Crosslinks prayer news April 2010 |
 |
SOUTH AFRICA
1 Crosslinks Associate Mission Partners Jem Hovil works as Field Director for Entrust Foundation, a charity that supports pastor training initiatives across the global South. Lucy Hovil is the senior researcher for a human rights initiative focussing on issues of displacement and citizenship. Please pray for them and children Hudson, Tess and Charlie.
2 Nerena Neathercoat has been working in Durban, helping organise student ministry on the university campus. She is also involved with training apprentices. Recently, these apprentices have been producing Bible study material and meeting up with students to encourage them and pray together.
3 “St. Thomas Church is much in our prayers as we have begun living and working there.” write Alun and Debbie Burt. “Debbie will continue to direct Arise, a project for vulnerable children, and Alun will be part of the church’s pastoral team reaching out to young men in the community. Please join us in praying for open hearts amongst people that we will meet.”
4 2009 was a year of transition for Johannesburg Bible College with a growing staff team and student body. Pray for tutors Glenn and Lizzy Nesbitt, who write: “There are many different ways JBC could serve the church in Jo’burg, so please pray that we would stay focused on our ultimate goal of equipping men and women for Bible teaching ministries.”
5 Kate Randle is working with a South African sports ministry organisation, SCAS, based in Stellenbosch. Her main role is to co-ordinate an internship programme linked to the 2010 Football World Cup. SCAS is working alongside several other organisations under the banner of The Ultimate Goal (TUG). Please pray for Kate as the June kick-off approaches.6 Project Partners Simon and Lindi Banda work for the Bible Institute of the Eastern Cape. They have been moved by the levels of hardship and poverty in the nearby townships, largely caused by unemployment. Please pray for them as they reach into these communities with the love of Jesus.
7 Sihle Mooi works with the Soweto Community Church. He gives thanks for many answers to prayer in the past year; among them a new meeting place for the church. The location is great – it is at the heart of the township. Pray for wisdom and vision to maximise the extraordinary opportunities that this new venue presents them.
8 Ray and Rebekah Brown have been working in a team setting up a church plant in Durban. They ask: “Please pray for the financial needs of Christ Church Glenwood and The Bible Talks (a student ministry) to be met. We have been running at a monthly deficit which cannot be sustained long term.” Please pray that the Lord will meet all of their needs.
CHURCH PLANTS UK
9 David Gibbs is the Senior Minister at Grace Church Wanstead. Please pray that God would give perseverance in evangelism, grow their numbers, save many people and make the church a pillar and buttress of the truth for many years to come. Pray too for Jane, David’s wife.
10 Hugo Charteris is the Senior Minister at Christ Church Newcastle. Please pray that the congregation would have many opportunities to follow up conversations and openings from the Passion for Life initiative that took place in March. Pray that God would establish any who have become believers.
11 Tony Jones is the Senior Minister at Christ Church Durham. One of Christ Church's aims is to send gospel workers into the world. Please pray that God would grow many faithful Christians at Christ Church and then send them into his harvest field.
12 Tim Chapman is the Senior Minister at Christ Church South Cambridgeshire. Please pray that Tim would be able to forge genuine gospel partnerships with other Christians in Sawston, the village where they meet, and that church politics would not distract the church from steady evangelistic work.
EUROPE
13 Please pray for John Paul and Susan Aranzulla. They experienced many difficulties during their first year at the church in Bologna, (Italy); pray that this year may be a time for healing, reconciliation, and growing.
14 Please pray for Chris and Lizzie Brown who are working with students in Florence. Pray for them as they build relationships with the community and co-workers in Gruppi Biblici Universitari (GBU).
15 Jonathan Heeb continues to teach at the Ryttyla Bible College. He and his wife Jessica see their involvement there gradually increasing and are trusting God to lead them forward in his timing. They enjoy supporting and encouraging the students, many of whom are going onto the mission field.
16 Thank God for the Christianity Explored course and the Bible studies Jirka Kralovi has been running for students in the Czech Republic. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of those attending and that they would turn to Christ. Continue to pray for Keira as she learns Czech and is busy in the home with their four children.
TANZANIA
17 Robert and Sharon Heaney have been preparing lectures, seminars and new modules for the BA programs at St John’s University in Dodoma. Please pray for the classes to be taught and the dissertations to be supervised that all would go well for students and staff. Pray too that the proposed MA would be passed by government and have a transformative effect.
18 Bridget Hathaway has been working with the Diocese of Kagera since 1993. Give thanks for all that she has received and learned during this time. Pray for the CBR Programme in Karagwe, and that as Bridget leaves this month they would feel confident in God's strength to continue the work. Pray that Bridget will know God's will for the way ahead and that she will adjust after leaving her friends and work in Kagera.
19 Pray for Philip and Fiona Richardson with Bethany and Jasmine as they visit their partner churches for the last time, having left Tanzania in January. Pray for the work in the Diocese of Ruaha, which they have left behind. Pray for them to discern God’s will for their future beyond July, when they complete their service with Crosslinks.
20 Pray for Bob and Jane Hurley currently visiting their partner churches in the UK. Thank God for the work of Morogoro Bible College (where Bob is Principal) and for the financial provision for the college. Pray that the staff at the college will continue to work well together and in unity, and that the students will be equipped for full-time ministry as they come towards the end of their course in June.
SCHOOLS OF BIBLICAL TRAINING
21 Schools of Biblical Training (SBTs) are a growing part of our means of mission. Four or five-day seminars, led by trainers with good experience of expository ministry, teach local Christian leaders basic principles of preaching. Give thanks for increasing opportunities for SBTs and pray for necessary finance and trainers to run them.
22 With the growth of SBTs Crosslinks is working to develop clear frameworks of materials and administration to enable consistent teaching and well led teams wherever SBTs take place. Pray for Neil Watkinson (Crosslinks MP in Singapore) and Krista Potts at the London Office as they work to achieve this.
23 Trainers come from various countries and usually find their own funding. Many host churches are also able to meet the costs of a SBT, but in some cases the local church has very limited funds and need assistance. Pray for churches and individuals in Britain and Ireland to grasp the vision and partner with SBTs in prayer, encouragement and finance.
24 In January 2010 SBTs took place in Myanmar and Thailand. Many local church leaders worked together in learning and developing skills for understanding and teaching the Bible. Pray that they would be able put this learning into practice. Pray for the local preaching groups which are formed at the end of SBTs to become continue as a means of ongoing encouragement.
25 November 2009 saw an SBT take place in Cuba. The evangelical church there is small but growing: pray for the key church leaders who attended the school to grow in their biblical ministry and to pass on what they have learned to others. Pray for the establishment of an indigenous movement of faithful, clear and relevant Bible preaching in Cuban churches.
26 This week an SBT is planned to run in Serbia, organised and resourced in conjunction with the Crosslinks Ireland Team. Pray for this new venture and the trainers, that a good number of church leaders would be able to attend and that the team would teach well.
SMILE
27 Please pray for the 12 members of the Gambia Smile Gap Team. Pray for usefulness, safety, servant-hearted attitudes, humility, love, evangelistic zeal and transformed lives. Ask that God would equip them for service while at university and that he would eventually bring many of the team into full-time gospel ministry.
28 The Uganda Smile team have three weeks before they return home. Pray that they would make the most of the opportunities they have to share the gospel with the children of Kampala, and to study the Bible themselves as a team. Ask that God would transform them into Christ’s likeness more and more each day, and for them to have an unshakable hope of heaven.
29 The Smile gap team in Thailand only have a week left before they return to the UK. Pray that they would encourage Peter and Ineke Cook and others at Christ Church Bangkok, that they would be lights shining in the darkness in the prisons where they visit and amongst the street kids and red light district workers. Pray for continued safety and obedience to Christ.
30 Pray for preparations for the Smile Summer teams – church based short term mission teams. Pray for God to provide all the finances necessary, good preparation, good works prepared in advance for the teams to do, increased understanding of world mission and a life changing experience for all the team members and leaders.