Special Prayer Requests for the Annual Planning Meeting 2026
This invites your prayer participation with us in this year's Annual Planning Meetings (APMs) for Courage Youth South Africa (CYSA) and Setshabelo Family & Child Services (SFCS).
This year Paul Scholten and I (Zeke) will be joined by Andrew Rienstra, who joined encompassKids as Executive Director in April, and Lucretia Bowman, formerly Executive Vice President of City Gospel Mission in Cincinnati.
We covet your prayer support and have listed suggested matters for prayer attention below.
We welcome your questions and will report on the trip outcomes when we return.
Travel
Friday, October 16, through Thursday, October 29
Petition: Safety as we travel in the air and on the ground. Click on the link to the State Department travel advisory for South Africa to see why prayer for safety is important. https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/south-africa.html
Courage Youth
October 19 - 23
Annual planning meetings.
Of note, Tuesday, 10/21, we will be celebrating Courage Youth's 20th Anniversary during an appreciation dinner with administrators from the eight Courage Youth schools.
Petitions:
That there will be awe and appreciation of the work God has accomplished in the lives of learners, families, and school faculty and staff over Courage Youth's 20 years of ministry. II Tim 2:21
Building on that, that staff will leave the week with firm plans and a sense of anticipation of what God intends to do in the lives of learners and other in the year ahead, especially as we look to doubling the number of Courage Youth schools over the next three years Eph 3:20
That staff will be refreshed as a result of this time away from normal responsibilities and as a group grow closer to God and to each other. Mark 6:31
Setshabelo Family & Child Services
October 24 - 28
Organization development day with Board of Directors. Annual planning with staff.
Petitions:
The session with Directors will result in increased clarity, unity of purpose, and collective steadfastness among Board members. Amos 3:3
Lead Team sessions to review 2026 outcomes will lay the foundation for strengthened plans in the year ahead, one key metric of which is to double the number of adoptions from about 50 per year currently to 100 over the next three years. Eph 3:20
Plans will focus on the highest leverage goals and activities on behalf of the ministry's various beneficiaries in an environment of, for all practical purposes, unlimited need across Free State province. Eph 5:16
Andrew & Lucretia
First trip to South Africa
Petitions
The separate orientations planned for them, as well as their participation in the planning sessions, will give them a solid understanding of the CYSA and SFCS ministries and the pivotal role encompassKids plays in support.
They will hear and recognize the Lord's voice as we travel together over these weeks. John 10:27
Paul & Zeke
Veterans averaging 1-2 trips per year going back more than 20 years.
Petitions
God will grant us wisdom from above and a spirit of gentleness in our roles as facilitators, partners, and friends of our South African colleagues. James 3:17; Psalm 18:35
We will perceive the voice of God in the fresh observations of Andrew and Lucretia.
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