to share the Gospel with other students at our school, many of whom come to Peru looking for spiritual experiences or healing. Sharing also with our teachers has been great too. In looking for topics to discuss in class they inevitably land on the important subject of our faith and our reason for being here.” 

Recently, another mission family toured Thomas and Joannah around a small city, introduced them to their ministry contacts and took them to churches. The Crowes had the opportunity to run games for a youth group and Thomas was invited to share a sermonette. They also witnessed prayer and reconciliation taking place between a family whose eldest member was close to passing away. The Crowes shared, “The sincerity of prayer, forgiveness and farewelling were extremely moving and a valuable time that we were invited as guests into.”

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PRAY: Join us in praying for the Crowes as they serve the body of Christ. Pray for the church in Peru, that believers would grow in their faith and many others would come to know Jesus.

GO: Do you want to serve in God’s global mission? Start a conversation with one of our Mission Mobilisers by filling in the form on the back page or visiting sim.org.au/talktous.