We Are Still Going!

Joel Thomas Stewart
May 19
5 min read

Hello friends and Partners of Charlie's Lunch,

It’s been a wild time here in 2026, but we are thanking God for something specific. More on that in a moment. First, I just wanted to give you an update on my Dad, Sam Stewart.

As many of you know, my Dad had an unexpected diagnosis of multiple myeloma at the beginning of the year, followed by a small, yet severe stroke.

Thankfully, through your prayers and a mighty God, he is on his way to recovery. Day to day, his life has changed somewhat, though he is slowly getting back to many of the things he used to do. Thank you for your continued prayers for him. That brings me to what I am most grateful for and what I believe is important to communicate to you all from my perspective, serving in Charlie’s Lunch Ministries.

It is undeniable that something remarkable has happened in the midst of this challenging season. To state it simply, the people we have in place at Charlie’s Lunch Ministries, specifically our leaders and Area Directors, are just rock stars. The Lord Jesus has built such a team that the ministry has been well able to continue amidst the different challenges we’ve faced. I give thanks to God for that! As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

From my perspective, what God has built, Charlie’s Lunch, is so well built and managed perfectly by Him. This is just my personal observation from the inside as I consider the quality of pastors we work with. They have really enabled this ministry to not skip a beat, even amidst all that has happened. Furthermore, their love, prayers, and support are probably being admired in the halls of heaven by that great cloud of witnesses looking down on us.

One of our Pastors in Mexico wrote these words: “We are just very thankful at how God is using this feeding center to plant His word in their little hearts. Our prayer is that it will be sealed in their hearts for these times in life that are so very difficult.” - Martha & Raul Gardea (leaders of a Charlie’s Lunch Feeding Center in Juarez)

She references the intense difficulties many children and their families face just across the border of the United States of America. It truly is a difficult life many of these children are facing and yet, Charlie’s Lunch is a light in their life. It is a place they sense the goodness of God… and they eat it too!

These photos were taken just over a week ago in Guatemala. Here you see Jami Pamela, just 14 years old, being baptized, giving Jesus Christ her life, and following Him!

She started at Charlie’s Lunch at the fragile age of 4 years old, eating and receiving that physical nourishment week after week. Today, the evidence is clear about the spiritual nourishment she has also received. Thank God! Jovani, another 14-year-old now, also just got baptized. He also began at Charlie’s Lunch at a very young age, and thank God he did!

You see, kids are coming to Jesus. It may be 10 years before they decide to be water baptized, but they are coming! Your donations, love, care, prayers, and support help put down the stepping stones that lead them to Christ.

When you see these photos, imagine with me their baptism photo. At Charlie’s Lunch, you don’t have to be a Christian to eat. On the contrary, the table is set for those in the community who need it most, no matter what religion or background they come from. I think of one of our feeding centers in the Philippines, right on the edge of a predominantly muslim community. Yes, those stepping stones to Jesus are placed even there! Many kids in Charlie’s Lunch find the love they feel from the pastors, the volunteers, and the story of Jesus Christ to be so compelling, too lovely to resist.

Thank God, friends. Thank God we have great leaders all around the world, thank God Charlie’s Lunch plates are still being served by the thousands, and thank God kids are still being baptized! This is His work, and we are grateful to be a part of it.

As you consider what you might do in helping Charlie’s Lunch Ministries, let me leave you with this thought from Jesus: Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

2,000 years after Jesus Christ said those words, we are still going! We are still baptizing. We are still moving according to the will of the Father, the Son & the precious Holy Spirit. Your prayers lift us up, and your donations help set those stones, so that every Charlie’s Lunch kid can step towards Jesus and be with Him for all of eternity!

As I think of it… both of my grandpas gave up their lives to fulfill that great commission; Matthew 28:19. I remember singing this hymn with one of them just a few years ago:

When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be

When we all see Jesus,

We’ll sing and shout the victory

It’s always been a great hymn, but even sweeter now as I imagine little Jami Pamela jumping up and down, smiling, with her arms waving in excitement, there in the gates of heaven with all of us.

I see young 14-year-old Jovani running with his arms stretched out, as if he were an airplane, speed gliding down the streets of gold with a huge smile beaming across his face. With them in mind, I can say, yes… what a day of rejoicing that will be!!!

Let's live for that day, friends. Let's add more names to the guest list of that heavenly party!

By God's grace and design, through the leadership He has chosen, and because of His immense heart of compassion for the lost, I can proudly declare to you at Charlie’s Lunch: WE ARE STILL GOING!!! Going into all the world to preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Are you still with us? Will you keep sending us?

God bless you, our faithful, faithful, and caring supporters. One day, we will all celebrate together on those streets of gold as we consider all that God did through us. What a day of rejoicing that will be!

In the King of King's Service,

Joel Stewart

Vice President

Charlie’s Lunch Ministries

I am headed to Honduras at the beginning of June to meet with our pastors and leaders there and visit the feeding centers. I want to take a “special blessing” with me.

You can donate towards that “Special Blessing” if you like. I am raising an extra $2,000 to take a party to each church I go to in Honduras. If there is enough funding, we want to purchase a small toy or gift for each child and volunteer, a pizza party & piñata or something like that!

In July, we are making plans for a seminar in Guatemala with our pastors and leaders, and to do more of the same, visiting the centers and taking blessings everywhere we go. I would love to buy a gift for each of our leaders & their spouses and bless the kids at 2 Feeding Centers. I need to raise $1,200 for that.