UKRAINE
Missionaries Oleg and Audra Vrzheshch of New Life Church are asking us to pray and stand with them during a very difficult time. Their church was attacked and burned down in Ukraine. Audra has recently returned to another location in western Ukraine to continue the work of the mission, while Oleg is completing a book in the U.S. and caring for the children. Their specific prayer points are: • That they will have the funds to restore their building. • That Rescue Worker remain safe as they are often in danger of double tap strikes. • That Christians and all Ukrainians heal in the strength of the Lord. • That there will be victory over the forces of evil. • That people taking shelter in the subway system remain safe as 18 people, including a 3-year-old boy, were recently killed by a drone on June 2, 2026. • That people in residential buildings and civilian infrastructure are safely sheltered.
LEBANON
Missionaries Matthew and Ashley Francis continue to be busy--with their hands in many ministries at Ridgeway and beyond. The Arab ministry continues to grow with weekly Sunday Afternoon services and multiple gathering throughout the year. Ashley started a Tuesday night small group for young adult women that focuses on discipleship. The Franceses helped to re-initiate Ridgeway’s yearly Missions Week this past February as we focused on “living out Loud.” This missions theme is currently being put into action as Matthew and Ashley have helped form an outreach group to evangelize locally. Ashley also helped to organize a mission conference for Pioneers in Lebanon that unfortunately had to be postponed due to the unrest in the Middle East. Praise God that this has been rescheduled to August in Serbia. Matthew travelled to Morocco in May to meet with his PALM (Preparing Arab World Leaders in Ministry) team and help strategize for the Middle East and North African Regions. The Holy Spirit continues to guide Ashley and Matthew as they are Christ’s witnesses “in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the Earth”. (Acts 1:8)
BETHLEHEM, PALESTINE
Missionaries Yousef and Myrna AlKhouri remain deeply grateful for the continued prayers, encouragement, and partnership in ministry during this challenging season in the Holy Land. Despite ongoing political instability, economic hardship, and increasing restrictions affecting daily life, he continues to witness God’s faithfulness that is sustaining and strengthening their work. This year has been especially encouraging in Biblical Studies and Christian ministry training. They have more than 110 students enrolled in the training and the students continue to be equipped for faithful and contextual ministry through programs in Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Public Theology. They have also expanded the curriculum with new courses that strengthen leadership development and theological reflection for ministry. Yousef says that it is a joy to see students growing spiritually, academically and pastorally as they prepare to serve the Church in Palestine and the wider region. The Trauma Counseling Program remains one of the most significant and impactful ministries that they offer at this time. Twenty-one students are enrolled. As communities across the region continue to experience deep emotional and psychological wounds, they are training Christian counselors who can minister with compassion, hope and professional care. They are praising God for the many lives that are being impacted through this ministry, even as they face uncertainty regarding future funding and partnerships needed to sustain the program. They continue serving and embodying the Good News to the wider community through humanitarian aid, workshops, school visits, inter-religious dialogue, and leadership development initiatives. These opportunities have created meaningful spaces for spiritual encouragement, fellowship, and public Christian witness during what they call a “very difficult historical moment. Among current milestones are: • The renewed accreditation for most of their academic programs • The continued growth of their Public Theology partnership programs • Successful preparations for the graduation of 26 students this June. At the same time, they continue to navigate serious challenges related to movement restrictions, financial pressures, and broader instability affecting society and institutions at large. Yet, they remain hopeful and committed to the mission God has entrusted to them: which are: • Equipping Christian leaders • Serving the Church • Bearing witness to Christ's truth • Peace in the land of His birth
ENVISION NYC, NEW YORK
Brian and Michelle Davis serve with Envision NYC, part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance’ Envision Structure. Their mission is to identify and develop missional leaders through short-term mission experiences, internships, and ministry among unreached peoples in New York City, with a current focus on West African Muslim immigrants. Their current ministry focuses on the more than 200,000 West African immigrants in the New York metro area, including about 30,000 Senegalese people in NYC. They note that NYC has more than 80 unreached people groups with populations over 5,000. Brian and Michelle serve through: • Immigrant advocacy, • ESL classes • Citizenship classes • Prayer ministry • One-day, three-day, and week-long immersion teams, • Internships ranging from 1 to 11 months • Relationship-building with the West African community Their goal is that every West African in NYC would hear the Gospel and they hope to see a church planted in the south Bronx among West Africans who come to Christ. They describe what they call “practical fruit” as: • West African women gaining confidence in English • Passing the US Citizenship exam • Helping people to find better jobs • Creating opportunities for prayer and Gospel conversations
SOUTH ASIA
Missionaries Emmanuel and Allison (last name withheld for confidentiality) serve as global partners focused on holistic development through the Whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their work includes training, resourcing, and sending leaders to plant churches in unreached areas, while also addressing physical, social, and economic needs in communities. Their primary ministry areas include: • Theological and missional training • Church planting • Leadership development • Children’s education and scholarships • Family counseling and development • Vocational training • Micro-business development • Response to social issues through long-term transformation. This ministry has a long history connected to Emmanuel’s parents, Drs. Abraham and Moilly Pothen. Over the past 35+ years, the work reports more than 100,000 people impacted, 600+ churches planted by college graduates, and ministry activity across many regions and countries. Emmanuel and Allison moved to South Asia in 2016 and now provide leadership to the ministry. The U.S. side has two full-time employees, while the South Asia-based work Includes around 30 paid employees and approximately 40 church planters who are fully or partially supported. They are based in a major city area with a population of about 3.2 million. The major focus is equipping students through theological training so they can become Christ-like leaders and church planters. They also emphasize discipleship, character formation, leadership development, and help alumni address community needs such as poverty and family conflict. They are also helping lead a local church network with goals for expanding life groups and seeing more churches established.
THAILAND
Missionaries Tub and Gaojai Yang are living out Acts 1:8 in Thailand. That scripture serves as a foundational scripture for these Christ followers. It highlights the call to evangelism and the importance of the Holy spirit in empowering believers to fulfill this mission--starting with witnessing in our immediate local area and the surrounding area; expanding to the neighboring region with cultural differences; and progressing to global outreach. Here at Ridgeway Church, we focus on studying, understanding, and living in the Word, as we carry out the command of the Lord. Our, missionaries, Tub and Gaojai Yang started serving at our sister church in New Rochelle and were sent to Udon Thani, Thailand in 2021 in obedience to the Lord’s great commission. Ridgeway Church has been supporting also them financially and through prayers because we share responsibility in disciple-making and gospel proclamation. The Yangs also invite us to take short term mission trips to visit them so that we continue to encourage our church members to step out in faith to answer the Lord’s calling on their lives. Beginning in 2025, Pastor Matt, Pastor Mickey, and some other church members paid visits to the Yangs in Thailand. Indeed, we are planning a short-term mission trip to the Yangs in February 2027. That trip will be open to participation from the congregation. While serving in Thailand, the Yangs saw the strategic need to focus on reaching young adults and youths and have decided to step into working with young people who have become Christians. Such nurturing will sustain the local church and raise new leaders. Their strategy involves doing English camp, promoting English programs which will give them the opportunity to work with nearby schools and connect with students. They also coach boys and girls in basketball, volleyball, soccer and (recently) pickleball. They have night gatherings with teens and that gives them opportunities to share their testimony and talk about Jesus while playing board games and baking. Through these activities and togetherness, they are blessed to share the Gospel with the teens and young adults, and they are invited to schools to share the meaning of Christmas. Subsequently, this gives them additional avenues to share the Gospel. They praise God for bringing in new believers from school and they are thankful that their young hearts were open to hearing and receiving the gift of Jesus Christ. This year, seven teens were baptized! The Yang’s oldest son, Xuying, graduated from high school and is entering college in Pennsylvania. Xuying, being inspired by his parents’ lives through the Holy spirit, started a Capstone project which focuses on helping young people stay away from drugs and addiction to video games through sports. Please pray for Xuying in the new environment of college and pray for his continual growth in ministry. Praise God also for Gogo Yang, the youngest in the Yang family who made her decision to follow Christ and was baptized this year while she was attending a Christian Camp. Pray for her spiritual journey. The Yang family is spending a few months in the US as a home assignment, and they will be visiting Ridgeway from June 10 – June 14. May God bless their time here and the fellowship and mutual edification that we will share. They ask prayers for: • More volunteers—short and long term • Teammates Abby and Brian in their leadership over the ministry while the Yangs are in the U.S.
