Praise God for Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, paying the penalty of our sins and proving His power over both sin and death. Ask God to guard us against pride. Pray we will all live as servants of all those around us and show hospitality to them.

This week we are praying for Brook Hills ESL Ministry (English as a Second Language). Our ESL Ministry serves English learners in the community by providing free English classes to women on Thursday mornings at Brook Hills and families on Thursday evenings at First Baptist Church of Hoover. Our ESL Ministry aims to extend Christian hospitality, establish community, and share the love of Jesus Christ with sojourners living in Birmingham. New ESL classes begin this week. We are also praying for The Church at Liberty Park and Pastor Buck Poole.

Day 1: Pray for the 247 international adults representing 34 countries who were part of our ESL Ministry last year, as well as those God will bring this year. Ask God to continue to give them the endurance, skills, and mental strength to learn the English language. Pray they will hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ this year.

Day 2: Pray for the preschoolers, kids, and teens who participate in our ESL Ministry programming while their parents attend classes. Pray they will be peaceful and build relationships with other kids and volunteers. Pray they will be eager to learn new truths about God each week during their Bible-centered lessons.

Day 3: Pray for those who have come to know Jesus through our ESL Ministry. Pray they would continue to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, grow in their faith, gather with a local church, and make disciples.

Day 4: Pray for our ESL small groups and Bible studies happening weekly. Pray these students would receive the Word of God and be transformed by it. Pray these times would encourage and uplift international individuals and families.

Day 5: Pray for the volunteers in every area of this ministry to cultivate a safe, hospitable, loving environment for the students and their children. Ask God to refresh the spirits of volunteers daily and for them to be marked by love, compassion, and humility. Ask God to continue to raise up volunteers to love and serve sojourners through this ministry.

Day 6: Pray for Grace Thornton, Courtney Simpson, and Margaret Ramsey as they lead our ESL Ministry. Ask God to continue to encourage them and use their leadership to serve volunteers, teachers, and students.

This week we are praying for “C,” who is serving long-term in Central Asia. She and her husband live in a city of over 2 million people. They are serving in a church of about 60 members mostly from Muslim backgrounds. They are working to spread the good news on the eastern side of their country where it is estimated that there are only 500-700 believers.

Day 1: Pray for “C” and her husband who have only been married a little over a year. Ask God to help them continue to grow in their relationship with the Lord and with one another. Pray they would be faithful to read and study the Word and delight in prayer.

Day 2: Ask the Lord to provide for all of their ministry needs. Ask God to provide the additional resources needed to create a full translation of the Scriptures into the local language. Pray the local believers and foreign workers would also be bold to share the good news in their daily lives.

Day 3: Pray for the church fellowship where “C” and her husband serve. Ask the Lord to continue to strengthen and equip the leadership and the church to make disciples. Ask God to continue to draw people to the church through creative means and for members to be faithful to engage visitors with the good news.

Day 4: Ask the Lord to specifically work in the lives of women, drawing them to Himself. Ask the Spirit to transform their lives, and as a result, whole families will believe and come to the Lord.

Day 5: Pray for “C” and her husband as they try to engage and nurture relationships with their neighbors and people in their neighborhood. Ask God to give them fruitful relationships that would lead to salvation for their neighbors.

Day 6: Ask the Lord to sustain “C” and her husband as they work and grow in ministry together. Pray for the love of Christ to be evident in their relationship and for others to be drawn to them by their love for one another and the Lord.