This post will be short, but significant. There are IMB missionaries serving in dangerous places. Their heroism and sacrifice amaze me, and strengthen my faith. They serve in obscurity. Their names may never be known, but their work is known by our Heavenly Father, and they are, as Paul wrote, "Pressing forward to take hold the goal because Christ has taken hold of them." In every missionary commissioning service, there are blacked out faces, and some of the candidates can't even come out on stage. I received an email full of prayer requests from one such missionary family. I cannot … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB May 22, 2019
missions
Prayers for IMB May 20, 2019
Good morning everyone. I hope everyone had a great day at church yesterday. I have a couple of prayer requests from Europe this morning. If you'd like to spend some more time in prayer for our IMB missionaries, click over to Prayers for IMB Poland--Pray for students from California Baptist University working on a university campus in Warsaw, Poland. The students will be hosting a daily coffee shop to meet students and share their faith. There are several special events planned on campus each evening. Pray that students from the university will be open to hear the gospel, attend the … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB May 20, 2019
Prayers for IMB May 17, 2019
I'm typing this while watching Golden State vs. Portland in game 2, so please forgive me if an errant yessss!!!! finds its way into this post. It's been two months since I started this ministry with a Twitter feed. Since that time, I've been able to correspond with some awesome missionaries. One of those awesome missionaries (cue Jack Nicholson "Is there any other kind?") sent me some specific prayer requests this week. I'm withholding the country and the name to be extra cautious about security. Please pray for 2 sets of their neighbors. Both sets of their neighbors are … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB May 17, 2019
Prayers for IMB May 15, 2019
One of our missionaries has put together a prayer guide for Ramadan. This 30 day prayer guide details how we can pray for Muslim during one of their most holy periods. I'll share today's prayer guide, and if you'd like the entire document, email me at JonesTonyL@yahoo.com. For more IMB prayer requests go to Prayers for IMB Missiological Terminology: Animism Animism is the belief that personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual forces have power over human affairs and, consequently, that human beings must discover what beings and forces are influencing them in order to determine … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB May 15, 2019
Did you Know the Church in Iran is Exploding?
Did you know the church in Iran is exploding? I know, it came as a shock to me too, but it shouldn't ever come as a shock. The church has always grown when pressured. Desiring God posted an article about the church in Iran here. If you don't have time to read the article, allow me a quick summary. The church in Iran is exploding for several reasons. the number one reason is the failure of the Islamic state to deliver on its promises. When the Mullahs took over in 1979, one year before I was born, they promised opportunity and economic stability. Neither have come to pass. The next … [Read more...] about Did you Know the Church in Iran is Exploding?
Prayers for IMB Feature
The leadership here at Voices has asked if I would regularly post two or three prayer requests from our IMB missionaries. Prayers for IMB is not sponsored by the International Mission Board. The explanation of this ministry can be found in this post. Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'll include two or three paragraphs of prayer requests from our missionaries, and will link back to Prayers for IMB where I list daily prayer requests that are not on the Twitter feed @PrayerforImb of the Facebook group with the same name. Nyungwe of Mozambique--After heavy rains in both Malawi and … [Read more...] about Prayers for IMB Feature
Stories From The Mission Field
With our church's recent emphasis on praying for our missionaries, we've been contacted by some IMB personnel about sharing their stories here. We received one such story this morning, and the following is my summary of their story. I'm keeping all names and countries private, even when the missionaries are in an open country. Security is a top priority. We were working with a mother and her daughter one afternoon, and a conversation showed us the typical mindset of the natives in our country. They were happy to talk about Jesus, but the mother said she would never go back to church. … [Read more...] about Stories From The Mission Field
Praying for IMB Missionaries: Lessons and Requests
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about praying for our International Missionaries. In the weeks since, I've learned more about our missionaries and their work, and have some more prayer requests to pass on to the voices community. First, I want to thank those of you who read my original post and responded with encouragement, and contact information for missionaries and their families. The IMB publishes a daily prayer bulletin, but it does not cover all requests. I've been able to connect directly with some of our missionaries and list their requests for prayer on the Twitter feed … [Read more...] about Praying for IMB Missionaries: Lessons and Requests
Praying for International Missionaries
We hosted a “Revive This Nation” student preach at our church three weeks ago. Pastor Omotayo is a PHd student working to get his Phd in Christian counseling. I would encourage every church to host a “Revive This Nation” preacher in March of 2020. It’s a great opportunity to encourage student preachers. The seminary matches up student preachers to smaller churches who cannot afford the expense of hosting a revival preacher. The seminary pays the travel expenses, and the host church is responsible for the lodging and food. That’s just a plug for the program. The reason for this post is … [Read more...] about Praying for International Missionaries
John Allen Chau–An Introspective Look
John Allen Chau was martyred while trying to bring the gospel to the Sentinelese people sometime between November 16 and November 19. There have been numerous stories written about Chau’s martyrdom. Baptist Press wrote this story if you’re not familiar with Chau’s death. I’d like to take an introspective look at Chau’s martyrdom. Instead of asking questions about his methodology, we should examine our hearts. Here are five questions: Are we willing to be martyred for Christ? That’s the obvious question, but it’s a tough question. Every believer should answer in the … [Read more...] about John Allen Chau–An Introspective Look