100,000

Wow, I just realized that at some point during our recent mission project in Malawi, the overall number of people I’ve had the opportunity to reach with the Good News of Jesus Christ totaled 100,000!  God is so good, and I am beyond humbled that God has chosen to use me to share His message with so many people.  I just want to say a big “thank you” to everyone who has prayed for me and for those who have helped send me out into the world to share the Gospel.


It is difficult to put into words how much I have learned and grown since my first mission project with David Stockwell Evangelistic Association in 2008.  I still vividly remember the school program where I shared the Gospel for the first time.  I was just a twenty-two year old kid who had recently graduated with a degree in physics, and planned to become an electrical engineer.  I’ll never forget that moment of panic when I learned at 10:00PM that I would be the main speaker at a school with over 800 students the next morning at 8:00AM due to an overbooking.  I’ll also never forget the feeling of absolute peace I quickly experienced when I realized that I was completely incapable of successfully speaking with those students on my own ability, but knowing that God would never call me to do something without giving me the strength to accomplish it.  Most of all, I’ll never forget leading more than 700 of those students in the Sinner’s Prayer after sharing the Good News using notes I wrote the night before from a Gospel tract and a few other Bible verses I had memorized.


My understanding of the Bible has deepened, and my experience with public speaking has increased, but I am still well aware that I can accomplish nothing without the power of Christ working through me.  I don’t consider myself to be anyone particularly special.  I know that I am a worthless sinner who has been saved by grace through faith in my Lord Jesus Christ.  I am nothing, but I am willing to be used however God chooses!  If you know me at all, I hope that you know my passion in life is to tell as many people as possible how Christ has changed my life, and how He can change any life.  And that’s what I intend to keep doing for as long as God allows.


I am amazed and humbled by what God has done in the past, and I couldn't be more excited about what God has in store for Youth Education Strategies in the future.  YES has open doors to share the message of Jesus with potentially hundreds of thousands of people in the next few years.  Once again, I can’t adequately express how grateful I am for everyone who has prayed for, and supported YES these past few years.  Please join me in prayer for wisdom, guidance, and provision as we plan mission projects in Africa and the Philippines.  If God has you in a position to help YES financially, any gift will be greatly appreciated, and it will help us share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ with many people.  Thanks again, and God bless!

In Christ,

Steven Stockwell

Galatians 2:20

Amazing Time Sharing Jesus in Malawi

Praise the Lord! Our team has had another amazing week sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ here in Blantyre, Malawi. I have been blessed with the opportunity to speak in 11 schools with more than 12,000 students, faculty, and staff; and more than 8,000 of them made the commitment to turn from their sin and trust  in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior! In total, our team was able to share the Gospel in 38 schools, with more than 35,000 people, and more than 25,000 made professions of faith in Jesus Christ. We were also able to distribute 75 New Testaments and more than 15,000 Gospel tracts.  Words can’t describe how amazed and humbled I am by what God has been doing through Youth Education Strategies and how grateful I am to all those who have prayed for us and helped to send our team to share Jesus with this hungry and completely open part of the world.

Jesus died on the cross for your sins!

There is no doubt that it will be a great week when you lead your taxi driver to the Lord before the first day is complete! As we got into the car to begin our week of ministry, we said a prayer for God to work mightily during the day, for the students to have open hearts prepared to receive God’s word, for each member of our team to daily crucify their flesh so that they can be empty vessels to deliver God’s word, and we declared victory in the name of Jesus just like we do at the start of ministry every day. However, I noticed that Enoch, our driver, had a strange look on his face during some of the things we were saying in the prayer. I asked him several questions about his church and his life, but the conversation really got interesting when I asked him if he is 100% sure that he would go to heaven if he were to die today. He said, “Well, I’m certainly not 100% sure, but that is what they teach us in church.” After several more questions and sharing the complete Gospel with him, I said, “I’ll let you think about this for a while and we can talk more after we speak in this school.”

Spoke to 3000 students, only God knows how many said YES to Jesus that day!

When we finished with the school, Enoch said, “I believe everything that you said is true and I want you to help me through that prayer you said with all those students.” I reiterated that it is not simply the words in the Sinner’s Prayer that save us; it is the change that happens when Jesus comes into our heart and washes away our sin that makes us able to enter Heaven. Then I had him repeat this prayer after me: “Father God, I know that I am a sinner, and I know that I deserve to go to Hell for those sins. But I believe that you love me so much, that you were willing to take my place. You died on the cross to pay for my sins. And on the third day, you rose from the grave to achieve victory over death. I accept your gift of salvation; I could never earn it on my own. Jesus, come into my heart; I give you my life. Change me. Forgive me. Save me. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me. I will follow you for the rest of my life. Amen.” The other four days of the week Enoch has seemed like a totally different person!

Today, we are recuperating, fellowshipping and planning with our NEST(National Evangelist Support Team) partners, and preparing to speak in churches tomorrow. Then we will begin the long journey home on Monday. Hopefully, we will be able to stop and see beautiful Lake Malawi on our way home! Thank you once again for all the prayer and support; what we do would not be possible without people like you. Please join Youth Education Strategies in prayer for the thousands of people who heard God’s word this week. Zkomo, salani bwino!

Steven Stockwell

Galatians 2:20

Precious, precious people!