The Church is ALIVE - April 2025 Update!

 Hey everyone!!

    We pray that you are all enjoying spring and had a wonderful Easter week remembering the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior!! We are excited to share another update with you all on what our lives have looked like in the last month or so as well as some updates from our incredible teams on the field! This update is a tad lengthy, but we’re confident that you’ll be encouraged in reading!!

    At the beginning of this month, I (Baylee) will admit that I had a bit of a sour attitude toward the opportunity we had to take part in ministry at our Adventures Relief base in Black Mountain, NC for the week. Since our staff is scattered throughout the world, we try to get together a couple of times a year. Naturally, we decided to get together to take part in what brought us together in the first place: serving for the sake of glorifying the name of Jesus! As we loaded up our vehicles to begin the drive to Black Mountain, all I could think about was my dreams of sleeping in my own bed for the week being squashed. Little did I know, the Lord had so much refreshment awaiting me as we pulled into our Relief base! Reuniting with coworkers who have become family, hearing testimonies of our miracle-working God, and taking part in restoring communities for His glory quickly humbled me, and the self-serving attitude I had entered the base with had been brought low by the goodness of Jesus. Undoubtedly, the work that we got to be a part of that week was certainly a reminder of the faithfulness of Christ, but make no mistake, He had also done miracles in my own heart that week, reminding me that He alone is my strength and help. How weary I am on my own - and how joyous it is to return to Him!

    During our time in Black Mountain, we had the opportunity to be part of the rebuilding process of a home close to our base that belongs to a children’s ministry. From the moment we were assigned this home to work in, I could sense the Lord smiling on me, as we spent the week laying flooring and painting trim - both of which are among my favorite things I used to do with my dad growing up! As a staff, we also returned to a camp where some of our teams were staying while they served last fall. As Hurricane Helene swept through the area, an enormous mudslide destroyed the building they were staying in, just feet away from them. Miraculously, God protected them as they braved rushing water and snapping trees to get to safety. As our staff returned to the rubble 6 months later, the destruction remained, but our hearts were renewed. Praise erupted by candlelight, and as we took communion together, we were reminded that just as Christ’s broken body was raised to life, He will surely resurrect the community of Black Mountain through the hands of His saints. Several of you responded to our requests for prayer over our time in Black Mountain through Prayvine - we are so thankful for the ways you’ve covered us in prayer! It truly makes all the difference, and we feel like all of you are just as much a part of the ministry as we are! If you’d like to stay up to date with the transformative work God is doing through our Disaster Relief team in over 250 homes in NC, you can find updates HERE!

    As we come to the end of April, our team is gearing up for the busiest season of the year! God has truly graced us for this, as we have had the unexpected opportunity to spend a lot of time with family and with each other this past month! In the next 4 months, Ethan and I will be part of training and sending teams of 18-30 year old missionaries to 23 nations! We have been gripped by the reality that every tribe, tongue, and nation must share the opportunity we have had to hear and respond to the life-transforming gospel of Christ. It is a great honor to be part of equipping these Christ-followers to be sent to nations and people who are yearning to know Jesus. I have recorded some testimonies from our leadership teams who have teams currently on the field in Asia, much of which is considered “unreached” by the gospel. We pray you’re encouraged by these testimonies: 

“I wanted to share a quick testimony with you all. Hopefully this will encourage us. Last week S squad was traveling from Chiang Mai to Malaysia. We had 12 hours in Bangkok before our next bus ride. During these 12 hours, three of my racers ended up speaking to a local, sharing the Gospel, leading him to Christ, and baptizing him! It was incredible!”

“One of my teams in Malaysia saw a salvation of a Hindu woman!!”

“TESTIMONY!!! My two teams in Malaysia have seen 5 salvations, during house visits! One was last night and was a transgender man! They were all hindu and brought to tears when they heard!!! GOD IS MOVING!”

    Not only is God bringing salvation to nations overseas, He is doing it in the US too! According to a brand new Barna study, “66 percent of all US adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today . . . among the biggest drivers of the Jesus resurgence are younger generations - particularly Gen Z and Millenials”. (If you want to be encouraged about the Church in America & the future of our nation, we highly recommend reading the full article HERE). It is overwhelmingly clear that the love of God is touching the hearts of His children all over the world, from people in our own neighborhoods to those who have never heard His name before. 

Will you pray and consider partnering with us to bring the gospel of Christ to every nation - including our own?

    We are still expanding our prayer team and working toward our monthly support goal of $2,500 by June, so if you feel led to be part of raising up Generation Z to follow Jesus and make disciples of all nations, please reach out to us! We’d love to talk and pray about what that could look like! You can also find our support link here: https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/staff-wr-2025/participants/baylee-murphy2

If you’d like to support us through prayer, here are some of our specific requests!

• That we would seek the King & His Kingdom in all things, whether in work, rest, or relationships. 

• We will be taking a short trip to Guatemala in May to see some of our ministry partners & spend some time with old friends! Please pray for our time to be intentional & encouraging for everyone involved!

• Pray that as some of our teams come off the field & we prepare to send new teams overseas in the next month, that the Lord would give us wisdom and compassion to care for and equip all of them. 

We love you all and are truly so thankful for your involvement in our lives!! We are blessed beyond measure!

Much love, 

The Johnstons