Prey or pray?

I’ve just spent a week visiting and praying with young pastors and church starters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are courageous (only 2% of their city is in church on any given Sunday, the same percentage as in Bagdad, Iraq). They are committed at all costs (most spend 60 to 70% of their income on housing expenses). They are creative (starting and growing churches with little resources). People are being reached for Christ and churches are growing. While these churches have similar challenges as all churches, I have observed a marked difference in these Vancouver churches. In a day when some churches (mostly with ample resources) prey on their people to pay for solutions to their challenges, these churches (with limited resources) pray to God for solutions to their challenges. Isaiah speaks of “young lions” who “lay hold of the prey” (Isa. 5:29). I’ve been with some “young lions” this week past who know how to “lay hold” of God and pray.” May their tribe increase.

I invite you to “lay hold” of God this week and pray with me for these global concerns:
• Young pastors and church planters in Vancouver, B.C. Canada and specifically one pastor and family needing a car.
• Mission team members who are facing difficulties in getting visas to live in a secure area.
• Fifteen new personnel being trained now to begin serving in Western Europe in October.
• Missionaries who are serving in the midst of the Russian invasion of Georgia.
• Olympic ministries in Beijing, China.