(an-uh-TOHL-yuh) - Not long ago, Barrett ordered a free Bible from an online platform. After he had received his Bible, Jeremy reached out to him to see if he had any questions and to ask if he wanted to meet up to discuss the Bible. Barrett met at a cafe with Jeremy and Grey, another believer, a few days later. After answering his questions and walking through many Scriptures together, Jeremy and Grey asked Barrett if he was ready to put his faith in Jesus. Barrett prayed to receive Christ right there in the cafe. Praise the Lord! He attended several Christmas events, and he has been coming to church recently. Please pray that the Lord will hold him fast and that Barrett will grow in his faith.
Please pray for a meeting that will take place this month to discuss unengaged, unreached people groups and how a group of South Asians have sought to engage them over the past three months. Pray that these leaders will be able to celebrate successes, share "stuckages," and be encouraged as they press hard into this task.
(SHE-uh) - As a young man, Elias, an Iraqi Shia Muslim, became weary of his traditional beliefs and what he considered to be empty promises. He had a Muslim girlfriend living outside of Iraq who'd begun attending a church in search of peace. In her communication with Elias, she urged him to find a church to visit because of the peace she'd found. Elias moved to another city away from his family, began attending a church, and found Christ as his Savior! Believers there began to disciple him, and he grew in his faith. Elias and his girlfriend are no longer together, but give thanks that God used their relationship to bring him to a saving knowledge of Jesus! Elias has since moved back to his home city, but his parents and other family members have rejected him since he's now a Christian. He has connected with believers there and wants to live out his faith in Jesus. Elias is feeling pulled to live in old ways of sin. Pray that he will submit to the Holy Spirit, resist sin, and live in holiness. Ask God to provide a Christian wife for Elias and to give him a vision for the lost in Iraq.
A group of visiting believers will be in the Amazon Basin for one week. Please pray for servant hearts, concerted prayer, and long-term vision. Ask God to prepare the hearts of people who need to hear the gospel, and pray that the current ministry of believers in the area will be expanded and furthered through the presence of these visitors and their work.
The Lantern festival is a traditional Taiwanese holiday, celebrated annually after the Chinese New Year. The Lantern Festival in Taiwan has religious aspects related to the worship of deities and the belief that lanterns carry wishes to the gods. The festival began as a way to worship the heavens and pray for a good harvest. People write their wishes or prayers on lanterns and release them into the sky where, they believe, they are taken to the gods. Launching water lanterns is a custom to help lost souls in the water find their way to land and pray for their early reincarnation. It is believed that the further a lantern floats, the better the fortune of the clan it represents will be in the coming year. Pray that churches and Christians will use this opportunity to share the Light of the world with friends and strangers and to participate in family outreach. Pray that as people attend the various activities, Christians will pray for those they meet, share Jesus' story, and bring them into a new community of faith by ministering to entire families.
"We met with a religious leader and spent a lot of time with some of his disciples, learning about their lives and what they believe," missionary explorers Stephen and Lily Farrell shared. "The followers are very dedicated to their religion. Please pray that they will have open hearts to the gospel. Pray for a Christian pastor and congregation in a nearby village to join in the work to reach the unengaged with the good news of Jesus Christ."
http://www.imb.org/great-pursuit/"We only had a couple weeks to find a people group, get info about them, map them, and of course share the good news with them," missionary explorers Jude and Rocky Brown shared. "This was a really fast trip, and we needed more leads to find these people. Then we met Rohan. We had come to the man's home in search of paintings that his people group makes to earn money. They are painters and storytellers by trade. They go to different villages to tell stories about history, religion, and myths of the past. We asked Rohan to paint a custom scroll for us to take home. We shared the gospel with him and explained what we wanted in each section of the scroll to tell the story. At this point, he said there were many ways to get to heaven. After two days, we came back, and Rohan said the story and drawings he did brought him much joy and he wanted to believe! We then asked him questions about following Jesus, and Rohan said he wanted to make Jesus his Lord! He didn't want to follow Hinduism anymore. Please pray for this man as we disciple and encourage him to tell his family and other people within the village. We gave the scroll he made for us back to him so that he could share the gospel with his family. Hopefully, we will get it back because it's super cool, but if not, praise the Lord!"
http://www.imb.org/great-pursuit/A Chinese pastor and his family are moving to a new place of ministry due to various changes in their circumstances. The children and the pastor's wife feel great fear and worry about adjusting to the new environment, and the pastor himself has many uncertainties about his new ministry. Pray that God will go ahead of them to prepare the way and provide everything the family needs. May the Holy Spirit be with them, helping them lay down all fears and worries, and may they move forward boldly, trusting in the new things the Lord will do through them.
(MEE-boh) - February is known as the "month of love," and in Mebo Land the excitement and commercialism around the holiday are prevalent. However, Christians will be using this Valentine's Day to offer an outreach event, inviting friends would normally not attend a Bible Study or church to an event that will have games, fun, food, fellowship and a gospel presentation. Please pray that the Christians will be diligent in their outreach and then intentional in sharing the gospel. Pray for the non-believers' hearts to be open and tender to the gospel.
(dah-KAR) - "Following months of preparation, working together, and getting to know one another, all with two goals in mind--to evangelize the population in the suburban region east of Dakar and to plant a church there--the 'Zone 6' group has just decided to begin gathering as a church," workers write. "The area is strategic, as it's expected to grow by about 5 million people in the next 10 years. Now, when we go out talking with people, we'll have a church meeting to which we can invite them. And the members who live in the area will have a local church body--praise the Lord! Please pray for this effort, as it's certain that the evil one will not want it to succeed or grow. Pray that we may be of one heart and mind, '[devoting ourselves] to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers' (Acts 2:42 ESV). Pray, too, that we can purchase a building or land to have a permanent location and avoid the power of eviction by other-religion landlords. Pray that our hearts will be fully committed to the task of introducing the kingdom of God to those who walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2)."
http://www.imb.org/sub-saharan-africa/Pray for missionary Trey Lancaster as he uses various agricultural means to build relationships with lost communities. He desires to teach farming and livestock production techniques that will help people be more productive and better able to care for the needs of their families. He has been working alongside six trained Tonga men from the Binga district to share the techniques they have learned, as well as the gospel, with others. Pray for God to bless His children in Zimbabwe by sending adequate rain and an increase in their livestock and crop production. "You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it" (Psalm 65:9 ESV). Pray that as the gospel is shared, there will be an abundant increase in new believers, as well!
http://www.imb.org/sub-saharan-africa/