In the early 1700s, the modern mission movement was born in a little German village, Herrnhut, filled with Moravian believers who had fled their nation searching for a place to practice their faith freely. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus set this tiny hamlet ablaze with a burning zeal to go and preach Christ. As the first ship set sail to a slave island where they would sell themselves into captivity, Johann Dober raised his hands and cried, “May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!” Why? The simple, captivating love of Jesus Christ.

Over the last two years, I have personally traveled 275 days, leaving again this week! Our team has traveled thousands of miles, slept in hundreds of beds, taught or preached ten thousand times, prayed countless prayers, and been plagued with sleepless nights and seemingly unending days. For what? What’s the big why that all of this is for?

Elizabeth Elliott, pioneer missionary to the Auca Indians after they had brutally martyred her young husband, declared, “If there’s any other reason that you serve His world or carry His message to other than the simple love of Christ, you have missed the mark!”

After 30 years of taking the gospel of the Kingdom to the nations, we must return over and over to the center of all things: the pure and simple love of Jesus Christ. May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering! PI is in a new era, as many of our seasoned veteran staff have gone on to lead their own works in Jesus. Our team consists of 15 people in six nations, but many are in the early stages of serving. My message to them is to let their souls be set ablaze like those simple Moravian farmers 300 years ago. May the pure and simple love of Jesus Christ be the why behind, before, and within all we do!

And you, our faithful partners and support team. As you pray for us and send those generous, sacrificial, and faith-filled financial gifts, I tell you to let it be for one simple reason: the pure and simple love of your King, Jesus Christ. In 2025, may the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering, and may we all live lives ablaze with an all-compelling love for Him. It’s the why of all things in this Kingdom.