Global Awareness Week 2026

Grace Chapel supports individual and organization mission partners within New England and around the world. These partners serve local communities in areas such as theological education, Bible translation, relief & development, and other ministries among the vulnerable. 

Every year, several of these mission partners visit our Grace Chapel campuses for a special week—Global Awareness Week—where our church community can meet mission partners, learn about their work, and hear some inspiring stories. 

This year's Global Awareness Week theme is "Welcome to the Table." Jesus welcomed friends, neighbors, and people on the edges of society into the community he created, and we can do the same. His generous welcome gave people a place to belong and to truly connect.

When we get involved in the lives of the sick, the imprisoned, and "the least of these" (Matthew 25:34–36, 40), our own lives are changed. Strangers become members of God's family.

This year, 20 mission partners from 7 nations and 12 ministries are visiting. They come from many different cultures and have a lot to teach us about hospitality. In their ministries, they set tables where people begin to experience Jesus' love.

Keynote Speaker

A smiling family of five stands for a photo outdoors in front of a large wooden door. A sign on the wall indicates it is the main church hall.

Rev. Dr. Hikmat Kashouh is the Senior Pastor of Resurrection Church in Lebanon, a vibrant and growing missional church located in 13 different locations across Lebanon.

Today, Resurrection Church is a congregation of more than 5,000 individuals, clustered in 46 spiritual congregations. Each weekend service is broadcast live via satellite TV, radio station, and social media platforms, impacting hundreds of thousands in the Arab World. Resurrection Church also retains a strong network with churches and NGOs in Lebanon, Syria, and a number of Arab countries.

Resurrection Church reaches out to the community by providing holistic community services to Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi refugees, offering medical and humanitarian aid, counselling, and learning support projects for children and teens.

Hikmat is a theology professor, researcher, published scholar, and speaker at various conferences in the Arab world and in the West. He is the former Academic Dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

His wife, Krista, is an accomplished classical pianist. She loves investing in the younger generation and is involved in worship and kids ministry.

Hikmat and Krista have three children—Markus (22), Betine (20), and Daniella (17)—who are all actively serving in church.

Ways to Join Us

  • Concert of Prayer
    Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm, Lexington.
    We'll pray for the third of the world that doesn't have ready access to the gospel.
  • Meet a Global Partner lunches. 
    Saturday, October 31, in several homes.
    Get to know our partners in a more relaxed setting.
  • "GAW Sunday" - Keynote Speaker 
    Sunday, November 1
    Rev. Dr. Hikmat Kashouh, senior pastor of Resurrection Church Beirut in Lebanon, has led his congregation in faithful, sacrificial, and loving witness to their neighbors during times of war.
  • All week long - We'll gather around the table to share meals and learn about the nations.

Please make a special effort to meet our partners. Hear from them firsthand what it looks like to share Christ's love with their neighbors.

GraceChapel, tables are meant to be shared. Welcome to Global Awareness Week. Come
hungry!

Global Awareness Week 2026 Special Events

No events found

Special Offering

Rescuers use the bucket of a yellow front-end loader to carry an elderly woman through a muddy, flooded area. A man in a life vest helps hold her steady.

Help Families in Nepal Start Again

In late August, a massive ice-and-rock avalanche in Nepal set off devastating mudslides and floods. More than 1,400
people have died, and 5,285 are still missing. Nearly 14,000 people were rescued. Whole villages were swept away, along with farms, roads, bridges, and hydroelectric projects. Many Christian families have lost their homes, and
several churches were destroyed.

Our partners are already there. Good News for India, a Grace Chapel partner in northern India, has spent years training Nepali pastors and church planters through its seminary. Those leaders are now on the ground, reporting the damage
and caring for their neighbors. Working alongside the National Churches Fellowship of Nepal, they are delivering emergency relief and early recovery support to families and church communities hit by the floods.

$300 helps one family begin again. 

It provides:
  • Emergency food and safe drinking water
  • Clothing
  • Health and hygiene support
  • Temporary shelter

Whether you give the full amount or a portion, 100% of your gift to the Global Awareness Week 2026 special offering will go to Nepal.

Please join us in prayer for comfort, safety, relief, and provision for everyone affected.

Thank you for your prayerful generosity.

Visiting Partners

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Marihan Abdelmalek
Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church, Egypt

Marihan Maleck is a passionate ministry leader and strategic marketing professional who serves as the Head of Partnerships and Resource Development at Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church in Cairo, Egypt. A lifelong member of KDEC, Marihan's faith-based leadership began in her youth, where she discovered a joy for ministry while leading discipleship groups and organizing youth conferences.

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Alexis Asprogiannis
New Life Home for Women & Children, New Hampshire

Alexis Asprogiannis serves as the Managing Director of New Life Home for Women and Children, a faith-based residential recovery program in Manchester, New Hampshire. Having graduated from the program herself, Alexis now helps lead and mentor women and children on their journey toward healing and restoration. Alexis, her husband Steve, and their son Niko are passionate about sharing the hope of Christ through ministry and community outreach.

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Becky Manseau Barnett
Hagar's Sisters, USA

Rev. Becky Manseau Barnett serves as Executive Director of Hagar's Sisters, a Christian non-profit that empowers women impacted by intimate partner abuse through 1:1 care, education, and supportive community. Becky brings 20+ years of leadership and ministry experience as pastor, chaplain, and spiritual director. A Gordon College graduate, Becky also holds an MDiv (Princeton Theological Seminary) and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction (Moravian Seminary). Becky and her husband Willie live in Acton, MA and have three teen and young adult children.

<b>George &amp; Leela</b><br>Good News for India

George & Leela
Good News for India

God used the George and Leela to pioneer the ministries of Good News for India in 1986. The primary focus of GNFI is leadership training in India and Nepal and to a limited extent in Myanmar. They accomplish this through New Theological College, Dehradun, India, a fully accredited theological seminary that offers up to doctoral level programs now. GNFI also serves the poor and needy through primary and secondary schools and child care programs. 

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Amir & Sherry Elhamy
Bible Society of Egypt

Amir Elhamy is the General Director of the Bible Society of Egypt. Amir's main role is to make sure that the Bible Society is following its main mission and vision and leading, supporting and empowering the team to fulfil it. "The Bible Society is the largest Arabic Bible publishing operation in the world and seeks to make Scripture available and accessible, at an affordable price, and in a language easily understood, and in formats and programs that can help each one grasp the message and effectively apply it." Amir lives with his wife Sherry who is serving at the Center of Love in Garbage Village in Cairo, and their two sons Samer & Nader 27, 24 years old. 

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Jeff & Judy Heath
Wycliffe Bible Translators

Jeff and Judy have served with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Chad (Central Africa) since 1998. Judy is a Bible translation consultant, and Jeff is in language technology. Visa complications have prevented them from returning to Chad, so they are relocating to Florida to be near Jeff’s parents. From there, they’ll continue their work for Chad remotely. Short-term trips this year include training and mentoring in Congo and Togo, and leadership meetings in Thailand for Judy.

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Steve Hope
ISI Boston City Director

Steve joined ISI in 1990 and currently serves as the ISI City Director for Greater
Boston, leading ministry among international students, scholars and their
families.  Steve and his wife Natasha have three grown children and three grandchildren.

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 Bill & Judy Long
International Student Ministry, Greater Boston

The International Student Ministry at Grace Chapel reaches out to students and scholars at the universities and schools in the area, exposes them to the love of Christ with friendship, activities to meet their needs, and opportunities for exploring Christian faith. There are gatherings on nearly a monthly basis either in a home, a local trip, or an appropriate venue. Bill and Judy have been volunteers in this ministry for more than 25 years.

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Dr. Joshua Mathalali
Good News for India

Dr. Joshua Muthalali was born in India and raised in the UAE and the US. He is blessed with his wife, Laura, and their two children, Matthew and Micah. They serve the Lord with Good News for India, an organization that has, for forty years, impacted North India through church planting and theological training. They are passionate about proclaiming and embodying the good news of God’s kingdom, while equipping young Christians to practice the same.

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Stacie Mickelson
Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston

Stacie Mickelson is Executive Director of Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC) in Boston. For nearly two decades, she has been asking what it looks like for Christians to take seriously our part in God’s work of restoration. EGC’s work helps Christians understand what shapes communities, notice where God is already at work, and discern the next faithful step. Stacie is drawn to places where faith gets practical, the answers get complicated, and no one gets to be the hero. 

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Dinesh Neupane
Nepal Prison Fellowship

Dinesh Neupane serves as the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Nepal. Since 1988, this organization has been working in prisons across Nepal, supporting prisoners and their children through care, rehabilitation, and hope. "We are committed to helping incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives and successfully reintegrate into society. It has been a privilege to witness countless stories of transformation, restoration, and second chances through this ministry."

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Grace Rosado
New Life Home for Women & Children, New Hampshire

Grace Rosado is the founder of New Life Home for Women and Children. New Life Home is a faith-based, nonprofit residential recovery program in Manchester, New Hampshire, serving women and children impacted by substance use disorder, trauma, homelessness, and family instability since 1977. NLH provides long-term, family-centered recovery support through a whole-person wellness approach integrating prevention, recovery, and transition. A unique aspect of the program allows mothers and children to remain together throughout recovery, strengthening healing, family reunification, and generational restoration — all at no cost to residents.

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Bruce & Cherith Rydbeck
Life Giving Water International, Ecuador

Bruce and Cherith communicate the integral message of Jesus Christ by enabling communities to improve spiritual and physical health through life giving water. Thousands of Ecuadorian families enjoy convenient clean water at their home as a testimony to this effective ministry. Currently, the Rydbecks focus on enabling and training Latin Americans to build a vision and skills for this ministry niche. They lead Bible Studies, teach, mentor, counsel, and share the love of Jesus.  

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Claire Sullivan
YWAM Thailand

Claire serves on a team with six other missionaries from other nations in Bangkok. They serve in an 8-Block Slum at YWAM Rakteh. Their call together is reaching prostitutes, homeless, and families in their slum for Christ. Claire serves as a pastor, English teacher, intercessor, and preacher, when needed. Claire is a soldier for Christ. She has also been serving in Pattaya City which is called, "The Prostitution Mecca of the World." The Lord recently called Claire to break ground in an unreached area in a large prostitution zone. She also has a nightly intercession ministry called, "Night Watch." Claire's family lives in the South Shore in Weymouth, Quincy, Braintree and Hingham. She misses them deeply.