The Lord hears and answers. Praise the Lord!
Praise God for the completion of the Korean translation of Scattered and Gathered: a Global Compendium of Diaspora Missiology. We also thank the Lord for the progress made on revising the English edition and for the release of other books such as Refugee Diaspora. Please pray that the Lord will use these books to spur more Christ-followers on to prayer, study and action regarding diaspora and the Kingdom.
We thank God for the opportunities GDN leaders have had and will have to share and network at various conferences around the world. Please pray that the preparations and travel involved for each person for each gathering will lead to much fruitfulness for the Kingdom.
In our previous prayer newsletter, we mentioned Pastor Ezra Jin, who had shared about the vision to send 20,000 Chinese missionaries to unreached people groups by 2030. Recently, Pastor Jin, other Chinese pastors and foreign NGO workers were arrested and released. We repeat our prayer requests and pray the Body will stand with our brothers and sisters in China. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth these laborers full of the Spirit, devoted to the Word and prayer (Matthew 9:37-38, Acts 6:4). The Lord hears and answers. Praise the Lord!
Prayer requests from Global Diaspora Forum participants
Several major festivals in various Hindu traditions take place from mid-October to the beginning of November: Navaratri, Dashain, Diwali and Tihar. The 15 Days of Prayer for the Hindu World aims to help the Body of Christ unite in prayer during this period. Please pray that the Light of the world will shine in the hearts of Hindus around the world. Pray that many will experience freedom from fear of evil spirits and from ignorance or deception preventing lasting peace. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
We thank God for a meaningful Nepali-Speaking Christian Students and Professionals Conference in August near St Louis. About 100 attendees were challenged to be effective witnesses at their universities and workplaces, to mentor and encourage other Nepali-speakers and to bless Nepal and Bhutan within their professions. Please pray that the Spirit will remind them of these ideas and guide them to keep moving forward. (John 14:26)
Please continue to pray for the Lausanne North American diaspora strategy group being formed. Pray that God’s purposes in bringing 57 million international migrants into the region will be fulfilled. Ask God to assemble the core team as He sees fit and that the process will be covered in prayer (Luke 6:12).
After presenting at a missiology conference, SJT had an emergency health situation which required him to be hospitalized in a foreign land. Praise God for His provision of the encouragement of local brothers and sisters in Christ, of miraculous healing so he could return home for treatment, and of the opportunities for those involved to share the good news of Christ with nurses, taxi drivers and others in the process. Please pray for SJT’s physical healing and recovery from treatment. Please also pray for the spiritual healing of those who witnessed the love of Christ in action. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
The Lausanne Global Workplace Forum, taking place June 2019 in Manila, will seek to help “mobilize the whole church – in every corner of the workplace – as bearers of the gospel.” Workplaces are important arenas for cross-cultural interactions involving diaspora people. Please pray for the general preparations for the forum as well as the planning for diaspora-related discussions and equipping tools (Luke 5:1-11).
Frontier people groups are unreached people groups with fewer than 0.1% Christians and no known gospel movement. The 31 largest FPGs, representing an eighth of the world’s population, have been highlighted in a new prayer guide. Please pray that as people pray through this guide, the Lord will bring conviction and repentance where there has been a lack of obedience to “go and make disciples.” Pray that the movement of people will facilitate Kingdom movements among every FPG, that they might hear God’s mighty works in their own languages (Matthew 28: 18-20, Acts 2:11).
On the Move: Bania
The Bania are one of the 31 largest frontier people groups, with nearly all 29 million people following Hindu and Jain traditions. While a couple hundred thousand live in neighboring countries, most Bania live in India, where they have long been viewed as skilled leaders in banking, money-lending, dealing in spices and grains and other economic ventures. It would not be surprising to find financially successful Bania as immigrants or international students outside of South Asia.
Please pray for Bania Christ-followers to be led by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate and express hope in ways which are meaningful to the community. Pray for the dismantling of every work of evil spirits trying to prevent Bania from recognizing their Creator and Provider. Pray for workplace interactions to lead to discussions on Biblical truths and gospel movements. (Acts 14:8-18)
Strategic Gathering: Sulawesi
On September 28, an earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. At the time of writing, officials report over 1500 dead, including 34 children at a Bible camp, and 70,000 homes destroyed. Initially reluctant, the Indonesian government has agreed to accept international aid. Over a thousand people died in violent clashes between Muslims and Christians in the 1990s and early 2000s; perhaps this disaster will lead to forgiveness, reconciliation and lasting peace.
Please ask the Lord to reveal His comforting presence to every broken and hurting heart. Pray for a spiritual openness in communities and pray for many to receive dreams and visions about turning to Christ. Pray that residents and aid workers who follow Christ will have opportunities to offer hope to those around them and that communities will experience healing from deep wounds. (Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:18)
(Information gathered from Migration Policy Institute, Pray for the 31 – www.go31.org, Joshua Project, Global Prayer Digest, Al Jazeera, Operation World)