January 2000
In 1958, fellow fourth-grader Kenny Floyd told me, "We'll
never see the year 2000. The world will end before that."
In about A.D. 33, Jesus said, ". . . of that day and hour no
one knows, not even the angels of heaven."
Kenny was wrong. Jesus was right. Despite a steady stream
through history of amateur prognostications and despite a last
minute rush of apocalyptic prophesies, we now stand on the
threshold of a new millennium. The year 2000 has come. Even
Y2K, the heralded shutdown of the earth by the world's nu¬
merically challenged computers, has amounted only to a retail
boom for back-to-basics suppliers.
Could it be then that the year 2000 has no real significance
after all? No! In fact, quietly and without fanfare, a great victo¬
ry is being declared on every dated piece of media and com¬
munication. That victory is signified by the two letters I used
above, "A.D." (anno Domini, in the year of the Lord). History,
whether it uses the letters "A.D." or not, continues to chrono¬
logically orient itself by one point in earth time: the birth of the
Savior of the world.
The year 2000 does have great significance because it is
A.D. 2000. May we who know Him live in the year of the Lord
each day of this new year.
Randy Sprinkle, Director
International Prayer Strategy Office
1 DRUZE OF THE MIDDLE EAST. The 1 million
I Druze (pronounced DROOZE) of the Middle East practice a
1,000-year-old secret mystery religion that finds its roots in a com¬
bination of Platonism, Islam, Paganism, and a touch of Christianity.
Living in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, and speaking Arabic,
as a people group they are divided by the political realities of the
region. Beyond the political issues, the average Druze is never
actually taught the content of what is supposed to be his or her
religion. Only a select few are ever given the teachings. Even the
Druze Scripture is kept a secret. You cannot purchase a copy of the
Holy Book — and for that matter, most Druze have never seen a
copy either. While these practices held the Druze in the fold for a
millennium, today Druze men and women are looking for
answers to their eternal questions. They are open to the gospel if it
is presented in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner.
Please pray that God will call out servants who will serve the
Druze and preach the Good News of Jesus to them.
2 GERMANY (central Europe). International
Service Corps workers Sean and Shelley Blacksten and other
Baptist personnel serving in the regions of Western Europe and
Central and Eastern Europe are leading a joint MK (missionary
kid) retreat in Slovenia this month. Pray that God will give all
those in leadership divine wisdom in planning for this most vital
time of spiritual nourishment and training in the lives of these MKs.
3 BRAZIL (eastern South America). Porto
Alegre is the capital of Brazil's southernmost state. New work
has begun in the Rubem Berta neighborhood of Porto Alegre. Mis¬
sionary Bob Harr writes: "God has answered our prayers and given
us a school to meet in for Sunday worship and Sunday School.
During our ... strategy-fellowship meetings, the speaker encour¬
aged us to look for a man or woman of peace (Luke 10:6). We have
found that person. She has been a big encouragement and, as the
director for a public school, [gave] us permission to use the school,
first for Vacation Bible School and [then] to conduct our weekly
services. Over 130 students participated in VBS, plus about 20
mothers were involved in a crafts class. The mother church came
through with 17 workers and teachers. As a result, we have 40
names and addresses of people who have invited us to visit them
in their homes. Pray for [this woman of peace] and her family to be
blessed and become Christians and for the visits to these 40 homes."
4 SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA. This
past summer, a volunteer came to prayerwalk among an
unreached people group that his church has "adopted." These
unreached people are located in a restricted-access country in
Southeast Asia. When a Baptist representative, this volunteer, and
another believer from the country were prayerwalking through a
village, the Lord opened the door for them to share the gospel
with one of the families there. The family prayed to receive Christ.
Then in early September, the pastor and several others from the
volunteer's home church returned to the village. This time, another
family accepted Christ! Please pray for opportunities for nationals
to disciple these new believers and for a church to be planted in
this village. Also, pray that the faith of these new believers will be
strong in the midst of persecution. Finally, pray that more mem¬
bers of this people group will respond to the gospel and that more
volunteers will respond to the challenge of sharing Christ with the
lost peoples of the world.
5FULAKUNDA OF SENEGAL, THE GAM¬
BIA AND GUINEA-BISSAU. A Fulakunda pastor
now leads a large church in The Gambia. He has seen that the tra¬
ditional Western-style worship service and common means of evan¬
gelism are not effective in reaching his people for Christ. Their cul¬
ture is opposed to many traditions in Western Christianity. This
