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METRO MISSIONS DECEMBER 2016 MISSIONS PRAYER AND PRAISE CALENDAR FUEL THE FIRE – PRISON MINISTRY – ANNA SCHAEFER - COORDINATOR Angel Tree is looking for more helpers on December 17th to help deliver gifts to children of prisoners and share the gospel with families. Contact Anna Schaefer aschaefer@fistdallas.org MISSION 1:8 - REACH 360 – STOP HUNGER NOW Praise! 40,000+ meals are on their way to low income school children in Central America! Thank you for your servant’s heart and willingness to do your part in helping fight chronic hunger! KERRY L. – EAST ASIA – HIGH SECURITY Please pray for favor with local authorities and wisdom to proceed with the mission of spreading the gospel in this area. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD (IMB) - SOUTHEAST ASIAN PEOPLES Pray for a couple who are stepping out in faith and who desire to minister to their people group - the Khmer (pronounced kuh-MER) - who are migrant workers in Thailand. FUEL THE FIRE - EPIC LIFE CHURCH, SEATTLE – PASTOR KEITH CARPENTER Praise – ELC has started a North Seattle Pastor’s meeting at ELC. They gather together, pray and make plans to reach Seattle for the Lord. Pastor Carpenter is mentoring four pastors and discipling four men who may become church planters. Pray for Pastor Keith and his family, that God will continue to use them in powerful ways to reach and minister to those needing the Gospel. NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD Pray that leadership development and relational discipleship will transform hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray that we will see leaders rise up who want to serve the Lord as we work to plant churches across North America. FUEL THE FIRE - MISSION HOUSE MINISTRIES - GUATEMALA Please join MHM in praying that all they do will be used to present the gospel in a compelling way so that hearts may be won for Jesus in Guatemala, the US, and the world. Pray that MHM staff, volunteers, and partners, especially in Guatemala, may be encouraged and strengthened through their work. Our church is already beginning the process of returning to Comitancillo May 27 – June 11. FUEL THE FIRE – DEREK BASS, TYNDALE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Continue to pray for the Bass Family as they train and minister to leaders from all over the world at Tyndale in Amsterdam. As Derek continues to teach, pray for Elizabeth and the kids as they transition to life in The Netherlands. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD (IMB) – EAST ASIAN PEOPLES God is calling U.S. healthcare professionals to find employment in East Asia. Pray that IMB workers will know how to best utilize their skills, integrate them into existing teams, and support them for long-term ministry. GOSPEL FOR ASIA - LEPROSY MINISTRY IN ASIA Praise God for His heart toward people who are sick, hurting and alone. Pray God will bring healing to people affected by leprosy. Ask God to bless the workers who are helping and encouraging leprosy patients. Pray fathers, mothers and children isolated because of their disease will be reunited with their families. M AND E – UNREACHED LOCATION – HIGH SECURITY M & E have finished their language study and have passed the required tests! They are now moving to their next destination and will begin working with their unreached people group. Please pray for the logistics of setting up new lives, housing and adjustment. Please pray for security. Restrictions on sharing the gospel have gotten tighter in their country recently due to new policies on Christianity and missionaries. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD – 6 WAYS TO PRAY IN TIMES OF TERROR 1. Pray for the Lord to have mercy on the heartbroken. 2. Pray for first responders, peacekeepers, and government officials. 3. Pray for local believers living in the area where the terror attack occurred and pray that local churches be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit. 4. Pray for bold and gracious gospel proclamation. 5. Pray for reconciliation - peace is possible through unity in Christ. 6. Pray that faith will overcome fear. FUEL THE FIRE – NEW WORKS Pray for our leaders at First Baptist as they look to expand our missions reach into Los Angeles, Germany, and Brazil. More details to come as new partnerships are being solidified. FUEL THE FIRE – TRINITY BIBLE CHURCH, SAN ANTONIO - PASTOR GUILLERMO CARDONA Praise – Seven more soldiers signed up for the Marriage Conference and ten more soldiers signed up for Deployment Care Packages. Please pray for LLC’s Breakfast Gospel Outreach. Also, pray for Pastor Cardona as he counsels with a Soldier whose daughter was recently murdered. KERRY L. – EAST ASIA Praise! Last month, Yan said she was not interested in Jesus. Her friend still brought her over to Kerry’s house, because she knew Kerry was a Christian and would be able to tell her about Jesus. A few weeks later, Kerry was able to spend a day with them at a beautiful park much like the Dallas Arboretum, and Yan couldn’t wait to tell her that she had made a decision to follow Christ. FUEL THE FIRE – LAKE JUNE BAPTIST CHURCH Bobby and Becky Worthington continue to do an amazing job in reaching and ministering to more and more people in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas. Pray that their influence in the community will continue to grow and that Lake June will continue to be a light in the community. OPERATION CARE INTERNATIONAL “CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR JESUS” Under the leadership of Susie Jennings, the “Christmas Party for Jesus” will look to resource and minister to 20,000 people today at the Dallas Convention Center. FUEL THE FIRE – INVOLVED FOR LIFE The Downtown Pregnancy Center, The Uptown Women’s Center, and Sonograms On Site are all under the umbrella of Involved For Life. Every day, this dedicated ministry looks to provide hope, healing, training, and counseling to families looking for answers to unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. FUEL THE FIRE – SENT CHURCH, SAN ANGELO, TX Sent Church continues to grow in numbers and in leadership. Last month, Pastor David Templin became an elder for Sent Church joining Lead Pastor Josh Lilly. Through the leadership of Josh Lilly, Sent Church continues to train and raise up new leaders who carry the Sent Church work forward or even start new churches. FUEL THE FIRE – SILENT FRIENDS CHAPEL Pray for Silent Friends Chapel as they continue to search for a new lead pastor. Pray that the Pastor Search Committee will stay diligent and that God would in time bring the right leader. NEW TRIBES MISSION - TIGAK TRIBE - PAPUA NEW GUINEA ND’s time in the Tigak tribe is going well. He was able to complete checking Old Testament portions needed to teach from Creation to Christ for the Patpatar tribe. Pray that during ND’s remaining time in the tribe he will be able to get comprehension checking done on some of the remaining Epistles in Tigak. Thank you for praying. It makes such a difference! The Tigak church is studying through the book of John in depth for the very first time. We are excited to watch and see what the Lord has to teach them. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD (IMB) – ISOLATED PEOPLE GROUPS OF THE AMAZON Approximately 20 people groups live deep in the Amazon rainforest with no known believers among them. They live off the land, traveling often in search of food. Pray for the salvation of these people groups. PRISON MINISTRY – ANNA SCHAEFER COORDINATOR Dallas County Team - Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the inmates our men will meet with. New Believers - Please pray for those who have recently received Christ through our ministry that God would protect them and they would grow in their faith as new believers. FUEL THE FIRE – DALLAS LIFE Dallas Life continues to be the largest homeless shelter in North Texas. Pray for the leadership team at Dallas Life, including Bob and Gracie Sweeney and John Koesema, that God will continue to use the shelter to minister to many during this time of the year. “...BEHOLD, I BRING YOU GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE. FOR UNTO YOU IS BORN THIS DAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID, A SAVIOR, WHICH IS CHRIST THE LORD.” LUKE 2:11-12 FUEL THE FIRE – ROB & KARINA D’ANDREA – ITALY Please keep Rob and Karina in your prayers as they meet and connect with the people of Mestre and share the love and salvation of Christ. Pray for them as they continue to transition to life in Northern Ital and continue to study the language. MARK AND MICHELLE FITTZ – MISSIONARIES, CAMINO GLOBAL, HONDURAS The Fittz Family is at home in our Creek Valley house, on Stateside assignment. Please pray for Mark and son, Micah, as they head to Siguatepeque, Honduras to encourage their home team, visit coffee farms, and check in with the coffee shop. In 2017, they will hire a Honduran SERVE Pastor to lead the ministry of HOPE Coffee through local churches in Honduras. It is a crucial position to involve local churches in the work of serving the lost for the sake of the Gospel. Another exciting opportunity is that God has provided funds to buy an existing coffee farm that would create jobs with a new coffee tourism company in Siguatepeque. Pray for the family as they are apart, for wisdom in meeting with the Honduran staff, for guidance in finding a new SERVE Pastor, for Micah as he visits “home” and sees all his friends in Honduras and for discernment in the timing of land purchase. INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD (IMB) – EAST ASIA Pray that church leaders in Precious Sunshine City will come to know God’s love for them. Ask God to change their lives and become aware of His love for them. Pray that they will become known as a people who love the Lord and walk in the heart knowledge of Him. FUEL THE FIRE – ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) Please pray for the ESL ministry that meets on Thursdays on the fifth floor of the Criswell Center, 10-11:30am. For more information, contact Jean Dorough at [email protected]. FUEL THE FIRE - GUATEMALA 2017 Please mark these dates on your 2017 calendar and begin praying now that these two trips will be a blessing to the people of Guatemala and to everyone from FBD: Team 1, May 27-June 4, 2017 and Team 2, June 3-June 11, 2017. THANK YOU! Thank you for praying and supporting First Dallas Missions through Mission 1:8 and now Fuel the Fire. Stop and think about what God has done this past year: the gospel was taken through the world, lives were forever changed because of Christ, and the kingdom of God was expanded. You were a part of it all. May 2017 bring on even greater opportunities for ministry and may we be faithful and diligent to stay alert and ready for God’s direction. – Kevin Batista MISSION PARTNERSHIPS For more info, contact missions@firstdallas.org. Current Partnership Churches: Epic Life Church – Seattle WA Sent Church – San Angelo TX Trinity Bible Church – San Antonio TX Current Mission Churches: Lake June Baptist Church Silent Friends Chapel Criswell Baptist Church, Ruiru Kenya First Dallas Prison Ministry Rob & Corina D’Andrea, Italy Derek & Elizabeth Bass, The Netherlands 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
