PAID
Non Profit US Postage
Chattanooga, TN Permit No. 1114
DEARFRIEND
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he soft sound of birds chirping in air that was once cold and blustery, small buds on the long arms of once barren tree limbs, fresh green grass sprouting from once
brown lawns, these are just a few signs of Spring. This season brings new life and energy to our lives. It is such a sharp contrast to the long, cold, dark winters that precede them. The same is true for the new life that church plants bring to once dark, unreached regions of the world.
PRAYERCALENDAR
The gospel brings joy and comfort to a new group of believers who are long to feel the warmth of Christ’s love. When a new group of believers are organized as a church
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plant, members can feed off of each other’s enthusiasm and support each other as they mature and grow. When the hard times come new “sprouts” can huddle together and fend off the cold. For 20 years Global Mission has planted churches in some of the hardest-to-reach regions of the world. Currently there are some 2,500 Global Mission pioneers planting new congregations around the world. Often they work without a lot of support, yet they continue tending their mission field day in and day out, often at personal peril. Thank you for your ongoing support of Global Mission. Please take the time to pray
Prayer Journal Inside
Hans Olson Adventist Mission
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Blessings,
12501 Old Columbia Pike
pioneers telling their world about Jesus.
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
each day for the Adventist Church’s frontline mission work and all the Global Mission
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To contribute to Global Mission work in Asian countries, such as India, please support Fund # 5240.
To contribute to Global Mission work in African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, please support Fund # 5220.
To help Global Mission church planting projects in Europe such as this one in Sweden, please support Fund # 5270.
iwas and his wife serve as Global Mission pioneers in India. This Southern Asian country is home to more than 1.1 billion non-Christians, many of whom have never heard Jesus’ name. This poses an immense challenge for the Adventist Church and for Niwas and his wife. One evening after they’d just finished up a Bible study with a young couple in their community, Niwas and his wife were returning home when it started raining heavily. The downpour was so strong that people were running out of their houses because of flooding. Niwas asked of one the families if he could help. It took nearly three hours to dig a trench and for the water to drain from the house. The owner of the house, Mr. Bimal, asked Niwas what made them stop and help. Niwas explained that he’s a Christian and that helping others is part of his ministry. Mr. Bimal was so impressed he invited Niwas and his wife to come and tell his family more about Jesus. Now three months later Mr. Bimal and his wife have accepted the gospel and were baptized along with six others.
A P R I L
INDIA Worldwide there is one Seventh-day Adventist for every 423 people; but it’s far different in Asia. Less than one percent of Bangladesh’s population of 150 million is Christian. In Taiwan, there is one Adventist for every 4,247 people. In Laos there’s not one ordained Seventhday Adventist pastor for the country’s six million people. Please keep the work in Asia in your prayers.
P R AY E R J O U R N A L
he Adventist Church has a long history in DR Congo, but recently the Church’s growth has slowed and fallen behind the rate of the population’s growth. To help meet this need for church growth the Adventist Church in DR Congo held a three-week evangelistic series in Beni—a metropolitan area in northeastern DR Congo—as part of the Hope for Big Cities program. Global Mission pioneers from across DR Congo descended upon Beni and laid the groundwork for the series by going door-to-door telling people about the meeting and enrolling them in the Discover Bible School program. The town was divided into five zones and series were held in each zone concurrently. The plan was designed to reach a broad range of neighborhoods scattered areas across the city and to minimize the transport cost for people to attend. More than 250 people were baptized at the conclusion of the meetings. While this is exciting news, challenges still remain. There’s a great need for Bibles and Bible study guides, and permanent church buildings for the five new congregations that will form as a result of the series.
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M AY
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Adventist Church has grown throughout much of Africa. Yet major challenges remain. Religious, social, and ethnic persecution makes church growth difficult in some areas. Please pray for the Global Mission pioneers who are taking Jesus’ love to all of Africa.
P R AY E R J O U R N A L
weden must seem a world away from his home in Southeast Asia, but for Htay and a group of 100 other refugees from Myanmar—also known as Burma— this is their new home. Swedish church planter Per Bolling has spent the last year planting a church within this community in the Swedish Norrland (Northern Land) town of Sandviken. A few of members of the refugee group were already Adventists when they arrived in Sandviken. They sought out an Adventist Church, but there wasn’t one close enough for them to attend each week. Sweden has just over 2,800 members in a country larger than California. Finding a church close by can be difficult. So they appealed to the Adventist Church in Sweden for their own church. Per Bolling, the leader of a congregation 15 miles (25 km) way readily agreed to take on the Burmese congregation. He now has 40 people worshipping with him each week, 17 of which are baptized members. According to Per he has struggled to reach the older members of the group, but the youth have been very receptive to him. So far he’s been able to start a youth choir and a Sabbath school class specifically designed for them. He hopes to start more programs for the children and youth of the community.
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SWEDEN Europe today has the fewest Adventists per capita of any continent. The region’s challenges include postmodern and secular countries such as Sweden and the United Kingdom and former Soviet bloc countries, such as Hungary and Serbia, where years of religious oppression left many with no religion at all. Nearly half of all Europeans are secular and practice no religion. Please keep this region of the world in your prayers.
P R AY E R J O U R NA L
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