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 five 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 WorkFaith Birmingham (workfaithbhm.org), a Christian nonprofit workforce and life development ministry. WorkFaith seeks to empower adults in transition who are facing employment barriers. City Ministries Pastor, Keith Stanley, started WorkFaith to provide an avenue to bring the Body of Christ alongside adults developing skills to get a job and keep a job. Their cohorts, classes, and Bible studies also seek to instill Christian ethics so each client will enjoy God’s good gift of work. We are also praying for Birmingham Community Church and Pastor Chris Culver.

Day 1: Pray for the clients at WorkFaith. Ask God to lead each of them into a saving relationship with Christ. Pray they would find community through local churches that build them up and encourage them. Pray they would flourish in the program and ask God to give them favor as they develop hard and soft job skills.

Day 2: Pray for WorkFaith’s alumni. Ask God to provide job opportunities through WorkFaith’s employer partnerships. Pray they would keep their jobs, follow through in their tasks, and honor their work environments. Pray for them to seek to bring glory to God in every task and relationship at their job.

Day 3: Pray for the WorkFaith workshops located in prisons, The Lovelady Center, The WellHouse, and Birmingham Metro Baptist Association. Ask God to continue to use workforce development to reveal Himself to the men and women in these programs. Ask God to continue to create career paths for the alumni. Ask God to equip men and women with all they need. Pray they would discover God’s good gift of work through these workshops.

Day 4: Pray for more volunteers for WorkFaith. Ask God to raise up an army of volunteers to join in helping adults move forward in life through work and faith. Ask God to call up from among our Faith Family members willing to serve as Mock Interviewers, Curriculum Teachers, Board Members, and Mentors.

Day 5: Pray for additional resources and partnerships to develop and grow for WorkFaith. Ask God to provide abundantly for the organization as they continue to seek to equip men and women coming from hard places. Pray for organizations, employers, and churches to join hands with WorkFaith in their work.

Day 6: Pray for Andy Blake, executive director of WorkFaith, along with the staff and board members. Ask God to continue to give them wisdom and compassion as they lead the organization and come alongside men and women seeking work. Ask God to give them spirits of perseverance as they continue to develop partnerships with other ministries and businesses.

This week we are praying for a short term team that will be serving in Central Asia.

Day 1: Ask God for travel mercies for our short term team. Ask God to work in and through them to enable them to encourage our long-termers who live and work in the region.

Day 2: Pray for new church plants in various cities in this country that will gather together this week. Ask God to use the time together to strengthen them in the gospel and for the seeds scattered through evangelism to fall on fertile soil and bear much fruit.

Day 3: Pray for the churches in this area of the country to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, resulting in greater boldness for Him.

Day 4: Ask God for protection against the evil one who would want to divide churches or disrupt these efforts. Pray they would be of one mind and spirit as they join together for the sake of the gospel.

Day 5: Pray for discernment and the Spirit’s leading for one team member from Brook Hills who is considering moving to this country and working there.

Day 6: Ask God to send more laborers from neighboring countries. Pray they would be able to move to this area and be a blessing to the churches there and spread the gospel throughout this country.