November 28 – December 5, 2021
Every day, 155,473 people enter eternity without the hope of Jesus. Please join us as we observe the Week of Prayer for International Missions, where Southern Baptists pray for IMB missionaries, their ministries and the unreached people and places they serve.
"Schools and churches in Uganda have been closed for a year and half due to the coronavirus pandemic. The consequences of this could be devastating for a generation of students," writes the Uganda Baptist Seminary Team. "The Uganda Baptist Seminary (UBS) students who are church leaders are discouraged and in need of fellowship and teaching from the Word of God. Please pray for the leaders of Baptist churches to be dedicated in studying and seeking out small groups they can encourage in person or by radio. Crazy and false preaching is so loud here that it gives a false sense of salvation or what being a Christian is. Pray for us at UBS as we seek to move forward in making some classes available online. The difficulty students face in having access to devices and electricity and the internet is very real. We estimate that maybe 1 out of 20 students has that capacity. Pray for our faculty and staff who need to work to earn a living while we continue having no students. Pray for our team as we seek to stay focused on the purpose for which we've been called to Uganda when circumstances try to pull our focus away."
(swah-HEE-lee) - Generations living in poverty has a way of leading people to believe that money is their savior, the thing worth pursuing, and the prize worth having. Yet, Psalm 90:14 says that God is the one who satisfies, who shows up each morning with His steadfast love, giving His children reason to rejoice and be glad all their days. Pray that the Swahili-speaking Arabs of East Africa will find their satisfaction in Jesus, an everlasting prize.
After many lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions over the past year and a half, the Connect Church is seeking to reach many new families with their new, integrated approach of having all ages actively participate in the worship services. The Connect Church began as a daughter church with the blessing of their mother church, Palisady, in June of 2019 in the city of Bratislava, Slovakia. Pray that God will cause those who are seeking hope amid despair to connect with one of the families in the Connect Church and find hope in Jesus Christ. Ask that those involved in the church will boldly and sensitively share their faith in Jesus as God brings others onto their path. Please pray that Connect Church services will continue to be able to meet throughout the fall without disruptions from COVID-19 and that God will keep those who attend healthy.
This month, the Lao people will celebrate the Lantern Festival and the conclusion of the boat racing festivals with a final boat race in the capital. So many things have been delayed or canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, so the specifics of the celebration are uncertain. Usually, there are paper boats decorated as dragons or other shapes and covered with money. Candles adorn big, parade floats that are walked down the street. Lanterns are sent up into the dark night sky. Along with these things, the people conclude the season of Buddhist Lent. Through all of this, they convey their hopes that all evil or bad things will be cleansed and that blessings and good things will be received. Pray that the Lao people of the northern mountains, many of whom actively participate in the lantern festivals, will come to know Jesus, the Light of the world who came to provide the way for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Creator God.
(mah-LOO-koo) - Praise God that the gospel is being heard among the people of Northern Maluku Islands. Two young men have come to faith. Others are open to listen, but they have not responded to the gospel. Please pray that these open ears will lead to open hearts that turn from death to life.
"With more than 700,000 displaced peoples living along the coast of northern Mozambique, the harvest has never been more plentiful," writes the Makuha-Nahara Team. "All around, there are broken, vulnerable, desperate people in genuine need. There are people ready to hear the good news who have never before had the chance to hear it. As we have shared the hope that we have, a small number of people have, in return, surrendered their lives to the King, and for that we praise Him! Looking to the masses, we see that these make only a small dent in the number of those who need to hear but who are distracted by other concerns such as: 'How will I feed my family today? Where will we sleep tonight?' Please pray for our team as we seek ways to help meet needs in both emergency situations and in long-term, more sustainable situations and, through it all, to share faithfully the message of hope. 'Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest' (Luke 10:2 ESV)."
There are about 571,000 Kuwaiti Shia Arabs in the tiny country of Kuwait. While Shia and Sunni Muslims in other countries may not get along, these two groups in Kuwait have a good relationship with each other. There have been examples of the Sunni leaders of the country visiting Shia mosques to show support to those who pray there. God's Word is available in the Arabic language, and as with all people in the Arabian Gulf region, the Shia have access to social media and the internet. Pray that the Shia will read the Scriptures, chat with believers in Jesus on social media, and be drawn to His teachings. In Shia tradition, suffering is prominent. They revere their prophets who have died in battle in the name of religion. Pray that they will hear about Jesus' death on the cross for mankind and also hear that He did not stay in the grave. May they know the joy of forgiveness of sins and salvation. Pray that all Shia Arabs in Kuwait will hear this good news.
(kohl-KAH-tah) - Pray for pastors, church leaders, and other Christian workers throughout the city of Kolkata. Ask God to supply their every need for spiritual and physical endurance after a difficult year of loss and hardship. There have been wonderful testimonies of a few new church plants starting, pastors developing more in their leadership abilities, and more of God's people taking steps to grow in their faith and share through online platforms. Pray that this will continue, and pray that God will continue to equip believers to build up the church and spread gospel seeds throughout the city.
(goo-juh-RAH-tee) - A woman from an unengaged, unreached people group recently came unexpectedly to a gathering of believers, saying, "Jesus keeps appearing to me in dreams. I need to know who this God is." Pray for her to come to faith and to spread the gospel among her people! "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: 'I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish'" (Isaiah 44:24-25 ESV).
"Thank you for your prayers for the Global Health Strategies Network and MedAdvance meetings that took place in July and August! The meetings went wonderfully well, and they were a great time for connection and for sharing ideas related to health strategies that can be used by teams and local partners with or without a healthcare background. Our personnel serving among the American peoples shared about trauma healing and other mental health strategies, food distribution, and meeting needs alongside local partners and churches. Pray as God continues to guide us in these and other strategies."
Recently, Chinese pastors, churches, and those who serve among them joined to pray for 40 days for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Though they could not meet in large groups, they prayed for specific requests. Please continue to pray for spiritual revival among the people of the UAE. The total population of this country is over 9 million, with about 12% being Emiratis and the rest being of other nationalities, including approximately 200,000 Chinese. Please pray for safety as COVID-19 spreads in the UAE. Pray for believers who struggle with not being able to freely meet under current restrictions, that they will be strengthened and encouraged. "But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head" (Psalms 3:3 ESV).
The members of a small church planned a baptism at a lake near their city with a picnic afterwards. They decided to meet at a busy market and then travel together to the lake. While they were waiting for everyone to arrive, a man sitting nearby began talking to one of the believers. The believer quickly learned that this man is from one of the minority groups in the country. The believer spoke a little bit of the man's language and offered to show him a short video on his smartphone. The man eagerly watched the entire video that shared the gospel with him in his heart language. Afterward, the man thanked the believer for showing it to him. Please pray for God to open this man's heart to the truth that was presented in the video. Also, please pray for opportunities for the believer to continue to talk with this man.
Christian leaders are often lacking in East Asia, especially in church leadership. When church leaders retire or perhaps get arrested for their faith, seldom is there a leader-in-training to take their place. This is partly due to the culture where leaders hold their responsibilities closely and do not delegate. Part of the problem is also due to the hardships involved with being a Christian leader in a very non-Christian area of the world, including the low pay that is traditionally associated with pastoring. A final problem comes from the belief that to lead, one must have answers to all the questions. This causes many people to not accept any type of leadership position, so they never begin to increase their knowledge. Pray for the youth and young adults in churches throughout East Asia. Ask God to give them courage to take risks and begin to accept responsibility both in the church and outside the church. Pray for a strong network of workers who will encourage one another and hold each other accountable to God's Word. Pray for this next generation to begin mentoring others who will help shoulder the burdens as well as provide for tomorrow's needs.