These experiences leave mental and emotional scars that only Jesus can heal. Warriors Set Free, a division of Set Free, helps veterans and first responders find freedom in Christ.

“John 10:10 sums up what happens in a freedom appointment. Jesus says Satan – the thief – comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but He has come to give you life fully or abundantly,” Warriors Set Free Director Steve Prince says.

“It’s all about Jesus and destroying the work of the enemy.”

Hope and healing

Through one-day freedom appointments and four-day “Warriors Battle” freedom events, Warriors Set Free connects the hurting with the Healer. Learn more here.

Are you a military veteran or first responder struggling with your faith, identity, or feelings of loss? When you’re ready to talk, we’re here to listen.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Warriors Set Free)

After unpacking the trauma of their past, “More times than not, people will say, ‘I just feel lighter.’ One guy [said], ‘It literally is physical; I feel like I weigh less than I did when I came in here,’” Prince says.

“They feel the weight of the pain of the past, of all the trauma they’ve been carrying, and we get to see God heal their spirits and destroy the work of the devil.”

The ministry plans to host four “Warriors Battle” events in Michigan, Kentucky, and Georgia in 2026. “We have veterans come from all over the nation for those,” Prince says.

The new year also brings new territory for Warriors Set Free. Learn more here. “We have two women’s events for both female veterans and the wives of veterans, because they go to war too when we deploy,” Prince says.

“We’re honored to be a part of women getting involved and coming to know the Lord and getting healing from their past as well.”

Participants at both events follow a four-step healing process called “TRIP.” Learn more here.

“A friend of mine helped me develop an acronym, and it’s the word TRIP because I love the phrase, ‘Everybody’s on their own faith journey,’” Prince says. “So TRIP is truth, relationships, identity, and purpose.”

Volunteers play a vital role

Warriors Set Free depends on people like you to fulfill its calling. “The volunteer base is the strength of our mission,” Prince says.

If you want to join us in serving your fellow brothers and sisters, reach out at info@warriorssetfree.org
(Photo, caption courtesy of Warriors Set Free)

“[When] volunteering in a freedom appointment, you are presenting the Gospel and discipling someone,” he continues.

“You literally sit down at an appointment and fulfill the Great Commission.”

Connect with Warriors Set Free here to learn how you can help a veteran or first responder find freedom in Christ. Alternatively, you can send a message through one of the ministry’s social media channels, such as Facebook or X.

“When someone goes to a freedom appointment, we destroy the devil’s work,” Prince says.

“We confess, repent, forgive, and really undo a lot of the schemes of the enemy. And then we get to replace that with the fruit of the Spirit — with love, joy, and peace.”

Header and story images courtesy of Warriors Set Free. 

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has issued tourist visas, wanting to be open to the West. Allen says, “I expected to see a bit more opulent wealth in the country from all their petroleum dollars. But that’s not what I saw.” For instance, about a third of all the cars he saw had significant dents.

Allen says, “I’m realizing that one of the reasons they’re opening up to the West is they want to develop tourism and business opportunities. Because they realize that the oil industry for their country is going to dry up soon.”

Local churches

Allen moved around the country freely, interacting with many different people. Everyone greeted him in a friendly manner. He saw fewer women out and about, and those he did see had to wear black veils.

Allen encountered underground churches for foreign workers in the country. He visited three congregations, each with 15 to 30 people.“Some of the congregations that I visited were meeting in a rented apartment building. They converted the living room of that flat to be the worship center. One of the bedrooms in the apartment became the pastor’s office.”

“It’s convenient, but also means that the churches are small.”

Saudi believers must be even more careful, as the government forbids citizens from leaving Islam. Allen hopes to meet more of these people on future trips. “Because if FMI wants to come in and develop partnerships with indigenous church planters, it’s going to take some time to build relationships and trust. We first need to identify the key leaders of Saudi Christians.”

Ask God to give FMI wisdom about future ministry in Saudi Arabia.

(Header photo courtesy of Abdullah Shakoor from Pixabay)

Nehemiah says the content is stored on solar-powered mp3 players. “Right now, we are in the process of editing and proofreading. That was one of the struggles we had. Because there were not many Christian children who were able to speak good Urdu. They are able to speak street Urdu.”

FMI has worked on an Urdu print Bible as well.

Nehemiah’s trip

Nehemiah will soon take a trip to visit Christians in Pakistan. He plans to visit the FMI partners, many of whom have suffered severe persecution. Nehemiah says, “Pastor Adam saw his sister and brother-in-law killed by a militant attack a few months ago.” You can read more about that story here.

The family is still on the run. Nehemiah says, “They tried to relocate them in one city. But there was another situation they had to flee from there. I am sure that meeting will be very emotional.”

“When I meet our persecuted partners and hear their stories, honestly, I get encouraged because of their faithfulness.”

Nehemiah will also take time on the trip to visit churches and partners in Kenya, near the border with Somalia.

These churches also endure stiff persecution and the risk of extremist violence. Nehemiah says, “There was a time when even Kenyans were not allowed to go there. This part of Kenya is opening up a little bit now.”

How to pray

Post-COVID air travel can be chaotic, so pray Nehemiah can catch all his flights. Pray also that his presence will be a blessing to the churches.

Nehemiah asks for prayer for his family as well. “It’s about a six-week trip. So please pray for my wife that God will grant her strength to take care of our two children.”

The header photo shows Urdu writing published in 1920, outlining the history of the Urdu language. (Photo courtesy of Русский: Лаал, ВаазFrançais : Laal, WaazEnglish: Laal, Waaz中文：拉阿尔，瓦阿兹Português: Laal, Waazالعربية: واز لالEspañol: Laal, Waaz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Intervarsity is mostly famous for helping students discover what it means to be part of the Church “in the context of campus and education,” but that’s not where students’ journeys end. To live out the Gospel, Bessenecker says, you have to enter into other communities. Understanding another person’s context can help you have a better appreciation of how God might fit into it.

Take immigration issues, for example. In the U.S., ongoing debates about the southern border have the potential to make the discussion purely political, but InterVarsity wants to humanize the problem. To do that, they take students to the border to meet communities in the area face to face. They’ll live in a migrant shelter, speak with people from both sides of the border, and wrestle with how God and faith fit into the issue.

Photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

It’s not just about immigration; InterVarsity seeks the humanity aspect of several other conversations, too. They expose them to non-Western thinkers in Manila and Nairobi, urban life in Tampa and Los Angeles, and rural poverty in West Virginia. All summer long, hundreds of students will be experiencing contexts far from their own.

Wherever they are, Bessenecker wants students to learn how to actively listen for God’s voice, love people it may be difficult to love, and die to some of their own desires in favor of God’s. “When students are out of place, when they feel the discomfort of displacement or the dissonance of not having the things that are normally around them, there’s opportunity to grow there,” he says.

Their model of displacement stems from Jesus’ own approach of sending out the 12 disciples. “He intentionally removed some things, some familiarities, from them, and sent them out to teach them dependence on God, to teach them to depend on the people that they were going to,” Bessenecker explains.

“Those are the things that I believe cause real growth, and so we’re pretty thoughtful about wanting students to experience some form of dissonance in order to stretch them, in order to help them to hear well, love well, and die well.”

Pray for the hundreds of students learning how to find their place in a global Church this summer. Want to learn how to minister to students? Are you a student yourself interested in what InterVarsity has to offer? Interested in hearing stories from these summer trips? Check out InterVarsity’s website right here.

Header photo courtesy of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Meeting the Unreached

Many Christians do not have a clear understanding of unreached people groups. Media and literature can only convey so much. However, CEO of World Mission, Greg Kelley says his organization wants to show us more.

(Photo courtesy of World Mission)

“We have vision trips that we’ll take people to, that allows them to experience and see areas that are unreached. They would go into a place, and they would meet people that are largely without a Gospel witness, and through our national partners, we mobilize, and we go into some of these communities. We distribute treasures, our solar-powered audio Bibles,” Kelley says.

“We meet people who are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhists. We pray over these areas. We pray with the people, but, there’s something amazing about having a historic experience of putting the word of God into someone’s hands for the first time in their lives.”

Kelley says at the end of the day these vision trips are about exposing the Church to the need for the Gospel in unreached regions. It is about challenging the Church to lean into these areas and fulfill the Great Commission. Kelley hopes the vision trips spark something in the Christians who experience them. He hopes it drives home the reality that people are living without the Gospel. It’s the “why” behind these trips. It’s about helping people understand the nations of the world who need access to the Gospel.

Join a Trip

World Mission has vision trips in Northern Kenya, Nepal, and the Philippines. Each of these countries has its own challenges for Christians and pockets of unreached people groups.

“Once someone comes into contact with a village, an individual, a people or family that has never heard of Jesus, it just changes your perspective entirely of missions,” Kelley says.

“For someone to experience a location that is totally void of Jesus, it will help them have a healthier understanding of the Great Commission and have them have a proper understanding of what the ends of the earth is.”

To learn more about a Vision Trip and get involved, reach out to World Mission here!

Finally, pray for more people to join in sharing the Gospel in unreached areas. Pray for national leaders who are doing the heavy lifting for the Gospel. Ask God to give them perseverance, strength, and encouragement in their work.

Header photo courtesy of World Mission.

Ron Hutchcraft with Ron Hutchcraft Ministries says they have worked among Native American communities for 26 years. “We deal with suicide all the time in our ministry with Native Americans because what was happening nationally recently is just a tiny hint of the pain that they live with all the time in Native American communities.”

Among Native Americans, nearly everybody knows somebody who has taken their own life. This has resulted in what Hutchcraft calls “serial grieving”.

“My own daughter-in-law who is Native American [has] a brother and two nephews [who] have died by suicide,” says Hutchcraft. “This is one family.”

Over the course of 10 years, suicide rates among Native Americans were up by 65 percent — higher than any other demographic in the US. In a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides among Native women rose by 89 percent and men by 38 percent.

A Hopeful Response

There is a crisis of depression and hopelessness in Native America. It may seem too easy to say that the hope of Jesus is the answer. However, Jesus is not a trite response because following Jesus as a Native American isn’t easy. After 400 years of missions work in North America, only four percent of Native Americans know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

“Usually they will not hear [the Gospel] because they have believed Jesus is the white man’s God and there [are] a lot of things that happened in history in the name of Christianity that have made them feel that way.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

When it comes to reaching Native people with the Gospel, the best messengers are other Native Americans. Through On Eagles’ Wings, a ministry branch of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, a team of young Native American Christians will visit 12 Native communities this summer — and they’ll bring the hope of the Gospel with them.

“I have watched thousands of Native Americans come to Christ over the past years, and it isn’t me. I’m a little white guy on a bus praying for a team of Native Americans,” Hutchcraft says. “They have lived all of this hurt and violence and despair and depression and suicidal feelings and addiction and they have been to all the funerals of their friends…but now they have become incredible messengers of the hope of Christ.”

A Hopeful Transformation

As the On Eagles’ Wings team visits each Native community, they gather on the local basketball court to hold sports competitions, share food, give prizes, play music, and build relationships. Then at some point during the week, team members publicly share their hope stories with the young Native men and women gathered.

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

Hutchcraft says the response is amazing. “You could have an Eskimo team member 400 miles from a road up in remote Alaska go to a reservation 3,000 miles away and the stories will be the same. Wherever we go, the stories will be the same and will break your heart.

“Then they start to tell of a brown-skinned tribal man…named Jesus who has changed their life forever because of what He did on a cross for them and the fact that He conquered what no man could conquer when He conquered death.

“When they ultimately invite their generation of Native Americans to Christ, there are breakthroughs that, based on my reading of missions history, I think may be historic.”

The On Eagles’ Wings team will prepare to launch after the Warrior Leadership Summit during the first week of July. Right now, they desperately need prayers and financial support to make the trip possible. Click here to support a team member with On Eagles’ Wings!

“They can only go if they are sponsored by caring Christians…. If that’s on your heart, you want to know how to pray for them and how you can support them, go to HopeforNativeAmerica.com.”

Take a Trip, Share Christ

During a recent e3 Partners trip to Nicaragua, a volunteer met a 63-year-old man named Miguel. Miguel, who lives alone, only has half of his left leg and his right leg is constantly swollen. To complicate life further, Miguel uses a barely functioning wheelchair he made himself. With that said, both legs were in constant pain and Miguel spent most days alone and feeling like there was nothing to have hope in.

(Photo Courtesy of Guillaume Baviere via Flickr) https://flic.kr/p/TwBZLj

That was until Miguel met a man named George. George was a volunteer with e3 on the church planting trip in Nicaragua. One afternoon during the trip, George knocked on Miguel’s door with the intent to share his testimony and the hope of Christ. But while Miguel was intrigued by what George had to say, he was still skeptical.

“George asked Miguel, ‘Is there anything that I can be praying for you about?’ And Miguel explained to him the pain that he had in his legs and how it was just this constant, almost unbearable pain, and asked if he could be praying for that,” e3’s Jeff Johnston shares.

“[George] did right then and there. So, George prayed to God, asking for God to relieve some of the pain in Miguel’s legs. And Miguel told him that immediately after that, immediately after he ended that prayer, he could feel some of that pain go away.”

Hope Found in Nicaragua

George continued to visit Miguel every day after the answered prayer. Upon his first visit, Miguel was moving around his home nearly pain-free. During the visit, the two men dug into the scriptures and George shared more stories about God.

“And so it was on that third day, that George came back, that Miguel accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He accepted Jesus into his life. He said that he finally had hope again and he was just filled with joy,” Jeff explains.

“He told George that he was grateful for all that he was teaching him, but he also told him he was sad that [George] was leaving because he was still so hungry to learn more about God, about Jesus, about the Bible. And he wanted someone to be able to teach him.”

Living Out Acts 2:42

(Photo courtesy of e3 Partners)

What Miguel soon learned, though, was that e3 wouldn’t leave Nicaragua without securing someone who’d help disciple Miguel. In fact, at his neighbor’s house, the e3 team was teaching a woman named Adrianna how to share her testimony, the Gospel, and how to lead a Bible study.

When the last day of the trip came, George brought Adrianna along with him to Miguel’s house. There, the two were introduced and Adrianna agreed to lead a Bible study with Miguel. In fact, she promised to come over every day to teach him more about God’s Word.

“It really drove home what we see in Acts 2:42 where it says, ‘they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer,’” Johnston says.

Be Prayerful, Be Active

And this story gets even better. That’s because you can be a George in somebody’s life, too. Start by praying for people who have yet to encounter the Gospel and Christ’s transformative love.

Try setting a daily alarm on your phone to pray, asking God to send more people into the harvest, for Him to continue working in the hearts and lives of people who’ve been reached with the Gospel, and for hearts to be softened to God’s love. Pray also for the continued perseverance for the people who are dedicating their lives to reaching others with the hope of Christ.

Another way to get involved is by joining an e3 Partners trip and sharing the Gospel somewhere you’ve never been.

Find an e3 Partners trip here!

*Names have been changed for security reasons.

Is this something you’re passionate about, too? Do you have a desire to share the love of Jesus with others? Are you a student? Then you might want to consider checking out Orphan’s Heart internship program.

Deanna Berkes of Orphan’s Heart says, “We’re looking for young individuals between the ages of 18 and about 29 to travel with us for an extended short-term mission during their summer time. So we have opportunities in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, and Latvia this year. We’re really excited about that.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Orphan’s Heart)

The internships are about five weeks long. They require more leadership and responsibility than a typical short-term mission trip with Orphan’s Heart. Interns will also be the go-to people for mission trip participants who are there for a shorter period of time.

“They do get to do the typical regular duties of helping children and working hand-in-hand with our ministry partners,” Berkes says. “But sometimes there’s a little bit more to kind of add those tools to their tool belt that most people are looking for with an internship.”

A heart to serve the vulnerable

If you’re wondering if this internship could be a good fit for you, ask yourself if the following mission is something you are excited about.

“Our main goal, obviously, is to further the Kingdom and to share the Gospel in everything we do. We always want to help one more child. That’s Orphan’s Heart and the Florida Baptist’s overall mission is to assist one more child in everything that we do.”

What it looks like to assist a child is different depending on where you are. In Guatemala, for instance, you’ll be helping children facing malnutrition. In the Dominican Republic, however, you’ll be involved in community development. The other countries have their own specific focuses, too.

“The first step is going to be deciding where you want to go. And once you’ve made that decision and you’ve prayed about it, you’ll fill out your application,” Berkes says.

With the application, you’ll need three written recommendations and an explanation of why you think an internship with Orphan’s Heart is a good fit for you. Following the application, you’ll go through an interview process and, if found to be a good fit, training.

Berkes says it’s truly a great opportunity to make a real difference.

“For those who are considering internships—folks ask, ‘Why spend money to travel for such a short period of time when you can give that money and help out more?’ But I would say, internships are really about the relationship. ‘Why give?’ we would say. ‘Go!’”

Maybe you’re not ready to commit to the internship program just yet. Consider going on a short-term mission trip this summer to see what it’s all about. Berkes says many people who go on these trips have decided to come back for an internship. To learn more, click here.

And check back in with us in the new year and we’ll preview some of the trips coming up.

That’s the philosophy behind the marriage seminars and classes China Partner held during their recent trip to China. Erik Burklin of China Partner said the team conducted a retreat for over 23 pastors and their spouses.

“As a marriage goes, so goes your ministry, and so it’s very important for us to pour into marriages in China, specifically for the church leaders,” Burklin said.

Burklin said many of these Christian leaders are overworked and there is consistently high demand for their time and energy, which can be taxing on any marriage. What’s more, China’s “honor-shame” culture means many couples don’t show affection in public and rarely show physical affection to one another.

Photo Courtesy China Partner

So when couples started giggling and the mood turned “electric,” the team knew they were making progress. One leader asked the couples to write down three things each person appreciated about his or her spouse.

“Couples looked at each other bashfully, they were giggling, they were blushing, one husband even dabbed his wife’s tears away as they were running down her cheeks,” Burklin said. “As we followed up with questions people were saying ‘I feel happy again’ or ‘I feel like we’re back at the beginning of our relationship.’”

Twenty-three couples walked into the classroom focusing on what they didn’t like about one another. Now, Burklin said they’re focused on mending their relationships, and China Partner is continuing to work with the couples even after the team has left the country.

“We will continue to encourage them, pray with them, and answer questions they might have so this ministry, just because the training is done, does not stop here,” Burklin said. Study materials have been shipped to the couples, counselors and pastors are checking in with them via social media and online communication, and China Partner has already been invited back to do follow-up work in 2018.

(Photo courtesy of China Partner)

But at the end of the day, Burklin said the victory didn’t belong to China Partner. “God can come into a couple’s hearts and change how they communicate with one another, how they communicate with their children, how they communicate with their neighbors,” Burklin said. “That is the Gospel.

“After they return from these kinds of gatherings … they’re going to be better for it, they’re going to be much better leaders, they’re going to be able to invest in their people wherever God has placed them as church leaders.”

Photo Courtesy China Partner

China Partner is continuing to equip pastors and believers in China in the coming year, pouring into them so they can pour into others. “It’s not just about sharing the good news of Jesus with the Chinese but it’s actually about equipping pastors who have been called by God to be Gospel declarers so they can become even more effective and efficient in their ministry so that many more people can come to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Burklin said.

Right now China Partner is building a ministry strategy and plan for 2018. From a return trip to check up on the couples in March to youth ministry training at a seminary in China to more pastoral training in May and October, there are plenty of projects you can support with your time, money, and prayer.

“As we can be a part of that mission, we’re actually accomplishing together with Him what He is all about, and that is to make relationships whole again.”

“Maybe we should call it ‘Seasons of Hope’ because it isn’t just a Summer of Hope!!” Hutchcraft quips. “What a shame it would be if it was just confined to the summer. And the reason we call it a Summer of Hope is because hope has been so hard to find in Native America for a long, long time. They are a people who have been so betrayed and who have lost so much and who have, unfortunately, come to believe that Jesus is the white man’s God because so much that was taken from them was taken in the name of Christianity.”

Suicide rates, addiction, and sexual violence are off the charts among Native communities. Today, only four percent of Native Americans know Christ, even though they were the first mission field in North America around 400 years ago.

So how does the moment of spiritual outreach among Native Americans become a movement that leads a generation to Christ?

(Photo courtesy of On Eagles’ Wings)

This past summer was the 25th summer of On Eagles’ Wings ministry. Hutchcraft traveled with the team of 48 young Native men and women who are passionate about reaching their communities with the Gospel’s hope. After around 4,000 miles of travel and visiting Native American reservations, they saw hundreds of Native people come to Christ.

“The messengers of hope have turned out to be young Native Americans that we call an On Eagles’ Wings team and they’re breaking through — well, God is breaking through, through them in a way that, from everything I can tell, is unprecedented in 400 years!”

Youth Ministry Ripple Effect

One reservation the On Eagles’ Wings team went to was inundated with drug overdose deaths. Hutchcraft says you would walk around the reservation and see all the old, discarded needles from drug use. The shadow of death was tangible.

When the team went in and held their outreach events this past summer, they saw God move. The team declared the Gospel to the tribe’s young people and several committed their lives to Christ. The On Eagles’ Wings team then met with some of the local Christians for a youth ministry roundtable to affirm an ongoing ministry strategy.

From there, Hutchcraft reports, “Within days of the team leaving, [the local youth ministry] had their first event, and guess what? Seventeen more came to Christ! And the team was gone! The movement has begun. Then they did a second event and more people came to Christ! So following the model of On Eagles’ Wings to the best they can, they have started now an ongoing movement of youth ministry that had never existed there before. Praise God for that!”

The same thing is happening on many reservations the team went to as local missions and pastors are borrowing the On Eagles’ Wings outreach strategy.

“I had one pastor tell me on another reservation in another state from this summer, their comment was, ‘We have learned so much from all of you. We watched how you did it. We learned ways to do it we would never have thought of, and now we are replicating what we saw On Eagles’ Wings do.’ Well, we thank the Lord for that; that the movement continues and the miracle of this summer continues.”

One Young Man’s Personal Calling

Hutchcraft adds, “There’s more to the story of the summer than just what’s happening on the reservations. Remember, I talked about 48 young warriors. Now, you can probably imagine they are God’s little army, but they are Hell’s big target and I cannot tell you how much Satan hates and bombards these young men and women.”

(Photo courtesy of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries)

Many of these young men and women have sensed the call to go into full-time ministry. On Eagles’ Wings is providing scholarship funds for them to go to Bible school or a Christian college for ministry training. Some of those young men and women have even started their training programs this fall.

On another reservation On Eagles’ Wings visited this summer — one of the toughest reservations they traveled to — there is one Native pastor who’s been reaching his community with the Gospel for over 30 years. But it has been difficult for this pastor because he hasn’t had a young Native believer who could come alongside and help him with youth ministry.

This past summer, one of the young men from the On Eagles’ Wings team felt God calling him to go join this pastor on that reservation and spearhead the local youth ministry with him.

“He’s already meeting young men and they’re going, ‘Wait, I recognize you! You were with that team!’ Because they loved the events, they loved On Eagles’ Wings. So now there is a day-after-day youth leader who has been On Eagles’ Wings trained, who is now on that reservation. And boy, I’d ask you to pray for him, because there is a battle. There has been a key soldier needed and God has summoned him to go there.”

A Time for Spiritual Renewal

Hutchcraft says the team has kept in touch with each other these past few months following Summer of Hope. And the next thing on the agenda will be a winter break retreat in a few months that he believes will be a necessary time of spiritual renewal.

“We need the help of some people to pay for that. We don’t have the funds to do this right now. But we will pull them together for a renewal, refreshing kind of ‘between the summers’ place where we can just pour into them and help them heal and renew and reset their relationship with Christ where that is needed.”

If you go to hopefornativeamerica.com/donate, you can give in support of this ministry! Those funds will be put towards the upcoming winter break retreat to spiritually renew these young Native believers.

And, as these young men and women continue to serve as ambassadors for Christ, Hutchcraft says we can pray alongside them. Pray for God to protect them from mental and emotional attacks, from attacks on their faith, and that their lives would be shining lights to everyone around them still living in spiritual darkness.

“I ask those who are listening or reading this to pray for…this to be a generation changing movement that has come out of the powerful work of this team of young Native Americans.”