Matt Johnston, who lives in Italy with his wife Johanna and their three children (Alice Ann, Noelle, and Robert), currently serves the Lord under Grace Ministries International (a ministry of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA). Matt and his family continue to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Italy from their home base in Genova, where he is the Pastor-Teacher of a church.
The Lord has laid it on the heart of one of the young men in their church, Gabriele, to pursue full-time ministry work. Gabriele is serving as a pastoral intern under Matt’s leadership in the church so that he can begin to learn the ins and outs of church life and will assist Matt in some of his ministry responsibilities. Gabriele and his wife, Priscilla, have been an immense blessing in their church by leading the music, and he has co-led their Wednesday night Bible study for the kids alongside Massimo. They are so excited for this new opportunity for him and it will be a great help to their local church.
This year the Lord has made it evident that the Italian Theological Academy (ITA), where Matt helps provide leadership, needed a new beginning. It has been a joy to work alongside a great team to transition the ITA to Genova. Sebastian (who is in Sicily), Cesare and Gabriele have been such an encouragement. Matt is hopeful about the future of the training center in Italy in large part because of these men and the other GMI missionaries who serve alongside of them.
Massimo Mollica and his wife Susannah, who have been with the Johnstons almost from the beginning, have returned to their home church where Massimo serves in GMI’s home office. The Lord used them greatly during their time at Lux Evangelica and they will be missed greatly.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for the Johnston family as they navigate this new season of transition with the Mollica’s leaving and the Lord raising up new fellow servants.
- Pray for Cesare and Melissa Albanesi and their family as they seek to get involved and serve the church alongside the Johnston family.
- Pray for their kids' hearts, that they would be protected at school. Pray that the Lord would protect and care for them while Matt is traveling.
- Pray for Gabriele as he steps into his new role as Matt’s intern and administrative assistant. Pray that the Lord would shape and prepare both him and Priscilla to be useful instruments in His hands.
- This year the Lord has made it evident that the Italian Theological Academy (ITA) was in need of a new beginning. It has been a joy to work alongside a great team to transition the ITA to Genova. They are hopeful that by the end of January 2025 it will relaunch with a new name!
- Please pray for a web presence: they are developing a new website which will house all their future online initiatives. In addition to introducing the vision for the new training center, the website will include a Bible study tool which will offer free resources (e.g., commentaries).