2020 World Missions Report

Going into 2020, we had prayers and plans going on for mission trips to Nigeria, the Philippines and Croatia. We also were looking forward to having have Chi, Pedro Sanchez, and Steve Taliaferro visit Southside. While we were looking for God’s blessing for these trips and visits to take place, the Spirit had other plans.

Our missions partners have dealt with quite a few roadblocks this year. They have seen an earthquake, fundraisers canceled, mission trips put on hold, financial support lost due to job loss, quarantine and severe lockdowns around the world, travel restrictions (in country and internationally), internships canceled, church plants halted, rising food costs, new ministry development slowed down, loss of church members from the virus, and having their own health directly affected by the coronavirus.

Despite the perception that these are all negative things, God has used these as opportunity to show His faithfulness. He blessed our missions partners with badly needed funds, the creativity to take advantage of the internet to continue to spread the Gospel, with a growing faith made stronger by the trials they have faced, with prayers from around the world, with survival from this deadly virus, and with a growing desire to show that God is glorified through all this.

Southside has been blessed to be part of this. While the world has changed and stopped in many different ways, the number of prayers have grown, as have the number of answered prayers.

Families have been consoled during the loss of loved ones. Bible classes have been taught. Personal Bible study has continued. Preaching has touched more lives than every before. People have been baptized. Personal and spiritual relationships have grown. God’s faithfulness has been seen. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit have all been glorified.

We prayerfully look forward to the blessings that God will provide as a new year soon begins. We prayerfully look forward to visiting Nigeria, the Philippines, Croatia and Chile in 2021, and to having several of our mission’s partners visit Southside.

But more so, we prayerfully look forward to seeing where the Spirit is leading. – Alvin Cox, ministry leader