SEPTEMBER 2020
Dear prayer companions,
Even though I am conscious of the feebleness of my gratitude to our triune God, I write to you with thankfulness and praise for the many blessings we experienced in the last two months. In fact, in spite of the COVID-19 crisis, we have many reasons to be grateful. In particular, my wife Cristina, and I are wonderfully privileged to have communion with all of you who pray regularly for us and for the church plant here in Perugia, in the region of Umbria in central Italy. Thus, I write with a felt sense of privilege for your many expressions of tangible concern for the saints of the small Chiesa Riformata di Perugia.
Increase in church membership. First of all, we rejoice for a small increase in our membership. As you probably remember, my son Simone and his future wife Alison Marshall joined us in Perugia and transferred their membership to our church. Rev. Mike Cuneo and his wife, Ivana, found a home and in the next four or five weeks, they will be moving permanently to Perugia. So, we now have 22 members belonging to the Chiesa Riformata di Perugia! Moreover, I’ve been meeting for a few months with Sara Bolletta for her public profession of faith in late October/November. Sara and her two sons (Emanuele who is 9 years old and Marco who is 7 years old) have been attending our services since the summer of 2019. Sara had been praying for a number of years to find a reformed or presbyterian church in this area of Italy and our church plant was an answer to her prayers. I am also meeting with a young couple – Giovanni and Miriam – who are moving from broader evangelicalism to the reformed faith. God willing, I’ll meet with Giovanni this coming Lord’s Day afternoon for our third conversation on theological matters.
Preaching and teaching ministry. I am continuing the exposition of John’s gospel with much pleasure after seeing the edification that the sermons bring to the people of God. In our mid-week Zoom meetings on Wednesdays and Fridays, we developed the habit of discussing the sermon of the previous Lord’s Day. Usually, we have about 20/25 people in attendance and we are enjoying our discussions as they bring to light questions and observations that cannot be expressed and dealt with after the divine services. Thankfully, in a few weeks, we will also resume our Catechism Classes on the Heidelberg Catechism.
Short videos. Finally, I attached to this newsletter some short videos so that you may hear from the people themselves. Since they speak English well, I asked Susan Jackson, Sara Bolletta, and Giovanni Suraci to share briefly something about their experience in our church. I hope that you’ll find these short interviews edifying and useful in your prayers for Italy.
Please, pray with us for the following prayer requests:
Pray for the growth of our church in knowledge, grace, and number;
Pray that the Lord may bless the new members and give wisdom as we meet and discuss with visitors and people who have an interest in the gospel;
Pray for the efficacy of the witness of our church and for fruit in the conversion of sinners;
Lastly, pray for me that I may be a faithful Christian, husband, father, church member, and minister.
On behalf of all the members of the Chiesa Riformata of Perugia, I express a felt sense of gratitude for your faithful prayers and generous support.
Those of Italy greet you (Hebrews 13:24)
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Pastor Andrea Ferrari