Intercessor Focus: reaching people on the edge
There are many vicars reaching ‘the unreached people groups’ in the UK. There is Nigel Rostock, a vicar with a Harley-Davidson who says that being a biker makes it easier to minister to people on the edge of society. He is part of the ‘God's Squad’ motorbikes club - touching the lives of addicts and outsiders who would never step inside a church. Another vicar, Gavin Tyte, is called Snoop Doggy Dog Collar because he is a British beatbox vicar. He was chosen to judge the World Beatboxing Championships in Berlin. Also across the nations café-churches are springing up - churches in the community where all are welcome and coffee and cakes are served along with faith-based ad hoc conversations. There are many outreach activities like Street Angels and Street Pastors who do what they can to help and counsel people on the streets after pubs and clubs turn out, or Causeway Prospects who promote and help churches to reach and teach people with learning disabilities. (Linda Digby – Prayer Alert Team)
Reaching the young
Bursting with energy and faith, Phil Knox, the Evangelical Alliance's first ‘head of mission to young adults’, cannot wait to make more friends and disciples. ‘For the last twelve years I have worked at Youth for Christ, sharing the good news about Jesus with tens of thousands of young people, and in that time, I have personally seen thousands of lives changed before my eyes. It was the best job in the world. It was always going to take a huge wrench to wrestle me from it, but that wrench came: a new day is here, and this week I joined the Evangelical Alliance. I am an evangelical because I am a good news person and loved by the Creator of the universe. 2018 is described by some global sociologists as VUCA: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Most of us will experience a VUCA world as we are confronted by disconcerting news headlines and navigate personal suffering.’
Armed forces abroad
4,000 British personnel from all three services will be training alongside the Omani military in October. Amongst them there will probably be practising Christians. Pray for the chaplains who will be travelling with their unit as they give spiritual support, both publicly and privately, providing pastoral care for those away from home for the first time and offering moral guidance to young men. Oman is characterised by pride, diversity, rapid development and a people clinging to traditional Islamic values and customs. Recently technology has opened avenues into the world. 50% of the population is under 16. Although there is resistance to the Gospel, God’s Spirit is drawing Omanis into a saving relationship with Him. Pray that the Christian military will demonstrate to their Omani colleagues, in actions and conversations, their faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. Pray for the chaplains in the group to have God's wisdom in all their counselling. See also
Prison service - chaos
Chaos in the wings, lack of respect from management, and absence of support are among the reasons for the surge in prison officers resigning. 33% of outgoing officers in the past 12 months had been in the service for less than a year, prompting concerns that the crisis in UK jails is being exacerbated by dwindling retention rates. Critics of the system say that the new officers are not adequately trained and are forced into challenging and sometimes dangerous situations before they are prepared or equipped to do so, leading to them quitting within months. Rory Stewart, the minister of state for justice, said recently that ‘drug-fuelled prison violence is affecting up to 20 jails’: see Also a recent BBC report stated that hundreds of prison staff have been caught smuggling banned items into prisons. The Prison Officers Association said the value of the drug market in jail is around £100m. Low-paid staff are enticed and paid handsomely to smuggle drugs. See
Russia ready to be cut off from internet
If Western sanctions go as far as excluding Russia from the World Wide Web, the country's own internet is ready, according to Russia’s presidential aide on the internet. ‘Technically, we are ready for anything now,’ he said. However, the shutdown will not be painless. Failures always occur when moving from one technology to another, and those keeping data abroad will experience difficulties. Russia has a data privacy law. All companies processing personal data of Russian citizens are obliged to store it on servers within the country’s borders. The professional network website LinkedIn has already been banned in Russia for refusing to comply. Twitter and other social networks have agreed to move data about Russians to the country.
Nominals: Europe’s mission field
How do you persuade someone who already thinks they’re a Christian to become one? The largest mission field in Western Europe is not self-identifying atheists or Muslim immigrants; it is people who call themselves Christians but exhibit few, if any, signs of faith. A Pew Research Centre report stated that people who identify with Christianity, but rarely or never attend church services, make up the biggest segment of the region’s population. 46% of Western Europeans are non-practising Christians, 18% are regular church attendees, 24% are religiously unaffiliated, and 5% follow other faiths.
Eritrea: potential for change
Eritrea could be on the verge of major change. For 20+ years, it has battled with Ethiopia and Somalia. President Afewerki’s regime conscripts citizens indefinitely into fighting its wars, and represses opposition. Much of Eritrea’s money has gone to defence against enemies, resulting in it being one of the poorest countries, with a mass exodus of Eritreans to Europe part of the biggest global migration crisis since World War II. However, Ethiopia now has a new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. He has already made a number of significant changes to government policy, including freeing thousands of political prisoners and amending a harsh anti-terrorism law. He has extended a hand of peace to Eritrea and agreed to a peace deal. Thousands of people celebrated, the border is open, embassies will open, and the countries will work together to strengthen ports, resume air flights, open telephone lines, and more. Afewerki’s regime has made Christians suffer as the 6th worst persecuted in the world, but Abiy has recently released 35 Christians from prison. Pray for Islamic extremists in the region to lose their power due to his influence.
Colombia: Christians suffering
Formerly, Colombia was a democratic country with guaranteed religious freedom. However, large areas are now under the control of criminal organisations, drug cartels, revolutionaries, and corrupt paramilitary groups. Christians are extremely vulnerable. Guerrilla groups force them to pay a ‘protection tax’ as an insurance against assault or murder. They issue death threats to those involved in evangelism, fearing that believers will continue to stand in opposition to the reign of terror they use to maintain power. In indigenous communities, violence is employed to frighten Christians whom they see as threats to ethnic customs and different worldviews. In all of these situations, Christians are prevented from freely congregating and sharing their faith. Pray for peace and hope for these Christians, and that they will stand strong in the face of persecution.
Myanmar: religious persecution
Myanmar has 100+ ethnic groups, and over 2,200 Buddhist temples. It is rich in natural resources such as gems, oil, and natural gas. The military holds great influence in the government, forcibly repressing popular democratic movements and exploiting the country's rich natural resources, leaving the nation’s economy in shambles. Many are in poverty. Additionally, Myanmar suffers the second highest HIV/AIDS rate in southeast Asia, with a reported 54% of adults and 78% of children receiving treatment. The creation and use of illegal drugs is a contributing factor to this epidemic. It has been reported that at least 200,000 households are involved in the production of poppies, the source of illegal opiates. Recently, the largest human exodus since the Vietnam War began as Rohingya Muslims were driven out in what the UN described as ‘ethnic cleansing at the hands of the military’. Myanmar is 80% Buddhist, 8% Christian, and 7% Muslim. 84% remain unreached with the Gospel. Freedom of religion is restricted. The military actively promote Buddhism.
Philippines and Thailand: Bible translations
Praise God for the initiative of the Asi people in forming the ‘Asi Bible Association,’ to oversee New Testament distribution. Pray for good decisions and the finances needed to distribute the Scriptures in written, audio and digital formats, including the Jesus film, DVDs, CDs, and hymn books. Pray that people of the Philippines will be eager to engage with the Scriptures available to them. Praise God also for the hundreds of followers of the Northern Thai Facebook group formed when the New Testament was dedicated in early 2018. Pray for the scripture engagement team as they put out an updated version of the phone app. There will be a meeting of churches in September to encourage support for translation of the Old Testament. Ask God to bring many to the meeting, and that funds will be found to pay the salary for a scripture engagement coordinator for another year.