Prayer Concerns
Church & Community Ministries Prayer Requests
- Remember to pray for our developing work among students through our churches and on the university campuses. Many of the students are currently on break from American, Gallaudet, George Washington, Georgetown and the University of Maryland. Still, our workers among them continue to develop their ministries. Watch for the event to be sponsored by the students at George Washington University. Give thanks for the Christmas play that was produced and performed on the campus of Gallaudet. Give thanks for these and other efforts and continue to pray for the students and the student workers.
- Pray for Rev. Gloria Grant as she begins her work even this month with the Older Adult Ministries Team. Rev. Grant has a good number of fine senior adults who work with her, planning events and holding them to strengthen the ministries to Older Adults. Pray for them as they consider how to build their ministry stronger on the basis of what they have done over the past several years.
- In regard to prayers for planning, remember the “Journey of 180,” the strategic planning effort begun among DC Baptists this January. Over the next six months the convention and the churches will be seeking: to discern God’s direction for the future, to discuss those possible directions and to plan how to move in that direction. We are already now in the 60 days of discernment, which extend through February. Key to these discussions will be the questions regarding the many efforts and expertises which DC Baptists have in Church and Community Ministries, ways of expressing the love of God to those within the family of Christ as well as to those outside of it. Pray for God’s leadership in this journey which the convention is beginning.
- One of the components of the “Journey of 180" is the Johenning Center Task Force which is considering the work of the Johenning Center. Give thanks for the faithfulness of churches that have been involved in the Johenning Advisory Council over the past four years, Metropolitan Outreach, Holy Comforter, Balm in Gilead, Forest Heights, Fort Foote, Paramount and Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Churches. Each of these has served to strengthen the ministry at Johenning tremendously. Give thanks for these efforts and for the opportunities to build on them for the future. Pray also for the members of the task force as they consider the next steps. Pray also for some small building repairs that some hope will be made at the Johenning Center in the near future.
- Give thanks for the efforts of Baptist Women's Ministries that have occurred over the past year. Some of the women were instrumental in collecting toys for the distributions that occurred at the Johenning Center during the Christmas Season. Baptist Women's Ministries does many things among DC Baptists, offering prayers and support in countless ways. Pray for the women's groups, for BWM President Jannie Lindsay and for BWM Director Ellen Teague, especially as the women begin their new year of work this month.
- Give thanks for all the love that has been expressed through Church and Community Ministries over the past year by DC Baptists. Churches have ministered in their communities in countless ways, including ministries to the hungry, to both internationals and refugees, to older adults, to those caught up in local disasters, to students, . . . simply too many to mention them all.
Give thanks for these efforts and pray that God will use them both to draw people to faith through the love expressed and to bless the community generally. Give thanks for the fact that many who have served have grown stronger as disciples through this past year.
- One of the workshops which the Center for Church and Community Ministries as well as the Center for Congregational Health, Evangelism and Discipleship do together is the “Spiritual Gifts Workshop.” This is a time when DC Baptists and people younger in their faith come together to see if they can discern their spiritual giftedness. Many emerge from these workshops with a better spiritual identity and with a readiness to develop their spiritual giftedness in ministry. This workshop seeks to help people become engaged actively as lay persons, using their gifts for God. Pray that many will emerge from the workshop ready to serve by expressing love to both their church and their community.
- Pray for the orientation meeting of the Church and Community Ministries Team. The team this year will come together with other committees and ministry teams on Thursday, January 19, 2012. The CCCM Team seeks to emphasize among the churches ministries which focus on meeting the needs of the hungry, as well as continuing many emphases in Church and Community Ministries which are ongoing. Pray for this orientation meeting which will help all committees and all team to start up 2012.
- On Saturday, January 21, 2012 the CCCM Team along with the CHED Team will sponsor again the “Crossing Cultures Workshop.” This workshop is good for any who would seek to express mission outside the confines of a Christian congregation. The workshop will focus on Haiti again as a means of learning how to cross cultures, but lessons in this subject can be used generally to guide people to cross any cultural barriers. One of the reasons that we focus again on Haiti is to help DC Baptists as churches and individuals consider going to Haiti to serve as short-term, volunteer missionaries. Such efforts can be made easier through our Haitian friends in congregations within the DCBC.
- Pray for the CCCM Team meeting as it prepares to have its first meeting on its own, on Monday, February 6. The work of this team will again be led by Team Captain Kenneth Burke, who has been asked to serve by President Kendrick Curry. A major emphasis will be to strengthen efforts this year from the churches to meet the needs of the hungry, perhaps through a food pantry or through some other activity. Pray for the work of the CCCM Team, especially in this year of transition as we experience the “Journey of 180.” Pray also for all the ministries and efforts among the communities and churches throughout 2012.
Evangelism Prayer Requests
- We praise God for your prayers for efforts of the churches of the DC Baptist Convention in Evangelism over the past year. Your prayers have been heard by God, and God has blessed the DC metropolitan area and its Baptist churches through these prayers. We give thanks to God for the new churches and those baptized which occurred during the past twelve months. Now we ask you to continue in your prayers for our efforts to share the Good News among and through the churches of the DC Baptist Convention as well as to the people generally of the DC metropolitan area in the coming twelve months. May you have a Happy New Year filled with the blessings both of prayer and from God.
- Every year we have a class to help those who are seeking to start churches in the coming year. This year we have approximately five persons who want to follow this course. It is typical that those who take the course go on later to start a new congregation or to help someone to start a new congregation. Therefore, your prayers for these five students are important as well as your prayers for God’s direction in their lives. We rejoice that this many individuals sense the call of God to begin these new ministries. These classes are held at six-thirty on Tuesday evenings at the offices of the DC Baptist Convention, beginning on January 10.
- We look forward also this month to the “Crossing Cultures Workshop” as churches prepare to be on mission in settings different from their own. This indeed is a definition for mission, for mission involves crossing over barriers to those different from oneself. The workshop will focus again on Haiti, and we hope that some of our local Haitian Baptist friends will lead many of the sessions. Pray for this workshop and for the churches and their members who will be involved. Pray for their early foundational efforts to be on mission, sharing God’s Good News with those who are different from them.
- Please pray for the emphasis of the DC Baptist Convention which is beginning, known as the “Journey of 180,” six months of strategic planning for the convention in its ministry in the DC metropolitan area. With the beginning of the new year, the convention began sixty days of discernment, seeking to discern the future direction which God desires for this group of Baptists. Pray for the churches and their pastors as well as for the staff of the DCBC during this time of planning and of discernment.
- DC Baptists will assist the John Leland Center for Theological Studies providing leadership and speakers for their class “Models of Evangelism.” Four ministers from the DCBC will be sharing of the efforts of their churches in Evangelism as well as their personal definitions of Evangelism . Further, Robert Cochran will lead the course for the students and provide the general lectures and outline for the course. Pray for the students and the speakers as they take this course in January and as they put it to use in their own churches and ministries.
- Remember to pray for the Vacation Bible School Team which traveled during the first week of January to Ridgecrest, NC. There the team began preparation for the efforts of Vacation Bible School in 2012. Give thanks for the team which is led by Rev. Gloria Jenkins and for each of the six members of the team. This past year 40 churches affiliated with the DC Baptist Convention reported an enrollment of 3,150 in the efforts of VBS. VBS is one of the ways that churches reach out to families and children who live their lives outside of Christian faith.
- Let us remember to pray for the CHED Team as it continues its work this year. This year President K. Curry has asked Ms. Eular Robinson to continue her work as the Team Captain. We are thankful that one who has served so long will be able to continue such service, especially in this transitional year and the “Journey of 180.” Pray for Ms. Robinson and for the CHED Team as they continue to develop ministries that lead to Congregational Health, Evangelism and Discipleship among the churches and congregations of the DCBC.
- Also remember to pray for the Team Orientation which is to be held on Thursday, January 19, 2012, at the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington (1328 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C.). This is an important meeting in which members of committees and teams begin their efforts for the current year. Pray for the meeting and for those who will gather for the orientation.
- Remember to pray for the Spiritual Gifts Workshop which is to be held on Saturday, February 4 at the offices of the DC Baptist Convention. How does the Spiritual Gifts Workshop impact the ministry of Evangelism? Church members who discover their spiritual gifts and begin to use them will often begin to build relationships with those outside of the Christian community. These relationships begin to express the love of God to people and through that love, the message of the Good News in Jesus begins to transform the lives of people. Pray for the Spiritual Gifts Workshop and for the effect that the workshop will have on the lives of the participants and those whom they influence for Christ.
- One of the pastors of the churches of the DC Baptist Convention has reached out to the offices of the DCBC. This pastor is seeking to find ways to express the Good News of Jesus to a community resistant to the Good News. Pray for this pastor and for the church served as they seek together to discover effective ways to share Christ. Give thanks for the avenues already in the lives of this pastor and the church the pastor serves which is providing a way for the Gospel.
- Give thanks for the unnamed hundreds who pray with you regularly for the sharing of the Good News in Washington, D.C. Ask God to answer these fervent prayers mightily in the new year of 2012.
Discipleship Prayer Requests
- Let us remember to pray for those five churches that are interested in the Transformational Church process that is promoted by LifeWay Christian Ministries. Some of these churches are ready to begin the process which includes a survey of the church membership as well as sessions with a consultant. Pray for these churches as they consider their calendars and schedules for these emphasis. Pray also for them in their life as congregations as God prepares them for transformation.
- The Religious Educators Support Group is seeking a young adult who as a volunteer can monitor a Face Book page linking those who lead ministries of education in DCBC churches. Several well-prepared ministers who have studies and worked in religious education and Christian Discipleship are ready to help answer questions which nonprofessional leaders of such efforts in DC churches have. All of these leaders are helpful and necessary, and we are thankful for the cooperative spirit of those prepared to lead in Christian Discipleship. Still, we need a young adult who can assist by monitoring the face book page, checking periodically to see that all is flowing smoothly and well. Pray for the emergence of this young adult leader and for their willingness to serve.
- Remember to pray for the Crossing Cultures Workshop that is to be held on Saturday, January 21, 2012. This workshop is aimed at any church or any Baptist who wants to learn the challenges and opportunities to be in cross-cultural mission efforts. This year again we will focus on Haiti as the background for this preparation, especially in light of the earthquakes that they experienced two years ago. Pray for those who are preparing to lead this workshop and for those who will participate in it. Any congregation that is seeking to be involved in sending members overseas can benefit from this, as well as those who cross cultures to share of Jesus Christ as they stay within our metropolitan area.
- Give thanks for the CHED Team. Each year the teams and committees receive an orientation during the month of January. This year’s orientation will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at the First Baptist Church of Washington. Pray for those from the CHED Team who will participate in this orientation. Pray as well for others who will be oriented on the same evening and for their respective ministries across this year.
- Ms. Eular Robinson has been asked by the President of the DCBC Kendrick Curry to lead the team again this year. Pray for Ms. Robinson as she continues in this task. Give thanks for her commitment and ministry to this team and its predecessors over many years. Pray also for the CHED Team which will have significant work as the DCBC continues to work through the Strategic Planning process this year.
- Speaking of the Strategic Planning process which will affect efforts in Discipleship and Congregational Health, the “Journey of 180,” the name for this effort, began this month on January 1. The first two months are to be sixty days of discernment, seeking God’s direction for the DCBC, the affiliated churches and the members over the next several years. Pray for the people of the DCBC as they begin this strategic planning process.
- One of the churches has asked for a special conference this January to help prepare their church in the selection of deacons for the next year of service. Pray for this church as well as for all churches as they seek to find the leadership God is calling to serve. Give thanks for the willingness of this church to seek out the ones God is preparing to serve as deacons.
- We are thankful for all the prayers that have been offered over this past year for the efforts of DC Baptists in Discipleship and Congregational Health. There are many challenges that continue to exist among DC Baptists in these ministries, but we give thanks that there are few emergencies in these areas. Some of this can be attributed to the prayers which you have made and the answers that God has given to your prayers.
- On Saturday, February 4, DC Baptists will have once again a “Spiritual Gifts Workshop.”
It is in this workshop that many have already discovered some of their giftedness as God’s people, distinct gifts that can be developed. As the lay members discover, develop and utilize these gifts, their own spiritual life is strengthened, resulting in discipleship. Further, the lives of the congregations are strengthened as lay members become involved in expressing the ministry God has given them. Pray for the Spiritual Gifts Workshop and for the individuals who participate in it. Pray that these will discover and utilize for God’s Kingdom the gifts they already have.
- Another aspect of Discipleship is that of learning how to forgive. This forgiveness is often twofold: forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others. This year the Forgiveness Seminar is to be led by both Stephen Price and Robert Cochran. Pray for these as they prepare for the workshop on Saturday, February 11. Pray also for those who will come to the workshop and participate in it. This year’s February workshop is to be followed up with an additional and deeper effort in the Fall. Pray that these efforts in the ministry of forgiveness will strengthen both disciples and churches throughout the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.
- Remember to pray for the Vacation Bible School team as it has traveled during the first week of January to Ridgecrest, NC. This is an annual exercise which strengthens the team building efforts of both outreach and discipleship in the DC Baptist Convention. Give thanks for the leadership of Rev. Gloria Jenkins as she leads these efforts. Pray for the team which has traveled as they return to prepare to orient DC Baptists for VBS this year. Give thanks for the 40 churches which held Vacation Bible Schools, enrolling 3150 participants this last year.
- Remember to pray for the Church Starting Class. This is one way DC Baptists seek to give new congregations a healthy start. Pray for the six persons signed up in the course and for their present and future ministries.
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