November 1999
“We're coming Thursday night to tear your church down!"
Those words, spoken one year ago in a small town in
Ecuador, brought the reality of persecution to the believers in
that little congregation. They had already paid a high price in
threats, beatings, and intimidation. Now they were about to be
driven out of town. What could they do?
On the 14th of this month, we join other intercessors in ob¬
serving the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As be¬
lievers obediently carry the good news of the Savior to more
and more people who have never heard, it is a given that ene¬
mies of the gospel will oppose them.
The response of the little Ecuadoran church must be the
response of any church that is threatened: they turned to God
in prayer, and they turned to fellow believers for prayer.
When Thursday came, the church met. No attackers
showed up, but a former persecutor who had recently come to
Christ did give his testimony, and three people were saved.
Our missionary wrote afterwards, "If people had not been
praying, it could have been very different." Yes, indeed.
Thank you for praying,
Randy Sprinkle, Director
International Prayer Strategy Office
1 CANADA (northern North America). At the
Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, this past
summer, Southern Baptists worked through Reach Out '99, an
interdenominational group, to distribute approximately 75,000 copies
of a souvenir book called More Than Gold. This book gave informa¬
tion about the Games, as well as athletes' testimonies and a gospel
presentation. Missionary Mike Chandler coordinated this outreach
to international visitors and local citizens. Pray that the thousands
who were involved in the Games took home more than a souvenir;
pray that they took home a life changed by an encounter with Jesus.
3 BOSNIA (eastern Europe). Baptist representa¬
tives Bob and Jerry Worley write: "We have two projects
which we hope to realize next year and for which we entreat you
to pray. We have a project to invite two Southern Baptist NBA bas¬
ketball players who are devoted Christians to come and conduct
basketball clinics for two weeks with the youth in the Sarajevo area
and to have a large public service at which they will share their
testimonies. The other project is to bring a quality American track
coach to work for a week with the sports officials in Sarajevo to
develop track and field in Bosnia and also to share his testimony in
a public meeting. Please pray with us that God will provide us
with the right persons for these projects and that they can be used
in a powerful way." The Worleys also ask you to pray that the
Lord will call someone to come and serve as a sports evangelism
coordinator: "Sports offer a great opportunity to build relation¬
ships and share Christ in this culture, and we need someone who
will dedicate himself to this ministry full time."
4 MALAWI (eastern Africa). The Yao people of
Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania are one of the least
reached people groups of Sub-Saharan Africa. While the Yao are
animistic, they also adopted the religion of the Arab slave traders
in that era of African history, so to be Yao is to be Muslim. Fewer
than
1/2
of 1 percent are born-again believers. Missionaries work¬
ing among the Yao met recently to pray down the barriers surround¬
ing this people group. Missionary Sam Upton writes: "About 10
missionaries and 25 Malawians and Mozambicans gathered at
Mangochi Secondary School for four days to pray earnestly for the
Yao." He mentions that two themes emerged during their meet¬
ing — one was unexpected: "The unexpected was a spirit of repent¬
ance and reconciliation." Numerous missionaries and nationals
stood to confess and repent of racism and other sin. Sam contin¬
ues: "The more expected theme of the conference was that the time
has come for the Yao. It is a new day for ministry among the Yao.
There are more people focused upon the Yao than ever before,
both praying for them and ministering among them." Let your
prayers be a part of this groundswell of support for the Yao.
2 PHILIPPINES (southeast Asia). Pray for jour¬
neyman Dustin Gent as he leads a weekly fellowship for young
adults. The majority of those attending are graduates of the
"UPLIFT" project in Cebu that ministers to and trains young peo¬
ple who are out of school and without work. Pray that many will
make Jesus Christ Lord of their lives and will join the Sunday dis-
cipleship training and fellowship time. Pray that these young
adults will turn from their old lifestyles, will seek to live obedient,
Christ-centered Uves, and will be bold witnesses to others about
their transformed lives.
COLOMBIA (northwestern South
America). This past summer, an evangelistic concert was
held on Tierra Bomba, a small island near Cartage with a big need
for Jesus. Because of interest stirred by the concert, there is the
possibility of beginning a new work on this island. Pray for mis¬
sionaries on the North Coast Team as they work with Colombian
Christians to carry the gospel of Christ to the people of Tierra
Bomba. Pray for smooth transportation to and from the island for
those leading the evangelism effort, and pray for the leadership of
the Holy Spirit in future plans for work there..
