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The Lord hears and answers. Praise the Lord!
We thank God that the revised and updated version of Scattered and Gathered: a Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology has been released. Please pray this new edition will provoke more readers to deeper thought, careful study, effective participation, fervent prayer and joyful praise regarding God’s plans for diaspora.
Praise God for bringing about the online Lausanne Diaspora Virtual Summit on August 26 and 27. Over 800 registrants participated in the summit; some of these registrations represented couples, classes or other groups. Please pray for what was said to lead to action. Pray that people and organizations will collaborate and seek glory for the Lord alone.
Prayer requests from Global Diaspora Network participants
Celebrations of traditional festivals provide unique opportunities in diaspora ministry; they can help people outside of these traditions learn about values, stories and worldviews. Conversations about festivals can often lead to spiritual discussions. Pray that Christ-followers will embrace the humble ministry of hospitality during festivals and beyond. Please pray particularly for the following upcoming festivals:
1. Many people from various Hindu traditions will celebrate the Festival of Light, known as Diwali or Deepawali, on November 14. During this time, many Christ-followers will be praying for one billion Hindus using 15 Days of Prayer for the Hindu World (November 8-22). Please pray that in this month the story of the Creator’s victory over darkness will be made known to diaspora Hindus through conversations, dreams, skits, songs and other methods.
2. Thanksgiving (November 26), more than any other major holiday in the United States, is when extended families gather. It also often marks the start of Christmas shopping season. According to the UN, the US is home to 51 million international migrants, many of whom believe the States to be a land of economic opportunity. Please pray for Christ-followers in the States to find creative ways to celebrate God’s goodness on Thanksgiving with/among diaspora individuals and families. Pray for the Church in America to demonstrate hope and satisfaction in trusting the Lord rather than in chasing material gain.
3. The birthday festival of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, will be on November 30. The Lausanne Sikh Working Group has asked Christ-followers to unite in prayer for Sikhs on this day; the group will be hosting a prayer call. Please pray for Sikhs to be drawn to the Lord Jesus, the Good Teacher.
4. For many Christ-followers around the world, Christmas (December 25) is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. As with many other festivals, some people observe this holiday without participating in any religious ceremonies; some are unaware of any religious significance. Please pray that Christ-followers will rejoice together in the Lord, His coming and His soon return. Pray that they will find many creative ways to invite others into this joy.
At the beginning of July, GDN colleague SJT was hospitalized due to an emergency. Pray for the seeds that were planted among the diaspora health staff (many from African and Asian Muslim-majority nations) and patients at the hospital where he stayed for two months. Pray for more opportunities for SJT and his family to plant seeds as he stays now at the rehabilitation hospital. Praise God that his first roommate prayed to receive Jesus before being discharged. Please also pray for the miraculous complete restoration and rehabilitation of SJT.
Please pray that the Lord will soon provide a new volunteer prayer coordinator for GDN who will be able to bless the network in special ways during its next stage of development.
Please continue to pray for wisdom in planning GDN’s consultation on Africans in diaspora and diasporas in Africa, which is scheduled to take place in Cape Town, August 2021.
Pray for the equipping of students to reach international students. Ask God to stir up local churches to earnestly train, release and support youth to serve cross-culturally.
Pray for an abundant sowing of the Word of God. Pray that Bibles – whether in printed text, a digital format, an audio device, etc – may be widely offered for free in heart languages. Ask God to prepare souls of those receiving Bibles to be fertile soil.
As another year passes, may the Church have increased compassion upon unreached people groups who have little to no access to the good news of Jesus and who have waited another year without hearing it. Pray that the unreached who are also diaspora people – wherever they live, whether they are Tibetan or Uyghur, Brahmin or Shaikh, Turk or Japanese – will encounter the Lord through His Body.
Digital Migrants & Virtual Space
COVID-19 has accelerated changes in the way people gather and share ideas. Praise God that moving online has led to greater participation in some cases. Thank God that visas and plane tickets are not hindrances for virtual meetings. Praise God for the ways diaspora communities are able to connect online with each other and with homeland communities.
Pray for wisdom to bridge digital divides. There is great diversity around the world as far as bandwidth availability, device specifications and familiarity with various apps and tools. Pray for proper perspective to avoid both favoritism and neglect. Pray for clear connections across cultures.
Pray for creativity to effectively use online technology for Kingdom growth. Pray that for each culture, relevant content which shares the good news of Jesus will be uploaded, accessed and shared worldwide. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth more laborers into the digital fields.
Pray for online gatekeepers, such as tech workers and digital platform employees, to pursue righteousness and justice in their fields and to follow Christ. Pray that evil online activities – bullying, trafficking, exploitation, persecution, lying, etc. – will be exposed and removed. Pray that the movement of people in and out of virtual space will lead to spiritual movements in every geographic place.