Prayer Requests

Please pray for this specific needs from JSM-Langham scholars, graduated scholars, staff, board members, and supporters.

December 2008

Langham Preaching prayers for this week:

Liberia: today sees the launch of the first Langham Preaching seminar in the West African republic of Liberia.  Devastated by civil war, the country presents the churches with many serious challenges.  After over 18 months of preparation, 100 pastors will gather, representing each of the main regions of the country.  Please pray for a life-changing week of Bible study, fellowship and training.  Pray that they will be able to develop regional networks for ongoing support and training, and please pray for Dyonah Thomas (the LP country coordinator) as he leads and for LP facilitators Emmanuel Oladipo, Gordon Woolard, and David McCahon.

Pray for Tombie: at the September LP seminar in Cote d’Ivoire, several participants joined from neighbouring countries, including Tombie from the Central African Republic. He is the General Secretary of the UJC (the IFES student movement), and sadly he has been diagnosed with a terminal liver illness and has not been given long to live. Please pray for the Lord’s care for him, his family, and his colleagues in the church and in the UJC. 

Italy: on Thursday Jonathan travels to an Italian conference to give expositions from 2 Corinthians, marking the launch of the Italian edition of the book ‘Integrity: leading with God watching’.  The evangelical community in Italy is a small minority: please pray for the health and strength of the churches, for the witness of the GBU (the student work), and for the gospel to advance in this economically prosperous but spiritually needy country.

Latin American Regional Facilitator, Igor Amestegui, reports on the last two weeks of busy activity:

Ecuador: the first Preaching seminar was a great success. 60 people took part, with 11 leaders of small groups having selected 5 members each.  It was a very receptive group - the leaders were between 35 and 45 years old, and those being mentored between 25-35 years old – and they testified to how deeply they were touched by the Word of God, committing themselves to being part of the three-year training as Bible expositors.  Plans are already made for their next meeting in local small groups.

Central America: last week in Panama we met with the IFES General Secretaries of Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and decided to start the LP Central American project – 3 key leaders will be selected from each of the 11 countries which constitute this region. They will be trained over 3 years at regular events hosted by the team in El Salvador, and they will be responsible to start preachers’ schools in their own countries.  Please pray for the regional committee which has been set up, as they select the three key leaders from each country.

Thank you for your prayers!

November 2008

I am just asking you to pray along with me NOW! I just received news that my mum is in a critical condition, I was asked by a neighbor of hers to go to Nigeria quickly. My husband is in Nairobi presently and only comes back in December so I cannot just leave now. She went to the doctor’s last week but I have no information yet about her condition until this call came. Please pray along with me, that the Lord keep her alive and alert for me to see her and talk with her. That the Lord give provision to meet her medical needs and whatever needs may arise. Thank you so much for being there for me.

Abiola Mbamalu

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Langham Preaching Prayer requests:

Central America: today Igor Amestegui, Langham Preaching regional facilitator for Latin America, is in Panama to meet with leaders from Central America. There is considerable interest in launching preaching programmes in several Central American countries in the future, and Igor will be discussing with the leaders how best to respond to these new opportunities.

Croatia: this morning we received news from Mark Meynell and Tom Wilson, just back for the seminar in Croatia, organised by Ksenija and Toma Magda.  Mark writes: ‘Praise God for a fantastic conference with 50 delegates from Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. The conference was marked by deep seriousness about handling the Scriptures better - and the potential for gospel preaching in this troubled region is huge.’  Please pray for wisdom as we look at how best to support the development of work in Serbia and Bosnia, as well as sustain the training in Croatia.

Langham Partnership International: there are several LPI member countries around the world who work hard to encourage prayer for the three Langham programmes of Literature, Scholars and Preaching, as well as to raise funds to support the ministry around the world.  The present global economic down-turn is impacting their work, so please pray for the small staff teams as they seek sensitively to raise the funds in a more demanding economic situation.  And please pray that the Lord will provide for the needs of the work in the coming year.
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Thanks for your concerns and prayers for our safety! It rained on 15th
morning. The federal/state governments restrictions on display of weapons
and provocative slogans doubly dampened the hyped shradhanjali Sabha in
honor of Swami Laxamananada. However, the Hindu Fundamentalists have given
an ultimatum that if the killers of this Hindu leader are not apprehended by
15th December, then they will have observe a state/nation wide Bandh(closer)
on 25th December. I guess the challenge and intention of the message is
clear. In view of the imminent state and national elections, political
calculations are forcing the non-Hindu political parties to counter the
Hindu political parties. I don’t know if it makes much sense to those who do
not take interest in political dimensions of problems. But we will
appreciate your continuing prayers for national and international pressures
to be mounted on the Orissa state government to bring this unruly brute
Hindu forces under control. Nothing negative happened against Christians in
Bhubaneswar city on November 15th. Thanks for your prayers! Thank God for
his protection of his people!

The Suna Family

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BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), the Hindu political party and its allies the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rastriya Swayam Sevaksangah(RSS), and Bajrang
Dal (BD) have organized a memorial service for Laxmanananda, the slain Hindu
leader, tomorrow (11/15/08) at Bhubaneswar, our place of ministry. The
posters are very provocative. There are rumors of violence tomorrow. It is
expected to be a massive show of strength (0.5 Million people) in view of
the imminent election in the state. We need the Lord’s protection. Please
remember us in your prayers.

The Suna Family

Preaching seminars and events taking place this week:

Ecuador: from this Wednesday the first Preaching seminar in Ecuador will take place in Quito.  The local team has been working hard to select 12 leaders (or small groups mentors), who will each be responsible for a group of 5 preachers.  Please pray for a good start to this first event, which is the launch of a three-year training programme, through a combination of annual seminars and monthly follow-up meetings for which the mentors will be responsible.  Pray for Igor Améstegui, Jorge Atiencia, Daniel Salinas, Dionision Orjuela and Chris Wright as they share the teaching responsibilities.

Croatia: from Wednesday to Saturday the next training event in South East Europe takes place.  Hosted in Croatia, and with mainly Croatian pastors and lay preachers attending the level 2 and 3 programme, the seminar will also welcome a strong team from Bosnia (which has been meeting as the Sarajevo preachers’ club for the past two years since joining the Croatian programme), and also delegates from Serbia (where a similar preaching training programme is starting up).  Please pray for country coordinators Ksenija and Toma Magda, and for Langham Preaching facilitators Mark Meynell and Tom Wilson.

Latin American progress: today the Regional Council for Latin America is continuing its meeting in Quito, looking at the work of all 3 Langham programmes. Jonathan and Igor have been able to discuss the next stages of development for ‘Langham Predicación América Latina’ - please pray for wisdom in deciding the priority countries when there are so many requests for partnership.

An encouraging report from last week:

Bolivia: last week the seminar in La Paz was a great success, with a wonderful atmosphere amongst the delegates from across the country, reports Marcello Vargas.  The event further strengthened the preaching movement in the country. A fifth escuelita (local preaching club) will now be starting in a city in the south of Bolivia.

Thank you for your prayers!

Langham Preaching events taking place this week:

Bolivia: today a week-long seminar begins in the city of La Paz, led by Chris Wright, on the theme of ‘The Mission of God’.  There are more than 50 people enrolled from different cities around the country.  Please pray that this seminar will make a great contribution to the preaching movement which is functioning in the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosi and Oruro.

Ecuador: this coming weekend leaders from different parts of Latin America meet together in Quito for the Langham Partnership Regional Council, looking at needs and opportunities for all three Langham programmes across the region.  The meeting also provides Jonathan Lamb and Igor Amestegui (our facilitator for Langham Preaching in Latin America) with the opportunity to spend time together looking at plans for the continent.

Jamaica: from Thursday to Sunday, Langham facilitator Jenny Brown will be in Kingston to meet with a group of local facilitators. Jamaica has run the 3-level Langham Preaching programme, and this week Jenny is working with experienced trainers from Jamaica who will be planning local level 1 events in the country.  Jenny has just returned home to London from a similar event in Kenya last week, so please pray for her health and strength as she makes another long haul journey.

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Langham Preaching events taking place this week:

Bujumbura, Burundi: please pray for the seminar starting today in Bujumbura, which Gordon Woolard and Mike McGowan will be involved with.  Pray for their physical, emotional and spiritual energy after such a demanding few days in Goma. Please pray for the 90 pastors attending the level 1 and 2 programme, and for the leadership of country coordinator Zenon Ndayegamiye.

Kampala, Uganda: a further seminar is being run this week, led by country coordinator Julius Twongyeirwe with several Ugandan trainers and LP facilitators Wanyeki Mahiani and Jenny Brown (who will then travel on to Kenya).

Limuru, Kenya: please pray for the 20 or more people gathering for the training of local facilitators programme, and for the work of country coordinator Mercy Ireri who does a great deal through the year to encourage pastors and lay preachers. Please pray for Wanyeki and Jenny as they support this training initiative.

California: this week several Langham staff will be in the US for the Board meeting of the US Langham member (JSM).  Jonathan will have several discussions with potential partners, whether churches interested in supporting the programme, or links with individuals and institutions interested in establishing cooperative ministry.

An update on last week’s events:

Goma, DRC: thank you for your prayers for the training event held in Goma last week. It was more eventful than we could have imagined! We are thankful for a good group of pastors who completed the training for their work as local facilitators for Langham Preaching, and who kept calm despite the surrounding turmoil. Isesomo did a great job in caring for everyone, Gordon and Mike managed to leave Goma last Thursday and cross into Rwanda, and 13 pastors stayed over until yesterday, waiting for the airport to open. We are hopeful that all of the pastors are now back home.  Please join us in thanking God for their courage, safety, and commitment to serve the Lord in this needy country.

Chiangmai, Thailand: news this morning from David Harley is very encouraging. Although several from Cambodia could not attend because of tensions on the border, 20 pastors from a wide variety of backgrounds participated in the level 2 event, and were very positive about the training and fellowship. Preachers’ clubs are underway in Myanmar. Please pray that the proposed preachers’ groups in Thailand will be able to meet.

Rwanda: Gordon and Mike had a useful meeting on Friday with a few Rwandan leaders, looking at the possibility of developing a Langham programme there in the future.  Please pray for the next steps in planning.