As we enter this Christmas season, my heart is full of gratitude for each of you pastors and churches. This time of year has a way of re-centering us—not simply on the beauty of our traditions, but on the power of the gospel we proclaim. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). That one truth changed the world forever, and it continues to change lives today through your faithful ministry in every corner of Michigan.

Christmas reminds us that God is always moving toward us with grace, hope, and redemption. The birth of Jesus is not only the story of God coming near—it is the beginning of God sending us out. The angels declared “good news of great joy for all people” (Luke 2:10), and you, our pastors and churches, are living that out as you engage your community, equip your people and expand God’s Kingdom. Strong congregations expand the Kingdom not only through their church but also by planting new churches that carry the gospel to more communities.

I want you to know how deeply thankful I am for the work you do. Strengthening churches and starting new ones is not simply a strategy—it’s a biblical pattern and a gospel mandate. When local churches engage their community with the Gospel right where they are, equip and disciple their people to grow in their faith, the light of Christ shines more brightly into neighborhoods across our state and the Kingdom is expanded. And when new churches are planted, new gospel outposts are established where the message of Christ has not yet taken root.

But here is what excites me most: what God is doing in Michigan is not staying in Michigan. Every time you equip a believer, disciple a new Christian, welcome a family, send a team, launch a new ministry, or support a church plant, you are participating in something far larger than what you can see.

Healthy churches here push the gospel further everywhere for everyone.

Through your partnership in the Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon and the Frances Brown State Mission Offering, your prayers, your generosity, and your people are touching lives globally. Missionaries are being sent, churches are being planted, pastors are being trained, and the gospel is being accelerated in places many of us will never visit. When the church is strong at home, the mission is strong abroad. When we accelerate gospel movement in Michigan, we accelerate gospel movement around the world.

Paul reminded the Philippians, “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you… because of your partnership in the gospel” (Philippians 1:3–5). That is how I feel toward you. We are partners—shoulder to shoulder—locked arm in arm in the greatest mission on earth. And this Christmas, I want to encourage you: your ministry matters. Your faithfulness matters. Your church matters. And your partnership matters. 

The gospel that entered the world in Bethlehem is still breaking through darkness today. And God is using you to carry that light.

From my family and our BSCM family, I want to wish you and your church a joyful, hope-filled Christmas. May your celebrations be centered on Christ, your homes be filled with peace, and your ministries overflow with gospel fruit in the coming year.

Merry Christmas, and thank you for helping us accelerate gospel movement—here in Michigan and to the ends of the earth.