Behind Closed Doors
Our work here in South Asia is highly illegal. To be found church planting is nearly certain grounds for eviction from the country—or even worse for residents of the country who can’t leave. So as I climbed the stairs to the terrace with the police, while members continued to arrive down below, prayers raced under my breath.
One officer said, “I see you’re having a party downstairs so we won’t keep you long.” Our local police station was taking a “census” to keep tabs on residents in its jurisdiction. They wanted to know everything about my family, my work, and me. After examining my business card, apartment lease, and visa, they were content to go. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanksgiving.
That night 40 of us squished together on couches and folding chairs to worship, pray, and study the Gospel of John together. An Iranian Muslim, a Nigerian Roman Catholic, and an Indian Hindu joined us. Our two Japanese agnostic friends couldn’t make it because of work. (That was disappointing because the previous week they brought a bottle of vodka for the snack table.)
Close calls with police and the unbelievers in our midst remind me that planting a church is participating in something far greater than myself. There is an enemy, a roaring lion, seeking to devour the Church wherever it starts. But the Lion of Judah will not be thwarted. His Church will prevail, His ransomed will gather, and His kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
*Last name withheld for security purposes.
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SEE MOREGive thanks for how God is using missionary interns to further His kingdom. Pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of interns after they return home, and even draw them back to the mission field.
Pray that the global church, including the PCA in the U.S., would love their neighbors well and see the value of hospitality in leading others into truth.
Give thanks for those God is drawing to Himself around the world, particularly a Japanese who feared she was too broken to be fixed, and several Ukrainian students who are exploring faith in Christ.
Pray that the agricultural training efforts of the Equipping Farming International ministry would make a way for pastors and churches in Africa and around the world to become self-supporting.
Pray that God would prepare hearts for the upcoming PCA Global Missions Conference November 1-3.
Give thanks for the many Japanese women coming to faith in Tokyo Bay through the faithfulness of one woman who became a Christian through MTW missionaries.
Pray for John and Ellen Buerger, missionaries serving in Portugal, and their children, as they face the ups and downs of missionary life. Pray also for the ministry in Lisbon.
Pray for the church plant in Uganda and the many lives being changed there as people hear the the gospel of grace clearly for the first time.
Pray today for specific missionaries you know or who your church supports.
Pray for the lost in Sydney, Australia, a city filled with people from many nations. Pray for Koreans, Indian, Nepalese, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and others who live in Sydney and don't know Jesus.
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