From the Field - Newsletter Q1

It has been about a year since COVID-19 first hit America. I remember being at a training in Austin, TX the first week of March 2020. Like everyone else, I had no idea what was to come. As the world changed before our eyes, and as everything began to shut down, I wondered how our new staff raising support would fare. How would COVID-19 impact Reliant? I personally coached 13 individuals after that March training, and I soon discovered God was doing something only he could get credit for. I watched God radically provide for this group and each of them got to 100% in less than 4 months! They are now in the Middle East, and I just read an update this morning on how God is using them to serve Syrian refugees. In fact, they used the word "Revival" to describe what is happening in the refugee camps. A year ago, this group took bold steps of faith and continued to move forward with support raising in the midst of so much uncertainty. A year later God is using them to bring about Holy Spirit revival among refugees in the Middle East.  

This group of 13 is a small sample size of those that God brought to Reliant in 2020. Last year, Reliant experienced one of its largest growth years in the organization's history. That's right. In 2020, Reliant grew. Staff increased, giving increased. We ended 2020 with almost 800 field staff serving across the world. So far, in 2021, we are on track to see growth on a scale we have not seen before. In January 2021 alone, we trained 40 new staff over 3 New Staff Trainings. Looking ahead, we have over 150 on track to attend one of the 6 trainings Reliant is offering before the summer. Reliant does not celebrate these numbers for growth's sake. Each of these new staff members represents God at work. As our world is changing, God is not. God is still at work, and God will use His people to accomplish His mission. It is with great joy and humility that we at Reliant get to join God in this mission.  

-Matt Elkins, Program Teams Director