What if the ceiling on your impact was only as high as your faith dares to reach?
Join us for the 2026 TTC Missions Banquet as we celebrate a movement that refuses to shrink back! Our theme this year—"Don’t Hold Back!”—is an invitation to pastors, leaders, and disciple-makers to expand the place of your tent, stretch cords into unreached nations, and multiply kingdom impact far beyond what you thought possible. You’ll hear stories of transformed communities, meet the disciples doing the work, and discover how your investment can end the year by opening doors in 20+ nations.
This is a night to remember the awe of God's goodness, to stir up the gift inside you, to celebrate what God is already doing, and to commit to being part of equipping 1,000 active disciple-makers in 20+ nations by 2035. Come prepared to dream bigger, witness transformations, and leave with renewed fire to reach the nations for Christ by raising disciple-makers! (And did I mention that someone already paid for your delicious meal?!)
We are now halfway through the year, and God is doing such amazing things that we can hardly contain ourselves. We at Take The Challenge are excited to introduce you to a new voice.
As we mentioned last month, Mark Phillips was quitting his day job on June 30 to join TTC as a staff missionary, and now I, Mark Phillips, am the one writing to you! Our family could not be more excited to share with you what God has been doing with us through our work with TTC these past few months (even before coming on staff).
First, I want to share a picture of a group of Filipino pastors that we've had the privilege of leading this past month. Each week my wife and I meet with them and help them experience the disciple-making process for themselves, so that in the months to come they can launch their own DM groups in their churches and communities. This is just one of 45 disciple-makers (DM) groups currently meeting in the Philippines. God is transforming the nation!
Filipino pastors DM group
Next, I want to show you a special photo that brings great joy to my heart. In this picture you will see me, my disciple, his disciple, and his disciple’s disciple. This has been five years in the making, and as a result, each one of these disciples is now leading his own DM group and helping his disciples raise up their own disciples.
This is happening right here in the USA, in Anderson, Missouri, a small town of about 2,000. God is using everyday people who are willing to invest themselves in others to fulfill his Matthew 28:19 commission. Do you hear the call? If you'd like to learn how to disciple others, contact us. We have online groups available that you can join today.
Four generations of disciple-makers in SW Missouri!
Finally, Scott and I are wrapping up preparations for our mission trip to Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. We are actively working with our national leaders in Kenya to finalize the details; this trip is now less than two weeks away!!!!
Praise Reports:
The continued expansion of the disciple-making movement around the world.
Mark Phillips and family having successfully joined the TTC team to advance the kingdom.
The Philippines DM Movement growing from 3 groups to 45 groups in just 13 months!
Prayer Requests:
Remaining funds needed to launch the Philippines Command Center this month.
Favor for our Kenya leaders to connect with the pastors and leaders God wants us to minister to during this upcoming trip.
Successful roll-out of the new Disciple-Makers Movement (DMM) app to our U.S. partner base.
25 people in southwest Missouri to serve as table hosts for the Sept. 9th Missions Banquet.
Following Jesus as his apprentice, Mark and the TTC team
Our new mobile app is a gift from our TTCI partners, provided to you for free, to help us keep you updated and engaged with our missionary teams.
Now, it is easier than ever to experience the delight of serving God by reaching others around the world with His Love and good news. In just a few short minutes and a couple of clicks on your phone or computer, you can easily participate in modern-day missionary journeys! Be a part, or be more than that!
Did you realize that just five minutes and a few simple steps to join the Take the Challenge International missions family—whether by downloading the app and praying over updates, sending any amount of financial support once or monthly, or volunteering your gifts and talents—can significantly increase your own (or your family's) sense of fulfillment? By actively encouraging the TTCI team in any way as we raise disciple-makers, train leaders, and provide resources, you will discover a more profound sense of purpose and fulfillment.
With the new app and website updates, you can receive real-time prayer updates as the missionary teams travel, take a peek inside the challenging yet often humorous life on the mission field, and rejoice in the lives that are changed. Additionally, you can read impact reports from our latest mission trips and discover the various ways you can get involved.
Build Your Faith, Find Your Fit, and Witness the Fruit of Your Partnership
Our new mobile app (designed for the "Disciple-Makers Movement" or DMM for short) provides a seamless platform for engaging with our missionaries and receiving real-time updates and impact reports. The DMM app also helps connect our TTCI partners! We prayed for God's guidance in creating this tool to make it a valuable daily resource for you, our friends, family, and ministry partners. With this app, you can access resources to support your personal spiritual journey while also witnessing the impact of your support.
From audio lessons to recorded empowerment sessions from our various online groups worldwide, this app serves as the connection point for all disciples of the DMM (Disciple-Makers Movement). The app helps us equip each nation's DMM leaders to effectively reach and establish new groups, providing powerful education, communication tools, and needed information to help them grow and prosper.
You can download the APP from the Apple APP Store, the Amazon App Store, or the Google Play Store for free (thanks to the generous gifts of our TTC financial partners). The new app enables you to stay informed, pray, and participate in our global outreach efforts with ease. (So, why not click the image below to download it right now?)
App Highlights
Explore Our App Features
Real-Time Notifications
New! Now, you can get SMS notifications for events, prayer updates, and mission reports. Short and sweet, SMS alerts are limited to 160 characters. We only send them between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Interactive Engagement
Connect with our community, the TTCI missionaries, and Disciple-maker Groups through interactive features like an online Bible, group and team messaging, and a Prayer Request link to foster genuine connection, prayer support, and active participation in ministry.
Mission Updates
Follow along with our teams as they spread the Good News across the globe, with detailed mission updates, prayer requests, periodic Impact Reports, our annual Missions Banquet, as well as blog articles and updates on the website throughout the year.
Resource Library
Strengthen your faith by exploring a wealth of free resources designed to support your discipleship journey and bring life to your relationships.
(This growing resource library is provided at no cost to you by the generosity of our faithful ministry partners.)
Opt-In/Opt-Out Flexibility
Choose to receive notifications via SMS, email, or both, with simple opt-in and opt-out options. (You can reply with STOP to any SMS to unsubscribe from SMS Text Notifications. Reply with Unsubscribe to be removed from email communications. Transaction receipts will still be sent to the registered email address.)
User-Friendly Interface
Navigate our app with ease, thanks to its intuitive design and user-friendly interface. This app was designed with our partners and disciple-makers groups in mind. Our heart is to provide a simple effective resource hub (the app) that will be a blessing in your every day walk with God and in your growth as disciple-makers!
We value your connection with us, so our updates are Good News about who we are, what we do, where we go, and what's new. Oh yes, and how you can get involved as the Lord leads you! Depending on your preference, newsletter notifications are sent via email and/or SMS text messaging, along with a "read more" link. Submitting either of these forms confirms your wish to receive occasional email and/or text notifications from Take the Challenge International and its outreaches or events.
You may easily unsubscribe from either at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the correspondence received or by replying STOP to an SMS text in order to opt out of future SMS texts. (Transactional emails or texts will still be sent for purchase or donation receipts.)
"The app has transformed how we stay connected with the mission trips. The real-time updates keep us engaged and prayerful for the team's success."
Sarah Thompson
"Receiving SMS notifications has been so helpful! I feel more involved and informed about the exciting work being done across the globe by Take the Challenge International."
Michelle Everett
"The updates are timely and inspiring. It's amazing to see the impact of our prayers and support in real-time."
Number of pastors/leaders being trained weekly: 750
Big Wins for God’s Kingdom
The last twelve months have seen incredible growth in the TTC Disciple-Maker Movement (DMM) around the world as national pastors and leaders take the challenge of training others to walk in the disciplines of a disciple-maker. We now have forty DM groups that are led by the disciples of the disciples of my (Scott’s) original ten disciples. I am in awe of all God is doing through these faithful servants who have embraced disciple-making. Here are a few of the Big Wins over the last twelve months.
1. Explosive Growth in the Philippines
What started as three DM groups in May 2024 has been transformed into a forest of thirty five groups in just twelve months’ time. This has happened only through the sacrificial giving of numerous leaders like Pastor Wilson, who, with his wife Angelica, travel for thirteen hours every Thursday to train two groups of leaders in a neighboring province.
2. Raising Missionaries - Reaching Nations
The Kenya disciple-maker movement (KDMM) has now established DM Outposts in Tanzania and Uganda. Between these two outposts, thirteen DM groups are now discipling more than seventy pastors and leaders. All thirteen of the groups are led by Tanzanian or Ugandan leaders who were discipled by our Kenyan missionaries.
One example is missionary Michael, who for 10 months spent two days each week traveling ten hours one-way to lead groups in Tanzania. I was privileged to make that same journey with him last fall to minister to some of the pastors who now are leading their own groups.
3. Trees planted in Nepal
Psalm 1 gives us a picture of a true disciple of Jesus – “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” In November 2024, Pastor Mohan identified and recruited a number of young ministers to join the disciple-making process, so they could be trained to disciple other Nepali pastors the Lord brought to us for disciple-making. Five of these young ministers sent down roots as they gave themselves to the disciplines of a disciple. Following my visit to Nepal in March 2025, the Lord rewarded them with disciple-making groups of their own. Now, over thirty pastors and leaders in nine weekly DM groups are being trained to become “trees of righteousness.” From these small saplings, we see a mighty forest being raised to reach this once-Hindu nation for Jesus!
4. Divine connections
In 2022, under the leadership of Pastor Gil (“Hill”), the Pastoral Growth division of the Philippines Council of Evangelical Churches[1] (PCEC), launched a “Decade of Discipleship.” After hearing about the disciple-making ministry of TTC in the Philippines, Pastor Gil offered to partner with TTC to raise disciple-making outposts in ten major population centers across the Philippines. We are currently in the planning stage of this endeavor which will be launched in October 2025 with two pastoral couples from each of the ten population centers. Praise God for these divine connections!
A Word of Thanks
Thank you for your prayers and gifts that enable our team around the world to equip national pastors and leaders to raise disciple-makers across their own nations and into neighboring lands. We are truly grateful.
[1] The PCEC includes 91 denominations and 2.4 million members across the Philippines.
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