Hello family and friends,

I announced to our church on June 27 that at the end of this year we (the Shreve family) will be heading back to the mission field. We know God has called us and He has opened an incredible door of opportunity for us to become the international directors in an organization called Word for the World, an international missions and church planting organization overseeing 95 churches currently in 9 countries.  

You can hear that announcement here - mwchurch.com/transition

Now, I am sure you can imagine, this is a huge step for our family. We will be relocating to the Philippines in early 2022. As you may know, we still have two children at home, Brandon who is 13 and Zuri who is 6. All four of us will be moving, so I am requesting your prayers for God’s direction with schools and finding a home in the Philippines, for God’s peace in this very emotional time, for God’s provision as we care for our family and raise support for the ministry, and for God’s blessing on our 3 adult children as they follow God’s plans for themselves. 

Let me be upfront – we need your partnership. Below I explain more about the ministry we will be leading but let me go ahead and ask you to please pray about being on our team and financially supporting the work God has called us to. 

If God has used us in any way to speak into your life or help you as you follow Him, if you have been blessed during our journey together, if we have invested something in your life – please consider making an investment back into us and this ministry.

Our goal is to partner with 1000 of our friends, family, and church members. We are asking you to prayerfully consider making  a monthly financial commitment to stand with us as we serve and lead in Southeast Asia.  Maybe you can commit $100 or $50 a month. You might be able to do more or that might be a stretch for you at this time - all I am asking is that you to pray and if God speaks to your heart, then follow Him and give whatever He tells you. 

If you are currently part of Mountain West and prefer to give through the church, you can find a line item on the giving page (mwchurch.com/give), click on the give here button and you will find a place where you can give toward the Shreve family.

If you have any questions, please let me know, you can email me at shrevemissions@gmail.com.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration,

Pastor Michael and Elaine Shreve 

Here is a little more about the Mission that God is calling our family to in the Philippines:

Word for the World is a 40-year-old ministry based in the Philippines. The founder, a spiritual father to me, is turning 80 this year and back in January, he asked us to pray about being his successor as the international director as he transitions to an Emeritus role. 

While this decision is incredible difficult for us because we love what God is doing at Mountain West so much, we know in our hearts this is the next step God has for us.

Word for the World has planted several hundred churches over the past 40 years. Currently there are 95 churches in the Philippines and 8 other countries that are part of Word for the World, bringing hope and ministering to over 30,000 people.  We will be leading this multinational mission organization as they get ready for the founder to transition, and as they recapture the vision and mission God has given to them. My mission is that Word for the World will once again become a church planting force in SE Asia. We will begin a church planting institute to train and support men and women from all over Southeast Asia to plant churches in major cities in their countries. The Church Planting Institute that we are forming will help train pastors, help them plant churches, support them in the beginning of their journey and help them become self-supporting, then lead them to plant another church themselves within 5 years.

God is already opening doors in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Northern India, and Nepal to bring pastors to the Church Planting Institute, train them, invest in their families, and help them launch successful churches in every area in Southeast Asia, from bustling metropolises like New Delhi and small remote villages in the mountains of Nepal. 

There is an urgency in my acceptance of this new role: Watching what is going on in our world, I don’t know how long the window will be open to plant churches in this part of the world. I want to pour as much as we can into Southeast Asia while we can, as roughly two-thirds of the world’s population lives there. If we can get local men and women trained and sent, I believe they will be able to make a major impact in their countries even after the window to foreigners closes.

When it comes to church planting, we have the best blueprint of what a healthy church should be: Mountain West Church. We love Mountain West, and we believe the world needs more churches like Mountain West- hope filled, diverse, life giving and passionate about “One More”.  What Elaine and I have been able to accomplish in Tucker, GA in the past 15 years is what we want to commit the next 15+ years of our life to in Southeast Asia- not just one church, but hundreds like Mountain West. I look forward to sharing the story of Mountain West around the world and using so many of the principles we learned here to help others plant life-giving, hope-filled churches. 

When God put the words – ONE MORE – on my heart many years ago – I never realized it would go well beyond the walls of Mountain West. Not only is that our mission here – but that will be our mission there – to teach, train, empower, support as many as we can - to reach ONE MORE!