“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Mark’s Gospel records the Great Commission in concise form—easy to understand yet not so easy to accomplish. Can we even fathom the enormous task of taking the gospel to the whole world? Are we burdened for those who have never heard about Jesus? Or has our apathy reduced the size of the world? (I was curious to know just how many countries there are in the world. I found an alphabetical list of 251 on www.nationsonline.org.)
Does our exercise plan include praying, giving, or going? Doing nothing is not an option. This would only lead to atrophy—a condition defined as “degeneration, decline or decrease as from disuse.”
Let’s do some world stretches and embrace the truth. People worldwide need the Lord, and we must be willing to do whatever we can to promote the gospel. Today we focus on Europe and Cote D’Ivoire. Use available resources to gain a greater vision for the people of Bulgaria, Spain, France, and Côte d’Ivoire—souls Christ died to save.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Join in Day Two of PreEaster Week of Prayer.
Bulgaria: Praise the Lord, the Postlewaites have been assigned
to join the Awtreys in this hard country. Pray for them as they
prepare to go. Pray for unity in the Svishtov church and for
boldness as they face the challenges of an atheistic society; and
for the physical, spiritual and emotional strength of the Awtreys
and church leaders.
Spain: Praise the Lord for committed leaders who have perse—
vered through tough times. Praise the Lord, the Alpedrete
church has outgrown its building and is relocating to a larger
facility. Pray for the five churches and three national pastors.
Pray for new opportunities through social outreach.
France: Praise God for five churches with an average weekly
attendance of 245. Pray for the two ordained pastors; for the
united, field-wide partnership strategy with local churches; for
more national leaders and leadership training; for two new church
plants; and for the youth ministry Dennis and Carol Teague with
their son Joel and his wife Lydie are initiating.
Côte d’Ivoire: Praise the Lord that peace has begun to return to
the country. Continue to pray for stability and recovery. Pray for
the 14 ordained pastors, 37 lay leaders, and the 68 churches and
preaching points. Pray for the leadership to have a vision to plant
more churches. Pray for the eight churches diligently planting
other churches. Ask God to protect and lead the one remaining
family, the Andersons.
