Praise and Prayer ~ July 5, 2021

July 05, 2021

Dear FFICM Prayer Partners, 

Rich read Matthew 5:43-48 and invited us to pray for our enemies. God’s character is abundant love, which is undeserving and unconditional. God is kind and good to all people. We want to be like God is, kind and loving even to our enemies. The Christian life is very unusual! Holy Spirit, help us to abide in you . 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Below you will find a prayer guide to support you as you accompany us in prayer and worship this week. May God bless your time in the quiet place with hope and peace.  

Nigeria:

• Muslim Outreach Ministry — Radio and TV
  • Praise: 10 million Muslim listeners — The FFICM Nigeria team produces broadcasts designed to reach predominantly Muslim areas on public radio stations with teaching about the gospel and the Bible. The teachings address myths commonly believed by Muslims and offer the truths about the Bible. Praise God for this profoundly impactful ministry! Continue to pray for the impact of those who are listening to the TV and Radio broadcasts. 
    • Our messages broadcast to an audience of over 10 million people in Nigeria on 5 radio stations and 2 TV stations. 
  • Praise: MBBs turning to Jesus — Yusuf and Ahamed continue to lead many Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) to Christ through the radio teachings. Praise God! Yusuf teaches about how the Koran points to the Bible, points to Jesus as the Savior, and how the Koran talks about life after death. 
  • Pray: Wisdom — the team continues to strategize for effective evangelism and follow-up ministry among Muslims. Pray for wisdom as FFICM partners with Ahmed and Yusuf to develop these plans.
  • Pray: Follow-up new converts — Yusuf and Ahmed visit the converts in Katsina and the Imam from Kano. Pray for God’s protection, for wisdom, and for divine favor. Pray for safety and peace in Katsina State because there is a significant threat of violence there. 
  • Pray: Advanced Training for MBBs —  We are hosting an advanced training for 5 MBBs whom we want to partner with Yusuf and Ahmed as a team to expand our ministry to Muslims. 
• Upcoming Events
  • Pray: Fundraising Day for FFICM-Nigeria — The team in Nigeria has begun to  explore local fundraising opportunities. 
  • Praise: a new training opportunity — We have been invited to train seminary students from the United Methodist Church of Nigeria (UMCN) in Bambur!
  • Pray: Training in Maiduguri — Comfort will train 40-50 people this week in New Believer Follow-up. Pray for her leadership, for God’s blessing on the students, and for the multiplication of impact of this training. Maiduguri is a very dangerous city because it is the capital of Boko Haram, a Nigerian terrorist organization. Praise God for Comfort’s boldness and courage to remain in Maiduguri to serve and teach. 
  • Pray: 4 Major Trainings — The FFICM team will lead 4 trainings this summer: 
    • 1) On July 19th in Biu, Nigeria
    • 2) July 26th-30th with Church of the Brethren to train 70 leaders from many districts
    • 3) UMC of Nigeria Theological Seminary invited FFICM to train their theological students
    • 4) EKWA invited training for pastors and elders.
  • Pray: 24 Training Events — We have over 24 training events (each with 80-150 participants) planned for Nigeria for July-December 2021.
• Safety amidst Dangerous Violence
  • Pray: 160 school children kidnapped — The young students were taken by heavily armed abductors from a Baptist Boarding school during the night. It is the third mass kidnapping from an academic institution in northern Nigeria this year, according to CNN. The students are being held for ransom. Pray for God’s divine protection of all the victims of kidnapping in Nigeria! 
    • To read more about the history of kidnapping in Nigeria, read the July-August 2021 issue of Christianity Today. 
  • Pray: Safety while Traveling — Ongoing security issues make it difficult to travel and do ministry. You never know which road will be closed or where the bandits will be. There are very frequent attacks and insecurity in the land. Please pray for safety for the trainers.
  • Pray: Safety for MBB trainers — Pray for safety for our MBB trainers Ahamed and Yusuf. They are often in great danger as they refute the teachings of Islam. Their lives are at risk. 
  • Pray: Ruthless kidnappers — The kidnapping in Katsina State has increased. This is the location of the HBB conference earlier this year where 2000 people were trained in March. Previously this was just happening in the rural areas, but it is happening even in the city now. Those who are kidnapped are violently tortured and forced to get their family members to send funds to the kidnappers. We will not be able to return to follow-up the newly trained HBB leaders until there is more safety. 
  • Pray: Safety in Villages — People are living in fear because the attackers take people unaware. In the villages it is especially dangerous at night so people have sleepless nights. Local farmers struggle to care for their land because they are under siege and are vulnerable to attack while out in their fields. Several of the FFICM staff (Sam especially) come from small villages and have families living in this danger. 
  • Pray: Kidnapping — There was a Catholic priest kidnapped near where Comfort lives in Maidugri. Please pray for his release. 
• Prayer for our Ministry Team
  • Praise: Zainab’s fever — Praise God for her complete healing and recovery.  Thank you for sustaining her, Jesus! 
  • Praise: Zainab’s baking evangelism ministry — Last year, she trained over 200 women through her small baking school! Zainab trains both Christians and Muslims in her school. During the courses, she evangelizes and disciples them using FFICM materials. This year she hopes to train 500 women, but lacks the funding to pay for the baking supplies. 
    • Pray: Funds for baking supplies — The cost of training 100 women is $110. The cost goes to cover the baking supplies for the classes and food to feed the students during the training. 
    • Praise: Donated Equipment — Zainab connected with an American missionary in Nigeria who donated access to equipment to host an evangelistic crusade (keyboard, generator, lights, amp and speakers) for a three-day baking school/evangelism event on July 29th-31st.  Please pray for funds for the baking supplies (flour, sugar, etc.) for this event. 
  • Pray: Famine affecting Zainab’s ministry — Zainab is a FFICM volunteer trainer in Abuja, Nigeria. Zainab travels to meet with new believers to disciple them. Many are not able to meet because they are seeking food due to the approaching famine. She has asked us to pray regarding the famine and that people would not stop seeking God. 
  • Praise: New baby Comfort — The woman whom Comfort shared a cell in prison with for weeks. The woman named the baby Comfort after the brave witness of our ministry partner! 
  • Prisca — Continue to pray for her as she works on assignments and for exams starting this week.

Ethiopia:

• Peace in Ethiopia
  • Praise: Peaceful Ethiopian Election — The current prime minister will continue to lead the country. During this time of political upheaval, the experience of the current leader will carry the country forward. Praise God for the peaceful election!
  • Pray: Continued threat of War — Egypt and Sudan have agreed to fight Ethiopia over the rights to water from the Nile. There was an imminent threat of open war. There has also been division and fighting between Ethiopian tribes, language groups, and religions.
  • Pray: Tigray War – The government and the Tigray people went to war in November 2020 in Northern Ethiopia. The Tigray people are suffering because of lack of basic food necessities, exacerbated by the pandemic. Please pray for provision through NGOs and for a compassionate government response. 
  • Pray for Sudan — the military divided and there 
    • Praise: the government troops have withdrawn from the Tigray region. The Tigray people groups are now fighting in a tribal civil war, those who supported the government troops vs. those who opposed them. 
      • There is no electricity, no water, no internet
• Strategic Development
  • Praise: Possible Vehicle — Praise God for the extra funds which FFICM received this past week to help finalize the purchase of a vehicle! We are negotiating to buy a vehicle being sold by the US Embassy. Pray for the final process of working out paperwork and agreement for the purchase of the vehicle.  
  • Pray: Tesfaye’s language learning — Tesfaye is already bi-lingual and speaks Amheric and Oromo. He is learning English to expand his capacity as a lead trainer. 
• Current Ministry  
  • Pray: Training of Trainers — In Addis, the team is training 40 evangelists, church planters, pastors from 17 churches in Evangelism and Follow-up Training. This evening, the trainees will share the gospel in their communities. Pray for effective ministry. 
  • Send 300 Follow-up books to trainers in Saula (the location of the Mega Conference) and Bonga Kaffa (location of Bible School where students were trained).  
    • This is the 3rd time — 240 books were sent earlier this year to the churches in Saula. 
• Future Programs
  • Pray: Training 80 people in Jimma — The team will train 80 people at Jimma after the election (dependent on local peace post-election in that area). Pray for the preparation work and for God’s protection over those planning to attend.    
  • Pray: October Training Marathon — Rich will travel to Ethiopia in September/October to assist with four weeks of new believer follow-up training, including the following:
    • 1) Asella Evangelical Churches Fellowship and more than 14 denominations will participate. 
    • 2) Genet Church denomination
    • 3) Women training at Ethiopian Kele Heyet Church – We will train 80 Ethiopian women in New Believer Follow-up. This team of women will become trainers of trainers. They have a plan for exponential growth as women are prepared to go out and train other women.
    • 4) Sudan Khartoum training – we will partner with Elias, an Ethiopian missionary in Sudan. 
  • Pray: 12 Training Events — We have a total of at least 12 training events (each with 80-150 participants) planned for Ethiopia for July-December 2021.

USA:

• Prayer for our Ministry Partners
  • Pray: Dara Searcy-Gardner, former FFICM staff — Dara continues to struggle with debilitating asthma. She asked us to pray that the medication (Xolair shots) would conquer the asthma. Pray for complete healing. 
  • Praise: Rick Cordell, FFICM ministry partner — Rick has found resolution to the identity theft issue he was dealing with. Someone was trying to steal his money. Thank you for praying it resolves quickly.
  • Pray: David Moore, FFICM Director of Operations is currently working his MA in Nonprofit Management. He is now halfway through his course work and today he starts his next class Managing Organizational Diversity. Pray for wisdom as he works to balance work, classes, and family responsibilities and works to apply the things that he is learning in his classes to his role at FFICM.
  • Pray: New International Trainer — Praise God for the connection we’ve made with a new international trainer. We’re not sharing her name yet out of respect for her transition from her current role as Youth Pastor. Pray for a smooth transition to the FFICM team over the next several months. Pray for her efforts to raise funds and develop committed prayer partners as a missionary working with FFICM. 
• Pray for Strategic Development
  • Pray: Development Director search — Thanks to the grant we were approved for through the Murdock Trust, we are hiring a Development Director. Pray for guidance as we grow our organization to keep up with the profound global impact of our partners in ministry. We are working on continued interviews and trying to discern who God would have us to hire for this strategic role.
  • Pray: Wisdom regarding church status — Pray for wisdom as FFICM applies for church status here in the US. Most large mission organizations have applied for and been granted church status in the US. This would allow us to be able to have all of our staff receive the ministerial housing allowance and would have other tax and finance benefits for us as an organization. 
  • Pray: U.S. based-training in July/August— This Thursday we begin training the 12 people who have committed to attend the upcoming virtual training via Zoom! We are recruiting ministry partners interested in serving as both part-time and full-time trainers with FFICM from the US. Pray for all the details and plans that are needed for having a successful training. 
  • Pray: New Church partnerships — We are looking to share at several other churches here in the Oregon/Washington area as well as on the East Coast this summer. Pray for wisdom as we work to schedule these speaking opportunities to both share about the amazing things we are seeing God do, as well as share about the opportunities we have for the future. (Let us know if your church or small group would be interested in having someone from our team share in your group.)