Ask God to grant strength, patience, understanding, and wisdom to the men in our faith family to lead their families well. Pray for the fathers in our church to take seriously their responsibility to raise up their children in the knowledge of God. Pray for all of us to join these fathers in helping them make disciples of their children. Pray for the fatherless to find comfort in God. Pray for fathers who have lost children to know the peace only God can provide. Praise God for being our good, gracious, and loving Heavenly Father.

This week we are praying for Brook Hills’ ESL Ministry (brookhills.org/internationals). This ministry is part of our International Outreach initiative at Brook Hills to love sojourners in our city by providing free English classes and sowing gospel seeds on Thursdays. During the school year, we host classes for women on Thursday mornings at Brook Hills and classes for families on Thursday evenings at First Baptist Church of Hoover. The ESL Ministry aims to equip individuals and families through language learning, extending Christian hospitality, establishing community, and sharing the love of Jesus with internationals living in Birmingham. We are also praying for First Baptist Church of Hoover and Pastor Eric Roberts.

Day 1: Praise God for the international families who were part of our ESL Ministry last year. Thank God for the relationships cultivated and deepened during shared meals and in the classrooms. Ask God to continue to bless our international friends this summer with rich community in Birmingham.

Day 2: Pray for the international families who will join us next year for classes. Ask God to provide reliable transportation and job schedules that enable students to attend classes regularly. Ask God to equip them with ongoing patience, endurance, and resiliency as they learn the English language.

Day 3: Pray for participants to know Christ and grow in Him through our ESL Ministry. Ask God to encourage them. Pray they would continue to grow in their faith, gather with the local church, and make disciples. Ask God to continue to call more students into a saving relationship with Him in the coming years.

Day 4: Praise God for the ESL Women’s Bible Study that has been meeting at Brook Hills this past year. Pray the women would continue to receive the Word of God and be transformed by it. Ask God to continue to draw near to them and bring them peace and comfort as they face trials.

Day 5: Pray for sojourners in Birmingham, especially those who are facing discouragement, isolation, and fear. Pray they would seek God and He would give them spirits of perseverance and peace during these times. Ask God to provide for their needs in abundance and give them wisdom to navigate challenges as they come up.

Day 6: Pray for Grace Thornton and Courtney Simpson as they lead our ESL Ministry. Thank God for the faithfulness of volunteers who have cultivated a safe, hospitable, and loving environment for students and their children. Ask God to raise up more volunteers to serve in this ministry next year through cooking food, serving families, teaching students, and loving their preschoolers, children, and teens.

This week we are praying for John and Molly serving in the Middle East as marketplace professionals to the nations.

Day 1: Please pray John and Molly would have a bold and broken heart for their friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Pray they would have wisdom in how to share the Good News in a way their friends can understand and feel loved.

Day 2: Ask God to do a mighty work in the region where John and Molly serve amid the outcomes of the recent conflict in that area. Ask God to give them a deep and abiding love for Him that will overflow to their coworkers, neighbors, and friends.

Day 3: Pray their local fellowship will continue to love one another well and be unified around the gospel. Pray for the elders in their local fellowship to have wisdom to lead their gathering as they navigate ever-changing circumstances. Ask God to continue to bless their fellowship and draw people to Himself through their fellowship.

Day 4: Ask the Lord to raise up a bold, vibrant, and Spirit-filled church of local believers from their heavily Muslim context. Ask God to move in mighty and unexpected ways to bring people to saving faith.

Day 5: Please pray for John and Molly as they shepherd the hearts of their children so they would grow in their understanding of the Word and God’s love for them, by God’s grace. As they get older, ask God to give them wisdom in how to help their kids process living in a Muslim context.

Day 6: Pray for John and Molly to sacrificially serve each other well in their marriage and to prioritize their love for the Lord and obedience to God’s Word over everything else.