Category Archives: Missions

Coffey Family September 2026 Prayer Letter

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I’m excited to present a terrific mission trip opportunity coming up December 1 through 13, 2027. Evangelist Scott Pauley with Enjoying the Journey Ministries and members of his team will be here with us in South Africa for a citywide evangelistic campaign and our teen camp at Camp Rhino.

We are opening this trip to young people 9th grade through young adults who would like to be a part of this great missions team. Come and help us reach our city with the Gospel! We only have space for a limited number, so if you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible for a trip application.

We are honored to have Brother Pauley and his team and look forward to seeing how the Lord will use them during their time here.

Construction at Camp Rhino has progressed nicely. Our new lodge is almost complete, and we should be able to use it for our men’s retreat coming up this weekend. We have men coming from our team of churches all over the city who will be able to take advantage of the new space.

Our next project is our missions team lodge, which, Lord willing, will be available by next summer. One of our supporting churches has already sent $5,000 to start construction, and we’ll need about $40,000 more to complete this eight bedroom lodge project.

Updates, Praises, & Prayer Requests

Lighthouse Baptist Church will be hosting outreach events for high school seniors in our community the next 6 weeks. Pray that many will come to Christ. We hope to minister to over 300 seniors on two separate occasions. We’ll be able to preach the Gospel while also giving each senior a small gift. We’re also praying that this outreach will open many doors for us to reach homes near our church.

Our daughter Emilee has returned to the States to begin raising support to return to South Africa. She’s booking her calendar nicely and hopes to be back in South Africa full time to help us by May of next year.

Our son Luke, along with his wife Adri and our grandson Liam, are doing well in Colombia during their six month internship. They are having a great time learning under veteran missionaries as they finish their missions training through the Vision School of Missions. Please pray for them during these next several months.

Please be praying for Michael and Victoria Turner, who just arrived in Burkina Faso to begin language school. They did a terrific job raising support and are grateful to finally be on the field. They will certainly appreciate your prayers during the coming months as they tackle learning French.

We have two missionary units who will be finishing their deputation at the end of the year. Noah Haught plans to arrive in South Africa in December, and Blaine and Holly Hooper plan to arrive in January. We’re excited to see how the Lord has grown the South Africa team and look forward to seeing more people reached with the Gospel and more churches started through these new missionaries. 

Please be praying about some financial needs we have at Camp Rhino. We have overextended ourselves with several construction projects and are praying that we can raise about $25,000 to help offset those expenses.

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Coffey Family August 2026 Prayer Letter

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The construction of our new church building has started, but it is currently on hold. The walls are up, but we ran into an issue with the municipality, so we have had to pause the project for now. We are excited about this new space and pray that we will be able to complete it and move in soon. Please pray that the Lord would remove every obstacle standing in the way.

We were blessed to have a great teen group from Harvest Baptist Church in Acworth, Georgia, with us in July. Although they were only here for seven days, they were a tremendous help building bunk beds and desks for Camp Rhino. Our churches also greatly enjoyed having them minister alongside us.

We have another group arriving today from Fellowship Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Please pray that the Lord would work through them and in their hearts during their time here.

My wife, Amy, had a hysterectomy last week. Her recovery is expected to take four to six weeks. Please pray for her as she continues to heal.

A new semester at our Bible college begins tomorrow. We have three students from Lighthouse Baptist Church enrolled this semester. We thank the Lord for these young people and are praying that He will continue to raise up more laborers for His harvest.

Updates, Praises & Prayer Requests

Lighthouse Baptist Church has had a wonderful month. We have seen people baptized during each of the past three weeks, and we are thankful to see the Lord continuing to grow His church.

Our Winter Teen and Junior Camps were a tremendous blessing this past month. Several young people trusted Christ as their Savior, and we had a wonderful group of counselors serving from our churches. We believe the Lord saved more than twenty young people during the camps.

Please pray for our daughter, Emilee. She has been with us for a few months helping during our busy winter ministry season. At the end of August, she will return to the United States to continue raising support so she can come back to South Africa as a full time missionary. Please pray that the Lord will provide her needed support quickly.

Special Need

As you may remember from our prayer letter a couple of months ago, one of our South African pastors, Pastor Lubabalo, passed away. He left behind his wife and three children, two of whom are still living at home.

The family is currently living on the property of Madiba Bay Baptist Church, but they need permanent housing. We would like to help raise $10,000 to purchase a home for them during this difficult season. If you would be interested in giving toward this need, I know it would be a tremendous blessing to their family.

Pastor Lubabalo faithfully served the Lord for many years, and we would like to honor his memory by caring for those he left behind. Our Christian school, led by my cousin Jeremy, will continue sponsoring the children’s education, but the family’s greatest need right now is a safe and permanent home.

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You can also check out my daughter Emilee’s recent prayer letter.

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Coffey Family June 2026 Prayer Letter

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Seasons of life can be slow and fast. The last eight weeks or so here in South Africa have flown by. It has been such an exciting and full few weeks.

On Friday, I was able to say goodbye to our group of 45 people from Oakwood Baptist Church in Anderson, SC. Brother Cory and his group were such a pleasure to host. We were blessed by them, and I pray God will raise up full-time Christian workers from that group. I am especially praying for more foreign missionaries. 🙂

This is the largest church group we have hosted so far, and I believe it went great. I am so grateful for the team of missionaries we are honored to work with, who make trips like this possible.

If you or your church would be interested in a mission trip to the greatest place in the world, please let me know. We would love to have you. My first missions trip changed my life, and I believe your first missions trip could change your life as well.

This week my wife and I are celebrating two big anniversaries. On June 23, we celebrated our 13th year of arriving here in South Africa. The next day, we celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary.

To celebrate, we traveled to Mpumalanga to visit Noah and Tristan Wilkerson along with Josh and Morgan Barton. Our daughter Emilee came along as well. We did leave Emilee with the others for a few days so we could get away by ourselves, but we are back with everyone now.

Prayer Requests & Praise

This coming week we will be having our Winter Teen and Junior Camps at Camp Rhino. Please pray that the Lord works in the hearts of these precious young people. We are praying for changed lives.

Please pray for Lighthouse Baptist Church. We had 12 fathers in attendance for Father’s Day, which was a record for us. The Lord is moving in our church, and we pray that many more come to Christ. Continue to pray for our young and older men and ladies who are growing in the Lord.

In the coming weeks, we will begin construction on our new auditorium. This will, of course, provide a great space for services, but it will also enable us to have much better space for Sunday school classes and our children’s ministries.

Please pray for our daughter Emilee. She is here for a few months, helping during this full summer season. She will be returning to the States in August to continue raising support so she can return to South Africa full time.

Thank you to those who have already reached out to invite her to your church and to those who have already taken her on for support. She has been a tremendous help to me personally during the last couple of weeks she has been here, and having her here full time would be an even greater blessing.

Our building projects have been a little overwhelming lately. We are in the process of building a new staff house, a staff lodge, a mission team lodge, and doubling our bathroom space for our girls’ dorms, not to mention constructing a new building for our church. To say it’s a lot might be an understatement:)

Please pray that the Lord provides the funds needed to complete these projects and that each one would be used to further His work here in South Africa.

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You can also download my daughter Emilee’s Prayer Letter for this month.

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Coffey Family May 2026 Prayer Letter

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My friend Pastor Lubabalo (43) passed away last week. He was a blessing to so many and probably the greatest encourager I’ve ever met.  He helped me with many of my mission teams that visited here in South Africa, and always impacted visiting groups with his testimony and kindness.  Please pray for his wife and three children during this difficult time. Funeral expenses will be close to $3,600. Several people have already reached out offering to help. If you would like to help our team cover these expenses, please let me know.  We will also be helping his family establish a new home, as they are currently living in the church building where Lubabalo pastored.

Eastern Avenue Baptist Church donated the first $5,000 toward building a guest lodge for visiting mission teams at Camp Rhino. We are trusting the Lord to help us reach the full goal of $45,000. This lodge will help us host groups, pastors, and guests while also giving us more space for camps and events throughout the year.

Our time back in the States was very profitable. One highlight was the birth of our grandson, Roman. We were also able to meet our 2nd grandson, Zayden, for the 1st time, who our son Tyler and his wife, Lydia, are fostering to adopt, and spend quality time with our 1st grandson, Liam. We also had another excellent orientation with Vision Baptist Missions at The Wilds in NC.

Please pray for our missionaries in Burkina Faso, Dallas & Ashley Brown, along with Jason & Charity Rishel, and our new missionaries, Michael & Victoria Turner. The visa situation there is the worst I’ve seen, with missionaries only able to obtain 3-month visas, creating a great deal of uncertainty.

Soon, a group of 45 from Oakwood Baptist Church will be visiting us in South Africa for their second trip here. We are praying that the Lord uses them greatly through the churches, schools, camps, and outreach ministries.

My son Luke and his family will move to Colombia this summer for a six-month missions internship as he completes his degree through Vision School of Missions. Thank you to so many who have invested in this next step of training. If you would like to support Luke and his family, you can give through Vision Baptist Missions marked for Luke Coffey.

Prayer Requests & Praise

I’m excited to announce that my oldest daughter, Emilee (23), has decided to return to South Africa as a full-time missionary. Lord willing, she will begin raising support in June after officially joining Vision Baptist Missions.

Please pray for her as she takes this big step of faith and prepares to return to help in the ministries here. Starting out as a single missionary can be intimidating, but we are thankful to see her willing to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

If you would be interested in supporting her monthly, contact me, and I can get you her info.

 

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Here is the latest prayer letter from my son Luke regarding his upcoming internship in Colombia.

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Coffey Family March 2026 Prayer Letter

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I’m not sure writing this email on the last day of March qualifies it as my March prayer letter, but here we go. We left South Africa last Monday for the US for a short furlough and to take part in VBM’s Orientation for new missionaries.

I still have a few meeting slots available, mainly Wednesday evenings and one Sunday evening in the North Georgia area, if you would like me to come by.

We hit the ground running after arriving at my son’s house late Tuesday night from London. On Wednesday, I was able to preach the final night of a supporting church’s missions conference. On Friday, I taught three hours at the Vision School of Missions and preached for their College Day that evening.

On Saturday, Amy and I drove to St. Cloud, FL to be with Eastern Avenue Baptist Church. They had a mission team, led by Pastor Callen, leave South Africa the same day we did. We had a wonderful time with them in South Africa. They were a huge help building desks for Camp Rhino and preparing staff apartments. Pastor Callen also preached for us several times and taught six hours at the Bible college.

If you are interested in participating in one of our mission trips, please let me know. We would love to have you.

My son Luke and his family will move to Colombia this summer for a six month missions internship as he completes his degree through Vision School of Missions. It is a blessing to see this next step in his training.

He is raising support for this internship. If you would consider investing, I would be very grateful. Support can be sent through Vision Baptist Missions, marked for Luke Coffey.

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Coffey Family January 2025 Prayer Letter

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Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Thank you to all who gave special Christmas offerings this year. Those funds were a great help in covering our junior and teen camp expenses at Camp Rhino.

We were also blessed to receive a shipment of 1,600 Bibles, thanks to Direct Line Ministries and Pastor Tom Green. We will be giving a Bible to each of the high school seniors from Rocklands High School who attended Camp Rhino this past year. In addition, we are planning several school outreaches where Bibles will also be distributed, a blessing to our churches.

We have recently taken on the responsibility of providing printed materials for eight Bible Institutes that serve over 230 churches in Uganda and Kenya. I will be sharing more updates about this ministry soon, but we are excited to be part of training church planters in two additional African countries. These institutes were started through the ministry of Missionary Randy Stirewalt, who went home to be with the Lord a few years ago. I have been in contact with Pastor Thomas Alute, who now leads this ministry, for many years, and I count it an honor to partner with him to further reach Kenya and Uganda with the gospel.

This month, we are also highlighting two more children at our youth home who still need sponsors. Baphumzi and Phumlani are 13-year-old twin brothers. Their sister, Sisipho, was the first child in our youth home and was tragically shot and killed in 2024. The twins are doing well at our Christian school and love being involved in the music ministry. We need to raise $125 per month for each of them to help cover their expenses.

Prayer Requests & Praise

  • We will also be traveling back to the U.S. for seven weeks, from March 23 to May 11, to attend the annual orientation for new missionaries with Vision Baptist Missions. If you would like me to report back or present our ministry during that time, please let me know. While in the U.S., I will also be seeking to raise additional ministry support.
  • Please also pray for Burkina Faso. At this time, visas for Americans have been shut down, and missionary families are uncertain about whether they will be able to return or remain in the country.
  • We saw at least 25 young people come to Christ during our summer camps in December. Please pray for their spiritual growth, and pray that many more will be saved through the ministry of Camp Rhino.

Quick Updates & Needs

  • Missionaries Tim and Jessica Johnson have arrived in South Africa. Tim first came on a mission trip over two years ago, and now his family has returned full-time. It is encouraging to see how the Lord works.
  • We are currently building three new apartments for our staff and campers at Camp Rhino and the Rhino Youth Home. We still need an additional $12,000 to complete this project. Please pray that we can raise this amount soon so it will open up more space for campers.
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Coffey Family November 2025 Prayer Letter

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We had the joy of baptizing two men and one teenager this past Sunday at Lighthouse Baptist Church! The church is growing, and we’ll soon begin construction on a new church auditorium. This new space will be a great blessing to our children’s ministries, as they will be able to use the current building for their classes and activities.

We’re excited to share that two of our youth home children have recently been sponsored (Lupawu & Siya)— and we’re incredibly grateful! This month, we’re highlighting two more children who still need sponsors: Lhoza (12) and her younger brother Lulo (4). Both have been part of the Rhino Youth Home for over a year and are now thriving at Bay Baptist Academy.

When we launched the youth home, our focus was on providing love, stability, and discipleship. But we haven’t always communicated the ongoing financial needs of this ministry clearly — and we’re working to change that.

Rocklands High School, a public school about 15 minutes from Camp Rhino, has once again rented our facilities for a full month for their senior class to prepare for final exams. This gives us the amazing opportunity to hold a service with the students every evening.

For this special month, Pastor Steve Hall and his wife Deb—dear friends of mine from Hope Baptist Church in Fairfield, OH—have come to preach/teach to the students each night. So far, 15 teenagers have trusted Christ as their Savior!

The Halls have also been a tremendous blessing to our churches, Christian school, and Bible college during their visit.

Prayer Requests & Praise

  • Continue praying for the Seniors of Rocklands High School.  The majority of the students here are lost with many being trapped in false ancestry worship.  
  • During the week I’m currently leading five Bible studies , and now others from our church are beginning to lead as well. Please pray that we can reach more lost people with sound Bible teaching, and that our church members will be faithful to step up and teach the Word so that many more can hear the Gospel and be saved.

Quick Updates & Needs

  • Missionaries Kevin and Corli Hall are returning to South Africa this month.  We’re excited about having them back after their furlough.  Their oldest son Clark is staying in the States.  Please keep him in your prayers as he is getting married in May. 
  • We are in the process of building three new apartments for our staff and campers at Camp Rhino and the Rhino Youth Home. $10,000 was given toward this project, which will help us complete the first apartment. We’ll need another $12,000 for the remaining two. Pray we can raise this amount before our summer camp season in December that will enable us have ample space. 
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Coffey Family October 2025 Prayer Letter

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God has greatly blessed Lighthouse Baptist Church these past few weeks. Our men are stepping up and getting more involved in ministry. Four men are now leading their own Bible studies and serving faithfully during our services. It’s been encouraging to see their growth and commitment.

This past week, I was asked to oversee another church while a missionary is out of the country, so I’ll now be working with both Lighthouse Baptist and Fellowship Baptist Church. I can only do this because of the help of our faithful men. Please pray that the Lord blesses both ministries as we serve Him together.

This week Camp Rhino will host another Soccer and Netball Tournament, with over 300 people expected to attend. Teams from our churches across Port Elizabeth will be competing. Pray that many will hear and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

With the death of Charlie Kirk, I’m reminded about how little time we have to make an impact in this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I also realize even more how important it is to boldly preach the Gospel to the lost in the public square.  Would you pray that we would have more boldness in preaching the clear Gospel of Jesus Christ?  So many are lost but need the truth.

Prayer Requests & Praise

  • We took in two new children at the Rhino Youth Home this past month. Please pray for 11-year-old Lupawo and his 7-year-old sister, Siya. Also, pray that we can raise sponsors for each of them to help cover their monthly expenses of $125.
  • We now have nine children in our care at the Youth Home. Pray that the Lord works in their hearts and that we’re able to raise up more house parents for this ministry.
  • Please also pray for Dallas and Ashley Brown, missionaries in Burkina Faso. They are currently on furlough in the States, raising awareness for West Africa. Pray for their safety as they travel and that God will use them to help recruit more missionaries to Africa.

Quick Updates & Needs

  • We are in the process of building three new apartments for our staff and campers at Camp Rhino and the Rhino Youth Home. $10,000 was given toward this project, which will help us complete the first apartment. We’ll need another $12,000 for the remaining two. Pray we can raise this amount before our summer camp season in December.
  • We were planning to build two new girl dorms, but finishing these apartments for our staff will open up additional space we can use for camper dorms—and it’s about $10,000 less expensive. We still plan to build the new dorms, but it’s not as urgent as before.
  • Tim and Jessica Johnson are almost finished with deputation and are scheduled to arrive in South Africa in December.
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Rhino Youth Home Update & A Special Thanks

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This past week, we were blessed with two new children at the Rhino Youth Home, Lupawo (11) and his half-sister Siya (7). They have been faithfully attending Soweto Baptist Church for years with their grandmother and are also students at Bay Baptist Academy. Tragically, both of their mothers were killed by their boyfriends, leaving their grandmother to raise them.

The area where they lived has always been high risk, but recent events have made it even more dangerous. Amy and I have known for a couple of years that these children would likely come to the Youth Home, but we didn’t realize it would happen so soon.

Please pray for a smooth transition for these two precious children. Our prayer is that the Lord will use us to raise them up to do great things for Him. Also, pray for our finances, we need to raise at least $125 per month per child to help cover the costs of their care.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have helped make the Rhino Youth Home and Camp Rhino possible. We could not have done this without your support.

During our final weeks in the States before returning in May, three churches went above and beyond in their generosity: Eastern Avenue Baptist Church in St. Cloud, FL, Oakwood Baptist Church in Anderson, SC, and Bethel Baptist Church in Richmond Hill, GA. God used them in a special way to provide for building projects that still needed to be completed.

I also want to thank Bethel Baptist Church for the special offering they sent this past month. At times when we’re not sure where the funds will come from, it has been amazing to watch God provide through these churches and many others like them at just the right time.

Coffey Family August 2025 Prayer Letter

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We were honored to host a mission team from North Life Baptist Church in Wooster, OH, this month. They were a great blessing to our churches and missionaries. We are praying that the Lord continues working in their hearts, and we hope that God will call missionaries from this wonderful group of young people (and a few older ones too 😊). During their time here, they were able to minister at Camp Rhino during a soccer tournament, two public primary schools, Bay Baptist Academy, and six of our churches in Port Elizabeth.  

This month, Camp Rhino will host a men’s retreat for all our churches. Pray that lost men will hear the Gospel and be saved, and that our faithful men will be challenged and strengthened in their walk with the Lord. Our goal is for this event to build up and unite all our churches.

We were blessed to have our daughter Emilee visit for two weeks, along with family friend Darci Snode, daughter of our General Director. Darci joined Emilee for her Senior Trip, and it was an honor to host them both.

If you are interested in joining us in South Africa on a mission trip or internship, we would love to have you!

Prayer Requests & Praise

  • We praise the Lord that during our recent soccer tournament, three people trusted Christ as their Savior! One of them was a painter who has done a lot of work at Camp Rhino. Please pray that these new believers will grow strong in their faith.
  • Our next soccer tournament is scheduled for October. Please pray that many more will hear the Gospel and come to Christ.
  • Pray also for Pastor Mvume, the South African pastor working alongside us. He is planning to get married in the coming months, and we are asking the Lord to guide and provide for him as he prepares for this new season of life.

Quick Updates & Needs

  • Camp Rhino continues to be a tremendous outlet for evangelism here in Port Elizabeth. Please pray that we can keep improving the facilities so we can host more groups and reach more people with the Gospel. Our desire is to see the camp eventually become self-sustaining, covering its own expenses. To reach that point, more building projects and improvements are still needed. 
  • We are praying for the remaining funds to come in so we can move forward with construction that would allow us to house 22 additional young ladies. At present, about 65% of the needed funds have been raised.
  • We also have a vision to build an auditorium/lodge at Camp Rhino that would serve as housing for couples and provide a meeting space for around 300 people. Our plans include a 60’ x 60’ building that would be a tremendous tool for ministry, conferences, and retreats. Please pray with us for God’s provision and direction in this project.
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