Praise God for those He calls out from among us to serve as Elders to shepherd, lead, and care for us. Ask Him to grant us wisdom as we consider these four candidates to serve in this vital role. Pray for God to prepare them for the task He has ahead of them.

This week we are praying for Serving You Ministries (servingyou.org), a Christ-centered non-profit organization in East Lake serving as a ministry arm of local churches and corporations by partnering with them to reach a lost and hurting world through crisis relief and benevolence ministry. Serving You Ministries partners with Brook Hills to serve both Love Oliver families from Mark’s Village and international families involved in our ESL Ministry. We are also praying for Citizens Church and Pastor Justin Karl.

DAY 1: Pray for the staff and volunteers at Serving You Ministries (SYM) to become increasingly Christ-like in showing grace, love, and compassion to those in need. Pray for their love to be examples of your great love in both word and deed.

DAY 2: Pray those serving in each area of ministry would be empowered to boldly share the gospel with everyone that enters SYM’s doors. Pray for salvations among those being served and discipleship to begin among those choosing to follow Jesus.

DAY 3: Pray for those seeking support and financial assistance through SYM, for their physical and spiritual needs to be met, and for a sustainable plan to be put in place for the future.

DAY 4: Pray for the single moms seeking assistance to begin thriving as the chains of economic, relational, and spiritual poverty are broken through the gospel. Pray they would be the spiritual leaders of their households and share the love of Christ with their children.

DAY 5: Pray for the immigrants and refugees seeking assistance to find support while working to put down roots in Birmingham. Pray they would come to understand the gospel, find a community of believers, and begin to flourish in our city.

DAY 6: Pray for SYM to continue to be a light in Birmingham and for the surrounding community to see God’s love and provision through them. Pray for God to receive much glory through their work.

This week we are praying for Central Asia and our long-termers serving there. Less than 0.01% of Central Asians are followers of Jesus. Many of the Central Asian churches in existence have been planted in the last 30 years. There are 176 Muslim people groups in Central Asia that have no known Christians.  Next week, May 11, plan to join us for 2nd Sunday Prayer at 8:00am in the Community Room. We will have the special privilege of hosting two leaders over Central Asia. We’ll pray for two of our own missionaries, but we will also hear what God is doing across Central Asia, one of the most least-reached areas in the world. 

DAY 1: Pray for our long-termers and their families serving in Central Asia. Ask the Lord to guard and protect them as they share the gospel and seek to plant churches. Ask the Lord to give them wisdom and boldness. Pray for them to encounter people of peace whose hearts are ready to receive the Good News and for them to be ready to share.

DAY 2: Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of the people of Central Asia, to break down generational barriers to the gospel, to turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. Pray for the Muslim majority to come to faith in Christ and as a result, for churches to be planted and for the gospel to spread across Central Asia like wildfire.

DAY 3: Pray for God to work in the churches already existing in Central Asia. Ask the Lord to help growing fellowships as they disciple new believers. Pray for leaders to be raised up who would be faithful followers rooted in the Word. Ask the Lord to bless church planting efforts in Central Asia.

DAY 4: Pray for governments to protect religious freedom and allow Christians to worship safely. Pray for believers in Central Asia to be able to contribute to the development of their nations. Ask the Lord to bring peace and justice to this region of the world.

DAY 5: Intercede for believers in Central Asia. Pray they would remain steadfast in their faith and support and encourage one another. Ask the Lord to knit them together in love and unity.

DAY 6: Ask the Lord to send more workers to Central Asia. Pray for Him to work in the hearts of our faith family leading more of us to be willing to go and join the work in Central Asia.