This was a break-out group we tackled with the global outreach pastors in California. It seemed that many of us had experienced the same ache: Why is it that our church might run 4000 in attendance, but when we organize a time slot specifically to pray for unreached peoples or missions, we only have 40 (maximum!) show up? … and what can we do to improve on that? How can we get prayer the attention that it deserves? Your ideas?
It is even worse in the UK most churches do not have a missions group. One problem I have is this: there are so many small groups and the large groups are often divided up [see ltw2020.org an excellent effort which partners joshua2 to give a pretty complete dastabase] also they have alternate names also the maps are not with the prayer requests also the various mission societies have not taken on the list and divided it up between them then tried to link people togather who are praying [minimum 2 groups who can talk to each other,for each people group] I have seen some unreached groups on IMB but when I approach missions they can’t help with finding any contacts in the country of the group. support is impossible if there is not a western connection to liaise with. So 1, there is not a manageable database with large groups then small groups tied in with them 2, there is no easy way of seeing which groups have some support and which have none, and 3 there is no way of giving support if a western miossion has not already taken on the groups. Also 4 there needs to be a UK office of Europe is to join in even if it is only to get the tax relief on donations. I have 2 sites worldmissionresources.org and prayforthenations.org a reasonable number check worldmissionresources.org but next to no one prayforthenations.org One of the best efforts is Wycliffe’s Bibleless Peoples but even this is only advertised in the US and the support from Europe is negligible. Also interested people can’t see the whole operation though security is essential and hiding who is receiving support is I think advisible. Maybe an interactive site with careful avoidance of dangerous information e.g bragging about success but if such a site is set up it has to have Europe offices and maybeoffices even further afield e.g.Southern Africa Australasia South America and all the Evangelical Missions need to take their area into their operations and Web Sites. Sincerely Michael MacKenzie Manchester UK
What a great question! How can we get more people really to pray for missions?
On behalf of the Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project at Wycliffe USA, I wanted to tell a little bit more about our program. While the program is mostly advertised in the USA, anyone with a valid email address anywhere in the world can sign up to be a part of the Wycliffe Prayer Team.
Wycliffe prayer partners receive information by email about a language group and its speakers, a printable how-to-pray bookmark, and periodic emails to encourage them as they pray. As information becomes available, prayer partners also receive specific news about their people group.
We at BPPP will let you know if we receive any updated information about your group. As you commit to prayer, we also commit to updating you about the developments in your project so that you can pray with the most accurate information, for however long it takes. Ultimately, we desire to connect you with Bible translation teams when they start translation work in your group.
You can join the Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project at https://www.wycliffe.org/prayer/join-prayer
Several other resources for Bibleless people groups include http://www.ethonologue.com, http://www.wycliffe.net, and http://www.joshuaproject.net
If the senior pastor participates in the mission prayer group, others will follow his example. If those 40 attendees each invited a friend to the next meeting, enthusiasm and commitment can grow.