Displaying items by tag: Global

On 1 January 2021, International Prayer Connections will launch a global online 24/7 prayer room. The ‘Global Family’ is a collaboration of international ministries from every continent and will be hosted in many languages using Zoom. You are invited to join. Each hour will have Spirit-led, Bible-based, worship-fed, and Christ-exalted times of prayer to multiple gospel movements across the earth. There will also be prayer for unreached people each hour. Please consider giving time, when available, each week in 2021 (personally, your church, city, organisation, network, etc) to join hands in prayer. Secondly, you are also invited (with at least one backup person who could act as room host) to commit to facilitating prayer the same hour each week for the 52 weeks of 2021. There will be training and resources available to you as we near the start of the 24/7 Global Family. For more information, see

FARMS International has helped Christians grow small businesses into sustainable sources of income through microcredit loans. In turn these businesses support their communities and the local church. But many small businesses have faced challenges with the pandemic. Programmes that depend on face-to-face consumers are struggling, and have been for months. Even as restrictions lift in some places, there’s still fear of hiring the person who’s going to bring Covid to the family. Because of that fear it’s really difficult for day labourers. Workers in cities are especially challenged to keep their businesses afloat. Fewer people are travelling or willing to be in close contact with someone else. The same holds for carpenters or people who do housework. These people are on the fringes, without a secure source of income and the things that follow, like food and education. See also

For hundreds of years, the Church has worked hard at translating, publishing and distributing the Bible. Only around 250 million people are still waiting for Bible translation to begin in the language they know best. But all this is just groundwork for the main task of seeing the nations become disciples of Christ through engaging with the Bible. Technology provides audio Bibles, Bible study apps, and videos dramatising Biblical content; these are a great blessing, especially where Bibles are hard to acquire, where literacy is low, or where it is a security risk to have a hard copy. Bible engagement is a challenge to every church across the nations. Pray for God to increase the number of all those who work in the gap between the Bible and the world: Bible teachers for children and adults; those who present Bible truth through music, art, dance, drama, fiction and other forms of storytelling and learning; and scholars and commentators.

About nine million species of animals and plants are exposed to changes in the global climate. Monitoring how climate change affects wildlife and ecosystems has become critical for directing conservation measures where life is most at risk. Today the world's biggest iceberg is bearing down on South Georgia. The Antarctic ice giant, similar in size to the island or to the county of Somerset, is expected to anchor itself offshore of the wildlife haven; posing a grave threat to local penguins and seals. Their normal foraging routes could be blocked, preventing them from feeding their young properly. All creatures living on the seafloor would be crushed where it touches ground. David Attenborough said the world is a unique and spectacular landscape, if we act now we can put it right and save and protect the animals and plants we have endangered throughout centuries of changing the natural world.

‘Contend’ is a 21-day prayer campaign, from 4 to 25 November, seeking God for a breakthrough in His global Church surrounding an increase of mission mobilisation across church structures, moving mission from the periphery to its rightful place - at the centre. Prayer materials are now available in numerous languages to help us prepare for the start of the prayer campaign. Daily videos are available with the prayer points in English.

Nearly half of world exports come from countries that fail to punish foreign bribery. That’s half of G20 countries and eight of the top 15 global exporters. Since 2018, fewer countries have been actively working against foreign bribery. One obstacle to enforcement is shell companies which cover up payments, making it difficult for authorities to trace the origin and destination of money. But even when countries actively enforce against foreign bribery, victims’ compensation is rare and most proceeds of corruption are never returned to countries or citizens. Citizens of countries where multinationals bribe public officials pay higher prices than they otherwise would for possibly lower-quality goods and services. Public money wasted on unnecessary contracts and deals deprives people of essential services like education and healthcare. The EU’s seven-year budget for Covid-19 recovery funds are at risk of abuse unless open, data-driven mechanisms to protect public contracts are put in place.

Covid-19 has plunged the world into an economic crisis and accelerated digitisation in the workplace. Adopting digital technology creates opportunities for millions of new businesses and jobs, but millions without access to technology are left jobless. Unequal access to the internet and technology will impact the unskilled and offline communities in the developing world where connectivity is expensive, slow and unreliable. For example, a vegetable trader in Nairobi may make basic mobile phone payments but cannot sell his produce online because most of his buyers are neither online nor aware of e-commerce. Governments in developing countries lack the funds, and private companies lack financial incentives to invest in broadband for all. The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic will discourage investing digital infrastructure where it is most needed. Pray for the 3.2 billion people who will remain unconnected, those who don't have laptop jobs or access to virtual education or work, to find ways to survive in post-pandemic times.

Six months ago Covid-19 was declared a pandemic and has turned the world upside down. Besides the devastating human toll there is the disturbing reality of rising authoritarianism and misuse of relief funds. The growing corruption related to Covid-19 spending calls for global, multilateral solutions. The G20 is one of the few international forums that has the potential to shape and implement policy to fight this crisis. While they promised US$21 billion to fight Covid in June, they have stayed silent on how they will ensure that the funds reach those who need them the most. Last week was the first time the G20 anti-corruption group met in seven months. Also the pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in public contracting systems around the world and shown how unprepared governments are to buy safely during emergencies. South Africa is one of the worst offenders: see

Pastors around the world are facing destitution and even starvation because of the devastating impact of Covid on church tithes. Churches in countries that rely on cash tithes are forced to close their doors, Many pastors are struggling to feed themselves, let alone give anything to those turning to them for help. Wage earners are unemployed or unable to work due to the pandemic. In India, finding alternative sources of income has been virtually impossible for some of the pastors. Relief distributions are carried out by local administrations but Christians are ignored for being Christians.  Sub-Saharan Africa reported similar situations. Pastor Adane in rural Ethiopia said Covid had affected all church income streams, making it impossible to pay staff. He said, ‘Because of Covid-19, the church is in great trouble’.

In 1727 the Moravian community in Herrnhut, Germany started a 24/7 unbroken prayer watch, which continued for over 100 years. Moravian influence on John Wesley helped start the Wesleyan revival. Their vision of sending missionaries (they sent hundreds) helped spark the 19th-century Protestant mission movement which took the gospel to most of the world. 26 years of the annual ‘30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World’ publications ‘coincided’ with 26 years of unprecedented numbers of Muslims encountering Jesus. Today, movements of Christians praying together to pray are bigger, wider and deeper than at any time in history. 24/7 Prayer (www.24-7prayer.com) and Ihop (International House of Prayer) draw thousands of people into a worldwide, unbroken stream of prayer and worship. But more prayer is needed in this season of global pandemic, recession, fear, poverty and wars.