International Day of Prayer
November, 16 2003
Please Pray for Us
WHAT IN THE WORLD...
...IS GOD DOING?
OUR WORLD TODAY:
• OVER 6 BILLION PEOPLE
(with billions still unreached)
• WAR AND CHAOS
• POVERTY AND PAIN
• SPIRITUAL DECEPTION
JESUS’ RESPONSE: (Matt. 9: 35-38)
• HEART - COMPASSION
“They were harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd”
• ACTION - PRAYER
“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to
send out workers into his harvest field.”
II THESSALONIANS 3:1-3
Pray for us. Pray that the Master’s Word
will simply take off and race through the
world to a groundswell of response, just as
it did among you. And pray that we’ll be
rescued from these scoundrels who are
trying to do us in. I’m finding that not all
“believers” are believers. But the master
never lets us down. He’ll stick by you and
protect you from evil.
- The Message
PRAYER:
1. THE GOSPEL WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY
2. PROTECTION FOR THOSE SHARING
THE GOSPEL
PRINCIPLE:
• GOD IS FAITHFUL - Strengthen & Protect
PRAYER:
1. THE GOSPEL WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY
RAPID CHURCH GROWTH
•
AFRICA -1200 NEW CHURCHES MONTHLY
•
INDIA -NEW CHURCH EVERY 7 MINUTES
•
LATIN AMERICA -20,000 BELIEVERS ADDED DAILY
EXAMPLES OF GROWTH
WITH MUCH OPPOSITION
1. NEPAL
1970 - 15,000
1990 - 70,000
2000 - 400,000
OPPOSITION
• Anti-conversion laws till ‘90
• 7 years prison experiences
• Contemporary discrimination
by Hindu & Maoist militants
POWER WITNESSING
• Miracles
• Prayer
• Healings
• Deliverance
EXAMPLES OF GROWTH
WITH MUCH OPPOSITION
3. CHINA
1970 - 5 million
1990 - 50 million
2000 - 80 million
OPPOSITION
• Beatings, fines, harassment of
house churches & leaders
• House Church pastors in prisons
& labour camps (I00’S)
• Limitation of Bibles, training &
evangelism resources
POWER WITNESSING
• House Church growth
• Young leadership
• Missionary vision
• Power evangelism
HOUSE CHURCH GROWTH
• Now 20,000 new believers daily
• 1 million house churches today
YOUNG LEADERSHIP
• 14-year-old teen planted 400 HC
• 70% of leadership is female
IRAN
AREA: 1,648,000 square kilometres
POPULATION: 64,000,000 (1995)
PEOPLES: Persian peoples (e.g.
Iranian, Kurds, Dari, Pathans etc)
75.6%, Turkic peoples (e.g. Azeri,
Turkmen) 18.8%, Arab 2.2%, others
3.4%
RELIGION: 99% Islam (87% Shia,
12% Sunni), 0.4% Christian, 0.6%
others (Bahai, Zoroastrians, Jews
etc)
IRAN
Islam
Shia Islam is the state religion. After the return of Ayatollah Khomeini to Iran in 1979, Iran
was transformed into an Islamic republic. Sharia law was introduced in the same year. Since
that moment Iran has been ruled by radical Muslims, who have increasingly put extra
pressure upon the Christian church. Though the political leader of Iran wants more open
(economic) relations with the West, the clergymen continue to dominate the scene.
Christianity
The number of Christians in Iran is difficult to establish, because many churches have to
operate in secret. Experts say that the number of Christians in Iran is around 200,000. The
largest churches are: the Armenian Apostolic Church (158,000 believers), the Chaldean
Catholic Church (15,000 believers) and the Assyrian Church of the East (14,800 believers).
Ethiopia
Full Country name: Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia
Capital City:
Addis Ababa
Land area: 1,127,127 sq km (almost twice the size of
Texas)
Population: 67,7 million (2002 est.)
Religions: Ethiopian Orthodox 40%-50%
Muslim 30%-40%
Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestantism 10%-15%
Other 3%-8%
Number of Christians: 7.4 million (and growing)
Ethiopia
Ethnic groups: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%,
Shakella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, Other 1%
Major languages: Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guarigigna,
Somali, Arabic, Other local languages, English (major foreign
language taught in schools)
Persecution: Sporadic; mostly discrimination and becoming an
outcast from family and society
Restrictions & Freedoms: The Constitution provides for freedom of
religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice;
however, on occasion local authorities infringed on this right.
THEY REQUEST FROM US:
• PRAYER
• BIBLES
• OTHER
SPIRITUAL
MATERIALS
• TRAINING
OTHER PRAYER REQUESTS:
• FOR AN END TO THE RELIGIOUS
VIOLENCE.
•FOR THE HUNDREDS OF YOUTH
RECEIVING THE LORD.
• CONTINUED GROWTH OF NEW
BELIEVERS IN MUSLIM REGIONS.
PRAYER:
1. THE GOSPEL WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY
2. PROTECTION FOR THOSE SHARING
THE GOSPEL
PRINCIPLE:
PERSECUTION & SUFFERING
• Public Execution --- Saudi Arabia
• Martyrdom of Leaders --- Iran
• Slave Trade (in Christians) --- Sudan
• Torture, Fines & Imprisonment --- China
• Burning of Church Buildings --- Indonesia
• Expulsion from Homes --- Chiapas, Mexico
• Abduction & marriage of daughters --- Pakistan
OTHER PRAYER REQUESTS:
•Foreign Christian Workers in Various
Regions of Persecution
• Indigenous Christians witnessing during
this time of chaos
• Christians in other Muslim nations sharing
their faith with those around them living in fear
and panic
PRAYER:
1. THE GOSPEL WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY
2. PROTECTION FOR THOSE SHARING
THE GOSPEL
PRINCIPLE:
• GOD IS FAITHFUL - Strengthen & Protect
CONCLUSION:
WHEN WE PRAY…
GOD WORKS!
WHAT IN THE WORLD...
...IS GOD DOING?
International Day of Prayer
November 16, 2003
Please Pray for Us