Day: June 8, 2016

1. CHINA: 31 Days of Prayer for the Silk Road Peoples
2. CHAD: Mobile Ministry Spreads Gospel Media
3. WALES: A House of Prayer for All Nations
4. UNDISCLOSED COUNTRY: God Raised an Island from the Sea

Greetings!

Ramadan is upon us and with it the month-long season when many of us pray for the Muslim world. Many other notable days are packed into this month, too. In the US, Father’s Day is June 19. World Refugee Day, June 20, is observed by many on World Refugee Sunday, June 26. Numerous ministries reaching out to Muslims are inviting us to pray for those they serve, including OMF which asks that we pray this month specifically for China’s Silk Road peoples (see story below).

Last Sunday at my church we sang the beautiful Chris Tomlin song, Good, Good Father, and I couldn’t help but think how this description of God does not resonate with many, especially Muslims. My heart longed for them to know him as their “good, good Father.”

What will it take for Muslims to change their view of God? In a word… prayer! That is why I am so excited about Frontiers’ Searching for a Father initiative. It coincides with Ramadan but the daily readings follow one refugee family’s story.

Here are some good articles on the topic of God as Father: Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God? (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association), Islam Has No Father (Answering Islam), and, of course, the Bible’s Parable of the Loving Father.

Every day is our Father’s Day!
Pat

Source: OMF International, May 2016

In the Islamic calendar, the special month of Ramadan can remind us to pray with urgency for Muslim peoples across China and other regions of East Asia. For many Muslims, this month is very important, both as a time to renew their commitment and anticipate the main holiday period of the year. Ask God to stir you to pray for the Silk Road people in China during the month of June and early July. Join with others praying for millions of Hui, Uyghurs, and Kazaks to experience Christ’s love.

To join with others in united prayer for the Silk Road people during June and early July:

• Text PRAYSILKROAD to 24587 to receive short daily text messages (a series of prayer points distributed from June 6 to July 6).
• Download the Silk Road 5x5x5 Prayer Guide (PDF) and invite your friends to pray with you at your church or in your small group.
• Pray right now for Hui, Uyghurs, and Kazaks.
• E-mail [email protected] for more information. Get acquainted with and consider adopting workers who need your partnership.
• Discover more at Pray for China’s Silk Road People.

More than 23 million people [are from these] ten ethnic groups, each person an exquisite detail in a living tapestry of cultures. We long to see China’s Silk Road people blessed by the abundant love of God.

» Full story here.

» Also read China’s Massive, Garish Theme Park for the Muslim World and China’s New Silk Road into Europe Is About More Than Money (Foreign Policy), and check out this infograph on China (INContext Ministries).

Source: Mobile Ministry Forum, May 19, 2016

Brother Tamdaji received microSD cards loaded with the French JESUS Film and began training people who would help spread the media. First, he trained 14 people at the local cell phone company how to put the media on other people’s phones.

Next, Brother Tamadji gave Jerry a crash course on how to spread gospel media on phones with microSD cards. Jerry took a microSD card to school and decided to be a witness for Christ and test this method out as people were waiting in a line.

He chose to share the segment of the JESUS Film where Jesus and his disciples are on the lake during a terrible storm. As they waited in line, Jerry showed this video to ten students. They loved the video! Right there in line, three people gave their lives to Jesus.

Jerry feels that mobile ministry is simple, very efficient, and is a strategy that works for today’s youth.

» Read full story and learn more about media ministry serving refugees (YouTube video of webinar).
» What do you make of this? European Churches Say Growing Flock of Muslim Refugees Are Converting (The Guardian).

Source: Joel News International, June 2016

Tucked away in the hills of Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales is a house of prayer and retreat center called Ffald-y-Brenin (Welsh for “The King’s Sheepfold”). Gracefully led by Roy and Daphne Godwin, the center has become the hub of a unique work of God’s Spirit. Their remarkable story is described in the book The Grace Outpouring.

When God called Roy and Daphne to Ffald-y-Brenin, they came in utter helplessness and dependence, not knowing where to start and how to pray. “I cried out to God: “Why did you bring us here? We don’t know what to do with this place.’” Roy recalls. “The first thing he then said to us was: ‘It’s exactly because you don’t know what you’re doing, and you know that you don’t know, that I want you here. I want you to develop this as a house of prayer for all nations.’”

From that moment on, God led the Godwins step by step to develop Ffald-y-Brenin into a place where he could dwell, and it is God’s presence that draws people to the center on a daily basis.

» Full story available from Joel News International. You can also watch an inspiring 12-minute video about this ministry (YouTube/David C. Cook). Cook will be publishing The Way of Blessing, another book about this ministry, in August.

Source: Global Opportunities, May 2016

A man named Lucas had a vision of bringing employment and the gospel to a very closed country [and presented to the government his plan to build a medium-sized hotel]. Much to the regret of everyone involved, no suitable land was found. When he returned to this country some months later and met with the local government again, he was given great news:

“While you were away, the harbor was dredged to make room for larger ships, and the dredged sand has formed an island where you can build your hotel!”

The project moved ahead immediately but not without challenges.

This region happens to be a recruiting ground for a terrorist group, and many of the young local men had already headed off to the warzone. By hiring young men to work on his project, Lucas began indirectly reducing the number of potential recruits; he was offering these men a reason to live whereas the recruiters were only offering them a reason to die. As time went on, Lucas and the local religious leader became close friends, meeting regularly for coffee.

Lucas and his team soon noticed the environmental damage being done by the burning of garbage, and they took it upon themselves to launch recycling and waste management programs.

Today, some one dozen locals hold well-paying jobs, and many more will be hired once the hotel is completed. Their culture is being changed as the workers display a new work ethic; parents are happy that their sons are not going off to die but rather are quitting their drug habits and making something of their lives.

» Read full story.