PRAYVANCOUVER.CA 2016-10-01
Pray these words of scripture over the churches of our city as they go to worship this morning:
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” [1].”
John 4:35-38 NASB
Join us in praying with thanksgiving for these things…
We are thankful for the launching of the South Asian Community Church in Surrey under the leadership of Pastor Shahid Kamal. We are thankful for the gracious provision of space at Royal Heights Baptist Church.
We are thankful for the growing number of those attending Burnaby Born Again under the leadership of Pastor Rafael Araujo and pray for his soon to launch Spanish group both of which are meeting in the Promiseland Center. This center has been provided by the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Billings, Montana.
We are thankful for the gracious gifts provided to three of our planters this week through the work of the East Texas Region of the BGCT. We also enjoyed the fellowship and encouragement of meeting with 23 WestCoast Baptist Association Advocates as we sought the direction of God for our ongoing partnerships in sharing the gospel.
We are thankful for representatives of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship of North America who held their annual meeting here this week and the focus that was placed on planting churches in unreached areas of our country and the world. We are thankful for those that gathered this week to begin dialogue with the The Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles about the work among the second generation here is Vancouver.
We are thankful for the life of Alan Schmidt and his impact on generations of work in Canada. A celebration of life was held in Salmon Arm, BC this Saturday to mark his passing this week. Prayer is offered for both Hamish Buntain and D.K. Hale who officiated the service. Continue to pray for the family of this great leader over the days to come.
We are thankful for the partnership with Tarrant County Baptist Association as we have completed a two-year program of spiritual growth and team building(Refocus) with our first cohort of leaders in Vancouver. Begin now praying for the next cohort of leaders being invited to join us in the new year as we launch our next cohort.
Please pray with us for the treatment and recovery of Anastasia Chomlack as she battles a very aggressive cancer. Pray for the efforts on October 15th being conducted to provide financial resources (http://www.fiestafundraiser.ca) to help her be off work for the next year and pay for the treatment required. Pray for the family as they come together during this time. They are celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary this week.
We are praying for our annual WestCoast Baptist Associational meeting scheduled for October 14th. Pray specifically for the nominating committee as they seek to prayerfully enlist those who will guide our joint work over the next year. Pray also for the Finance Team as they prepare the budget and stewardship plan for this next year.
Continue praying for the Alpha courses being held across the city this fall. Pray for open hearts and open eyes to see and hear the gospel for the very first time. Pray for the invitations given this week by friends and family.
Pray for wisdom and guidance for Aaron and Samantha Boswell as they prepare to make the move from Montreal to launch a new church in Vancouver, BC. They are calling the church Providence.
Pray for family of Garrett and Jessica Holmes as they are able to return to their home after over a month of renovations required due to asbestos and lead paint discovered in the manse. They are expressing gratitude to Richmond Chinese Baptist Church, Towers Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for the financial resources and manpower to get this work done in such a short period of time with limited resources. Join us in celebrating with Towers Baptist Church as they celebrate their 49th anniversary this Sunday afternoon.
We continue to pray for our friends and partners, Dan and Joanne Crawford. Joanne continues to recover at home from a fractured hip and the surgery required. Dan cleared his schedule to be a primary caregiver. Pray for the unexpected financial cost of this surgery and recovery as well as for the spiritual and emotional care for this couple.
Join the Prayer Network for Vancouver and Vancouver Island
We are continuing to build our prayer team. See how you can be involved directly in one of following three ways. Watch for updates daily on @plantvancouver
- Several years ago we began weekly publishing the items we are celebrating as well as the needs of our churches and leaders. We seek to make this available every Sunday morning through our website, Facebook and Twitter so it can be shared for the coming week with prayer warriors across the country. It can be seen at prayvancouver.ca .
- We began several months ago encouraging individuals and churches to be involved in an effort to stop and pray for Vancouver/Vancouver Island twice daily at 10:02 am/pm. This time was taken from Luke 10:2 to simply ‘Pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest”. God has been answering this simple prayer offered by those who will discipline themselves to stop and pray.
- A growing group of the men and leaders across our association are fasting and praying startingMonday, Tuesday or Wednesday evening after dinner at 6:00PM. Some of the team will fast until Wednesday, Thursday or Friday at 6:00PM. They will be praying as follows:
- Christian men to have a renewed relationship with Jesus and a passion in sharing their testimonies concerning their experiences and walk with the Lord.
- Spiritual awakening of our neighbourhoods and community.
- Spiritual awakening of our churches, locally and nationally, that are called by His holy name (both in and outside our association)
- Our Canadian leaders in government at all levels, to govern according to Godly principles.
- Our country that it would return to the Lord and be healed.
- Gods protection for our churches and church families.
- Our church leaders (pastors, elders, deacons, lay leaders)
- Spiritual and numerical growth of our churches and small groups
- Pray for the Harvest
Would you join them in praying the Psalms and petitioning the Lord from His mighty Word? Will you join with us until we hear from the Lord?