Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

On March 14^th a category three cyclone made landfall in Mozambique. Just six weeks later on April 25^th another cyclone came ashore a bit farther north in Mozambique. Significant rains before and after these cyclones also impacted the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe and Malawi. Please join with Youth With A Mission’s global prayer day this month as we lift up the people of Mozambique and surrounding countries and evangelistic and aid workers in those areas, including YWAMers.

Listen to the letter

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, cyclone Idai has affected over 1.85 million people with at least 130,000 people displaced over four provinces in Mozambique. A minimum of 112,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. At least 715,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed at the beginning of the main harvest season. Over 400,000 people have been reached with food assistance, while 10,000 people are being helped with ready-to-eat meals in the city of Beira. The death toll is over 750 in Mozambique alone.

Watch the story here through the eyes of a young YWAM girl who lived through the destruction of Idai: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47828862

YWAM locations in Beira and Dondo were directly impacted by Idai, making them strategically located to help others. YWAM Blantyre, Malawi is also assisting their neighbors and providing hope to people who have lost much. YWAM Muizenberg, South Africa has become a communication and coordinating point for YWAM efforts including disbursing donations and other resources, as well as working with other YWAM locations to coordinate the development and resettlement phase that officially began this month.

In addition to prayer, YWAM leaders in South Africa are asking us to be generous towards our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mozambique as they are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical supplies. See the Take Action section of The Invitation for ways to help, including sending teams for rebuilding.

Please join YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, this month and pray for Mozambique. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, June 13. If you only have a few moments to pray please pray for our brothers and sisters in YWAM Beira and YWAM Dondo as they seek to recover from this disaster. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed for Mozambique. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Prepare to Pray:

Consider these two short portions from Lamentations chapter 3:

“The waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish. I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’ You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Lamentations 3, 54-58 and 22-26

In order to lead a group in their preparation time, it will help to have just these selected verses available for people to read, whether on a projected slide, or printed and available for each person.

These selected verses will be read aloud three times, either by one person or by someone different each time.

The first reading is an opportunity to simply notice which word or short phrase catches your attention. For a couple of minutes following the reading, allow time for people to speak out loud ‘popcorn style’ the word or phrase that struck them. Repetitions are fine, it is good to hear how God is speaking throughout the group.

The second reading is an opportunity to listen to the invitation the Lord may be bringing to you through these verses. This invitation may relate to the word or phrase you noticed in the first reading, or it may be something new. What is God inviting you to today? Perhaps He is inviting you to an attitude of compassion or trust? Maybe there is a step of faith He is inviting you to take? He may simply be inviting you to call on His name. Allow people a moment to jot this down in their journal.

The third and final reading is an opportunity to consider your response to this invitation from God. How does your heart respond to Him? In what way might you enter into the attitude or action to which He has invited you? You may wish to allow a short time of sharing as you move into prayer for Mozambique.

Pray for Mozambique:

• Pray for God’s leading and for hope for the millions affected by cyclones Idai and Kenneth. Pray that those who don’t know Him yet will find Jesus through this storm in their lives.
• The timing of Idai was just before harvest time for crops. Pray for provision of necessities between now and when the next crops are able to be harvested.
• Pray for rebuilding of businesses, buildings and farms in such a way that there is greater abundance in the future.

The human cost is immense. Many people are understandingly emotional: “I am not crying because I lost things, but what I experienced was scary. I want to run away from this city!”

Shephen Mbewe, former base leader YWAM Marromeu

• Praise God for the many other organizations that have provided aid and resources including RescueNet and Mercy Air. Their work has been phenomenal.
• Praise God that no YWAMers were killed.
• Praise God for the initial donations that have been provided. Pray for all funds needed to rebuild YWAM ministries including the school and orphanage in Beira and the preschool and clinic in Dondo.
• Much rebuilding is still needed in Mozambique. There are many opportunities for YWAMers to reach out and help others. Pray for YWAMers directly impacted so they can help others effectively. Pray for continued resources and volunteers to support our YWAM locations impacted.
• Pray for YWAMers and others who were traumatized and in need of counseling.
• YWAM has solid ministries in these areas. Praise God for the impact that has already been made and ask Him to direct future ministries.
• Praise God for the structure and resources of YWAM Muizenberg so that resources can be dispersed effectively and with discernment. Pray for wisdom from God.
• There are many conflicting priorities. An example is that government officials want the people out of schools so that education can continue but temporary shelters are not always ready. Pray for governmental officials and leaders from aid organizations to collaborate effectively, making sure that all needs are addressed in a coordinated fashion so people are not further impacted by this disaster.
• Pray for relief for the city of Beira, Mozambique where many people initially fled.
• Many are still living in temporary refugee-type housing. Supplies are limited. Pray for adequate and equitable distribution of supplies.
• Pray for all children and that even in the midst of the devastation their education can continue. Pray that all children will soon have schools where schools were destroyed.
• All services including water, medical, electricity, police, postal and others were disrupted. Some serves are not yet fully restored. Pray for restoration of all services including water, electricity, police, postal and others. Pray for clean water sources.
• The threat of disease is high. Pray for God to protect the people from these threats and for those who are sick to believe He can heal.
• Pray for military and police officers who are guarding resettlement sites. Pray for their protection and that they will meet Jesus through their work. Pray for security of those they are protecting.

Take Action

• Donate and if you have already donated consider doing so again. If you have questions, contact YWAM Muizenberg at mzidai@ywammuizenberg.org:
  • Paypal: finance2@ywammuizenberg.org
  • Transfer funds to:
    • Account Name: Youth With A Mission NPC
    • Bank: FNB
    • Account No: 62544019997
    • Branch Code: 200409
  • For international transfers: see above plus:
    • Swift Code: FIRNZAJJXXX
    • Clearing Code: 250655
  • Mail to YWAM Muizenberg:
    • Youth With A Mission NPC
    • 19 Alexander Rd
    • Muizenberg
    • 7945
    • Cape Town
  • Review general information about the damage from the cyclones: https://www.ywam.org/blog/2019/03/26/response-to-cyclone-idai-in-mozambique/
  • Contact YWAM Muizenberg, South Africa to plan a team or to come mzidai@ywammuizenberg.org:
    • Any helpers willing to get dirty for the Lord are welcome.
    • People to help with ongoing trauma counseling: Many people have been left traumatized and deeply affected by what they have been through. Counseling teams would be welcome.
    • Construction, building and repairing teams: There will be a need for teams and individuals to come and help as there will be work to be done for some time to come. Please continue to give financially as this will allow the work of rebuilding to continue.
  • Prayer:
    • Continue to pray individually for those on the ground, for those traumatized and affected.
    • Organize ongoing prayer for Mozambique at your location.
  • Learn more about Mozambique. One such source: https://geology.com/world/mozambique-satellite-image.shtml. Then ask God what action He wants you to take.
  • Talk to your leader about disaster preparedness at your location and how your location could help others impacted by a local disaster. Help develop disaster plans where needed.

• If you are interested in prayer and communication, you can be part of The Invitation. Contact us at prayer@ywam.org. We need an administrator/coordinator; photographers/videographers; researchers; and translators for French and Indonesian.
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed

May 2019 – YWAM Uyghurs People Group

• YWAM Chiang Rai, Thailand posted the picture above on Facebook and provided a report of how they prayed. One of their prayers was that the gospel would advance in the camps – like Paul influencing prisoners, guards, visitors, and the household of Caesar through his two years in chains. They also referenced Exodus 2:23-24 & 3:7-8;
  Psalm 146 and 1 Corinthians 10:4-5.
• YWAM Harvest City, Otukpo, Nigeria prayed and reported: “We thank God for involving us in the prayer for the Uyghurs. We felt the Lord reminding us that he is able to do the impossible. He is the Lord who makes streams in desert places. He is able to turn the hearts of the communists running these detention camps to himself. Let us be encouraged as we continue to pray!”
• YWAM Dunham, Quebec, Canada reported that they went down into a dark, cold and humid basement room and identified with those who live in darkness and oppression. With every prayer prayed we lit a candle representing the hope and light that God wants to bring to them. It was great to engage our senses and it added to the passion to pray for the Uyghur! They have also prayed for the Uyghurs since our global prayer day.

Future Topics:

• July 11, 2019: Central Europe
• August 8, 2019: Human Trafficking
• September 12: Hindu World

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

Please join with Youth With A Mission’s global prayer day this month as we lift up a large Muslim people group that is facing a crisis right now.

Listen to the letter

The Uyghur [WEE-gur] people numbers around 15 million. Their traditional homeland is located mainly in Xinjiang [SHIN-jong] province in Northwest China. In recent years, small numbers of Uyghurs have responded to the gospel, and at this time there are a few hundred Uyghur Christians.

Historically, the Uyghurs and communist China have had ongoing conflicts. But recently, things have escalated dramatically. Under the guise of eliminating Islamic extremism, approximately one million Uyghurs have been detained in “re-education camps,” usually indefinitely. The camps are overcrowded and the Uyghurs are forced to learn communist propaganda. Some detainees have claimed they were tortured. Outside the camps, conditions are not much better. Families are being torn apart and some businesses have closed because owners have “disappeared.”

There is a very small Uyghur Christian community that is also being targeted and most leaders and strong believers have been detained. The Uyghur Christian fellowships, small and fragile to begin with, have been driven almost out of existence.

Although Uyghurs are predominantly Muslim and have been for about 1,000 years, historical findings show that there was once a strong Christian community among the Uyghur tribe. They had many churches and were also involved in taking the gospel to other Central Asian peoples. Many Uyghur Christians believe that God wants to revive the destiny of the Uyghur people in these days. They believe that this involves many Uyghurs embracing the gospel and taking God’s good news across Central Asia. They also believe that the enemy is doing his best to stop this destiny from becoming a reality.

Will you join YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, this month and pray for the Uyghurs? You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, May 9. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to pray for the ending of this oppression and for Uyghurs to turn to Jesus in great numbers. Let’s pray that the Uyghurs would rise up with identity restored, healed and bringing the Good News across Central Asia and the world. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed for the Uyghurs. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Prepare to Pray:

Before you begin to pray, find a table from your classroom or dining room and cover it in blankets, drapes, or other fabric. It should be covered all around and right down to the floor. You may want to put additional blankets or cushions under the table, in the ‘tent’ you have created.

In groups of 3 or 4, have people sit in the darkness under the table for a few minutes at a time. While there, experiencing darkness, discomfort and confinement, bring to mind those Uyghrs who have been forcibly removed from their homes and families, who are persecuted and in terrible fear. Consider those Christian Uyghurs who are in detention even today. Allow yourself to imagine the loss, grief and fear they might be feeling.

As you experience the emotion of this place of darkness and great need, turn your longing towards God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – whose great desire and purpose is to rent open this darkness in order for the light of His presence to be made known. As you leave the shadows of the ‘tent’ where you have been sitting, you might want to make this declaration in faith for the Uyghur people:

“Through Jesus dark death has been destroyed and radiant life is everywhere restored!”

Remain in this heart place of identification and faith for the Uyghur as you move through your prayer time.

Pray for Uyghurs People Group:

• Pray for the camps to close and oppression against Uyghurs to end.
• Pray that the Uyghurs would rise up with identity restored, healed and bringing the Good News across Central Asia and the world.
• Pray for governments and those in places of influence. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 21:1
• Pray for those in detention camps. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16
• Pray that the enemy’s plans for these camps would be halted.
• Pray for the families of those in detention camps.
• Pray for Xinjiang Province. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
• Pray for God’s plans for Xinjiang to come to pass and for the enemy’s plans to be cancelled.
• Pray that people in Xinjiang would cry out to God in their time of trouble.
• Pray for Uyghurs in other parts of the world, like Central Asia, Europe and North America.
• Pray for the Uyghur Church, that Christian fellowships would be restored and strengthened. “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18.
• Pray for a spirit of forgiveness and that Uyghur Christians would actively forgive.
• Pray that Uyghur Christians would sense God’s presence and peace. Pray that these believers would pray with hope and fervor.
• Pray for prayer movements to cover the Uyghur’s situation. Pray for God to reveal strategies in prayer for the Uyghurs. “And I will pour on [them] the Spirit of grace and supplication.” Zechariah 12:10
• Pray for Uyghur believers to be released from detention camps.
• Pray for missionaries to the Uyghurs. Pray that God would call missionaries to the Uyghurs and equip them to participate in what He is going to do.
• Praise God for His love for those in Xinjiang and His plans for the Uyghur people.
• Praise God that Jesus has died for the Uyghur’s salvation and restoration.
• Praise God that there are Uyghurs who believe in Jesus and follow Him.

The Uyghur people in China stand in urgent need of prayer in this hour. Forgotten by the world, the Uyghur people’s only hope is that God would move mightily on their behalf.

Anonymous

Take Action

• Our prayers are powerful to get His kingdom to come on the earth! Expand your prayer influence for the Uyghurs:
  • Raise the awareness of the need to pray for Uyghurs with others (prayer chains, prayer groups, etc.).
  • Post this prayer guide somewhere that will remind you to pray.
  • Invite others to pray. Many intercessors are unaware of this situation. But agreement and unity increase the power of our prayers many-fold! Feel free to copy and distribute this prayer guide.
• Conduct research using suggestions below. After conducting research on your own or in a group pray to God and ask Him what He would have you do.
• Stay informed: Frequently do internet searches for “Uyghur detention, Uyghur oppression, etc.” New information is coming out nearly every week. This information can be fuel for prayer. This article was posted in April, 2019: https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=38001
• Watch this BBC news report for an overview of the Uyghur camp situation:

• Watch the video and read the article of one refugee who was detained: http://time.com/5467628/china-uighur-congress-torture/
• Read this research from the Concerned Scholars website: https://concernedscholars.home.blog.
• Subscribe to this online magazine on religious liberty and human rights in china: www.bitterwinter.org and then do a search on Xinjiang or Uyghur. You can also get connected to its social media platform, find articles and videos.
• Take up the cause. Find a way for your voice to help the Uyghurs. If you are in the USA or associated with the USA, write your congress men/women and demand they address the human rights abuses of the Uyghurs.
• Google Uyghurrestaurants in your area and if there are any go and strike up a conversation and encourage the owners and workers.
• Pray for the Uyghurs and other Muslims during Ramadan May 5 – June 4. Participate in 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. Order prayer guides or sign up for emails at this site: https://www.30daysprayer.com/

• If you are interested in prayer and communication ask how you can be part of The Invitation: prayer@ywam.org We need administrator/coordinator; photographers/videographers; researchers; and translators for French and Indonesian.
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed

April 2019 – YWAM Foundational Values #16 – 18

• We had a request to pray for Bangladesh and YWAM Bangladesh as God leads us.

Future Topics:

• June 13, 2019: Central Europe
• July 11, 2019: Redeeming Cultures

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!   

Before he left for India, missionary William Carey told his friend, “I will go down…if you hold the rope.” Like the person holding the rope for a mountain climber, the sender of missionaries plays a vital role in helping their friends succeed. Please join the YWAM family in prayer this month for those people who hold the rope for missionaries, who serve as senders. In particular, please pray for senders from the Two-Thirds World.

Listen to this month’s letter here.

Last month YWAM’s monthly prayer day, called The Invitation, focused on the encouraging realities of how God is transforming the missions field into the mission force!

But there is another side to this unfolding story. In many locations both in and out of YWAM there are hundreds if not thousands of amazing men and women from the Two-Thirds-World who are called to go the lost. They have proven character, they have a clear call, often they have been equipped for cross-cultural work, but what they lack are senders.

Senders are any believers intentionally focused on sending and supporting missionaries. In his book Serving as Senders, Neil Pirolo identifies six different ways we can serve as senders: moral support, logistic support, financial support, prayer support, communication support, and re-entry support.

The apostle Paul highlighted the crucial role of senders in his letter to the church in Rome. He wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15, NIV).

Let us join together to pray for both more senders and more leaders (mobilizers) who will focus not only on launching the Two-Thirds-World missionaries but also on equipping the Two-Thirds-World senders. More believers serving as senders in the Two-Thirds-World will release another wave of amazing missionaries from the Two-Thirds-World.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of March to pray with us about sending Two-Thirds-World missionaries. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, March 14. If you only have a few moments to pray we ask you to pray for a Two-Thirds-World sending country that God puts on your heart (for example, Brazil, Nigeria, South Korea, or India). We would love to receive stories from you regarding how God touched your heart through this prayer. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Prepare to Pray:

Watch this video from Bevin Ginder that explains why praying for senders from the Two-Thirds-World is so important at this time: https://globalcastresources.com/2018/11/07/new-missionaries-from-new-sending-nations/

Pray for Two-Thirds-World Senders:

• The mobilization of many more Two-Thirds-World believers willing to serve as senders.
• More leaders who will focus on equipping both those called to go and those called to send. These leaders could be pastors, business people, church leaders, community leaders, or family leaders.
• A renewed emphasis on maintaining and developing good relationships and partnerships with local church leaders.
• A change of identity in Two-Thirds-World churches from mission field to mission force. Pray for the discipleship process. Missions mobilization includes the long-term efforts necessary to shift how both individuals and whole communities perceive themselves, the Bible, and God’s mission.
• The continued development of relevant models for funding missions from the Two-Thirds-World. There is still a huge need for wisdom on models for funding missions that do not stunt the growing capacity and responsibility of the local believers send out and sustain their own workers.
• More missions mobilization resources developed by and for national leaders, mobilizers and trainers.
• More principle-based training for leaders with a heart for missions.
• The integration of topics such as Biblical basis of missions in the training of pastors in new sending countries.
• Specifically pray for African missionaries and people to send them. In response to last-month’s prayer focus, Sunday Adewumi, a believer from Nigeria, wrote us and asked us to pray for the African mission movement: “I did my YWAM Discipleship Training School in South Africa in 2016, against all odds, in terms of immigration issues. I did my outreach with a group of five in South Africa. Thereafter, I applied to join staff but I was not accepted due to immigration issues. I love missions and my heart is in it. I still do it here in Nigeria. I’ve discovered that some missionaries from some Africa countries and less developed countries are confronted with immigration issues, finances, racial discrimination, and other issues. I hope we can pray for African missionaries on the points mentioned above.

Take Action

• Learn: Read an article or book or watch a video from the resources below.
• Pray: Commit to pray for more Two-Thirds-World leaders focused on equipping both “goers” and “senders.”
• Give: Begin supporting a Two-Thirds-World missionary!
• Create: Ask God for next steps in developing more missions training and mobilization resources in the language of your region.
• Article from Brazil: Miraculous Provision to Launch Teams https://www.ywamfm.org/miraculous-provision-new-teams-brazil/?fbclid=IwAR35b12nDis5gsf-Mj-soFc9DNyPZWg1dWNF-zZ1avj3JxC33TQ1j_XEhYc
• Article from a Caribbean mission leader: https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/cjet/01-1_52.pdf
• Article: Mobilization – The Key to World Evangelization
• Article: Who Will Hold the Ropes: A Plea for Great Commission Pastors and Churches
• Article: Serving as Senders: Six types of support every missionary needs
• Article: Everyone Can Do Missions
• Article: Goer, Sender, Mobilizer, and Welcomer
• Article: Mobilization – The Key to World Evangelization
• Article: Missionaries to Mongolia
• Article: Mongolia – As a People Movement to Christ Emerges, What Lessons Can We Learn?
• Video: What You Don’t Know About Christian Missions.
• Video: When Should Mobilization Begin for New Disciples?
• Video: The Value Of Understanding That Mobilization Is More Than Recruitment
• Podcast: Why Majority World Mobilization Matters
• Book: Missions from the Majority World
• Book: Serving as Senders
• Missions Course: Kairos Course
• Missions Course: Perspectives Course
• Mobilization Resources: The Center for Mission Mobilization
• Mobilization Resources: Create International
• Mobilization Resources: Momentum
• Mobilization Resources: GlobalCAST Resources
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed:

February 2019 – Two-Thirds-World Missionaries

• Several people showed enthusiasm on Facebook to pray for this topic: “Praying with great expectation!” and “Agreeing in prayer. (Psalm 67)”
• One on Facebook asked: “Any mobilization for 2020 Olympics in Japan?”
• International House of Prayer featured praying for Mobilization of Two-Thirds-World (Majority World) Missionaries in the “Prayer for YWAM” guide they distributed to their prayer partners.
• We received an email from a woman in Nigeria asking God to grant the Two-Thirds-World missionaries safety and protection in all their lives and remove humiliation, killings, and maltreatment.

Future Topics:

• April 11, 2019: YWAM Foundational Values 16 – 18
• May 9, 2019: The Muslim World
• June 13, 2019: Central Europe

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

You are invited to join together with thousands of YWAMers from around the world as we pray and hear from God about the mobilization of Two-Thirds-World (Majority World) missionaries.

Listen to the YWAM Prayer Letter

For decades there has been a dramatic shift in the makeup of the global body of Christ. In the 1900’s, most Christians lived in Western nations. But today, most of the followers of Jesus are from Asia, Africa and Latin America. As one would expect, there has been a similar shift in the makeup of the missions force. In 2010, three of the top ten countries sending the most missionaries were from Asia and Latin America: Brazil, South Korea and India. Other notable sending nations included South Africa, the Philippines, Mexico, China, Colombia, and Nigeria. (Melissa Steffen in Christianity Today.)

This means that missions is no longer “the West reaching the rest.” It is “the reached reaching the unreached.” According to mission researcher Jason Mandryk, “Today the Majority World Church sends out as many cross-cultural missionaries as does the Western Church.”

We are witnessing the globalization of missions where just about every country is both sending and receiving missionaries! This globalization of missions is also being enabled by several other trends such as unprecedented migration, a communications revolution and transportation technology. People are on the move. Both travel and communication are easier. But the globalization of missions may be disorienting, as there are new challenges and it requires new paradigms. The reached everywhere are partnering together to reach the unreached! This is nothing less than the global body of Christ partnering together to plant the body of Christ globally.

From the beginning, God lead YWAM to be international and interdenominational (Foundational Value #8). Today we are thrilled that over 50% of our staff are from the Majority World. Therefore, YWAM is uniquely poised to continue to play a significant role in mobilizing, equipping, sending and sustaining new missionaries from new sending countries.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of February to pray with us about the missions movement from the Majority World. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, February 14. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to pray for a Two-Thirds-World missionary that God puts on your heart. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how God touched your heart through this prayer. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Prepare to Pray:

You may find it helpful to appoint a facilitator for the Prepare to Pray exercise.

You will need a ball of string or twine. If you are a larger group, you may find it helpful to divide into smaller groups of 8-10 people, with one ball of string or twine for each group.

With the group standing in a circle, one person begins by holding the string. Being sure to keep hold of the end, they throw the ball of string to someone else in the circle. This person keeps hold of their piece of the string, then throws the ball of string to someone else. Continue throwing until everyone in the group is holding a piece of the string and the entire circle is connected by a network of string.

Pause at this point and take a look at the person who threw the ball of string to you. What do you appreciate about this person? What do you receive from them in your relationship as team members, or part of this community? In what ways is it easy to receive from them? In what ways do you feel resistant to what they may offer? Now take a look at the person to whom you threw the ball of string. In your relationship with them, what are you able to offer them that is a source of blessing or strength to them? In what ways is it easy to give to them? What might prevent you from giving to them?

A facilitator may gather feedback from these reflections. Your group may also find it helpful to consider any additional reflections from this exercise. How do you feel about giving to and receiving from others? In what ways does giving and receiving create connection within a group, across cultures, or across diverse socio-economic groups? Bring to mind all the ways our world is connected as people travel to study, work, take vacations, or volunteer. People also move around the globe as refugees, or displaced people. How does this inter-connectedness create opportunities to give and receive from one another, and especially to share our faith in Jesus? Think about the web of string you created – what can be created as we all play our part?

Pray for Two-Thirds-World Missionaries:

• Praise God for the increasingly strong and mature national leadership from Majority-World sending nations.
• Pray for the development of relevant missions mobilization resources.
• Pray for openness of Western leaders to listen to and learn from Majority World leaders.
• Pray for wisdom for partnership with national missions initiatives.
• Pray for insight regarding relevant funding models for new workers from new sending countries.
• Pray that biblical missions topics will be integrated into the training of pastors in new sending countries.
• Pray for more coaching, mentoring and training available for Majority World missions leaders/mobilizers.
• Pray for a renewed emphasis on maintaining and developing good relationships and partnerships with local church leaders.

Continue to Pray for The Send:

• Pray for an upcoming event: The Send on Feb 23, 2019. Pray that those who attend will be activated into their evangelistic and missional calling. Pray that it would be a “tipping point” gathering that would spark a great wave of evangelism and missions. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JObabQXTF8 For More: thesend.org

Take Action

• Give: Begin monthly support for a Majority World missionary!
• Give: Start a giving campaign to engage others in supporting a Majority World missionary.
• Create: Ask God for next steps in developing more missions training and mobilization resources in the language of your region.
• Pray: Commit to pray that more leaders in the body of Christ will have the wisdom and grace to embrace what God is doing in this season.
• Read and research:
  • Article: Global Shift in Christianity Requires ‘New Paradigm Missionaries’
  • Article: The Surprising Countries Most Missionaries Are Sent From and Go To
  • Article: A South to South Missions Force
  • Article: Recovering Mission: Majority World Mission – A Return to Mission for the Majority
  • Video: What you don’t know about Christian Missions. – StoryLine

• • Video: New Missionaries from New Sending Nations – GlobalCAST
  • Podcast: Why Majority World Mobilization Matters – Mission Pulse
  • Journal: Mission from the Margins to the Margins: Two Case Studies from Latin America. – Samuel Escobar
  • Journal: The New Missionary Force Mission from the Majority World – Eldon Porter
  • Book: Missions from the Majority World
  • Book: Christianity in Its Global Context – Todd Johnson
  • Book: The New Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity – Philip Jenkins
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed:

January 2019 – YWAM Foundational Values #13 – Be Relationship Oriented, #14 – Value the Individual, #15 Value Families

• Three people responded with how these YWAM values have impacted their lives:
  • “One time, when I was a student, I was late for class. I thought the staff would be upset with me, but they weren’t. They had tea ready for me.”
  • “Seeing the way families around the base are still able to serve God and that having a family doesn’t have to slow you down or change things is pretty cool.”
  • “I was part of a school with 53 students. The leader of that school was also my one on one and I was so impressed in how he took time to hear God on my behalf and push me further than I could ever have gone by myself… he saw value in me where I didn’t . . .“
• A group from YWAM Perth noted that they had been directed to pray for the Andrea and Andreas Frész family:
  • Don’t fear evil. God goes ahead and behind. Protected on all sides.
  • God had anointed them to lead and be the example of the Bridegroom of Christ. Be aware as they represent His image, be aware of the areas that the enemy would want to attack.
  • Picture of bird’s eye view. Could see the footprints of where they had been. Mountains ahead, but seeing from above the path was clearly set. God has made a path clearly even if they see mountains ahead.

Future Topics:

• March 14, 2019: Two-Thirds-World Senders
• April 11, 2019: YWAM Foundational Values 16 – 18

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

The YWAM “DNA” is comprised of our purpose, beliefs and values and is the framework that helps us determine who we are, how we live and how we make decisions. This is the fifth issue of The Invitation where we have invited YWAMers to pray for our foundational values, three at a time. For January we will pray for foundational values #13 – 15. Please refer to https://ywam.org/about-us/values/ to see the purpose, beliefs and remaining values. Our values have been developed and refined over decades and are supported by scripture. YWAM cofounder Darlene Cunningham has stated that “These understandings are foundational to our tribe being who we are, and we praise God for the way He has led us.”

Listen to the Letter here

#13 – Be relationship-oriented

YWAM is dedicated to being relationship-oriented in our living and working together. We desire to be united through lives of holiness, mutual support, transparency, humility, and open communication, rather than a dependence on structures or rules.

#14 – Value the individual

YWAM is called to value each individual. We believe in equal opportunity and justice for all. Created in the image of God, people of all nationalities, ages and functions have distinctive contributions and callings. We are committed to honoring God-given leadership and ministry gifts in both men and women.

#15 – Value families

YWAM affirms the importance of families serving God together in missions, not just the father and/or mother. We also embrace the inclusion of single-parent families. We encourage the development of strong and healthy family units, with each member sharing the call to missions and contributing their gifts in unique and complementary ways. We uphold and celebrate the biblical view that God’s intent for holy matrimony is between one man and one woman.

Please join with The Invitation during the month of January to pray with us about these three values. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, January 10. If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to reflect on these values and pray that YWAMers would have full understanding of our values and that all teaching within YWAM will be true to these values. As you pray and contemplate these foundational values, we would love to receive stories from you regarding how these values have shaped your ministry or your life. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Prepare to Pray:

Before you begin to pray, pair up with someone in your group with whom you feel comfortable. Have a facilitator set a timer for 2 minutes. For the duration of these 120 seconds, you are invited to silently hold one another’s gaze.

It can feel uncomfortable to look into another person’s eyes for an extended period of time! Do your best not to talk or fool around, or otherwise distract yourselves, rather bring to mind the inherent worth of the person in front of you. Think of all the life events that have brought him or her to this place, the good as well as the challenging or painful. Consider her courage, her vulnerabilities, her giftedness and her limitations. Seek to see this person as God sees him or her, feel His longing for her to become all that He intends for her to be.

Don’t be surprised if this exercise brings some tears to your eyes or causes a deep compassion to rise up towards the person you are with. Take a moment to debrief the activity before you move on to prayer.

Pray for YWAM Foundational Values 13 – 15:

• Pray that YWAMers would have a full understanding of our values and that all teaching within YWAM will be true to these values.

Pray about Value 13: Be Relationship Oriented:

• The presence of sin has impacted our relationships with one another. Pray for YWAMers to be relationship oriented. Pray for restoration where needed.
• Pray for unity through lives of holiness, mutual support, transparency, humility, and open communication.
• Pray for YWAMers to be effective encouragers, but also effective in holding each other accountable. Pray for proper balance. Pray for YWAMers to hold fast to God’s word and to build loving relationships.

Pray about Value 14: Value the Individual:

• Praise God that every human being is valuable and created by Him, in his image. Praise Him for how He loves each of us.
• Pray for YWAMers to have confidence in their identity as a child of God and a believer in Christ. Pray for YWAM to portray these beliefs to the outside world well.
• Pray for effective discovery and development of spiritual gifts by YWAMers and our DTS students.
• Pray that YWAMers will have gracious attitudes towards sinners, as we are sinners ourselves.

Pray about Value 15: Value Families:

• Pray for YWAM’s Family Ministries. In many countries, YWAM provides marriage and parenting retreats, family mentoring, resource centers for families, outreaches for parents and children, and support for national initiatives to strengthen families. Pray for the family ministries workers that are faithfully serving their communities. Pray for wisdom. Pray for innovation. Pray for provision.
• Pray for YWAM’s training programs for people wanting to become equipped in family ministry and counseling. Pray for the students and teachers.
• Andreas and Angela Frész, who are currently leading YWAM Family Ministries International, will be handing over the leadership in June 2019. We are grateful for the work they have done, the tribe they have built all over the world. Pray for a smooth transition and for wisdom for the team that will be following in their footsteps.
• Pray for our YWAM Families. Being in missions as a family is both a blessing and hard work. Pray for our marriages and for unity and oneness in our families, and for God’s protection as we serve others.
• Pray for divorced Christians and their children. Pray for churches to love them well and for all impacted to recover well.

Pray for The Send:

• Pray for an upcoming event: The Send on Feb 23, 2019. Pray that those who attend will be activated into their evangelistic and missional calling. Pray that it would be a “tipping point” gathering that would spark a great wave of evangelism and missions. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JObabQXTF8  For More: www.thesend.org

Take Action

• Watch videos:
  • #13 – Be Relationship Oriented: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcu-qAejboY
  • #14 – Value individuals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCljJ_r-r6Y
  • #15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am6yQ5MMREw
• If you are part of a YWAM location, spend a week focused on being relationship oriented. Fast as a group one day asking the Holy Spirit to further unite you. Ask the Spirit to reveal where there is sin or weakness regarding holiness, mutual support, transparency, humility, and open communication. Spend time as a group agreeing on ways to improve in these areas so that you can become more unified.
• Evaluate your YWAM relationships. Note those that are relationship oriented and those that are lacking. Commit to becoming more relationship oriented.
• Study Jesus in one or more of the gospel books and note specific instances and ways that He was relationship oriented.

• Study what scripture has to say about valuing the individual and discuss in a group: Genesis 1:27; Leviticus 19:13-16; Deuteronomy 16:18-20; Psalm 139:13-16; Mark 8:34 37; Acts 10:34-35; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Hebrews 2:11-12; James 2:1-9
• Do something to value the individual on their birthday. (YWAM Perth, Australia does this well. Contact them for more information.)
• If you have not conducted a spiritual gifts test recently of the individuals at your location do so. Discuss how each person is uniquely gifted. Look at various combinations of spiritual gifts in each person.
• Consider what it means to be made in God’s image. Reflect on Scripture: Genesis 1:25 – 27, 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Colossians 1:15 – 17 and James 3:9. Review what another ministry says about what it means to be made in the image of God: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-q-and-a/faith/what-it-means-to-be-made-in-the-image-of-god
• Find out more about YWAM’s Family Ministries: https://www.ywam-fmi.org/ Attend an event: https://www.ywam-fmi.org/events/
• Pursue a degree in family studies through the University of the Nations and the Family Resource Center.
• Subscribe to YWAM Family Ministries newsletter: https://www.ywam-fmi.org/
• Learn about the House of Oneness, a teaching that comes out of extensive research on strong families: https://www.ywam-fmi.org/resource/house-of-oneness/. What is your family good at? What characterizes your family? What is an area that needs attention? Discuss together as a family what you see.
• Read books:
  • When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself, by Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert
  • Broken, Yet Whole, by Bram de Blouw
  • Marriage Savers, by Michael J. McManus
  • Divorce and Remarriage in the Church, by David Instone-Brewer
• Attend a Significant Marriage conference: http://www.thesignificantmarriage.com/events.html
• Read articles about creating meaningful family legacies:
  • https://www.ywam-fmi.org/news/multigenerational-legacies-the-story-of-jonathan-edwards/
  • https://www.ywam-fmi.org/news/god-sightings-in-our-family-history/
• As a family in ministry, you want to build the Kingdom of God together. You are a team. God has put together the members of the team and the composition is unique. Download the questionnaire from the book Families In Ministry and spend some time discussing how your family is working as a team. http://families-in-ministry.com/our-family-team/
• Share stories on Facebook and send email to prayer@ywam.org regarding how YWAM foundational values have impacted your walk with Christ, your family, your ministry or other aspects of your life.
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed:

December 2018 – Moscow

• YWAMers have a heart for praying for cities and geographic areas. YWAMers across the world lifted up the unique challenges of a unique city and its people to the Lord.

Future Topics:

• February 14, 2019: Two-Thirds-World Missionaries
• March 14, 2019: Two-Thirds-World Senders
• April 11, 2019: YWAM Foundational Values 16 – 18

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.