“God’s glory is the perfect harmony of all his attributes into one infinitely beautiful and personal being.”- John Piper

Everything God does is for his glory, which includes missions. It is humbling to know that God has calledus to partner with Him to ensure that his glory covers the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. Andone way we can achieve this is through prayer. God’s ultimate desire is that “the earth will be filled withthe knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV)

For this goal to be achieved, two things must be done. First, we must “Go” to the nations. The more wesend committed men and women to go in the name of the Lord, the more the knowledge of God’s gloryincreases and extends all over the earth. Secondly, we must pray for God to send out the men andresources needed to “Go” to the nations. Prayer must precede the “going” before God’s ultimate goal,which is, to see his glory cover the whole earth will be achieved. Prayer paves the spiritual highway forthe going into the nations.

Prayer is necessary to actualize the goal of missions because in prayer we tap into God’s omnipotencefor wisdom and strength to achieve his purpose on the earth. When we pray for missions, we submitourselves to God who owns the work of missions. As Piper wrote, “Prayer is the essential activity ofwaiting for God — acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking Hiscounsel. Since His purpose in the world is to be exalted for His mercy, it is evident why prayer is so oftencommanded by God. Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence, which opposes God’s goalof getting glory by working for those who wait for Him…God is not looking for people to work for Him,so much as He is looking for people who will let Him work for them. The gospel commands us to give upand hang out a help-wanted sign (this is the basic meaning of prayer). Then the gospel promises thatGod will work for us if we do. He will not surrender the glory of being the Giver.”

THE ROLE OF MAN

Some have asked, does man have a role to play in the extension of the glory of God on the earth? Isn’tGod sovereign? Is he not omnipotent? Does he need the help of a fragile creature like man, to make hisglory known on the earth? The answer to this question is a big “yes”. God needs a person. God hascommitted himself to work with a person in the advancement of his purpose on the earth. Prophet Isaiahaddresses this issue in Isaiah 66:18-20, he said, “I can see what they are doing, and I know what they arethinking. So, I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. I will perform asign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, tothe Libyans and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyondthe sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to thenations.” (Isaiah 66:18-19 NLT)

Another text that supports the involvement of man in the task of making the glory of God known in thenations is Psalm 72. This Psalm is about the universal reign of an earthly king believed to be Solomon. Itis also believed that this earthly king under reference prefigured Jesus Christ whose glory would coverthe whole earth. The kingly Psalm ends with these words, “This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.”(Psalms 72:20 NLT). But what were the prayers David made for the reign of Solomon? They include hisenduring reign and the spread of his glory. David’s prayers are contained in the whole Psalm, especiallyin verses 17-19, “May the king’s name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May allnations be blessed through him and bring him praise. Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alonedoes such wonderful things. Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with hisglory. Amen and amen!” (Psalms 72:17-19 NLT)

Thus, from the above two texts, we see that man shares in the responsibility of making the glory of Godknown to the nations. As earlier stated, one means of achieving this is through prayer. David prayed forthe glory of the king to be felt among the nations.

NEED FOR PRAYER

Unfortunately, among all the activities needed to actualize God’s ultimate goal, prayer is the least done.We do not lack in ideas, we do not lack in vision and strategy, we do not lack in mission programs, whatwe lack is a fervent, effective and sustained prayer for missions. Wesley Duewel once said, “The greatestlack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer.”

STATISTICS

It is said that there are about 12,000 people groups on earth, some of which have heard the Gospeland developed movements to Christ; others have still not had that opportunity. About 5500 UnreachedPeople Groups still do not have an indigenous movement of believers with numbers and resources toreach their groups (less than 5% Christian). An even needier subset- 4700 “frontier” or least reachedpeople groups are less than 0.1% Christian. Effective prayer is indispensable if we are to complete such a vast task of reaching the remaining unreached peoples with the gospel.

WE MUST BE STRATEGIC IN OUR PRAYERS

To extend God’s glory to the ends of the earth, our prayer must be intense, consistent and sustained.Our prayer must also be strategic. Strategically, we must target the unseen powers that have held swayover the lives in each Unreached People Group.We must strategically target the barriers that inhibit the efforts to reach the remaining unreachedpeoples in our prayers. These barriers include cultural and spiritual strongholds; the physical barriers;

the communication barriers; the geographical barriers; the religious barriers; the economic barriers; andthe political barriers.

Prophet Isaiah reveals what would happen when we intentionally pray to break down these barriers. Hesays the veil that is over the nations would be broken. “And He will destroy on this mountain the surfaceof the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.” (Isaiah 25:7 NKJV)There is no question that the remaining UPG are all locked up behind spiritual barriers that keep themaway from the light of the gospel. Paul, like Isaiah, agrees that these veils or strongholds could bebroken off the minds of people so that they can embrace the light of the gospel. “Casting downarguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thoughtinto captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (II Corinthians 10:5 NKJV). May the Spirit of prayer be pouredout on the Church so that we would be able to complete the remaining task among the UnreachedPeoples of the earth.

Austen C. Ukachi
IPC West African Regional Co-ordinator.
Co-ordinator, Strategic Prayer Network Co-ordinator, MANI

Please pray for the relief effort to help the people of the region of Palu, Sulawesi in Indonesia that was hit by a destructive tsunami caused by a 7.5 earthquake three days ago. Towns are cut off from communication and people are desperate for clean water to drink, food, and other aid. The streets are lined with outdoor, make-shift morgues and the death toll is likely to climb dramatically. The airport has been damaged, making it challenging to get relief to them. It is “an excruciating recovery effort that is just beginning to get underway as the death toll climbs. To date, more than1,000 people have died in the catastrophe, but a local report has described scenes of widespread tragedy, with "bodies everywhere."

Please see this link for more information:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/bodies-34-children-discovered-indonesias-sulawesi-volunteers-dig/story?id=58203430

• Please pray for Indonesia and the people affected by this disaster during this urgent time of recovery. 
• Pray especially for the effective coordination and distribution of aid in time to help those still alive. 
• Pray for God’s comfort for those who mourn the loss of their relatives and friends and for His redemptive working to bring good out of this awful situation.

Articles on different aspects of this troubling phenomenon

“Over the past few weeks, the Chinese government has escalated its persecution of Christians by destroying crosses, burning Bibles, confiscating religion materials, and closing churches.

This week the Beijing city authorities banned Zion Church, one of the largest unofficial Protestant “house” churches in the city and confiscated “illegal promotional materials.” The crackdown started in April, after the church rejected requests from authorities to install 24 closed-circuit television cameras in their building.

Bob Fu, president of China Aid and the recipient of ERLC’s Religious Liberty Award in 2007, told the Associated Press that the closure of churches in central Henan province and a prominent house church in Beijing in recent weeks represents a “significant escalation” of the crackdown.

“The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” said Fu.

Fu also provided the AP with video footage of what appeared to be piles of burning Bibles and forms stating that the signatories had renounced their Christian faith. Fu said that marked the first time since Mao’s 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution that Christians had been compelled to make such declarations, under pain of expulsion from school and the loss of welfare benefits.

Chinese law requires Christians to worship only in congregations registered with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, but many millions belong to so-called underground or house churches that defy government restrictions… 

Churches in China that are not part of either the state-sanctioned China Christian Council or the Three-Self Patriotic Movement are considered “house churches.” The term can be misleading, though, since it can refer to any unauthorized church, regardless of size or meeting location. Some “house churches” in China are mega-congregations. The Zion Church in Bejing had 1,500 members.

Freedom of religion is technically guaranteed in the Chinese constitution. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1982 specifies that:

Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.

The constitution protects the right to hold or not hold a religious belief, and protects "normal religious activities," that is, religion groups that submit to state control through the State Administration for Religious Affairs. China has five officially sanctioned religious organizations: the Buddhist Association of China, the Chinese Taoist Association, the Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

As Brian C. Stiller, the Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, says, “The issue isn’t so much freedom of religion as it is freedom of assembly. The government seems not as concerned about what people believe, as they are over people gathering in large groups or by becoming too public.”

https://stream.org/brutal-truth-persecution-christians-china/

In recent months, there have been increasingly disturbing reports about the persecution of Christians in China…There were over 240,000 recorded examples of persecution in China in 2017, up from roughly 48,000 in 2016. This represents a very concerning spike in hostile activity…

Specifically, “By 2020, the Communist Party will attempt to monitor its citizens through a massive surveillance system called China Skynet.

“China’s Skynet combines mobile phone GPS tracking, text message collection, 170 million security cameras, to make sure everyone is harmonious to make sure no one does anything illegal.

“China also controls the media.  There is the state-run media but private networks are censored. So, while China, today, barely resembles the Communist State of the 1950s and 1960s in terms of economic structure, it still retains almost all if the other aspects of Communism.: state control, censorship and mass surveillance.”

The 14-Year-Plan

According to the detailed report sent to me, the government has implemented a three-phase, 14-year plan:

“During the first 2-year phase, 2012-2014, it further eased persecution of the underground church, enticing more of them to surface and be identified.”…

“During the second 2-year phase, 2014-2016, it invited and then pressured the identified underground churches to register and become Three-Self government churches.   

“In the current third, 10-year phase, the gloves have come off as both the remaining underground churches and even Three Self churches are being persecuted using Mao-era brute-force, as well as mass surveillance, artificial intelligence, and big data.”

The Persecution

What, exactly, has been taking place? According to the report:

• Over 2,000 crosses already have been burned or ripped down from church buildings.
• Many churches have been demolished.
• Thousands of pastors already have been arrested, beaten, tortured and/or sentenced to years in prison.
• By 2020, 600 million CCTV cameras – nearly one for every 2 Chinese citizens – will blanket China. They are being forcibly installed inside church buildings to record 24/7 the entrances, stairwells, offering boxes, and Bible counters to monitor who attends church, buys Bibles, and where those Bibles are taken.
• The Chinese government’s new “social credit system” has begun to assign social credit scores to its citizens for not loitering, not jaywalking and other compliant behaviors, which eventually will include not attending “illegal” underground churches.
• Chinese Christians will only be able to purchase the Communism-friendly version of the Bible that the Communist Party is presently translating.
• In February of 2018, the Chinese Communist Party also drastically increased its penalties and restrictions targeted against Christians. The government will also tighten up control over religious activities in schools, religious postings online, and trips overseas for religious training.
• Recently, the State Council endorsed the penalties, adding that anybody providing a venue for an “illegal religious event” will face a fine of between 20,000 yuan ($2,900.00 USD) and 200,000 yuan ($29,000.00 USD).

Also, in September of 2017, the Chinese government announced that: “Anyone who organizes an unapproved religious event will be fined 100,000 to 300,000 Yuan ($14,500 USD to $43,500 USD).” And, “Anyone who rents or provides the venue for such an event will be fined 20,000 to 200,000 Yuan ($2,900 to $29,000 USD).”

In addition to this, there are nationwide efforts to exalt the rule of President Xi (this has been reported in the west as well; see here), even in Mao-liketerms. Xi has said that religion must be guided by the party to adapt to socialist society, and with that, the government-run churches have announced plans for the “Sinicization of Christianity.” Specifically, this refers to “bending Christianity to submit to the will of the Chinese Communist Party.”

But what is clear is that millions of our brothers and sisters in that vast and important country are really suffering. Let us pray for them and for their government. And let’s ask our government to address this humanitarian crisis today.This is the very least we can do.”

But what is clear is that millions of our brothers and sisters in that vast and important country are really suffering. Let us pray for them and for their government. And let’s ask our government to address this humanitarian crisis today.This is the very least we can do.”
04 China’s Pastors Take Their Stand

“When thinking of the golden age of the Church, many of us hearken back to the book of Acts, when Peter and John stood up to the religious authorities, who told them to be silent about Jesus the risen Messiah. “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God,” they answered, “you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Then they prayed for boldness, and the Church exploded across much of the ancient world.

But there’s a golden age for the church going on right now—with the same kind of courage, persecution, and Spirit-empowered growth. Where is it? In communist China.

World missions historians tell us that when all the foreign missionaries were kicked out of Mao’s China a few years after the Second World War, there were probably no more than 3 million believers in Jesus Christ in the whole, vast nation. But today, seven decades later, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life counts 67 million Christians of all kinds—35 million independent Protestants, 23 million Protestants in government-sanctioned churches, and 9 million Catholics. Other estimates go even higher.

Whatever the true number is, it’s almost as many as there are members of the Communist Party! Maybe that’s why the government is cracking down on Christians. According to Christianity Today and other news outlets, Under President Xi Jinping, China’s government has been tightening its grip on religious affairs.

In February, regulations aimed at religious groups have brought increased pressure on churches to be “Chinese” culturally and to submit to the authority of the Communist Party. Churches are being told to burn their crosses and replace them with Chinese flags and to display slogans praising the Communist Party. Some are being forced to join the government-sanctioned churches and permit video surveillance of their services.
Meanwhile, in Jiangxi province, authorities have forced at least 40 churches to display banners forbidding foreigners from preaching and anyone under 18 from attending. In August, they even published new rules stating, “Party members who have religious belief should have strengthened thought education.”

In the spirit of Peter and John, a group of at least 250 Chinese pastors has publicly signed a joint statement opposing the new regulations. In the statement they declare that Jesus is Lord of all, offering eternal life to anyone who will repent and believe in Him.

But they also say, in a challenge to the Chinese communists, “God hates all attempts to suppress human souls and all acts of persecution against the Christian church, and he will condemn and judge them with righteous judgment.”

Then, like Peter and John, they pledge obedience not to the earthly authorities but to King Jesus, no matter what. “We declare that in matters of external conduct, churches are willing to accept lawful oversight by civil administration or other government departments as other social organizations do. But under no circumstances will we lead our churches to join a religious organization controlled by the government, to register with the religious administration department, or to accept any kind of affiliation.”

They close their incredible joint statement with the bracing yet sobering words, “For the sake of the gospel, we are prepared to bear all losses—even the loss of our freedom and our lives.”
Friends, is it any wonder that the church in China has grown, and continues to grow? What we’re seeing before our eyes is the golden age of the church in China. How can we not pray for these wonderful brothers and sisters? And more than that, how can we not emulate their costly faithfulness in our own little corner of God’s world?”

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please pray for the government of China and President Xi to repent of this new policy against religious believers and their gatherings. Pray that religious freedome can be restored and that in the meantime, Christian leaders and believers will be greatly strengthened to be bold like lions and continue their ministries across the land with its vast population still needing to come to Christ.

Articles on the history and nature of Islam, the Islamic Jihad, Islamofascism and the growing connection with Leftist Totalitarianism Excerpted from JihadWatch.org)

The History of Islamic Jihad

“For those who still think — and, alas, there remain many — that Islamic terrorism has emerged only in the last forty years or so, The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS, Robert Spencer’s carefully researched work on jihad from the beginning of Muhammad’s political and prophetical career to the acts of terrorism of September, 11, 2001, will be a salutary shock…

One of the chief merits of Spencer’s account of Muhammad’s career in this book’s first chapter is that he relies entirely on those earliest extant Arabic sources, and if the picture that emerges of the Prophet of Islam is far from flattering, Muslims, at least, cannot complain that it is a portrait painted by the enemy or infidels. Unfortunately, much of the subsequent bloody history of Islam that is recounted in this book can be seen to derive from the example set by its founder: his intolerance of non-Muslims, his anti-Jewish sentiments, his attitude to women, all are attested to in the Islamic sources.

Thanks to Spencer’s book, we can no longer pretend that Islamic fundamentalism is an aberrant form of Islam. The seeds of violence and intolerance are already there in seventh-century Arabia, and in the life of Muhammad..

Along the way, he shatters many myths, such as the myth of the Golden Age of Spain, a putative period of ecumenical harmony, a kind of perpetual medieval Woodstock Summer of love. He also puts the Crusades into perspective, and reminds us that the Crusades were a belated response to years and years of jihad, and persecution of Christians. Spencer brings the story up to modern times, not forgetting the Armenian genocides perpetuated by the Turks between 1915 and 1923.

Robert Spencer’s work is essential reading for all of us, for all those who want to defend our values from the relentless jihad that has not ceased for fourteen centuries.”

The threat of Islamicization coupled with Leftist totalitarianism

“As totalitarianism overshadows America, no one can say that they were not forewarned. Both Horowitz and Spencer have been sounding the alarm for years; the Muslim Brotherhood plan for North America has been public knowledge for years. Its Explanatory Memorandum is expansive and detailed in describing its mission:

“The process of settlement is a ‘Civilization-Jihadist Process’ with all the word means. The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

9/11 “mastermind” Khalid Sheik Mohammed stated:

“We will win because Americans don’t realize . . .we do not need to defeat you militarily; we only need to fight long enough for you to defeat yourself by quitting.”

Mohammed was correct. Far too many citizens of the West have quit — they take their freedoms of granted and are in denial, having not learned the lesson of history that fascism is insidious and does not take control of societies suddenly, as many seem to think. Its invasion is methodical and gradual.

Some examples of how businesses have joined the totalitarian initiative:

Kellogg Co. announced on November 2016 its decision to pull ads from Breitbart “because its 45,000,000 monthly conservative readers are not ‘aligned with our values as a company.’” Here we see Kellogg’s attempting to control the thoughts of citizens and impose its values on consumers. Fortunately, Breitbart “launched a #DumpKelloggs petition and called for a boycott of the ubiquitous food manufacturer, which lead to plummeting stock and reported $53 million loss in the fourth quarter.” The arrogance of Kellogg Co. was astounding, with CEO John Bryant claiming that the company’s massive losses were just a “coincidence” and not due to the boycott.

In the three months following Kellogg’s war against Breitbart:

the company has faced allegations of racism toward factory workers and has been accused of allegedly profiting from the use of child labor. Its non-profit W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s ties to radical anti-American billionaire George Soros, hate group Black Lives Matter, and deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro have been exposed, and the Michigan-based company is set to shutter dozens of distributions centers and lay off more than 1,100 full-time employees…

These are but a mere few examples, but they go on and on. What normal citizen can point out the “hate” in exposing such news? Every single day, reports emerge from the four corners of the earth about human rights abuses committed in the name of Islam, Islamic supremacist incursions into once-peaceful countries, the slaughter and injury of innocent people committed in the name of Islam, and jihad attacks. If reporting and discussing these facts are an offense to Muslims and deemed to be “hateful” and “racist,” then we need to have serious open discussions about why and how this is so. But there is a strenuous effort to shut down all discussion of these matters…

It is by degrees that totalitarians manage to seize control. The establishment media becomes a mouthpiece of the people in power, and soon, the population becomes enslaved to their ideologies, as we see with Islamofascism. It is abusive, oppressive and aims to silence all dissent as it marches against the House of War in order to subvert it and bring it into the House of Islam. This 1,400-year-old doctrine has infiltrated the West in the private and public sectors, and the Muslim Brotherhood, in accordance with its memorandum, has managed to redefine “hate” to mean any criticism of Islam…”

The Success of Islam

SEP 15, 2018 9:00 AM BY AMIL IMANI

“The religious aspect of Islam played a minuscule role in the propagation of Islam, as evidenced by the fact that Muhammad’s preaching in Mecca for thirteen years converted only 150 followers. Keep in mind that this is the period when Mohammad was meek, powerless and a “crazed poet.” Nearly all his Mecca Quran dealt with mystical and religious type issues, with Allah’s hell and paradise.

It was during following nine years in Medina, where a religious-mystical preacher was replaced by a violent and combative activist, when tens of thousands flocked to his faith. The Arabs of the time lived with chronic violence, one tribe against another. Warring among themselves was a major way of gaining wealth and making a living. Hence Muhammad’s success against the Jews of Medina began to attract others in droves to the booty of wealth, women and children.

The success of Islam from the early days depended on war and violence. During thirteen years in Mecca, Islam expanded by about twelve followers a year. But the Islam of Medina, based on war and violence and the enticement of booty, expanded the rank of the creed exponentially. It is estimated that Islam’s numbers swelled to nearly 100,000 by the time of Muhammad’s death.

Clearly, Islam surged at the point of the sword, with the dictum of polarization. Muslims were considered righteous irrespective of their deeds, while the kefirs (infidels) were stigmatized as enemies of Allah and subject to maltreatment and death.

For a belief system with such lofty claims as the perfect prescription for eternal life authored by the creator of universe, Islam is anything but logical and consistent. It is more like sleight of hand. Now you see it, now you don’t. Situational ethics, contradictions, and outright errors are rampant in Islam’s scripture.

For example, Quran 2:219 admonishes the faithful to be forgiving and tolerant of Jews and Christians. Yet Quran 9:29 directs Muslims to attack them until they are humbled and made to pay the jizyeh, the dhimmi tax. And Muslims to this day do exactly that. They act tolerant toward the People of the Book until they gather enough power. Then they proceed full force to subdue, humble and make them pay backbreaking Islamic taxes and submit to Sharia.

It is instructive to note that much of the Meccan Quran, the mystical poetic and more gentle Quran, characterized by tolerance and acceptance of others, is overturned by the intolerant and combative Quran of later Medina. Powerlessness was accompanied by meekness, while power unleashed savagery and violence.

Another telling point about this Islamic expediency and hypocrisy is clearly seen in the two parts of the Quran. The gentle Quran of Mecca is very Jewish. It is full of accounts about Jewish figures such as Noah, Adam and Moses. By contrast, the brutal Quran of Medina is full of negative assertions, and is anti-Jewish…

Once in Medina, Muhammad hit on a most powerful formula for success. He justified everything by claiming that Allah wanted it this way. And Allah was nothing to trifle with. He held the key to the most magnificent paradise as well as to a dreadful hell. The duty of every good Muslim became unquestioning obedience to everything that Muhammad said and wished. Muhammad became Allah’s gatekeeper to paradise and hell.

Muhammad’s formula worked magic with the Bedouins of Arabia, who thrived on robbery and killing. His religion spread in no time at all.

As Muhammad gathered more and more followers, he turned on the Jewish community of Medina, killed the men, plundered their belongings, and captured their women and children as slaves. That was the birth of “Jihad.” Be meek and deceptive first, until you gather enough power then unsheathe the sword. It worked then and it is working today.

In no time, the savages of Arabia were lured by the win-win promise of Muhammad: you kill, you get the booty from your victims in this world, and if you get killed, your abode will be the unimaginably glorious sensuous paradise of Allah. Sword in hand, they sallied forth to lands near and far…”

Jihadwatch.org

Please pray for our government authorities in our various nations to clearly see the growing danger of Islamicization and its connection with the “politically correct” and insidious Leftist totalitarians who seek the overthrow of traditional values of limited government and the protection of religious and personal freedom for individuals.
Pray with the Lord’s delegated authority that the principalities and powers behind these false and deceptive and destructive ideologies will be bound and driven out of our nations and governments.

As Christians start taking prayer seriously in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Unbelievers will hear about this and start coming to Christians for prayer. Unbelievers will see the power of the Christian's faith.

• Pray that Christians living across Bosnia and Herzegovina would be praying for Unbelievers around them.
• Pray that the Christians would take the power of prayer to the streets and pray over Unbelievers.
• Pray that unbelievers who are hungry to be touched by God will seek out Christians to pray for them.
• Pray that God would continue to prepare unbelievers hearts for the Good News.
• Pray for dreams and visions of Jesus among unbelievers from Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic backgrounds.
• Pray for healings where Bosnian Unbelievers know it was Jesus who healed them.
• Pray that the Bible will become a greatly honored book in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Pray for men of peace to come to Jesus.
• Pray for leaders to come to Jesus.
• Pray for repentance of sin and the coming of the His Kingdom.

God is raising up prayer all around the world - and He is clearly using children in prayer to make an impact on a scale never seen before.

The Operation World team have released a new prayer resource for the world aimed at informing and mobilizing families and children - Window on the World. Although it's full of colourful photos and interesting facts, the purpose of this resource is to nurture in kids a spirit of prayer and a missional vision for God's world.

There are over 100 two-page spreads sharing stories and prayer needs of various countries, people groups, and religions around the world. It rests on Operation World's foundations of solid research, relational networks with Christian leaders all over the world, and a Biblical worldview in step with the Spirit.

This new edition (the previous one being published in 2001) includes a number of new entries in keeping with the needs of our world in 2018 - nations like Syria and South Sudan, peoples like the Rohingya and Somalis, and issues like Third Culture Kids. But beware: using with children might lead to them becoming intercessors, missionaries, or both!

If you have any specific ideas about movements and countries that might be interesting in larger scale purchases, I would expect that we might be able to negotiate special prices, or possibly even local print runs in other countries. One of the design elements was the ability to publish in full colour or in black and white if necessary. We're very keen to see it translated into other languages and printed and distributed where those other languages are spoken, for prices in keeping with those local economies.

Window on the World was Edited by Jason Mandryk and Molly Wall.

Order Window on the World: https://www.ivpress.com/window-on-the-world

Contact Jason Mandryk / Operation World: http://www.operationworld.org/jasonow-team

Rebecca Winter Lewis, daughter of missiologist Ralph Winter, has done us all a great service to put together this Youtube video that lays out the remaining task of sharing Christ’s Gospel with the Unreached Peoples of our world.

Please have a look on the link below and use it in your prayers and mission efforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLADjrnCuDs&feature=youtu.be

“Give up your small ambitions!” That is what the great Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, wanted the youth of his day to know as he pioneered sharing the Gospel of Christ among the unreached peoples of Asia in the 16^th century. He wanted them to give up those lesser intentions that were in their minds for their lives in order to get involved in Jesus’ unique missions for them.

Not that our personal ambitions are small in our eyes, but compared to the ambitions God has for us they are very tiny and inconsequential. What is the main mission to which we are being called to give ourselves? The great Unfinished Task, the mission of the ages, the reason Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Universe and Eternity, came and gave Himself on that cross of torture, shame and death was that all people on earth would be blessed, rescued from darkness and futility in order to experience abundant life here and eternal life beyond the grave.

The Moravians were some of those through history that grasped that mission and laid hold of it with all their hearts in both prayer and action. Like the early church did before them. They became militant for the Lord and His purposes for their lives. When the Spirit of God came upon them in 1727, only about 200 of them took on the world of their time, first giving themselves to prayer and then many of them went to the ends of the earth to share Jesus with those who had never heard of His love and truth. They came to grasp that this was the highest of all callings—ongoing prayer connected with life-long mission.

The IPC has sought to maintain a strong focus through the years on this same awesome Unfinished Task, the mission of the ages. Jesus told His followers in the Great Commission, “Go and make disciples of all nations”.The word “nations” there is ethne in the original language. Therefore, it is better rendered “ethnic groups” or people groups defined by their unique cultures and languages that make up the political nations. For example, in Toronto, Canada, which means “meeting place” there are now about 400 ethnic groups from around the world. In the rest of Canada and North America there are many more. The Great Commission has not been accomplished till disciples have been made in all such groups.

Across the world, there are about 12,000 such people groups, some of which have heard the Gospel and developed movements to Christ; others have still not had that opportunity. About 5500 Unreached People Groups still do not have an indigenous movement of believers with numbers and resources to reach their groups (less than 5% Christian). An even more needy subset- 4700 “Frontier” or least reached people groups are less than 0.1% Christian.The Great Commission calling is still underway and incumbent upon us as His followers until each people group has heard theGospel in a way that makes sense within their culture and worldview. Throughout the history of the prayer and mission movements, such people groups have no intercessors or churches praying for them and no known missionary force engaging them. They are still unreached and unengaged. 1600 of these groups are Bibleless people groups that still need to have God’s Word translated into their own languages.

This map shows the progress of the Gospel by People Group and helps us to visualize where we are in finishing this Unfinished Task. The red areas are where the priority for prayer coupled with mission needs to be focused within the band of nations from northern Africa, through the Middle East to Central and South Asia, where false religious systems of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism hold sway over the lives of most.

Asia itself, and especially South Asia, has over ¾ of the remaining Unreached and Frontier people groups needing to be reached. Who will go to share Jesus Christ with them? It will be challenging and costly, but also the most compelling and meaningful adventure of a lifetime and has to be accomplished. Are any of us ready to take it on? As Isaiah said, “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

Jesus said in John 4, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Food is the number one drive of us humans and who doesn’t enjoy it? It brings a sense of fulfillment, satiation, sustenance and delight. For Jesus and for us, accomplishing the will of the Father should be like food. Have we discovered that? He then asks his disciples to open their eyes and look at the fields that are ripe for harvest and says that they are called to play their part in sowing and reaping the harvest, a harvest of human beings for eternal life. God has been preparing this great harvest, through all the ups and downs and good and bad of human history. What happens to individuals as well as whole nations in one vast drama of the ages is being used by Him in consummate love and wisdom to prepare this great harvest so that we humans can become His companions for eternity. Wow! Jesusalso said there will be great rejoicing among the sowers and reapers. There is no greater joy than sharing this Gospel of abundant and eternal life with those still lost in spiritual and moral darkness.

Clearly, the central, overall mission God is calling all of us to is the Great Commission-- to do our unique part to bring in the Harvest of the Ages, whether as sowers or reapers, using our particular gifts and resources to advance this most holy and’ wonderful desire of the Lord for humanity. How then do we go about it?

• Surrender ourselves through prayer for the enabling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8, 14) In Acts 1:4-8. Jesus tells His disciples to wait until they receive the gift of being baptized with the Holy Spirit through which they will receive the power to be His witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria even to the ends of the earth. This word provoked them to seek God through intense prayer and through it they developed a culture of prayer and dependence upon God. “They all joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14). This is what readied them for the mighty outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost and all the subsequent breakthroughs in mission throughout book of Acts. When God’s people have practiced the same culture, similar breakthroughs have happened through the history of the Church and missions since. Great revivals like that which visited the Moravians came about by seeking the face of God through non-stop availability to the Lord in prayer. This is still the same explosive recipe for both revival and mission breakthroughs in our time!

• Ask for the power and guidance of Holy Spirit because the mission of bringing in the Harvest is impossible without Him. In my own experience in university, I was a terribly shy person and so scared to be a witness for Christ. In spite of great trepidation, with the Spirit’s enabling, I spoke publicly to a group of other students and the power of God came upon me, emboldening me afterwards to serve as a campus evangelist, then go to Asia as a field missionary. Since that time over 50 years ago, the Lord has taken me to over 100 nations in mission and prayer initiatives. The Lord, the God of Miracles, has given provision, help, encouragement throughout. Nothing is more satisfying and fulfilling than serving Him among the peoples of earth. These years have been thrilling ones, thanks be to God!

As we pray and surrender selves, it opens the door for the Almighty Lord to bring about transformation within us as well as supernatural breakthroughs among the unreached justas happened in the book of Acts. Through united prayer with like-minded national Christian leaders, colleagues and I have repeatedly over many years witnessed the atmosphere of cities and nations change from war to peace and from resistance or apathy to the Gospel to great receptivity, resulting in many coming to Christ. For example, in Cambodia after a1994-95 national prayer initiative backed by the international prayer movement, Khmer Rouge terrorists who had massacred their countrymen for 20 years succumbed within three months, turning in their weapons to the government and surrenderingen masse. They even put their own leader, Pol Pot, on trial themselves for his war crimes. Spiritual darkness through mass bloodshed and idolatry gave way to10,000 believers in Christ becoming an estimated 500,000 over the next 20 years (50 times). In Bosnia, after a wartime prayer initiative, a peace agreement was signed as the prayer initiative finished, and with the restoration of peace, the believers were able to take the Gospel to every home. To the glory of the Lord and only through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, eight wars have been stopped in the same way,with other major transformations occurring that have catalyzedthe mission of Christ in those countries.

3) Prayer and effective mission go together,starting with maintaining a vital connection with the Lord in prayer first. “Apart from me you can do nothing,” Jesus said (John 15:5). Therefore, let us surrender ourselves to the Master of Mission Himself. None of us has any guarantee as to how long we will live.  Let us, therefore, let Christ give us His special vision for the part of the Harvest He wants each of us to engage with, so that our lives will bring forth 30, 60 or 100-fold for His global purposes, and so that we will hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter the joy of your Lord.”

Let us invest ourselves in prayer and mission to reach the unreached. Doors will open as we pray and make ourselves available. Adopt an unreached group as your responsibility in prayer and see how He leads you. Your prayers will help multiply the harvesters. That may include you as well as you take that people group into your heart or you may play a vital role helping others go to reach them.

Attached you will find a prayer guide for the largest unreached groups that still do not have indigenous movements to Christ and need our prayers. Start by praying for one each day of the coming month and see if God would have you to adopt one of them for ongoing prayer and mission effort. Go deeper by doing some of your own research and see if there are any from this group in your region with whom you could develop relationships.

Another way you can get involved over the next two years is through the Go 2020 mission effort. It is an international campaign to mobilize 100 million believers to share Jesus Christ with one billion unreached people by May 2020. Increasing numbers of mission and prayer organizations are cooperating to enable this to happen. A description of how to get involved is atwww.go2020.world.

Some helpful resources:

1) 9 minute version of "The Spirit of the Moravians" 2) "The 31" prayer guide https://joshuaproject.net/assets/media/handouts/the31.pdf 3) Unfinished Task maps and Go 2020 information https://www.dropbox.com/sh/chmx8y349h785of/AACOFmQvSIlEaYhKVnNuavbJa?dl=0

John Robb, IPC Chairman
(Adapted from a message given to the UPRISING Canada in Toronto, August 10, 2018

Andrew Brunson, a missionary in Turkey unjustly imprisoned there and now under house arrest, wrote the song below while he was in jail and would sing it each day. A good share of the time Andrew was in a small room with 16 or more people who were very unpleasant to him. Considering the awful condition of his imprisonment, this song is quite meaningful.

As you listen to the audio or read the words, please pray for Andrew and other believers in Christ who are imprisoned for their faith around the world. More followers of Jesus are being persecuted or killed than at any time in history.

https://m.soundcloud.com/ona-arpc/andrews-song

You are worthy, worthy of my all
My tears and pain I lift up as an offering
Teach me to share in the fellowship of your suffering
Lamb of God you are worthy of my all.
You are worthy, worthy of my all
Adopted as a son, a brother to my King
Indeed I will share in your glory if I share your suffering
Jesus, you are worthy of my all.
You are worthy, worthy of my all
But my heart faints, drowned in sorrow, overwhelmed
Make me like you, Cross-bearer, persevering, faithful to the end
To stand the trial and receive the crown of life.
You are worthy, worthy of my all
This is my declaration in the darkest hour
Jesus, the Faithful One who loves me, always good and true
You made me yours, you are worthy of my all.
I want to be found worthy to stand before you on that day
With no regrets from cowardice, things left undone
To hear you say, “Well done, my faithful friend, now enter your reward”
Jesus, my Joy, you are the prize I’m running for.
You are worthy, worthy of my all
You are worthy, worthy of my all
What can I give to the Son of God, who gave himself for me
Here I am, you are worthy of my all.