Friday, August 29, 2014

PrayerLine

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Friday, August 29, 2014

To hear an mp3 recording of the PrayerLine, click here. http://media1.imbresources.org/files/211/21167/21167-114711.mp3

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” (Philippians 1:9, ESV)

Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer office, asking you to pray for Baptist conventions in Africa.

Some years ago, a Baptist church in Georgia engaged the Maxi (pronounced mah-he) of Benin. Through their ministry, small Baptist church starts birthed by lay people were discovered and linked. These lay people had been sent into the Maxi area by the government to teach, but they also started churches. The groups joyfully formed the Maxi Baptist Association (of the Benin Baptist Convention), and they now share a joint vision for evangelizing the Maxi people. Volunteer teams from that same Georgia church and summer student workers have ministered alongside the Benin churches to fulfill that vision.

Earlier this year, the man who facilitates volunteers in Benin traveled the long, empty, dirt road to the village of Gbalin to participate in a week of evangelism to which nearly all the Maxi Baptist churches walked, biked, motorcycled or trucked (crammed together in a dump-truck bed). Five hundred Maxi Baptists arrived. The Maxi are reaching the Maxi! The Gbalin inhabitants could not help but realize the extensiveness of the Christian movement. Every afternoon the Christians marched through the town’s rough, dirt passageways, singing praises to Jesus, dancing, and stopping for three-minute evangelical sermons. The villagers, attracted by the uproar, colorful dancing and vibrant singing, gathered in large crowds to watch and listen. Ten people were attending the church start, but after the Christians came en mass to Gbalin, now 50 attend!

The month of August was the time for conventions to host their annual meetings to elect new officers and seek God’s leadership in engaging the lost. Church leaders are now returning to their villages and congregations to challenge them in Gospel outreach.

* Please pray for the Baptist conventions of Zimbabwe and Cote d’Ivoire that they will faithfully implement the plans made during their meetings.

* Give thanks for the work among the Maxi people and pray that their numbers will increase.

* Intercede for your own church that you will be equally zealous to proclaim the Gospel in the United States.

**Our offices will be closed Monday, September 1, in honor of Labor Day. The next edition of PrayerLine will be distributed Wednesday, September 3. Thank you for your understanding.**

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PrayerLine
North American Mission Board’s Weekly Prayer

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

[This is a transcript of the audio message currently available on the international missions PrayerLine by calling 1-800-395-PRAY.]
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CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

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Prayer requests on the website are updated every Monday-Friday at 9:30 a.m., EST

August 29, 2014

A NOTE FROM THE PRAYER OFFICE: IMB will be closed on Monday, September 1, due to Labor Day, so “Today’s Prayer” will not be available on that day. Thank you.

“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7, HCSV)

WORLD LEADER - “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for Commissioner Peter Hayes of British Indian Ocean Territory (south of India, about one-half way from Africa to Indonesia).

COASTAL SWAHILI PEOPLES OF EAST AFRICA (swah-HEE-lee) - “The women on our volunteer team had been invited to a tea, of sorts. Homemade ‘bitings’ and freshly squeezed juice were beautifully displayed on the coffee table in front of us. Our Muslim hostess, robed in the traditional black gown and head scarf, urged us to try one of each item, and her guests were delighted to discover that everything they tasted was not only edible, but delicious! Attempts were made repeatedly to steer the conversation toward spiritual matters, but it came as a surprise when our hostess burst into tears--crying uncontrollably while relaying a story she had recently heard on the news. She apologized for the outburst and explained that her internal sadness was sometimes so overwhelming that she couldn’t help but sob. Her hopelessness and despair were visible to our American guests in a new and profound way. She needs Jesus. He’s the only one who offers true hope and who can wipe away every tear. Our hostess listened that day, but did not accept Jesus as her Savior. Please pray for another opportunity to share the Gospel with her. Pray for an openness to the Gospel among the women of the Swahili Coast whose lives are filled with sadness.”

TUNISIAN ARABS OF SOUTHERN TUNISIA (too-NEE-zhan) - Fathila* wakes up every morning, kisses her son, and catches a bus to teach at a school. She is well educated and is stalwart in her devotion to her religion, Islam. Fathila was perplexed when she met a true follower of Jesus, because the “Christian” people she sees on television have lifestyles that do not honor God. When she heard the Good News, she insisted that she would rely on her own good works when she stands before Him. Fathila exclaimed, “Why would God send someone to take my sin for me?” Please pray for Fathila and many other Tunisians who are struggling to understand the depth of God’s love for them. There is no concept of grace in this culture, so grappling with grace is always the first step. Ask the Father to open their hearts to understand the mystery of the Good News. Ask Him to save Fathila’s family and many others so that they will lift up the name of the Son in this country! (*pseudonym)
http://www.pray4tunisia.com/

For additional prayer requests, click here: Today’s Prayer

(If you have difficulty with this link, please go to www.imb.org and click on the “Pray” tab, and then click on the “Today’s Prayer” link in the left-hand column.)

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

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Commission Stories puts a human face on international Christian missions. It tells the here-and-now, contemporary story of international Christian missions, making it alive and vital, breathing and inspirational, recounting the lives - volunteer, missionary and international - of those who are living the missions story. Discover more at Commissionstories.com.http://www.commissionstories.com/.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

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Prayer requests on the website are updated every Monday-Friday at 9:30 a.m., EST

August 28, 2014

“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you.” (1 Samuel 12:23a, HCSV)

WORLD LEADER - “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil (eastern South America).

HEALTHCARE STRATEGIES, EAST ASIAN PEOPLES - “‘We don’t want trouble, so please do not come.’ ‘My husband forbids me to attend the meeting.’ These are the messages we have been hearing from friends who were previously eager to hear the Gospel or to receive training in evangelism and discipleship. Pray with us that God will remove these obstacles so that our friends can continue to hear the Gospel and grow in their faith!”

SORANI AND BEHDINI KURDS OF CENTRAL ASIA (so-RAHN-ee, bah-DEEN-ee) - “The city where we live and work is a relatively safe urban center, yet we’re surrounded by chaos and escalating violence. At our language center named Hope, our students include a mixture of local people and refugees. Many have already escaped civil war once, and they now face the prospect of doing it again. All of them are weary, fearful, and in need of hope. One student recently shared his thoughts of suicide as a way to escape a life he hates and a future without peace. Another told of her fears over the outcome of war in her hometown and what might happen to her friends and family. Will there ever be peace? Will they ever escape war? Teachers at the language center are holding out the hope found only in Christ to those in desperate need. The Light of Christ shines brightly in the darkness. Students remark that they feel calm and peaceful in the presence of our teachers. The love they experience here is like no other, because it’s the love of Christ. As we begin a new teaching session under new ownership, please pray that our teachers will be faithful witnesses. Ask that our gaze will be fixed not on the unstable circumstances around us, but on the ‘author and perfecter of our faith,’ and that we’ll ‘run with endurance the race’ (Hebrews 12:1-2). Plead with the Father on behalf of the people here, asking that they’ll find peace in Him and receive forgiveness of their sins.”
http://centralasianpeoples.imb.org/
centralasianpeople@gmail.com

For additional prayer requests, click here: Today’s Prayer

(If you have difficulty with this link, please go to www.imb.org and click on the “Pray” tab, and then click on the “Today’s Prayer” link in the left-hand column.)

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

'Radical' pastor David Platt elected IMB president

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Your IMB E-letter

Aug. 27, 2014

SPECIAL EDITION

'Radical’ pastor David Platt elected IMB president
Dr. David Platt, one of the most passionate and influential voices for missions among evangelicals, was elected president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board Aug. 27 by board trustees, meeting at the IMB’s International Learning Center in Rockville, Virginia.

Platt, 36, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, a Southern Baptist congregation in Birmingham, Alabama, will take office effective immediately as president of the 169-year-old organization, the largest denominational missionary-sending body among American evangelicals. More than 4,800 Southern Baptist international missionaries serve worldwide.

The author of the bestselling books “Radical” and “Radical Together,” among others, Platt has been pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, which counts about 4,500 members, since 2006. He also founded and leads Radical, a ministry network that develops and distributes disciple-making resources nationally and internationally with the goal of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Platt has traveled extensively throughout the United States and around the world, starting churches and teaching the Bible alongside church leaders and missionaries.

“We talk all the time at Brook Hills about laying down a blank check with our lives before God, with no strings attached, willing to go wherever He leads, give whatever He asks and do whatever He commands in order to make His glory known among the nations,” Platt said in a letter to his church, released Aug. 27. “Over these past months, God has made it abundantly clear to both Heather and me that He is filling in that blank check in our lives and family with a different assignment. Along the way, God has used the elders of our church to affirm His call, and today He used the leadership of the IMB to confirm it.”

Platt and his wife, Heather, are natives of Atlanta. They have four children: Caleb, Joshua, Mara Ruth and Isaiah.

Platt succeeds former missionary, pastor and Southern Baptist Convention president Tom Elliff, 70, who has served as IMB president since March 2011.

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PrayerLine

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

To hear an mp3 recording of the PrayerLine, click here. http://media1.imbresources.org/files/211/21166/21166-114709.mp3

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NASB)

Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer office, praying with you and with engaging churches.

In a dimly lit room in rural Zimbabwe, an old N woman walked forward at the end of a night worship service to give her life to Christ. She was not responding to the sermon, but to the work God had already done in her heart after several villagers had shared with her the story of the wide and narrow path. The villagers had learned the story from volunteer teams sent by GraceLife Baptist of Christiansburg, Va. This reproducible evangelism method empowers new believers to share the Good News with others in their village.

Security risks do not allow the use of real people group names, but a U.S. Baptist church engaged the Tasyen*, an Islamic group of approximately 186,000, in 2008. Small teams of three or four arrived four times a year, manned with Scripture stories and Scripture recordings in the national language. Fifty-three of their members have personally traveled to the Tasyen. In their church’s lobby hang 3x4-foot pictures of the people group to help members remain focused on their mission. When the U.S. church began ministering among the Tasyen, there were 12 Christians; now there are 21. In reaching out, another Islamic group, the Kanlino*, responded--50 have believed. Now discipleship is being carried on, with Kanlino believers discipling the Tasyen!

* Please pray that God will continue to use this faithful U.S. congregation and the national believers to expand His Kingdom among the Tasyen and Kanlino peoples.

* Pray for the new N believers to remain bold and committed in sharing their newfound faith, and pray for GraceLife Baptist Church team members who continue to travel and provide discipleship assignments.

* Ask God to guide your own congregation to increase its missions involvement.

*(names changed)

VIEW ON-LINE
PrayerLine
North American Mission Board’s Weekly Prayer

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

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Prayer requests on the website are updated every Monday-Friday at 9:30 a.m., EST

August 27, 2014

“He said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matt. 4:19, NKJV)

WORLD LEADER - “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana (southern Africa).

SOUTHEAST ASIAN PEOPLES - “Training is an ongoing need on several levels. Workers continually need training and encouragement in the task. Emerging leaders from among unreached people groups (UPGs) need training as they, by necessity, have to lead as new believers. The existing church also needs ‘vision casting’ and training. Matching the felt needs of each group with the right training is a huge task. Pray for the training team on our island. Ask God to grant wisdom for each and every training event during 2014. Pray for training to translate into a more fruitful ministry for both workers and new leaders among the 51 UPGs here.”

TSWANA OF BOTSWANA (t’SWAN-ah) - “I remember as a child sitting in church and hearing stories of missionaries and seeing their pictures from around the world and thinking, ‘I want to do that one day,’” writes missionary Amanda Turner. “The Lord has put us here in Botswana, and it’s been almost five years since we first stepped foot off the plane onto African soil. We have been truly blessed to have been able to spend that time as a family, ministering together. We are so thankful for our sweet children, who are little missionaries alongside of us. Our little daughter tells many people every day about her love for Jesus, and it is rare for us to walk down the street and not have someone yell her name, saying hi to her. She invites many children from school to the Friday children’s ministry, and many children are hearing the Gospel for the first time. Our children have opened so many doors for us to share Christ! It’s fun to imagine the stories and pictures that our children will be able to share one day with others. Pray with us that they will inspire the next wave of missionaries to share the Good News of Christ!”
http://theturneradventures.blogspot.com

For additional prayer requests, click here: Today’s Prayer

(If you have difficulty with this link, please go to www.imb.org and click on the “Pray” tab, and then click on the “Today’s Prayer” link in the left-hand column.)

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

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Prayer requests on the website are updated every Monday-Friday at 9:30 a.m., EST

August 26, 2014

“Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” (1 John 5:14-15, HCSB)

WORLD LEADER - “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Please pray today for Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (eastern Europe, west of Yugoslavia).

EUROPEAN PEOPLES - “It’s amazing to see how God uses our times of weakness. Should we choose to be transparent and authentic during such moments, we will be able to stand back in awe and watch God move in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Such was the case with us: Giving birth to our first baby and being so far from home caused the very people to whom we were reaching out to reach out back to us--and even more so when my father ended up having an urgent open-heart surgery 10 days after our son’s birth. In came a flood of people with daily visits, plates of food, gifts for the baby, offers from atheists to pray for us, and opportunities to share that our confidence and peace lies in Christ. Praise the Lord for our weakness, when it is He who makes us strong!”

LAST FRONTIER - The L people are approximately 35,000 people who live in a remote mountainous area. They speak their own language and have had limited contact with outsiders. They traditionally practice various forms of spirit worship, including ancestor worship, polytheism and animism. Finishing The Task (a network of mission agencies and churches) has focused on the L people and has heard reports of more than 50 believers within the last 11 months. There is a church planted in one of their villages, and there are two local Christians living among the L people. They are continuing to share about the salvation of Jesus and are baptizing and discipling new believers. Praise the Lord that the L people are now considered to be an engaged people group! Please pray for the work among the L people. Ask that the two “preaching points” (meetings) of new believers will grow and that several new churches will be planted among the L people. Pray for the Bible stories that are being translated, asking that more stories will be translated into their heart language. Pray that these translated stories will help further the kingdom of God among the L people.

For additional prayer requests, click here: Today’s Prayer

(If you have difficulty with this link, please go to www.imb.org and click on the “Pray” tab, and then click on the “Today’s Prayer” link in the left-hand column.)

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

Monday, August 25, 2014

PrayerLine

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Monday, August 25, 2014

To hear an mp3 recording of the PrayerLine, click here. http://media1.imbresources.org/files/210/21074/21074-114298.mp3

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11, NKJV)

Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer office, joining you in prayer for translation projects.

Hundreds of years ago, the church in Tunisia disappeared. One cause was the lack of Scripture in their heart language. As a result of prayer and the faithfulness of God, for the first time, Tunisians have the Word of God printed in their heart language. The Book of Luke has been printed, and soon the entire New Testament will be in their hands.

Progress is being made in the translation projects involving Somali minority languages. The translation team has met several challenges and has faced much persecution along the way. Intercede that they will be encouraged to stay the course and that God will protect their lives. Despite these challenges, people are getting to read the Word in their heart language for the very first time, and God is working. It is a risk for Somali people to be learning about anything outside of their belief system, so they may face persecution for simply reading the Word of God. Many are trying to earn favor with their god through good works.

* Please pray that the Somali people will feel a sense of emptiness as they try to work their way into Paradise, and ask that they will yearn for truth.

* Pray that believers among these people will have many opportunities to share boldly about the truth of Jesus.

* Intercede for the people of Tunisia, asking that the Father will prepare many hearts for the sowing of His Word, and that the Spirit will sweep through this country like a mighty wind, calling out sons and daughters and setting captives free!

VIEW ON-LINE
PrayerLine
North American Mission Board’s Weekly Prayer

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International Mission Board
3806 Monument Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230

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Friday, August 29, 2014

PrayerLine

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

Thursday, August 28, 2014

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

'Radical' pastor David Platt elected IMB president

Your IMB E-letter

Aug. 27, 2014

SPECIAL EDITION

Forward to a friend

PrayerLine

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

CompassionNet's Today's Prayer

Monday, August 25, 2014

PrayerLine

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