September 2025
brazil
Pastor Roger shared the following update recently:
Thank you for praying for our couples. In this last month we have had a mixture of ups and downs with our couples. Some are in outright disobedience as they are living together and are not legally married. Some are straying away from truth. However, some are seeking to correct their lives to conform to the teachings of our Lord. And some are exemplifying Christ-likeness. So, continue to pray for our couples and families to be obedient to Christ.
The interior work continues to grow in Gloria. Several have come to know the Lord. This Saturday we are taking our couples from Aracaju to Gloria for a special couples encounter. Pray for safety on the road and growth in Christ. I will be speaking on forgiveness in marriage.
Pray for Ed and Sandra, Tercio and Danielle, and Fernando and Delma! They are leaders already and these men have great potential for shepherding.
Of course, Crystal and I appreciate prayer for our marriage and family as we want to grow in the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
Roger also asks that we pray for God to continue working in other aspects of the ministry. Two people recently came to Christ, and two others have come recently with an interest in the Bible, Laura and Sergio. Pray that God would save them. Pray also for Crystal as she trains ladies to effectively minister to the kids in the church. Lastly, Roger recently finished teaching at a week of meetings with other Brazilian pastors and missionaries from BGFM, the missions organization that the Johansens partner with and that Roger helps lead. Pray that God would produce fruit from these meetings.
Worship at the BGFM Conference
BGFM Leadership
How to pray
Pray for God to sanctify and grow the couples at the church.
Pray that God would produce fruit from the BGFM Conference.
Pray that God would allow Crystal to have an effective ministry with the kids and women in the church.
Pray that God would save Laura and Sergio.
Pray that Pastor Roger would have strength and patience to continue enduring his Parkinson’s symptoms.
Pray for the leadership in Aracaju and Gloria:
Pastor Roger Johansen.
Pastor Eriomar Maia.
Pastor Marcos.
FIJI
Premend Choy recently returned to Fiji after his cardiac arrest forced him to spend much longer than intended in the United States. He and his family are grateful to be back home, and he asks for prayer that he would continue to recover and grow stronger. He was strong enough to preach several times in the past month, and he praises God for his grace to accomplish this. He asks for prayer for his future in Fiji, as the health risks from his heart attack mean he needs to step back from many aspects of ministry at the Bible College. Pray that God would give him wisdom and that he would raise up leaders at Fiji Bible College to fill the void.
The Choys with friends from a church in Washington.
The Bible College recently hosted a modular Master of Arts in Biblical Studies intensive where two visiting professors taught on hermeneutics. This class aimed to instruct the students, who were pastors, lay leaders, or evangelists, in how to go deeper in understanding God’s Word. Men attended in person and over Zoom, enabling the class to impact people on islands throughout the Pacific.
The recent Masters level class in hermeneutics.
Dr. Narayan was recently asked to speak at the University of Fiji as a part of their International Youth Day celebrations. He was asked to share with the English and Literature faculty and students, focusing on the value and purpose of young people in today’s world. Dr. Narayan’s message was that every young person has immense value, not because of performance, popularity, or position, but because they are created in the image of God. He shared biblical truth and gospel messages. Pray that God would use this in the lives of those who heard.
HOW to pray
Pray that the Choys would settle in well back in Fiji and that God would continue to bless his recovery from cardiac arrest.
Pray for fruit from the Masters class in Hermeneutics.
Pray that God would bless the students at Fiji Bible College study.
Pray that God would bless and grow Nadi Bible Church.
Pray that God would provide for the financial needs of the Bible College.
Pray that God would sustain the leaders who minister in Fiji and the surrounding region:
Dr. Narayan Nair and family
President Premend Choy and family
Michael Seehusen and family
Mexico
Pastor Brian recently traveled to the mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico to meet with the family and church of potential future pastoral resident Estevan as they considered moving to Sinaloa for training towards church planting in Mazatlán. Pray that God would give them wisdom and would lead their steps. Pastor Brian also traveled to Los Angeles to attend the Spanish Expositors Conference with other pastors and leaders from his own church as well as the rest of Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Peru.
Once the Expositors Conference was over, Pastor Brian traveled to Mozambique, Africa, with Pastor Joshua Johansen and his wife Emma. Pastor Joshua desires to church plant in Mozambique, and Pastor Brian joined him to help him on this vision casting trip, as well as to preach and teach alongside him. Pray that God would bless their time spent in Mozambique.
Once he returned from Mozambique, Pastor Brian shared this extended update with our body:
We as the pastoral leadership of Iglesia Bíblica Palabra de Cristo in Mochicahui & Iglesia Bíblica Redencíon in Los Mochis, Sinaloa express heartfelt thanks from both church families to the Redemption Hill Church family for the continued prayerful and sacrificial participation with us in what the Lord is doing to build our local churches and additional local churches through the men who have trained under and been sent out by our churches. It has been for us a great joy to have Christ through the love of your body partner together with us.
As you know, in February both Tony & Yosimar were ordained to pastoral ministry and now serve alongside Pastor Antonio and I in shepherding both congregations. In May we moved the Sunday evening service in Los Mochis to morning so that we could add a Sunday School hour and 30 minutes of fellowship between the Sunday School & Worship Service as we have had as our practice in Mochicahui. We as pastors along with pastoral residents rotate between the two churches on both Sunday mornings and Wednesday evening (Bible study & Prayer meeting). Other monthly bible studies for Marrieds, Men, Ladies, & Youth combine both congregations and meet alternatively between Los Mochis & Mochicahui. Individually we each also have discipleship meetings with newer attenders and their families in homes throughout the week. These meetings allow us to both evangelize and disciple, better understand where folks are theologically and in their spiritual growth, and develop stronger relationships for pastoral care. Twice a month on Tuesday evenings Pastor Tony (and I occasionally) teach Theology with an emphasis on its practical life applications in Los Mochis on Tuesday evenings to a very well attended group.
In Los Mochis we continue to have new individuals, couples, and families attending; some have already joined and others are at various stages of pre membership discipleship. In Mochicahui we currently have one new family of five close to being added to membership and have baptized and received into membership another young lady. For now we plan to continue renting the location where we currently meet in Los Mochis. At times the space is tight however locations in the next size up will be a pretty large step up in monthly rent as well (& most will not have the additional space that we current have for the outside kids class).
Thanks to assistance from both Countryside & Redemption Hill, in Mochicahui we were able to move Sunday services into the building with A/C. Currently one preschool Sunday School class is also being held in an air conditioned space with two groups of kids meeting outside under the shelter.
Moving services to the morning in Los Mochis meant that the kids classes are held outside in much hotter temperatures that they were when we met at night. So, we purchased two midsize water coolers (one for each church) for use in the kids classes (to at least help the teachers who serve the kids). Prayerfully we plan to begin working on the construction of two addition classrooms in Mochicahui that will be air conditioned. They will be used for kids classes and some discipleships/bible studies/meetings when the larger space is not needed to be cooled down. Once completed the second water coolers can be gifted to the church in Los Mochis for their kids classes.
In June, I had the privilege of teaching a two week intensive course on Pastoral Ministries at the seminary in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico where Michael Dietzel visited with me some years ago when I preached a youth camp there on the sovereignty of God. That seminary in now under the leadership of the Seminary for Expository Preaching (a TMAI School in Honduras) where I teach each year in November. Pastor Manuel Morales also was teaching there at the time and Danyel & I spent time with his family and church plant. Pastor Alvaro from the Baptist church we help in Los Mochis was also taking a class. And church planting pastor and former pastoral resident from Honduras, Joel Reyes, served as my assistant and grader. He previously graduated in Honduras with a Master’s in Expository preaching but lacked my class and another to finish the new MDiv. Program. It was a joy to spend extended time with these men as well as preach in a church now pastored by Leonel whom I had the privilege of helping to train in the area of biblical counseling a number of years ago.
In July, César was ordained to pastoral ministry after nearly a year serving as a pastoral resident. He and his wife Ana along with their three children were moved to Culiacan to join our new church planting team there. Danyel & I then spent about 10 days in Peru where I was able to preach in each of our 5 church plants. A sixth church plant is already underway by one of our church plants there and I had the privilege of preaching in it back in February. In Peru we have two Honduran pastors who came though our pastoral residency and another Peruvian pastor who went through a residency by extension combined with the assistance of another Peruvian pastor. It has been a joy to shepherd these men and there families. Four of our six pastors in Peru meet with me and another handful of pastors in Mexico online on Thursday mornings for a time of pastoral discipleship.
And on Tuesday mornings I have two pastoral residents by extension (one Mexican in El Fuerte & one Cuban in our Guadalajara Mexico church plant) as well as seven other pastors currently studying pastoral Ministries related books together. Two of those pastors are planting a church in Colima, Mexico which is considered a part of the “circle of silence” due to its less than 2% Protestant statistic (really much less since “Protestant” to those gathering stats includes anything non Roman Catholic such as 7th day Adventistism, prosperity gospel, and Oneness Pentecostalism). Also in that group is formal pastoral resident, Pastor Manuel Morales, who Redemption Hill Church helped prepare a home for years ago as well as Pastor Alvaro, who we ordained in May in the Baptist church that we help in Los Mochis.
In August some of the buried heavy duty electrical lines were stolen in Mochicahui but the men of the church came together and completely encased the new buried lines and access points in concrete to provide additional protection and limit temptation. Only one Sunday did the church have to return to worship under the shelter, but it became a time of joyful praise and appreciation for having the A/C after many years worshipping in extreme heat.
This year we added two additional deacons in each church so they now have three each and they are working well in their respective teams. Two of the deacons in Mochicahui, Seth & Luis, are also becoming very capable teachers. In fact we believe that Luis may very well have a pastoral calling, so we are working with him in discerning that call. He is a previous graduate of Master’s Seminary’s Spanish Expositor’s Institute (as is Pastor Antonio & Pastor Tony) and currently entered the online MDiv. Program at Midwestern Seminary where Yosimar is currently studying as well. Pastor Tony is currently an online MDiv. student at the Master’s Seminary (He and Yosimar are assisted in their studies by Planted Ministries).
Well, there are some of the current ways in which the Lord is answering prayers and blessing His ministries in addition to weekly pastoral ministries of preaching, teaching, evangelism, discipleships and administration. I also teach 3 semesters of Advanced Biblical Counseling online (2.5 hours each Thursday evening) for SEPE’s Global Seminary. Pastor Manuel Morales serves as my “Timothy” - grader and assistant. Teaching this class allows me an opportunity to invest in pastors throughout Latin America and to have an additional way to invest in Pastor Manuel’s family & church planting ministry.
Danyel and I also praise the Lord that our grandson was born today while we are still in Virginia after returning to the States from Africa; it was a joy to meet him this evening.
Upcoming Prayer Requests
- Danyel & I attending upcoming ACBC conference where I will be honored with the privilege of now serving as a teaching/supervising “Fellow” (first week of Oct.)
- Flying on a small plane to Creel (small town in mountains of Chihuahua Mexico) Oct 13-16 where Danyel & I will meet with next pastoral resident Esteban & his wife Cristina. They currently have two daughters and are awaiting a third in late October or early November. We plan to move them to Sinaloa in early December for about one year. Once completing his pastoral residency and ordination they will be sent to plant a church in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. We are currently prayerfully beginning to assemble a church planting team for that city in need of a solid bible teaching Christ exalting church.
- Preaching our Oct 19th United Church service with our two churches together. We try to do a joint service 2 times per year.
- We will be traveling together to Costa Rica & Honduras Nov 1-14 where I will be preaching and teaching a two week intensive course Biblical Counseling 1 at the Seminary for Expository Preaching
- Then on Nov 16th we will be teaching a workshop on the final day of our 2 day NexGen camp for teen and young adult singles. Pastor Oscar from our El Fuerte church will teach teens (17 years old and below) and his wife the gals of the same ages. Danyel will have ladies 18+ and I men 18+. Our topic is A Biblical Perspective on Sex and Sexuality as well as forming godly relationships. This year’s camp will have an overall focus on God’s design for men and women in the church and family.
- Early December moving Esteban’s family to Sinaloa. They will be living in the third floor apartment above the church in Los Mochis. Pastor Tony’s family began renting the second floor apartment after Pastor César’s family was moved to Culiacán. This allows Pastor Tony to be much closer to both churches than he was living on the other side of Los Mochis.
- Starting the construction of two additional classrooms that can be air-conditioned. The desired plan is to build a light construction (cement board exterior, sheetrock interior over a metal frame with metal roof) insulated building with two rooms with at least eventually an extended roof for shade between the new building and the current inside worship area.
- Danyel has a continued ministry to the wives of our local pastoral team as well as our church planting pastors and pastoral residents in Mexico & Peru. She is also starting a regular online meeting with Emma Johansen from Countryside. Pray for her as she will also be sharing at the Shepherd’s Wives conferences in Kansas on Oct 10th.
- While thankfully Danyel and I have been blessed with the health and energy to keep up with the many opportunities for service that the Lord is granting us at this time, we do ask for your prayers for continued health, stamina, wisdom, and daily preparation in the Word for a godly walk and effective ministry. We are both facing some age related health issues while thankfully nothing that has impeded service. And of course as we hear of pastors falling into sin we ask that you pray with us as we continue to invest our marriage and personal growth in the Lord. It is our desire to be found faithful to our Lord and in service to Him until He returns or calls us home whenever that may be.
How to pray
Pray that God would lead Esteban as he makes decisions about potentially becoming a pastoral resident.
Pray that God would bless Pastor Brian’s trip to Mozambique with Pastor Joshua.
Pray that God would continue to strengthen and grow the churches in Sinaloa.
Pray for Pastor Brian as he trains and equips church leaders in Mexico, Honduras, and Peru both virtually and in person.
Pray for Danyel as she joins her husband Brian in serving in various capacities in the church plant.
Pray for the entire team helping to plant the church in Los Mochis:
Pastor Brian Warne and wife Danyel
Pastor Antonio de la Cruz and wife Alicia
Pastoral Resident Tony de la Cruz, wife Avi, and family
Pastoral Resident Yosimar Moya, wife Paula, and family
Deacon Seth, wife Mavy, and family
Deacon Will, wife Jasmin, and family
