Missions Minute - The Stewards (May 1, 2025)

This week’s missions minute focuses on Josh and Denise Steward who serve at Tralee Bible Fellowship in Tralee Ireland. Their goal is to lead people to Christ, disciple them, and then send them out to repeat the process again.  

There is a lot currently going on around the church, May is missions emphasis month and they are starting the month by having Carl from London come and speak at their church. They plan on having multiple speakers throughout the month and they will end with an individual from Germany. Also, at the end of the month they will have an international dinner which will feature foods from the many different cultures that are represented by their church.

There have been 4 individuals who have recently been baptized and accepted Christ at Tralee Bible Fellowship. Pastor Josh was able to share the gospel with the parents of two of the people who were baptized 7 years ago at their previous church in Mallow Ireland. It is an amazing opportunity to see how the gospel can change an entire family. Pastor Josh also mentioned that there has been an increase at the church of people participating in the discipleship program. They work with one another to grow in Christ and then they continue that process with others.

One of the other exciting projects going on in Tralee is Project 432. The goal is to raise funds so that a Baptist church can be built in Tralee. There are currently zero Baptist churches in Tralee, so this would be a step that would allow Pastor Josh to gain “credibility” in the eyes of the Irish people. There are many Catholic churches, which is what the people of Ireland are used to. Tralee Bible Fellowship is currently a church that meets on the second floor of a building, as opposed to meeting in a stand-alone church. It is for that reason that Pastor Josh has the goal to raise funds to buy land and build a church in the community. Project 432 is currently at 50% of phase one for the raising of funds!

Looking forward, Pastor Josh is excited about the 2025 missions trip that the Summit Church will be taking to Tralee. There are also several other teams that will be coming to visit him throughout the summer of 2025. Prayers for those trips and what God can do during that time are appreciated. There are also activities that the church is looking forward to participating in such as their game nights, book studies, and holiday events.

Finally, Pastor Josh wants the church to know how grateful that he is for all of the support. They have been in Tralee for five and a half years and they have established a growing ministry even though there have been challenges. Through those hardships, he has noticed that the persistent prayer from everyone concerning his ministry and family have been a tremendous help. Other prayer requests include raising the funds for Project 432 and the continuation of leading people to Christ, taking them through the discipleship process, and sending them out.