Continuing with our Week of Prayer for Associational Missions
Please pray for the staff of the Warren Association of Baptists as each day Amy Smith and Jeff Crabtree are there to serve in a variety of ways to help our local pastors, church leaders, and churches to be more effective in their ministry.
Continuing with our Week of Prayer for Associational Missions
Pray for our church health and development areas of our association. Please pray specifically for our Seminary Extension as these come to sharpen their skills for ministry to be used in the local congregations. Pray also for our churches that are evaluating and reestablishing their ministry.
Continuing with our Week of Prayer for Associational Missions
Pray for Pastor Douglas Lopez and his family as they minister to the Hispanic community through Nueva Vida. We are thankful to God for those who came to know the Lord through this ministry this past year. (North American Mission Board recognized Nueva Vida as the 2nd largest Hispanic church in baptisms in the US.) Pray for Pastor Douglas and the congregation that we would see more Hispanics come to know the Lord. In the last census, we have discovered that a larger number of Hispanics have moved to our area. Please pray for them as they minister to this group.
“Overwhelming” – the gripping headline on the front page of the newspaper in Henagar, Alabama. That simple word sums up the mood of the sweet people of the south. As we traveled to serve and help, we became overwhelmed as our eyes looked upon the devastation, as our ears listened to stories of heartbreak, as our shoulders were cried upon by sweet widows and our lips said countless prayers of healing. Overwhelmed, but God was not overshadowed, if anything His presence outshone the rubble, the lifeless landscape, and tears of sorrow.
and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
Continuing with our Week of Prayer for Associational Missions
Please pray for the upcoming evangelism efforts in and around our association. We are thankful to God for using the Eliza Broadus Offering to invest in our Block Party Trailer. Join us to pray that not only the trailer but Vacation Bible School and other evangelistic events would be used to reduce the 85,000 disconnected from Christ in our area.
Today’s Associational Missions Prayer: Please pray for the youth in your church and in our association. After the age of 12, it is much harder to evangelize a person. Thank God for the opportunities He has given us this past year through DISCIPLE NOW and SPOKEN and the hundreds of youth that have been involved to deepen their walk with Christ. Join us to pray that in the coming year more youth would be open to the message of the Gospel.
Pray for Pastor Jason today as he preaches about when God gathers His people together and the difference that God makes with a unified people. Pray that Jason will have the spiritual guidance as he brings God’s message to the people of Living Hope.
Also, pray for two sister churches in town (Hillvue Heigths and Eastwood) that have planted two churches recently. Both church plants started this past Easter.
This week we are going to give prayer emphasis on our association, the Warren Association of Baptists. The WAB unites all the Southern Baptist churches in our association to impact our county for Christ.
Today’s Associational Missions Prayer: Please pray for the 50 pastors of the churches that make up the Warren Association of Baptists. Pray for boldness and direction of the Holy Spirit as they feed their church members God’s Word. Ask God to bless those churches that are seeking a pastor. (Pastor prayer guides are available in the WAB office.)
The remainder of our team is returning today from Alabama. Praise the Lord for people willing to go down and help those in need. Pray for the people of Alabama as they rebuild. I know the team did great work and were able to impact the locals for Christ. Pray for safety as they travel and that this experience will be one they will see as a spiritual marker in their life. May they be able to testify to others how God was glorified in this experience.
Pray for Jason as he finalizes his message for tomorrow. Pray that God will speak through him in a powerful way.
Our team arrived at a mother (age: 80) and sons’ (ago: 60) property, who live right beside one another, both widowed. Ms. Marie lost her husband 36 years ago, and William lost his wife only 2 years ago to cancer. Before we began, we noticed immediately that William had tried very hard to do some of the work on his property himself, yet became overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. So, he was very grateful that we were helping hands. He even brought a cooler filled with drinks out to us and opened up his home for restrooms, which we were thankful for.
Three big trees had been blown down by the storm: one on the house, one on the fence and the other on a car. Our team cut, chopped and placed the limbs and branches into brush piles by the tractor and by hand. With several days of work behind us, our bodies were more tired and stiff, but we all pushed through despite aches and pains.
Because Ms. Marie had to be a work, we presented Bibles to her and her son, and prayed before the job was completed. She was so gracious and thankful as tears streamed down her face. She even said, “In 36 years since my husband died, no one has ever helped me.” We felt so grateful to be helping this sweet widow.
Then worked continued…
We worked until mid-afternoon, and once we finally completed the job, we again, prayed with William in a circle holding hands. This is where the Lord worked in a mighty way. He began crying and barely choked out that he had been watching us, working and helping people we didn’t even know. William said that when we presented the Bible to him earlier in the day, it dawned on him….he did not even own a Bible. He was saved at the age of 14, but since had been lead astray. He felt the Lord slowly breaking him down over the past few years, and he was ready for a change. William also said that he had not attended church in a very long time, because had been not living right. But, “you people” (as he said) had given him inspiration, and he was thinking about going on Sunday! It was a very beautiful moment as we spoke of what the Lord had done in our own lives and why we feel lead to serve others. As we all held hands and prayed together, the Holy Spirit was there, and no one had a dry eye in sight.
Yes, we were blessed. So very blessed.
Pray for William and his sweet mother, Marie.
Five of the 14 team members traveled home last night, everyone made it safely.
Pray for the remaining 9 team members, for strength, for safety and for the Lord to open more doors to share His beautiful name.
These requests are from our Prayer Request Cards on Sunday morning. The submitter has given permission for this information to be placed on our prayer sheet. For blog purposes, full names are not mentioned and for some, initials are used.
Mike’s mother is having double knee replacement surgery on the 10th.
Keith’s Aunt Patsy had her last round of radiation. Pray that the treatment works and for strength for the family and her.
Pray for an unspoken for “T” and “B”
A family lost their house in a fire this past weekend. Pray for strength and perseverance as they rebuild.
Pray for all the disaster relief and utility workers in the Deep South this week. May they be safe and able to minister to those in need.
Praise from Steven: We sold our house!!!
Joe, the friend of “L”, needs Jesus