2022 Annual Ministry Report
With your support and the work of the Holy Spirit, we've accomplished a lot together. Your gifts and prayers made this possible!
From The Directors
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
As we look back on the past year of mission work together, we are encouraged to see that mission work remains an area of unity for the Christian Reformed Church.
As a denomination, we are standing together on prioritizing God’s call to live and share the gospel! Joining God’s mission together has been a privilege throughout more than a century of deep-running tradition and commitment. Despite disagreements and conflict in the world, our passion for the Great Commission remains strong. As the directors of Resonate, our work is focused on looking toward the future: guiding us to be able to respond to God’s leading and ensuring that we continue to preach the gospel both at home and around the world.
We are thankful for all that we’ve accomplished together and hope you will give thanks with us for all God has done through your support. In this report we have included some examples of God’s faithfulness through your giving—stories, reports, and encouragement that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion!
Thank you for your prayers and gifts that make this ministry possible. Across all we do together—sending missionaries, planting churches, supporting campus ministries, and more— our key strategy is mobilizing our missional leaders. Through Resonate, you come alongside those God is calling to missionfocused ministry to equip and send them to be Christ’s witnesses. That’s how we are investing your support and working toward a sustainable future.
Thank you for all that you do—in your own neighborhood and around the world.
Serving with you,
Joel Huyser Kevin DeRaaf Interim Director Acting Director - Canada
You are spreading the gospel through Resonate
—and inviting others to share
Finding Hope in Jesus
Mrs. Noguchi was raised in Tokyo. She grew up in a Christian home, but she wasn’t interested in faith. As the years passed, Mrs. Noguchi started to feel restless and empty.
“I was often feeling the futility of life,” she said. When her mother passed away in the spring of 2020, the grief devastated her and left her with a lot of questions.
“I think my mother’s death changed me,” said Mrs. Noguchi. “I was worried whether she could go to heaven. But one day, an idea came to my mind. . . . It was my mother that worried about my salvation.”
Mrs. Noguchi cannot explain exactly what happened, but one Sunday she was feeling sad and decided to find a church. She walked through the doors of Hikarigaoka Christ Church. That’s where she met your Resonate missionaries Jeong and MiSook Gho.
Through Resonate, you partner with Jeong and MiSook to equip, support, and develop Christian leaders in Japan. The Ghos work alongside and visit several churches to preach the gospel, disciple new Christians, and equip believers for mission and church leadership. That Sunday during worship, Mrs. Noguchi found a glimmer of hope, and she held fast to it. She returned to worship again and again, and she also joined one of the Ghos’ Bible studies.
Day by day, her life started to change. She built relationships with your missionaries, the members of her Bible study group, and the pastor and believers of her faith community. She dove into Scripture to study the Word, and she spent a lot of time praying.
Mrs. Noguchi knew she had finally found the truth— and one day she decided to follow Christ. Recently, she decided to be baptized! “I want to know about Christ and God deeply,” said Mrs. Noguchi. “These are the things that I had never expected before!”
Thank you for supporting this important ministry through Resonate! You’re helping to strengthen believers in a country where so many people do not yet know the truth of Christ.
Stories You Made Possible
You Helped Equip a Student for Her Calling
Canada
When Mickeelie connected with the campus ministry you support at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, she not only found friends she could grow in faith with—she found a calling toward a future career and mentors who helped to equip her for it. "I learned the importance of being a compassionate leader and meeting students right where they are in faith and live," she said. Read more about what's next for Mickeelie at resonateglobalmission.org/mickeelie
A Church Plant for People of All Abilities
United States
For someone living with a disability, church can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate—in fact, many people with disabilities aren’t part of a church. But you’re helping to change that through a church plant called City Hope GR in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The church considers everyone in the decisions they make. They share Monroe Community Church’s new building, which they built with universal design standards. They incorporate a variety of worship and communication tools in the service, and everyone is given an opportunity to participate in worship, service, and using their gifts. Joni Lee and her husband are helping to start the church with their son, who has autism. “Our son can be in a place where he belongs . . . just as involved as the next person.” Read about more members who found a church family here at resonateglobalmission.org/cityhope
An Invitation for Rest
Nicaragua
God worked in a surprising way when Jorge attended a retreat that you helped make possible. Jorge's daughter has cerebral palsy, which affects her ability to move and care for herself. Thanks to donors like you, Jorge's family was able to attend a retreat that supported and encouraged them—and reminded them of the hope they have in Christ. Read more about how Tesoros de Dios, one of your ministry partners, works to serve people with disabilities and their families like Jorge's at resonateglobalmission.org/jorge
Caring for "The Stranger"
Estonia
Kateryna and her nine-year-old son Ivan closed the front door of their home in Ukraine for the last time this year and made their way out of the combat zone, carrying what they could. When they reached safety in Poland, exhausted and traumatized, a pastor was there to meet them, thanks to a grant you made possible. Read more about how you and your missionary Gary Timmerman support pastor Pavel and Salt of the Earth Church—and how you can pray for Kateryna and Ivan—at resonateglobalmission.org/kateryna
Crafts and Discipleship
Uganda
Schools in Uganda shut down for Covid-19 longer than any others in the world. But God worked in an unexpected way through the Educational Care training you provided. Harriet is one of thousands of educators you supported. While her school was shut down, she met with teens in her neighborhood and helped them learn crafts like weaving, beading, and soapmaking to help provide for their families. She also seized the shutdown as an opportunity given by God to teach lessons from the Bible. Read more about how you helped prepare and equip Harriet at resonateglobalmission.org/harriet
...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
As Jesus is taken up into heaven, he reserves his final words to send his disciples on their most important mission: being witnesses and living out the things he taught them. That’s why Resonate exists—to help you in living out that mission. Mission-minded people like you are our most important partners in mobilizing missional leaders to serve.
Resonate is an extension of your own church— we exist to serve you and walk with you. We want to help our congregations explore their communities, discover where God is moving, and join God on mission.
Helping the message of the gospel go out like an expanding, amplifying sound is the common thread that runs through all our ministry around the world. Resonate is here to walk alongside you in preparing missionaries and volunteers, calling and supporting church planters and campus ministers, connecting with ministries overseas, engaging church members and younger generations in mission work, and following the Spirit.
Thank you for your passion for God’s mission, and for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth!
Your Gifts are Vital to the Mission
Ministry shares don’t cover the whole cost of mission
Our denomination’s faithful ministry share giving—including money you give through your church—provides a strong foundation that makes mission possible, but the ministry shares program only provides around 30% of the revenue Resonate needs to do this important work. Donors like you are so essential to provide stability and sustainability!
Missionaries and church planters are just one part of Resonate
Your giving through Resonate supports ministry around the world in a variety of ways. In addition to sending missionaries and church planters, we partner with national organizations, offer grants to partners, and support other ministry initiatives that align with our mission.
Thank you for your generous support of ministry around the world!
By the Numbers
You are mobilizing our missional leaders. Thank you!
You and your missional leaders worldwide are working together to transform people's lives. You play a vital role—thank you for helping accomplish so much in 2022.
