November 2024 Prayer Letter

 Dear Friends,

 

Fall ministry is off to a great start. We have had several big events and exciting developments. Here are the highlights:

 

New worship songs and concert:

Over the past few months our worship pastor collaborated with others on our worship team and a few other worship leaders to write seven new worship songs in Hungarian. These were recorded in a studio by our worship team and introduced in a concert on September 21^st. The worship songs are fantastic with great variety in content and style. We are already using them on a regular basis in our services, and it is my prayer that they will be used in churches all across Hungary. I’m grateful for an amazing worship pastor and team who were able to put this all together!

Worship team and those who helped with the concert.

 

5-Year Anniversary of Focus Church

We celebrated our church’s fifth anniversary on the weekend of September 28-29^th. On Saturday several of us went out into the area around the church to pass out flyers and invite people to church. On Sunday several of our families with young children went out to a nearby playground to pass out balloons and invite people to church. It was a blessing to see one family with children and three other individuals show up for our Sunday afternoon service. Our Sunday service was a celebration of God’s goodness and also an opportunity to share the Gospel with the visitors in attendance. We also received three new couples into the church membership. 

New members

 

Conference on Church planting

On October 5^th we hosted a conference on church planting and evangelism. We had 165 participants from about 60 churches or church plants. The goal of the conference was not only to encourage those already involved in church planting, but also to promote church planting and see new people called into this great work. There is a huge need for church planters in Hungary. I am praying especially for young men who have the needed gifting and ability to start new churches. Please pray with me that we will see God raise up a new generation of church planters in Hungary!

Church planting conference

 

Leadership Retreat:

Leadership development is one of our priorities at Focus Church. On the weekend of October 11-13, we invited some of our key leaders to join us on a retreat in Egerszalok. The goals of the weekend were to share vision, strengthen unity, listen to our ministry leaders and spend time in prayer and worship together. The retreat was a great success, and we returned home with a greater sense of purpose, anticipation and unity. 

Leadership retreat

 

Fall Break:

Charin had her fall break during the last week of October. After two intense months of ministry, it was a treat for the two of us to get away for a few days of rest and recuperation. We also spent time in prayer and seeking vision for the next season of ministry.

 

A Look Ahead:

November 8-10 – Charin and I will be attending a retreat for pastors and their wives and will be sharing at one of the sessions.

November 19 – I will be interviewed by a national TV station about Focus Church. 

November 23-24 – I will be speaking at church plant in Romania.

December 7 – Evangelistic program for families at Focus Church

December 20-January 3 – Brief trip to the US for Christmas. 

 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! You are a blessing!

Marc and Charin

 

 

 

September Prayer Letter

Great Summer!

Summer is camp season in Hungary, and our church held three camps and many of our members helped in other camps as well. These are great opportunities for outreach and spiritual growth. 

 

English Day Camp – July 1-5

The first camp was our English Day Camp held at our church. This is Charin’s big week, as she plans and oversees the camp. We had a team from Florida come to help, and many of our members helped with translation, game time, snacks and meals. 90% of the 72 children who came do not attend our church on a regular basis. Most don’t go to church at all. They all got a good dose of the Gospel throughout the week. We also shared the Gospel with their parents as well at the closing ceremony. One family visited several more times on Sundays during the summer. We’re praying for fruit that remains!

Closing ceremony with parents

Ukraine Missions Trip – July 20-27

It was exciting to send another team to Ukraine this summer to do a Vacation Bible School for our partner church there. We got reports of a great time with a lot of good feedback from both team members and the missionaries who serve there. We plan to send another team in October to do a weekend event for women. Many of the husbands of these women are off fighting in the war, so there is a great need to encourage the women and children left back at home. Please pray for Ukraine!

Two or our young ladies leading singing in Ukraine

 

Focus Church Family Camp – August 19-22

The last big event of the summer was our church family camp. We had about 90 people spend four days together in Szajol, Hungary. I really do feel like our church functions as one big family during these times. It was an important time for spiritual growth and building deeper relationships. We had teaching and small group discussions in the mornings, free time in the afternoons, and then special evening sessions. Monday was a prayer walk, Tuesday a worship night and Wednesday a night for testimonies. God worked in powerful ways, and we are fired up for the Fall!

 

Worship time at Family camp

Family Time:

We enjoyed a visit from our daughter Nancy and her husband Keith in July. We also enjoyed visiting Ben and his family in Zanzibar in early August. 

 

With Ben and his family in Zanzibar

With Nancy, Keith and Betty

A look ahead:

September 21 – Focus Worship Concert – Our worship pastor and his team wrote 7 new songs this summer and will be introducing them in this concert.

 

September 29 – Five-year Anniversary – Yes, it’s hard to believe, but it’s been five years. We are looking forward to a great celebration!

 

October 5 – Church Planting Conference. Our church will be hosting this event, and we are hoping to draw dozens of church planters, pastors, and leaders, from across Hungary to join us for this event. Please pray that many will be stirred up to plant strong, Gospel-preaching churches in Hungary!

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support!

Marc and Charin Patton 

June 2024 Prayer Letter

Camp season is here!

 

English Day Camp – July 1-5:

Our English day camp is right around the corner. 72 children are signed up to attend. They will be with us Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. In other words, we will have a full 40 hours to invest in their lives. Most of these children are from unsaved families who do not attend church. Please pray for Charin as she directs the camp. We have two couples coming from Florida to help us and of course, many of our church people will be involved. Here is a picture from last year of our “closing ceremony.” Nearly a hundred parents came to see their children perform, and they also heard the Gospel clearly presented. Many of the campers are returning this year, and we pray that the Lord will continue to work in their hearts and the hearts of the parents. We are trusting God when He says His word “will not return void but will accomplish that which He pleases.”

Closing ceremony - 2023

 

Focus Church on mission:

We will send a team of 8-9 to Ukraine July 22-26 to run a camp for our partner church there. Please pray for travel safety and open hearts. We want to be an encouragement to the missionary couple serving there, and see children and teens reached for Christ. We also have two other teams heading out to other locations within Hungary to serve in children’s camps.

 

Church Family Camp – August 19-22

We will close out the summer with our annual family camp. These camps are always a great time for spiritual renewal, strengthening community and connecting new people to the church. We are hoping to have 80-90 of our people in attendance. Prices are going up and this year’s camp will cost $150 per person. Many of our church members are university students or single young adults with limited resources. We are hoping to raise $1500 for scholarships to help people attend camp. Would you consider sending a special gift to meet this need? You will find a donation button at the bottom of the letter. 

 

Hungarian church planting:

I have had several meetings with church planters over the past month. In May I travelled to Kalocsa, Hungary to meet with a church planting team there. In June I met with 6 church planters to discuss strategy for church planting in Hungary, and later we had 9 church planters come to Focus Church for a day of training. Please pray that we will see new churches planted and existing church plants strengthened. I am currently working with 32 church plants across Hungary.

Pastors and church planters in Kalocsa

Family Time:

We are looking forward to some relaxation and family time this summer. Our daughter Nancy and her husband Keith will be visiting us in July.  We will then travel to Zanzibar, Africa at the end of July to visit our son Ben and his family. 

 

We wish you all a blessed summer!

 

Marc and Charin

 

May 2024 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

It has been a busy two months. Here are the highlights:

International church planting conference

On March 14-16 I served as one of the hosts for an international church planting conference held in Bicske, Hungary.  We had participants from 10 countries: Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Canada, and the USA. The attendance was about a hundred, as we also invited pastors and leaders from churches in Hungary to join us, who are considering planting a church. The conference had a good mix of preaching, practical teaching, small group discussions, prayer, worship, and fellowship around the table. We received a lot of positive feedback and look forward to seeing the fruit of healthy new churches across central and eastern Europe. 

 

Focus Church – baptism and new members

On March 24^th we held a baptismal service at Focus Church. Three young men followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. Each went through our discipleship program. It is always a joy to see the spiritual growth that takes place through this. We also had a young couple and three more single adults join the church. We had a great attendance with numerous visitors. God is building his church!

 

Freedom in Christ weekend

In April we did two Freedom in Christ weekends, one for the ladies and one for the men. These are always great times to see the Lord do a deep work in both spiritual healing and setting people free from sin, deception, and guilt. 

 

Graduation in the US

In early May we made a quick trip to the States to attend our daughter Hannah Grace’s graduation from Cedarville University. Our other daughters Nancy and Esther made the trip from Florida to join us. We also were able to meet up with most of Charin’s family. This short week was such a blessing and time of refreshing for us all. 

 

A Look Ahead:

·      July 1-5 – English Day Camp – We have over 60 children registered already. A team from Fellowship Baptist Church in Thonotosassa, Florida will be joining us to help with the camp. Please pray that the Lord will work in the hearts of all the children and their parents!

·      July 22-26 – Ukraine Missions trip – For the second year in a row we will send a team from Focus Church to help run a day camp for our partner church in western Ukraine.

·      August 19-22 – Church family camp – This is always a great time for building relationships and spiritual growth. Please pray for a great week!

 

Exciting days ahead! We are grateful for your faithful prayers and support.

 

Marc and Charin Patton

March 2024 Prayer Letter

Prayer and Fasting

We started the year with a 3-week period of fasting and prayer. It was great to see so many of our people participate. We have done this in the past, but somehow this year there seemed to be a greater seriousness and commitment among our people. The effect could be felt in our church services, and we had several really powerful services during the past two months. God is working, and it is great to be a part of it.

 

Leadership development:

In February we launched a second round of leadership training with 12 of our church members. We will meet with them once a month for 10 months. We fine-tuned our training materials from the first round we did two years ago to put a greater emphasis on character and spiritual growth to go along with the more practical training. This is one of my favorite parts of ministry, and I am excited to see how the Lord is going to use these young people in the future. 

 

Marriage seminar:

On February 24^th we held an all-day marriage seminar at the church with 14 couples participating. We invited a couple from another church to lead the seminar, and they did a fantastic job. Our church is full of young couples, and we are praying that we can give them a solid foundation for their marriages. 

 

Marriage seminar

New position:

At the end of last year, the mission director of the Baptist Union of Hungary asked me if I would take over the leadership of their church planting endeavors. Essentially, I will be overseeing the 20-25 existing church plants and also promoting the planting of new churches in the future. After much prayer and consideration, I accepted the position. This is not a full-time job but rather an additional responsibility that gives me a platform to influence and promote church planting across the entire country while continuing our ministry in Budapest. My vision is to not only influence Hungary but also the neighboring countries. We are hosting an international conference on church planting March 14-16 that will have participants from across the former communist countries of central and Eastern Europe. This conference has been “in the works” for a while already, but now I will step in as one of the hosts and will also be speaking at the closing session. Please pray that the Lord will use me in this new position. 

 

A look ahead: 

·      March 14-16 – International conference on church planting.

·      March 17^th – Preach at the Baptist church in Baja, Hungary. Charin will be training the SS teachers.

·      March 24^th – Baptismal service at Focus Church

 

Thank you!

As I was closing out our financial records for 2023, I was amazed to see the stability of our personal support. So many missionaries face significant attrition in their support every year. Even though we lost two churches, we gained a new one and had several supporters increase their support. God is good! Thank you for your faithful support throughout the years!

 

Support Address: Global Faith Mission Agency, P.O. Box 3326, Chattanooga, TN 37404

Sending Church: Trinity Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida

January 2024 Prayer Letter

Patton family - Christmas 2023

 2023 Year in Review

 

Growth:

2023 was a tremendous year for growth. We baptized 8 and added a total of 27 new members bringing our membership up to 85. We have visitors nearly every Sunday, and our average attendance runs between 90-110. 

 

New families:

Focus Church has always drawn young people. The average age of our members has hovered around 30 with more than half of our members being single young adults. This year we were pleased to add two new couples in their 50s, who add some age and experience. We also added several new families with young children to bring more balance to the church. We were excited to launch a new Sunday school class for preschool children and to see growth in the class for school-aged children.

 

Increase in Giving:

We also saw a tremendous increase in giving this past year. Giving was about 75% higher than 2022. This has allowed us to rent the additional office space and move our Sunday services into the much larger auditorium.

 

Additional Staff:

It was also a blessing to have one of our elders, Leandro Torres, join the staff full time in March. Leandro oversees our media team, finances, and also helps with teaching, discipleship, administrative responsibilities and counseling. His addition has freed me up to focus more on preaching, leadership development and vision. 

 

Financial needs:

The move to the larger auditorium demanded significant investments in sound and media equipment. We are still using borrowed/rented equipment in our sound system because we do not have the funds yet to purchase what is needed. The estimated cost of the needed equipment is $8,000. If you would be interested in contributing toward this need, please drop me a line and let me know. 

 

Goals for 2024:

·      Launch leadership training for a new group of 8-12 future leaders.

·      Launch a youth ministry.

·      Increase effectiveness in evangelism and outreach.

·      Begin laying the foundations for our next church plant. 

 

We wish you all a very blessed and Christ-centered new year. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry. We couldn’t do it without you!

Marc and Charin Patton

 

Support Address: Global Faith Mission Agency, P.O. Box 3326, Chattanooga, TN 37404

Sending Church: Trinity Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida

November 2023 Prayer Letter

The Big Move:

On September 10^th we began having services in the much larger auditorium located in the same building as our coffee shop. We continue to use the coffee shop on Sundays as our fellowship area and for the children’s ministry, but our main worship service is now upstairs in the main auditorium. The move has gone really well, and we are so thankful for the additional space. Our worship team is enjoying having a much larger platform, and I also enjoy having room to walk around while I preach. The empty seats remind us of our mission – to reach even more people with the Gospel!

 

In the new auditorium

4-Year Anniversary:

Enlarge the place of your tent! This was my message on September 24^th when we celebrated our church’s 4^th anniversary. We had a great attendance with around 130 people present. I cast the vision for a healthy church that will continue to grow and expand in outreach and influence. That Sunday concluded a 4-week sermon series that we called “Refocus”, where we strove to once again emphasize the unique mission and purpose of Focus Church Budapest!

 

Continued Growth:

We are excited to experience continued growth in the church. One special blessing is an increase in families with young children. One recent Sunday we had 11 children ages 4 and under. We also have two new families attending with elementary aged kids. On November 26^th we will be launching a new Sunday school class for preschool children. We are looking forward to reaching even more families with the Gospel!

 

New Members:

On October 29^th we received 7 more adults into the church membership. We now have 85 members. Each new member brings unique gifts and abilities. It is exciting to see the Lord continue to build His church!

 

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry! God bless!

Marc and Charin Patton