Everything that has breath. Doesn’t that include us? If we’re still alive…still trodding terra firma…and still drawing breath…I think it does! Every creature…every created beingin heaven and on earth…is called to thanksgiving, praise and worship!

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS is the 4th and final installment in our special series on the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship. Open your heart and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about the joy and the amazing benefits you’ll discover in this essential exercise!  

Come let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Psalm 95:6

God is holy…altogether glorious and grand…magnificent beyond our comprehension…and supremely worthy of all of our praise!

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS is the third installment in our special series on the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship. Open your heart and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about this essential component in the life of every believer.  

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name! – Psalm 100:4

There’s a huge part of us that instinctively hungers to know God…and to be known by Him. Our desire is deep for relationship…for intimacy! There’s a reason for that. We are His creation and He is our creator. We are the sheep of His pasture and we intrinsically long to be close to Him.

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS is the second installment in our special series on the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship which will help you discover some keys to a deeper and closer relationship with your Heavenly Father!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name! – Psalm 100:4

There’s a huge part of us that instinctively hungers to know God…and to be known by Him. Our desire is deep for relationship…for intimacy! There’s a reason for that. We are His creation and He is our creator. We are the sheep of His pasture and we intrinsically long to be close to Him.

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS is the second installment in our special series on the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship which will help you discover some keys to a deeper and closer relationship with your Heavenly Father!

“Go where My light is dim and My voice is heard small. Share My love with the people and I will bring thousands to Myself.”

Give HERE

This word from the Lord came to me in Communist Poland in 1975. After a full year of prayer, I moved back to my hometown of Visalia, CA and founded CELEBRANT SINGERS.

We’re now in our 45th consecutive year of international missions ministry. God has faithfully led, as more than 3,200 Celebrants have reached more than 10 million people in over 100 countries, with thousands coming to know Christ. And now…it’s all coming full circle.

My call to ministry came in Poland, and in just 2 months, we’re returning to Poland.

Poland is under extreme pressure and in great need. Today, over 2½ million refugees are flooding into the country from the Ukraine. Can you imagine the pain, suffering and chaos they’re experiencing as they attempt to provide basic needs… food, clothing, medical care, temporary shelter…and assimilate these disenfranchised people into Polish society?

The vast majority of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. The book of James says: “Pure and undefiled religion before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress…” That’s why we’re going to Poland…to minister to them in their time of great need.

I’ve also learned over the years, that when circumstances in a country or region are chaotic…when there’s great upheaval, societal unrest, even war…it is the best time to be there…boots on the ground with the gospel. That’s exactly the situation in Poland right now and precisely why we must go. Celebrant Singers are made for such a time as this.

I’m sharing all of this with you because I believe you care about and are vested in the work of Celebrants. You’ve proven it countless times by your prayers, encouragement and generous support. If ever you were looking for a place, time, and a reason to invest in God’s work, this would be it.

This Poland outreach will be one of the most important things we’ve done in recent years, and will require a lot of prayer and significant and generous (over the top) financial support.

Though each individual Celebrant team member traveling to Poland will be raising some of their own missionary support, it will only cover a portion. Everything from airfares to bus transport in-country, housing/lodging, fuel…even food…is far more expensive than usual due to the wartime/refugee situation. We truly do need some significant and generous financial investment to make this critical outreach a reality. Here are some possible ways to be involved I’d ask you to prayerfully consider:

  • Sponsor the Polish bus needed in-country – $10,000.00
  • Sponsor the Lodging costs in-country. Two gifts of $5,000.00 could cover this.
  • Sponsor the transportation costs for the equipment we need to take – $4,000.00
  • Sponsor one airfare for a Celebrant Team Member – $1,200 – $1,500.00
  • Sponsor the Covid tests needed to return to the U.S. – $1,000.00
  • Sponsor a meal for the CS team (Breakfast – $200, Lunch – $200, Dinner – $400)

I realize these are sizable gifts…but, we will need some of these major investments to make this outreach happen. Perhaps the Lord has greatly blessed you recently with an unexpected inheritance or financial windfall of some kind. I honestly can’t think of a better place to invest some of those funds than into an outreach which will touch so many lives.

The truth is, your gift of any size will help greatly to alleviate suffering and touch the lives of countless Polish and Ukrainian people.

We anticipate having little to no revenue while in Poland. How can we really in good conscience ask these struggling people for anything? We plan to freely give away hundreds of CDs of our music to lift people’s hearts! In fact, if we receive funds in excess of what’s needed, we’d also like to give some monies to our Polish sponsors for water, food, clothing, medical supplies, etc. to assist the Ukrainian refugees.

I promise you…your sacrificial giving to this critical outreach will be properly stewarded and well used. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve had a part in every life changed for time and for eternity.

Thank you for reading…thank you for caring…and thank you in advance for your generous giving to one of the most important things we’ve ever done in our 45-year history.

In His Service,

Jon F. Stemkoski, Founder/President

Stone Ministries, Inc.

Celebrant Singers

Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. – Psalm 146:2

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! – Psalm 150:6

There’s an amazing amount of power released when we praise and honor the Lord! When we humble ourselves before God and exalt Him, everything comes into proper perspective.

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS is the first in a special series on the power of praise and worship. Let’s join the Psalmist and take a journey into this very exciting and important component in the life of every believer!

“I will keep you from falling…invite you into my presence…give you a robe of righteousness…declare you blamelessand fill your heart with great joy!” Can you imagine Almighty God freely offering you all of these unmerited things?  Well…He does!

Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS, taken from the New Testament book of Jude, clearly illuminates these amazing promises from God’s hand. Be encouraged today as you discover and revel in the lavish love of our Savior!

Amazing things happen when we praise and glorify the Lord! Today’s episode of ENCOURAGING WORDS highlights God’s glory, His power, and His awesome deeds. No matter what’s going on around you, lift your eyes above the fray and sing His praises!

Our Savior rose victoriously after three days! On Easter Sunday! In this episode of Encouraging Words, Jon unpacks how very rich we are in Jesus. He died for our sins…rose again in glory…ascended to Heaven…sent us His Holy Spirit as promised…and one day will return to take us home.

There has never been greater love displayed than when “God so loved the world…” and proved it on Good Friday.

This special Good Friday episode of ENCOURAGINGWORDS focuses on this amazing act of the Father’s love that can change our lives for both time and eternity. May the Lord bless you richly today as you reflect on God’s grace and the incredible depth of His love.