IBSA Prayer Ministries: August 2008

Thursday, August 28, 2008

IBSA @ Prayer ~ 2008 State Missions Offering Prayer Guide

Illinois Missions Offering Prayer Guide

Our Illinois Mission Field

Illinois is a mission field? Isn’t missions something missionaries do in other countries with people who don’t know Jesus Christ as savior? Yes, but there are missionaries right here in Illinois helping Southern Baptist churches reach the more than 8 million people in our state who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Some of those Illinois missionaries, supported and coordinated by the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA), are starting new Southern Baptist congregations among people groups such as Asians, Hispanics, African Americans or others from all over the world. Next year IBSA will plans to support 45 new SBC churches in the state while continuing support for 85 churches started the previous three years.

Some Illinois missionaries are ministering on our college campuses, starting churches that minister to the needs of the next generation, many of whom have never been in a Christian church. Although Illinois Baptists are working on nearly three dozen campuses, we have no witness on 140 others, with no opportunity to minister to hundreds of thousands of young people who are making the most important decisions of their lives.

In much of Illinois, the local SBC churches are not yet able to support their own associational director of missions. IBSA supports nearly a dozen associational missionaries who help their churches work together to reach their local mission field.

Illinois missionaries also help strengthen our existing 1,000 IBSA churches through Bible study, worship, evangelism and family ministry, and lead our churches in being involved in missions – at home, across the country and around the world. Other IBSA missionaries serve in ministry centers like the Christian Activities Center in E. St. Louis, in disaster relief and a myriad of other roles that support the local church in reaching people for Christ.

These missionaries are all supported by regular gifts to the Cooperative Program but are also able to do more by generous gifts to the Illinois Missions Offering (IMO). This Offering is like special offerings for national and international missions – except that every penny stays right here in Illinois to help Illinois churches reach lost people for Christ.

Pray for Illinois Missions

Please use the prayer guide on the reverse side to pray for our Illinois missionaries, for the more than 8 million lost people in our state, and for the 1,000 Illinois Baptist churches cooperating together to reach the state for Christ.

Pray for our Illinois Mission Field

This prayer guide will help you praise God for what He is doing through Illinois Baptists’ cooperative missions and petition Him for unmet needs.

Pray for the Lost

Praise God that Illinois Baptists last year reported over 5,000 baptisms.

Pray for the more than 8 million people in Illinois who are still lost, and pray for a burden on the part of our churches to reach out to them. Ask God to show you where to serve and witness to the lost.

Pray for Existing Churches

Praise the Lord that more than 1,000 Illinois Baptist churches are faithfully ministering to and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the state.

Pray He would enable all our churches to effectively involve their members in reaching their communities through worship, Bible study, Vacation Bible School, evangelism, and mission projects. Ask God where you can be most effective for His Kingdom.

Pray for New Churches

Praise God for the dozens of new churches that are being supported by Illinois Baptists today, and for the church planters who lead them to reach out to the unchurched in their communities!

Pray for increased involvement and support for new Illinois churches from within and from outside the state so that every community will have congregations that make the Gospel accessible to every people group. Ask God how you and your church can support church planting in Illinois.

Pray for Leaders

Praise God for our pastors, directors of missions, state missionaries and church leaders who serve faithfully and sacrificially!

Pray that our leaders will be wise, have physical and spiritual strength, and will exercise great faith when ministries are difficult. Ask the Lord how you can strengthen them and their families.

Pray for Campus Ministries

Praise the Lord for Illinois Baptist campus ministers serving on more than 30 college campuses in Illinois and the churches and associations who support them!

Pray for an evangelical ministry on every one of the 172 Illinois college campuses to witness to 800,000 college students in Illinois. Ask God to show you and your church how you can support campus ministries in Illinois.

Pray for mission involvement

Praise God for thousands of Illinois Baptists who have responded to God’s call to their Acts 1:8 mission fields to proclaim Christ and minister in His name!

Pray that every IBSA congregation and member will recognize God’s mandate to help reach their mission fields. Ask God what assignment He has for you outside the walls of your church.

Pray for Sacrificial Giving

Praise God for Illinois Baptists’ generous mission giving and for the thousands of missionaries and ministries those gifts are supporting!

Pray that mission giving to Illinois Baptist churches, associations, IBSA and national SBC causes will continue to grow so that others can know God. Ask Him what He would have you and your family give to the Illinois Mission Offering this year.

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Monday, August 25, 2008

SBC @ Prayer ~ Prayer Vigil: "Culture is influencing the people of God"

Prayer vigil for revival to begin Sept. 24

Posted on Aug 25, 2008 | by Dwayne Hastings NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A call for Southern Baptists and other believers to engage in 40 days of prayer beginning in late September has been issued by the SBC's North American Mission Board and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

NAMB President Geoff Hammond and ERLC President Richard Land are hopeful that the 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal will pay spiritual dividends for families, churches and the nation. Hammond described it as "a strategic opportunity for Southern Baptists to join hands in praying for our nation, asking the Lord to grant sweeping repentance, renewal and spiritual awakening."

The cooperative effort of the two Southern Baptist entities was borne out of a burden at the ERLC for the spiritual health of individual Americans as well as the less-than-healthy spiritual state of the union.

While the number of "born-again" evangelicals in the United States has increased, Land said the culture is influencing the people of God on many fronts more than the people of God are influencing the culture. "Too often, instead of being 'salt' and 'light,' we are being salted and lit by the secular culture around us," Land said.

"Our churches are in need of a truly spiritual revival and our nation is in need of a great movement of God's Spirit," Land said. ===>Click headline to access complete article . . .

Sunday, August 24, 2008

SBC @ Prayer ~ Rallying Prayer Support for Traditional Marriage

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Rallying Prayer Support for Traditional Marriage

By Doug Metzger

It is hot in Southern California on the border of the desert this time of the year. In addition, we were recently rocked by an earthquake that gets all of us a little on edge as we wonder each time “Is this the big one?” From a spiritual and political vantage point, things are also hot in California this time of the year and due to become hotter still as we approach the November election day. In addition to voting for candidates for public office, Californians will be voting on an issue that once seemed decided. You see, we were recently rocked with a judicial earthquake that could prove to be the big one if a constitutional amendment is not voted into reality in November.

In recent months, over 1.1 million Californians signed petitions to place Proposition 8 on the November ballot. This issue seemed once decided when in 2000 over 4.3 million voters passed Proposition 22 which contains the very same language included in Proposition 8. Over 61% of California voters approved the following words in Proposition 22: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Proposition 8 contains the same 14 words.

“Why is such action again necessary?” someone might be asking. It is because four Supreme Court judges in San Francisco overturned the people’s 2000 vote by their judicial activism. The judges completely ignored the will of the people of California in their earthshaking decision by legalizing same-sex marriage. To overturn their action and to restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, the voters need to vote in Proposition 8 which is a constitutional amendment. A major concern for all Americans, not just Californians, should be that the California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage did not just overturn the will of California voters, but it also sets in place the potential redefining of marriage for the rest of society. This would be done without ever considering the will of the people themselves to accept this decision. It has been said “As California goes, so goes the nation.” Obviously, Christians should be very concerned about the far-reaching consequences.

The organization, Protect Marriage, offers the following example of what potentially could happen: because public schools are already required to teach the role of marriage in society as part of the curriculum, schools will now be required to teach students that gay marriage is the same as traditional marriage, starting with kindergarteners. By saying that a marriage is between “any two persons” rather than between a man and a woman, the Court decision has opened the door to any kind of “marriage.” This undermines the value of marriage altogether at a time when restoring the sacred place of marriage, not undermining it, should be our objective. In addition, the failure to enact such an amendment opens the potentiality of many undesirable ramifications relative to the gay agenda.

As a very concerned Christian and as a troubled Californian, let me ask the body of Christ to place this matter on your prayer list. Let us pray that Californians will Vote YES on Proposition 8 to overturn the Supreme Court decision and restore the definition of marriage that was previously approved by voters. Let us pray that Christians and the church will rally around this grassroots effort and that those who view the efforts to garner support for Proposition 8 will not see it as an attack on homosexual people. In truth, Proposition 8 does not take away the rights that same-sex couples already have under California’s domestic partner law. California law already grants domestic partners all the rights that a state can grant to a married couple.

I can assure you that many believers are engaged in bringing this crucial matter to light across California. Would you do the same before the throne of God and in places where you can rally further prayer support? God forbid that the nation be beset with a societal earthquake, of such great proportion as having to embrace a redefining of marriage. Once the ground is lost, it likely will never again be recaptured.

Doug Metzger is Minister of Senior Adults at Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California.

Friday, August 22, 2008

IBSA @ Prayer ~ Season of Praying for Impact in Illinois

2008 Illinois Missions Offering

The suggested dates for this year’s Illinois Missions Offering are now September 7-14 with an Offering goal of $390,000. The IMO is vital to the work Illinois Baptists do together to reach the 8 million people in our state who do not know Christ. Packets for the IMO and Season of Prayer will be mailed to IBSA churches in early August. The packets will include a promotion guide, DVD containing four IBSA missions videos, prayer guides and offering envelopes. Additional resources including age-graded mission studies will also be available on this site. Please call (217) 391-3116 or e-mail IllinoisMissionsOffering@IBSA.org if you have any questions.

Q&A about the Illinois Missions Offering (IMO) and Season of Prayer

Q: What’s the purpose?
A: To pray for our nearly 100 Illinois Missionaries, and to give specifically to support our cooperative efforts to reach Illinois for Christ.

Q: When should churches observe the IMO and Season of Prayer?
A: The suggested dates this year are September 7-14, but churches can conduct a week of prayer and take-up an offering whenever is best for their church. Many churches today conduct one offering a year for all special missions efforts and then divide it between state, national and international SBC mission causes.===>Click headline to access complete details . . .

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Grand Opening! Online Bookstore Has 600+ Prayer Resources

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

IBSA @ Prayer ~ Teaming with Dakota Baptist to Bless Bikers

Bonnie and I got back from our trip out west to help Dakota Baptists minister during the Motorcyle Rally. There were seven of us from NCBA that went to Sturgis on this trip. Bonnie and I extended the trip for a week of vacation to visit family and friends in Wyoming and South Dakota. While I did not have as many personal opportunities to see people come to Christ as I did last year, we got to do some prayer walking and a lot of seed sowing. I was able to lead some people to Christ and share with several more. Here are the final results of the week. Remember our team only worked on Thursday and Friday, August 7th and 8th.

Here is the official rally count

	Presentations	Salvations	Conversion Rate
3-Aug	271	64	23.62%
4-Aug	881	193	21.91%
5-Aug	767	167	21.77%
6-Aug	903	249	27.57%
7-Aug	956	289	30.23%
8-Aug	1030	299	29.03%
9-Aug	375	76	20.27%
Total	5183	1337	25.80%

Dr. J.E. Hail, Jr.
Director of Missions/Church Planting Strategist
North Central Baptist Association
515 N. Court Street
Rockford, IL 61103
(815) 633-6323 – Voice
(815) 961-0626 – Fax

http://www.myncba.org/

ncbadom@att.net

Monday, August 11, 2008

Church Planting: Lay Hold of God and Pray/Prey

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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'd love for you to leave a comment at the bottom of the blog entry and visit the Disciple All Nations website:

Monday morning blessings,

Dr. Dan Crawford, President, Disciple All Nations, Inc.
http://DiscipleAllNations.org

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Interview with Liberty Seminary Professor on Prayer Secrets for Leaders

Phil Miglioratti interviewed Liberty Professor, Dr. David Earley, author of a new book on prayer ...

Phil ~ Dave, what prompted you to write a book on prayer specifically for leaders?

Dave ~ After thirty years of studying, practicing, teaching, and writing about the subjects of prayer, leadership, and ministry a convergence of experiences prompted me to write this book. Let me explain.

Early last fall, I was teaching the principles and practices of spiritual formation to a room full of eager seminarians. I was repeatedly struck with the notion that if I could help these future pastors develop a prioritized, passionate prayer life, they would have a foundation for better navigating through the problems they will encounter in ministry.

Later in the fall, I was training missionaries to Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. We were talking about church planting. We discussed the book of Acts and the prayer meeting leading up to the first church planted on Planet Earth. In doing do, I was overwhelmed with the reality that without a vibrant prayer life, these missionaries were doomed to frustration and failure.

A few weeks later, a long time friend of mine and a very gifted leader resigned his ministry because of immorality. A marriage, a family, a church, and a community were facing terrible turmoil because of his sin. Neglecting his prayer life played a big role in his costly downfall.

Early last winter, I taught several dozen veteran pastors the tools needed to lead healthy, growing, multiplying churches in our changing culture. Of the thirty separate lectures and discussions we shared, the majority of the students agreed that the most life-changing session was the one on the importance of prayer in the life of the leaders. Again I was overcome with the sense that if these leaders could only master one leadership skill on which the rest would build, it had to be prayer.

I spent several weeks reviewing the lives of the great leaders of the Bible to confirm my belief. As expected, I found that a vibrant prayer life was central in the leadership skill-sets of Jesus, Moses, David, Daniel, and Paul, among others. Then I cracked open my works of church history and saw the church fathers and other high impact leaders through the centuries leading out in the area of prayer. In pulling down my forty plus biographies of modern day Christian leaders, I again noted the common denominator of prayer.

Phil ~ What process did you use to identify the "nine prayer disciplines" and what is the connection to "high impact leaders"?

Dave ~ As I studied the lives of these 75 leaders I began to see patterns and similarities reappearing. I noted several of them and then wrote them up into chapters of similar lengths. There ended up being nine chapters.

Phil ~ I have discovered many Christian leaders hesitate to become a champion for prayer because their personal prayer life is weak and, in some cases, their skill at leading prayer is also undeveloped. What steps would you recommend for a pastor or leader who struggles in this department?

Dave ~ Read this book! Seriously, I would suggest investing time doing two things: First, recognize how little you can truly accomplish in your own strength. Second, spend time praying with a person or a group of people who know how to pray. This is why prayer summits are valuable.

Phil ~ You employ a creative juxtaposition of historical and scriptural examples to explain each principle. Give us a sample of a leader from scripture and from history that have made an impact on your prayer life...

Dave ~

Scripture – Jesus. Like all spiritual leaders, Jesus found ministry to sometimes be draining and stress-filled. Mark’s Gospel records a sample twenty-four hour time period in the life of Jesus. It’s a day that nearly rivals one of Jack Bauer’s days spent saving the world from terrorists. In the span of twenty-four hours, Jesus gave an amazing teaching at the synagogue (Mark 1:21-22), cast a violent, belligerent demon out of a man (Mark 1:23- 28), healed Simon-Peter’s mother so she can fix Jesus and the disciples lunch (Mark 1:29-31), then spend the rest of the day and late into the night healing sick people and casting demons out of the terrorized (Mark 1:32-34).

I cannot imagine a more draining day. If He was like most of us, after such a draining day of ministry, the next morning would have been spent sleeping in and chilling out. But Jesus lived and led at a different level than most. He had a deep capacity for ministry because He practiced a few holy habits that yielded powerful results.

Was Jesus sleeping in the next day? No. Mark 1:35 is very clear. It reads, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35).

It strikes me that if Jesus needed to start His day in prayer, how much more must I!

History - Martin Luther. Luther was of course, the very active and influential pastor, professor, author, and father of the Protestant Reformation. Like most of the people in my book, he truly understood the power of prayer to save time and effort. When asked of his plans for the coming week, Martin Luther mentioned that he generally spent two hours a day in prayer, but his coming week was extra busy. Therefore he said, “Work, work from early till late. In fact I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Phil ~ How did your pastoral experience influence your passion for prayer?

Dave ~ When it comes to our church's prayer ministry, there are several things I am happy about.

1. We used to block out time every year to focus strategically on prayer. We usually called it Eight Great Days of Prayer and Fasting. After one such period we concluded with a Bring a Friend and Sunday and 50 adults gave their lives to Christ that morning.

2. When I was a pastor, we saw a definite change in the spiritual climate of our city when we began to institute several forms of “prayer walks. First, I began to drive the perimeter of the city several nights a week, claiming it for God. I would drive by churches and pray for the pastors, and the schools and pray for the kids.

Second, I organized the evangelical pastors in our town to pray in each other’s churches once a month. We started with only three, but within a few years, God had moved the theologically liberal, spiritually cold pastors out of the churches in town, one by one. Within a few years, twelve pastors were faithfully meeting each month to pray for revival in our town. A few years later these pastors worked together to deliver a copy of the Jesus video to every home in our town in one day!

Third, I loaded up our church bus once a month to pray in the parking lot of every church, school, and bar in town. When we started our late night prayer drives, our schools were in terrible shake. The new superintendent, among other things, had been aggressively hiring lesbians to fill every open principal and teacher position he could. One Halloween a group of about forty of us got off our church bus, held hands and began praying at the school board. We fervently prayed that God would change the superintendent one way or another. We prayed that God would give us a godly superintendent.

We did not know that at the exact time the school board was meeting to discuss all of the problems with the new superintendent. The next day, I discovered that at the very time we were outside praying, that inside the school board members voted to fire the superintendent. A few months late they replaced him with a godly Christian man who served as an elder in his church!

One of our small group leaders prayer-walked her neighborhood daily, interceding for the salvation of each family. She also served her neighbors and took an interest in their children. As a result she spiritually impacted her neighbors.

One day she asked if she could use one of the large classrooms at the church after the next week’s worship service. When asked why she said, “Nearly a dozen of my neighbors and their children are being baptized here next week. We wanted to throw a party in their favor."

3. As a pastor, I developed a team of 12 men to pray for me daily. I asked them to make a one-year commitment to:

§ Pray for our church, themselves, and their family every day.

§ Take a few minutes of extra time to pray for me one day a week.

§ Take a few minutes every Saturday night to pray for me.

All twelve agreed! Every two weeks, I met with them for Bible study and prayer. I would also share my prayer requests for the next two weeks. We would pray for one another.

That year went amazingly well. Our church grew more and baptized more people than the previous year. My health improved, as did my marriage and time with God.

The next year, I recruited a team of 50 men to make a one-year commitment to pray for me daily. Several of them served as teams who would pray for the worship services every Sunday. The impact the prayers of those men had on our church was huge.

Phil ~ Recently, in my opinion, you did something extraordinary - You brought your seminary class to the National Pastors' Prayer Summit; you even participated with your students! Why did you take this step and how valuable was their experience?

Dave ~ The simplest and most effective way to teach people to pray is to pray. Most people are not familiar with worship-based prayer and it is positively stretching to spend three full days in worship-based prayer. Also, my students are mostly Millennials who learn more through experience than through reading or lectures. A prayer summit is a life changing experience. It also was a good opportunity for our students to interact with veteran pastors in a positive, spiritual setting.

My students were profoundly impacted by the experience and we are planning on doing it again next summer.

Phil ~ Dave, please write a prayer for pastors who know they need to live and lead more in prayer . . .

Dave ~ Lord,

I long for you. You are my dearest treasure, greatest advisor, closest friend, and glorious king. I hunger to know you more and grow deeper in my relationship with you.

I need you. I yearn for all of your power to impact my ministry.

Forgive me for proudly living as though I can do it myself. Forgive me for neglecting this most vital aspect of my life and ministry. Please give me the desire and the discipline to seek you early, often, and passionately.

As you transform me, revolutionize my prayers. As you rekindle the flame of my prayer life, revitalize my ministry. Amen

DR. DAVE EARLEY
Director of the Lovett Center for Ministry Training
Director and Chair of Pastoral Leadership and Church Planting
LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY / LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
CN 2500 1971 University Blvd. Lynchburg, VA 24502-2269
OFFICE: 434.592.4161 FAX: 434.522.0415
www.daveearley.com

Monday, August 04, 2008

Special for Pastors ~ Free Breakfast & Free Book

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Special Opportunity for Pastors!

Fresh Encounters:
Experiencing Transformation Through United Worship-Based Prayer

A free breakfast and...
A free book and...
A brief "how to implement" by Phil Miglioratti
Saturday, September 13th from 8:00am to 9:30am
Hosted by Pastor Tom Kleinfeldt
At Wood Dale Baptist Church292 Oak Meadows Dr, Wood Dale, IL 60191
>>>RSVP - 847-991-0153 or phil@nppn.org

SBC @ Prayer ~ 'Fresh Encounter,' 'Answering the Call,' 'Broken Before the Throne' conferences

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REVIVAL:
'Fresh Encounter,' 'Answering the Call,' 'Broken Before the Throne' conferences

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--
Henry Blackaby and Anne Graham Lotz will be the keynote speakers at a "Fresh Encounter" conference in February designed to show pastors and lay leaders God's pattern for revival and spiritual awakening.

The conference, Feb. 27-28 at the Atlanta-area First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Ga., is set to coincide with the release of a revised and expanded version of a book by the same name written by Blackaby and Claude King in 1996. Other plenary speakers will include Richard Blackaby, Mel Blackaby and Will Graham, and worship will be led by Rick Stone.

"Most people would tell you that the nation needs a fresh and deep touch of God in their own life or their churches or their ministries," Henry Blackaby told Baptist Press, "but they don't know how in the world to go about it and they don't have a pattern from Scripture.

"Richard Blackaby said he is looking forward to three generations of his family speaking at the conference, which will include various workshops. In addition to his father, Richard Blackaby said his brothers Mel and Thomas, his sisters-in-law Gina and Kim, his mother Marilynn and his son Mike all will share their thoughts during the gathering."We'll look at how you can help your children and grandchildren have their own fresh encounter with God," said Richard Blackaby, who serves as president of Blackaby Ministries International."We can't live with a secondhand faith," he said.

"We must have our own. But how do you pass it on? We'll look at that. We are very excited about the Grahams and Blackabys teaming up to talk about encountering God and also passing on your faith to the next generations."===>Click headline to access complete article . . .

Friday, August 01, 2008

IBSA @ Prayer ~ Love Denver through Your Prayers

Phil,

I am in Denver, Colorado for the Love Denver ministry project serving with Dr. Bob Ryan (former IBSA DOM).

We NEED everyones prayers for our ministry effort to police and first responders during the Democratic Convention. Please go to the web site saturatecolorado.com/lovedenver or lovedenver08 to get a better understanding of how to pray. We have been prayerwalking the city since May. ICE evangelism teams are coming in to help work the streets. We have special trained chaplains in place to minister to any of the more than 40,000 prostitutes coming to town that may want to leave the sex for sale trade. It is called "A Way Out".

This is a God-sized, prayer-bathed, spirit-led undertaking. Would you encourage all of your prayer warriors to press us to the heart of God. The ministry dates are August 23-29.

Thanks and God bless you

Cal Reynolds

IBSA Prayer Ministries