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

In February, join us as we pray about God’s intentions for communities around the world, both poor ones and rich ones. We will pray about community development, which YWAM worker Keri Fishlock describes as “helping communities discover their true identity and helping them step toward God’s intentions.”

Framed within a biblical worldview, Keri believes community development addresses one of the biggest topics of all:

• It’s about the Kingdom of God overcoming the kingdom of darkness;
• It’s about Jesus bringing life to the full, undoing the work of the thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy;
• It’s about Truth replacing the lies of the enemy;
• It’s about seeing more of the Kingdom of God expressed in our families, communities and nations;
• It’s about men and women developing right relationships with God, other people and the physical world.

Within this context, community development is the need of every community and the responsibility of every believer. It’s about discipling individuals, families, communities and nations. Coupled with a biblical understanding of poverty (http://www.truthandtransformation.com/the_true_nature_of_poverty/), community development is not only about physical things such as building water tanks and hospitals, but happens when communities step away from lies and into truth, from pride to humility, from corruption and greed to living the way God intended, and when broken relationships are replaced by healthy relationships where healing and fullness can be experienced.

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of February to pray with us about God’s intentions for communities around the world. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, February 8.

If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to pray for the communities in which you minister, that the communities would break away from Satan’s grip and into the truth and direction God has for them.

Pray for Community Development

• Pray 2 Chronicles 7:14, specifically that God’s people would humble themselves and that he would heal our land. Thank God for being the one who transforms. Pray that YWAMers would repent for the times we have taken on the role of “savior” rather than pointing to Him.
• Pray for YWAM ministries that are intentionally involved in community development, that students and workers would lead transformation from a solid biblical perspective.
• Acknowledge your own brokenness and ask for His healing and restoration within your relationships with God, man, others and the physical world.
• Pray that the church would take up its role in discipling communities and equipping people for works of service.
• Pray for YWAM’s University of the Nations Community Development and Justice Centre http://uofn.edu/colleges/community-development-centre to continue to grow in relational networks and to help equip people to walk out a biblical worldview very practically in every sphere of society.
• Pray for multiplication of YWAM’s Community Development School. Pray for the new school starting in Nepal on Feb 19, 2018.
• Pray specifically for those involved with Mercy Ministries with YWAM [https://www.ywam-mercy.org/about].
• Pray for those living in brokenness that the lies of the enemy would be broken (including those not only in impoverished communities, but also in wealthy communities) and replaced with God’s truth.
• Pray for God to be faithful in our cries for the oppressed and that He will soften the hearts of community leaders.
• Jesus desires that we have a full life. Pray this verse for communities and people that God brings to your mind:

 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10                

Take Action:

• Learn about where poverty comes from. Read this article: http://www.truthandtransformation.com/the_true_nature_of_poverty/.
• Watch this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-VWc1v77fk

• Attend a YWAM Community Development School (CDS) or Community Development Seminar.
• Attend the Coram Deo free online training course with Disciple Nations Alliance. Watch this video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJsdes95xRo&t=10s

• Build relationship with people in your community and gain understanding of their story, hopes and fears. Ask God what His vision is for your community and ask Him how you as Christ’s ambassador can step out personally.
• Learn about community development principles at YWAM Harpenden’s CommunityDevelopment Hub: https://cdhub.uk/key-concepts/

• YWAM Mercy Vietnam is a locally run community development program. Watch the stories of:
  • Chien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAIcNOuHec
  • Ton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3gDfaRfgUw
  • Hue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxqMAgb7oE4
• Watch this video to learn how sometimes our efforts to help others can make their situation worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii_k_AUqo8I

• Read books:
  • “The Book that Made Your World” and “Truth & Transformation” by Vishal  Mangalwadi
  • “The Book that Transforms Nations” by Loren Cunningham
  • “Walking With the Poor” by Bryant Myers
  • “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
  • “Discipling Nations” by Darrow Miller
  • “Old Testament Template” by Landa Cope
  • “His Kingdom Come” edited by Jim Stier
  • “The Great Omission” by Steve Saint
  • “Bring Your Eyes and See – Our Journey into Justice, Compassion and Action” by Steve and Marie Goode
• Watch other videos:
  • “Who Broke Africa?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP2RNfb3kDw
  • Development Dreaming by  Johnny Oommen  https://vimeo.com/20119763
  • Samaan and Garbage City (Zabaleen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e01d4OlTi_k
• 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 2018 – YWAM Foundational Values #1 – 3

• Many YWAMers and friends of YWAM posted on Facebook that they prayed. Some of the countries represented include: Malawi, USA, India, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, and Italy.
• One person prayed for a YWAM ministry center to be started where she is located as a way to further Value 2: Make God Known.
• Several people noted which of these three values was most on their heart that day.
• YWAM Potchefstroom, South Africa had a day of prayer and fasting for YWAM’s Discipleship Training School.

Future Topics:

• March 8, 2018 Entertainment Industry
• April 12, 2018 YWAM Foundational Values 4 – 6 (Practice Worship and Intercessory Prayer, Be Visionary, Champion Young People)
• May 10, 2018 Refugees Update

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, 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.

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

The identification of YWAM foundational values began in 1985 with YWAM cofounder Darlene Cunningham asking, “What are the basic things that God has called YWAM to live and model to others?” The first official YWAM foundational values document was released in 1992 and was revised in 2004. YWAM foundational values now play such an integral part of YWAM that they are taught in every Discipleship Training School (DTS) and they are regularly shared at YWAM conferences all over the world.

Said one DTS student in Wollongong, Australia, “As I listened to our leader list YWAM’s 18 foundational values, I felt inspired. It was a picture of common purpose, people gathering to hear from God and being unified in mission. I want to be part of this, I thought.”

Over the next 18 months The Invitation will focus on these Foundational Values, asking YWAMers everywhere to pray for three values each quarter, or one value each month. Therefore, in January we invite you to pray about the first three foundational values:

1. Know God. YWAM is committed to know God, His nature, His character and His ways. We seek to reflect who He is in every aspect of our lives and ministry. The automatic overflow of knowing and enjoying fellowship with God is a desire to share Him with others.
2. Make God known.?YWAM is called to make God known throughout the whole world, and into every arena of society through evangelism, training and mercy ministries. We believe that salvation of souls should result in transformation of societies, thus obeying Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations.
3. Hear God’s voice. YWAM is committed to creating with God through listening to Him, praying His prayers and obeying His commands in matters great and small. We are dependent upon hearing His voice as individuals, together in team contexts and in larger corporate gatherings as an integral part of our process for decision making.

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of January to pray with us. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, January 11.

If you only have a few moments to pray we would ask you to reflect on these three values and pray for yourself and others in the YWAM family to uphold and practice these values in all that we do.

Prepare to Pray:

Before praying, consider doing the following exercise. It could help you and your group reflect on the significance of the values we are praying about this month.

READ: Read from Acts 15:1-30.

THINK: Read the passage through again silently.

1. Consider the disciples’ growing understanding of God’s character and His ways. Identify the places in this passage centered on who God is. How does this value shape the disciples’ choices and actions?
2. Reflect on verse 19. Meditate on what it might look like in your context “not to make it difficult for those who are turning to God.” If you are in a group, discuss this together.
3. Read verse 28 again. The disciples’ letter reads, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Consider the process of prayerful listening and discerning dialogue that led them to address the issues in this way. What issues are you facing that require this sort of participation with the Holy Spirit?

PRAY: Thank God for His desire to be known, and for the goodness of His ways and His character to be made known both to you and throughout the world. Take a moment in quiet to hold before Him those people and places you long to receive revelation of who God is.

LIVE: What would it look like for you to take an internal posture of listening? Return to this image throughout the day as you listen for the ways God is inviting you to know Him, and to make Him known to those around you.

Pray for YWAM Foundational Values 1 – 3:

• Pray for YWAMers to embrace YWAM’s foundational values #1 – 3 so that YWAM can better display His presence to others.
• Pray for greater integration of YWAM values in our ministries.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts for any uncleanness. Pray for us to be fully committed to walk in openness and transparency before God and others.
• Pray for YWAMers to be willing to obey. Pray for YWAMers to be able to leave comfort zones behind and to step out in faith.
• Pray for YWAMers to hear his voice in the midst of sufferings of non-believers near to us and far from us and for Him to give us the faith to respond as He calls.
• Pray for courage and faith of YWAMers to make Him known to others with whom we encounter.
• Pray for wisdom of YWAM leaders in communicating and incorporating YWAM foundation values throughout YWAM.
• Pray for complete trust in who God is and His plans for our lives.
• Pray for a greater understanding of who each of us is in Christ so that our response to challenges and setbacks shows us to be faithful servants of God.
• Pray for DTS students to embrace these first three foundational values and for their lives to be changed. Pray for forgiveness, healing, and redemption as a result.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Take Action:

• Get to really know the 18 foundational YWAM values. For a detailed version of the foundational values:
  • https://www.ywam.org/about-us/values/
  • https://issuu.com/ywamnorway/docs/ywam_values_english

• As a location, choose one of the YWAM foundational values and focus on it for at least one month. Share the value with others outside of YWAM and analyze their response. Create digital media associated with this value and share with The Invitation and/or with Darlene Cunningham in YWAM, Kona.
• Read this book for the first time or read it again with a fresh perspective: Is That Really You God? by Loren Cunningham.
• Plan an event (staff meeting, retreat, etc.) where each participant is assigned one of the YWAM foundational values. Have each participant seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit regarding their assigned value and report to the group in a way that will help others apply that value in their life.
• Watch this short video about Hearing the Voice of God from YWAM Mazatlan: https://www.facebook.com/ywammazatlan/videos/10160059969220001/?fref=mentions
• 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.

Left to right, top to bottom photo credits: YWAM Blantyre; YWAM Island Breeze; YWAM Southlands Adelaide

How We Prayed

December 2017 – Pyongyang, North Korea

• YWAM Diriamba, Nicaragua (Near Managua) reported that they would be praying during the entire month of December for Pyongyang.
• The Invitation was shared on Facebook over 150 times, received over 500 likes and had more than 150 comments. People noted they were praying all over the world including, but not limited to Canada, Haiti, Brazil, India, Philippines, Netherlands, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, Ghana, England, Kenya, Germany, Barbados, Egypt, Mozambique, Australia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Japan, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, as well a many states within the United States.
• YWAM Perth, Australia prayed for hope and boldness for believers and that they would have influence on government leaders and that the leaders would respond with deep repentance and that nation of North Korea would be transformed.
• YWAM Seamill, Scotland focused on the Christians in North Korea, inspired by the video testimony included in The Invitation.
• YWAM Champagne, France is believing the Lord will transform the country of North Korea and they were inspired by Jeremiah 39, Isaiah 61 and 62, Acts 16 and John 7.

Future Topics:

• February 8, 2018 Community Development
• March 8, 2018 Entertainment Industry/Celebration Sphere
• April 12, 2018 YWAM Foundational Values 4 – 6 (Practice Worship and Intercessory Prayer, Be Visionary, Champion Young People)

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.

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

As hard as it is to imagine today, Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, used to be a center for Christian mission work throughout the Eastern world. According to the Voice of the Martyrs Canada website in 1907, a revival spread from Pyongyang across the Korean Peninsula and Pyongyang was called The Jerusalem of the East. As late as the 1920s, 90 percent of the Christians in Korea (North and South) lived in Pyongyang.

Listen:

Today, the environment of Pyongyang’s 2.7 million citizens (Operation World) is very different. They live in the nation that has been described by Open Doors as being the worst in the world for Christian persecution. It is also estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, including up to 100,000 Christians (Operation World), are being imprisoned in North Korea’s labor and concentration camps where conditions are so poor that as many as 75 percent of the prisoners do not survive (Fox News).

Please join with YWAM’s global prayer day, called The Invitation, during the month of December to pray for Pyongyang. You are particularly invited to pray during our prayer day, December 14.

If you have only a few minutes to pray, please note the eight minute video below and pray that the people of Pyongyang would experience the love and grace of Christ in the near term. If you are praying with a group or if you have more time to pray, please see below for the complete list of prayer suggestions.

Prepare to Pray:

As you prepare to pray, take a few minutes to watch this short video. It is the moving testimony of Gyeong Ju Son, a young Christian whose father is one of thousands of believers imprisoned or killed for their faith. In listening to Gyeong Ju Son, consider her grief and loss. Take a few moments of silence as the video closes, and reflect on what could compel a young Christian orphan to dream of someday returning to North Korea, where persecution is all but certain. Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to enter into this deep longing for her fellow North Koreans to know the love of Christ, which is stronger than fear, deeper than sorrow, and more precious than life itself.

As God draws your heart to feel something of His deep compassion for this nation, go ahead and pray using the points below to guide you.

Pray for Pyongyang:

• Pray that the gospel will spread throughout North Korea and that they will experience revival again as they did in 1907.
• Pray for those in leadership within the government. Pray that God will open their eyes to the truth of the gospel. Pray for leaders to obey the will of God for their nation.
• Pray for guidance for Christians in North Korea. Pray that they would not lose their faith despite oppression and the threat of death in concentration camps. Possessing a Bible, saying God or Jesus, and meeting as believers are all punishable by death. Pray that they would be bold in the midst of persecution.
• Pray for spiritual, mental, and physical restoration of North Korean refugees. Many North Korean refugees go through torture, intense stress and anxiety during their escapes.
• Pray for the people who are suffering in prison camps and for those who struggle to have daily needs met due to the isolation of North Korea.
• Pray for the gospel radio programs of TWR and FEBC as they beam deep into North Korea.
• Pray for Korean Christian businessmen from China who have easier access into North Korea.
• Pray for those who labor among North Koreans around the world to preach the truth of the gospel boldly and clearly. Pray that the Holy Spirit would use their lives to demonstrate the gospel in a powerful way.
• Praise God that in spite of the dire conditions in Pyongyang and across the region that the church is growing and people are coming to Christ.

 “Despite efforts to eradicate Christians, we have found the church in North Korea is actually growing . . . They know only God is powerful enough to break through the darkness of the most oppressive regime on earth.”

Vernon Brewer; Founder and President, World Help

Take Action:

• Read about the growth of the church in North Korea: http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/08/18/christianity-grows-in-north-korea-despite-torture-persecution
• Read books:
  • Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, by Blaine Harden.
  • The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag, by Kang Choi-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot.
• Pray regularly about Pyongyang and North Korea. Consult various Christian agencies for more prayer requests:
  • Operation World Website: www.operationworld.org/country/korn/owtext.html and Operation World book: www.ivpress.com/operation-world
  • Read about how Open Doors recommends praying for North Korea: www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/pray-north-koreas-demise/
  • Voice of the Martyrs Canada: www.vomcanada.com/northkorea.htm
• Review Open Door World WatchList 2017 to see the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. See what they have to say about North Korea: www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/north-korea/ Download info booklet and read it to find out more about North Korean prison camps.
• Learn more about the People of Pyongyang according to a Swedish travel company: www.koreakonsult.com/Attraction_Pyongyang_people_eng.html
• Read about a day in the life of Pyongyang: www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/02/north-korea-a-day-in-the-life-pyongyang

• 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.

Future Topics:

• January 11, 2018 YWAM Foundational Values 1 – 3 (Know God, Make God known, Hear God’s voice)
• February 8, 2018 Community Development
• March 8, 2018 Entertainment Industry/Celebration Sphere

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.

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