PASTORS’ AND CHURCH LEADERS’ CONFERENCE

The picture above is from our recent Pastors’ and Church Leaders’ Conference in Chiang Khong, Thailand. For the past seven or eight years, Tom and Sue Sutrick and our church family in Chiang Khong have hosted this conference at least once a year, and often twice a year. It is always a huge blessing!

For the most part, this conference is held for pastors, church leaders, and some of their core church members from the country of Laos. We house and feed them for four days. We have preaching and teaching from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Tuesday, 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM on Wednesday and Thursday, and then from 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM on Friday. I had the privilege to preach four times and teach eight different sessions. This year’s theme was “Knowing God.” All my messages and teaching sessions dealt with growing in their knowledge and love for God. It was great!

It was a real joy to have the Has family with us. I have known Sovanny and Edgl for well over twenty-five years now. Edgl was one of our students at Pacific Baptist School when I was the Administrator, and she attended and graduated Pacific Baptist Bible College while I was the VP of the college. Sovanny graduated from another good Bible college. They are a great couple. The have faithfully served the Lord at Pacific Baptist Church for many years now.  If you are looking for missionaries to support, you can’t lose with this couple.

Along with all the major decisions that were made by pastors and their wives, church leaders and their wives, and the many members of their churches and, of course, our church in Chiang Khong, we also had four trust Christ.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IN THE HEARTS OF ALL THOSE THAT ATTENDED THE CONFERENCE AND ESPECIALLY THE NEW BELIEVERS!

STAFF ORIENTATION

Thank God, 2025 is off to a great start! We started the year off with Staff Orientation. It’s always a blessing when the staff can get together for food, fun, and fellowship, as well as some vital teaching to kick off a New Year. I had the privilege to teach a lesson on “The Jethro Principle.” A good and timely lesson on the importance that we, as leaders, can’t do everything, nor should we try to do everything.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THOSE THAT ARE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS HERE IN CAMBODIA!

BIBLE COLLEGE CLASSES

One of my favorite tasks over the past twenty-five years has been to teach Bible college students. It is my privilege to teach three sets of Bible college students this year, as well as one group of Bible Institute students. It is a great joy to be able to have a small part in all these young people’s lives. It is also a joy to have a Young Men’s Discipleship Group that is almost entirely Bible college students.

DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS AND SMALL GROUPS

As I mentioned above, ONE of my favorite tasks is to teach Bible college students. Even more than that, I love Discipleship and Accountability Groups and/or Small Groups. It is a blessing to meet weekly with four different Discipleship Groups (a total of 18 men and the wife of one of the men) and two Small Groups (they aren’t as small as we would like them to be). There’s nothing like investing into the lives of others, and there’s no better way to do it than by Discipleship and Accountability Groups and Small Groups. Helping to ground them in the scriptures, helping to grow them in their faith, and see them loving God, one another, and being involved with ministry is such a joy.

PIA CHAPEL AND BASKETBALL CAMP

As I have mentioned in the past few updates, my wife is volunteering at our Christian school three days a week and she is absolutely loving it.  I have had the opportunity to preach in their weekly chapel once a month, bless them with an occasional snack or meal, and conducting a Basketball Camp for them. We have been blessed to have friends from back in the States that have helped us to help them. Liberty Baptist Church in Newport Beach, CA, White Oak Baptist Church in Groton, CT, and most recently Faith Baptist Church of Canoga Park, CA have been a huge help. Kosal Sann the School Administrator, his staff, and the kiddos, have been happy campers in recent days because of the generosity of God’s people back in the States.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR KOSAL, HIS STAFF (INCLUDING MY WIFE), AND THE CHILDREN OF PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY!

PROJECT 1040

Denise and I will be traveling to the States for the summer months. During this time, along with reporting to our supporting churches, I will be presenting our newest ministry endeavor, “PROJECT 1040.” As we mentioned in previous updates, this is a ministry, which encourages those of you that have been partnering with us for years, to partner with men and women that have graduated from our two Bible colleges.

In the past twelve months, by the grace of God, we have had sixteen men and women graduate. These are young men and women that love the Lord, have a passion to reach their people with the gospel, know the language, and the culture. OUR HOPE AND PRAYER IS THAN MANY OF YOU WOULD PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER SUPPORTING ONE OR TWO OF OUR GRADUATES.  

I still have a handful of open dates, if you would like to have me come and report and/or present this new ministry to you and your church family, please shoot me an email.

My wife and I are very grateful for your faithful prayers and financial support for us over the years. God has been gracious, and you have been generous. If it were not so, we could not be here doing what God has led us to do. THANK YOU!

God bless you and yours,
Johnny and Denise Esposito
Your missionaries in Southeast Asia

A FEW ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

*MINISTRY TRIP TO LAOS [FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 4]
*CHURCH AND COLLEGE STAFF AND STUDENT’S TRAINING [March 12-13]
*MISSIONS’ EMPHASIS [March 16]
*YOUTH CONFERENCE IN LAOS [April 14-17]
*FAMILY CONFERENCE IN CAMBODIA [April 15-17]