[Bulletins] Calling all churches to prayer!

[Jack De Vries]

Dear partners in the gospel,

 


  A

s you know Synod affirmed the work of the Church Planting Taskforce (CPT),
and made provision for the ongoing funding of church planting across the
denomination by setting aside a prescribed offering for the work.   In a
separate communication from the CPT all churches will be asked to hold this
offering on Pentecost Sunday, 26 May 2013, when we remember that Christ sent
his Spirit into the world to enliven the mission and build His church.
This is an appropriate Sunday to focus on the work of church planting and
the missional task God has given to the church.    

 

            Giving sacrificially for the work of church planting is
important, but a greater task is the task of prayer.  For this reason the
"Fourfold Task" adopted by Synod 2006 begins with prayer.  As churches we
are urged:

"To call upon God for such an outpouring of his Spirit that his people will
be assured of his love through his Word, seek to please the Saviour in all
things, manifest the godly life and be filled with prayerful and sacrificial
compassion for the lost in all the world."

 

            Prayer changes things.  If we believe this, then we had better
be praying that God will change the eternal destiny of our neighbours and
country.  In the seven weeks after Easter Sunday leading up to Pentecost,
church and individuals are encouraged to pray for the work of the Gospel in
Australia and beyond.   To assist individuals and churches to focus their
prayers in the days leading up to Pentecost, a "Prayer Calendar" has been
put together beginning with Easter Monday and ending on Pentecost.  The
prayer items highlight the work of the gospel throughout Australia and
beyond. 

 

            There are several ways you use this prayer calendar:




           Duplicate the entire calendar (.PDF format attached) monthly
newsletters, include it in your bulletin on Easter Sunday, 7 April, and/or
post it on your website;

           Include the prayers for the week in your weekend services.

           Print the prayers for the week (.doc and PDF format attached) in
your weekly bulletin and/or post it on your website, encouraging people to
pray daily.

           Give a copy of the prayer calendar to your prayer teams and/or
pray through each item at the meeting of sessions and/or elders.

           


  I

magine your church, filled with God's Spirit, being of one mind and one body
as it brings its life into line with God's great purpose of restoring the
world under the lordship of Christ. Imagine every one of your church's
members fully committed to seeing God's purposes become a reality.   May God
hear our prayers, may his Kingdom come, and may each one of us and our
churches be filled with a sacrificial compassion for the lost in all the
world.



Prayerfully yours in Christ,                                             

 

Jack De Vries

Ministry Development Coach

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia

49 Hunter Circuit

Petrie, QLD 4502

P:   07 3285 3678

M:  0437 339 008

E:  mtc at crca.org.au

www.ministryformation.com.au <http://www.ministryformation.com.au/> 

 

 

 

 

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