JMM Prayer Journal - Sept 2012

Focus:

Josh McDowell Ministry

See each monthly issue at http://GlobalPrayerMovement.org

The Great Commission Global Prayer Movement

September 2012

Josh McDowell Makes History in China Josh McDowell continues to solidify a 30-year relationship with church leaders and officials in China by providing six of his books to 612 graduating seniors and professors at state-registered seminaries and Bible Schools. These “libraries” contain books such as More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

The president of one Chinese theological seminary was thrilled by the impact the books would have. He said, “Through these books, Josh, over 612,000 Chinese people will be touched with the truth of God.” The Lord has opened this opportunity to impact generations in a region that desperately needs to know about Christ. However, the church does not have the capacity to train enough leaders to keep up.

To date, only 6 of the 23 seminaries’ needs have been addressed – young leaders are eagerly waiting at 17 more seminaries for material that will assist them in their studies and churches.

We are praying for funding for the additional seminaries and ask you to join with us in prayer for this critical need. It is estimated that the program will reach no less than 10.5 million Chinese people through the students who will become pastors.

Saturday, 1 September

1 Samuel 16:7

Sunday, 2 September

Pray for Duane Zook as he serves as interim leader of Josh McDowell Ministry and apprises Josh of emerging ministry opportunities.

Josh and Cru leadership are seeking God’s choice for a CEO: strong leader, tech-savvy, strategic thinker, relationship-builder and fund raiser.

Monday, 3 September

Luke 19:39-40

Tuesday, 4 September

Ask God to raise up donors to fund opportunities in electronic and social media, so we are able to make a spiritual impact on more people.

Wednesday, 5 September

James 3:16-18

Revelation 14:5-7

Pray for translation, sub-titling, and lip-syncing of Undaunted (see pg. 4) into Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean for Josh’s use in Asia next April and May.

Romans 14:10-12

Thursday, 6 September

Acts 17:10-12

Pray for 612 seminary students who received sets of Josh’s books in June and 700,000+ Chinese people to be touched with God’s truth through them.

Pray for the translation, sub-titling, and lip-syncing of Undaunted into the French language for fruitful use in more than 40 countries.

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Josh McDowell Ministry, a division of Cru, focuses on helping people to know the truth, to understand why they believe it, and to experience it in their relationships by living out their faith.

After Josh’s transformation from an agnostic college student to a devoted follower of Christ, he joined Campus Crusade for Christ International and began the Josh McDowell Ministry with a focus on relational apologetics. From its inception, Josh McDowell Ministry has been devoted to offering evidence for the God “who is passionate about a personal relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14, NLT).

Josh McDowell has been at the forefront of societal trends and groundbreaking ministry for 50 years. He is more committed today than ever before to share the essentials of the Christian faith in everyday language so that youth, churches, leaders and individuals of all ages are prepared for the life of faith and the work of ministry.

This includes meeting the needs of people through leveraging resources based on years of experience, new technologies, and strategic partnerships.

The ministry is located in the Hope Center in Plano, Texas, with a staff of approximately thirty people.

Josh.org

Friday, 7 September

Proverbs 1:20-23

Saturday, 8 September

Nehemiah 2:6-8

Pray for Latin American youth leaders and pastors using the Bare Facts message on sex, love and relationships in churches after Josh’s five-month tour.

Pray for continuing funding opportunities for translations of the film Undaunted: The Early Life of Josh McDowell as a global evangelism tool.

Sunday, 9 September

Monday, 10 September

1 Kings 10:6-8

1 Corinthians 14:40

Pray that our new finance team working remotely from Cru Headquarters in Orlando can be successfully integrated into our ministry.

Pray for wisdom as we make changes in our financial infrastructure, with a new model for funding, budgeting, and tracking JMM finances.

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A good place to get a small but flavorful taste of God’s work, deserving fully alert prayer

Shame is one of the most

powerful human emotions.

It brings powerful people to their knees--if not in the public eye, then in the quietness of their own homes and hearts. For many years, Josh dealt quietly with a powerful shame. Growing up in a home with an abusive, alcoholic father, he developed a strong sense of shame about who he was and how his actions made everyone else look down at him.

When he endured sexual abuse as a child, the shame cut deep. He didn’t think he could ever be whole again. He didn’t think that if there was a God that He would allow such terrible things to happen.

In sharing his story through the docudrama, Undaunted: The Early Life of Josh McDowell, Josh’s prayer is that God will use it to reach and help others who have had a childhood similar to his. It is the prayer of the Josh McDowell Ministry that those who have been sexually abused, have grown up in a home with an alcoholic parent or have been skeptics of the Christian faith will see that God is able to bring wholeness, redemption and truth.

Decades later, Josh is a whole person - whole because of what Jesus Christ has done in his life and whole because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

We pray that millions of people will be brought to faith in Christ through this film. The Lord is the one who is making all things new!

Tuesday, 11 September

1 Corinthians 4:2

Wednesday, 12 September

Hebrews 13:7

Pray for Josh and Dottie as they lead the ministry.

Lift them up in prayer as they continue to walk in the Spirit and grow in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pray that God would continually give us wisdom as to how best to steward the resources He has given us regarding JMM financial priorities.

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By Popular Demand In response to pleas for tools on the issues of sex, love and relationships by leaders in Latin America, Asia and even Middle Eastern nations, Josh McDowell has just completed a 43-city Bare Facts speaking tour in 16 countries in Latin America. God has been faithful to answer prayers for these events, as Josh has both shocked and encouraged pastors and youth leaders in Latin America since April of this year using material from his book The Bare Facts: 39 Questions Your Parents Hope You Never Ask About Sex. With over 50 years in ministry, Josh continues to find that nothing sabotages faith commitments and spiritual growth of young people more than sexual experimentation.

Ten-hour seminars of intensive training, presentations, and Q&A time closed with Undaunted, the docudrama on God’s redemption of McDowell’s early life with an alcoholic father, sexual abuse, and hopelessness. Participants received a Bare Facts certificate and a Spanish copy of the book.

Participants’ responses were overwhelmingly positive to the Biblically-based, medically sound, and culturally relevant material. In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, pastors drove 250300 miles to attend the seminar. The following report came from the President for the State Assemblies of God and the President of their Convention in Salvador:

“Josh, this is the most profound seminar I have ever attended. No one, and I mean no one, has ever spoken about this subject in such an authoritative and knowledgeable way in our churches. I brought eight pastors with me, and they all loved it . . . you have begun a significant impact in Brazil.”

In the most atheistic country in South America, the “dying field” for missionaries, Josh was welcomed to Uruguay with an excited audience.

In fact, the pastors in Uruguay have already requested a return visit from Josh to teach on his new book, Straight Talk With Your Kids about Sex (September 2012).

Representing the thoughts of the majority on this topic, McDowell commented, “I have never been a part of anything so counter-cultural, both in the church and in the secular world.”

Please pray for these leaders as they return to their communities and congregations. Pray for their ability to transmit what they have learned through these seminars and how to effectively communicate God’s love and truth.

Countries visited include: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

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Thursday, 13 September

Isaiah 40:27-31

Friday, 14 September

Pray for Josh’s new traveling intern, Zack, as he raises support and prepares to begin traveling with Josh during the month of September.

May God supply good health and sustain the McDowells as they travel extensively, as well as watch over and protect their entire family.

Saturday, 15 September

Philippians 4:19-20

Sunday, 16 September

Pray Josh’s new book Straight Talk with Your Kids about Sex will finish translation, layout, printing and shipment to Mexico for events starting Oct. 15.

Monday, 17 September

Psalm 148:1-6

Tuesday, 18 September

Psalm 148:7-12

Pray that the Lord would provide timely and abundant funding for the translating and dubbing of Undaunted into Arabic.

1 John 4:7-10

Thursday, 20 September

1 John 4:11-14

Pray for the premier of Undaunted in Arabic in several Middle Eastern countries. Pray that God would use the movie to point people to Jesus Christ.

Pray for translation and dubbing of Undaunted into Arabic to be accurate and convey God’s love for those who have experienced similar circumstances.

Friday, 21 September

Psalm 102:15

Pray about: publishing division in China, Korea and Germany to prep book translation; Josh’s 2013 visit to China, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Pray for completion of translation programs around the world, including New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Japan) and The Witness (Ukraine).

Wednesday, 19 September

1 Samuel 14:6-8

1 John 4: 15-17

Saturday, 22 September

Pray for the 25,000 who received More Than a Carpenter books at Heartbeat Tallinn. Pray these “little missionaries” open many hearts to the gospel.

Hebrews 10:23-25

Pray for Heartbeat Tallinn follow-up website www.jumal.ee; a live person answers questions and directs people to the nearest church.

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Sunday, 23 September

1 John 4:18-21

Monday, 24 September

Pray for viewership of the docudrama, Undaunted: Josh’s Early Years, which is scheduled to be aired on Estonian national television this fall.

Tuesday, 25 September

Praise God that individuals and pastors in closed countries can access our free media and downloadable resources to grow and disciple others.

James 1:5-8

Wednesday, 26 September

Pray for even more effective utilization of the Internet and a vibrant social media ministry – websites, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.

Thursday, 27 September

2 Timothy 2:2

Mark 7:37

May nothing hinder JMM internal/external teams from speedy, accurate development and translation of media resources, in the face of numerous requests.

Numbers 14:6-9

Friday, 28 September

Pray about: a planned return Latin America Tour (La Verdad Desnuda II), and the planning for a potential US Bare Facts Tour in 2013-2014.

John 9:35-41

May God enable JMM to reach many more people online, especially those who are house-bound, have medical difficulties, or are in closed countries.

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Saturday, 29 September

Luke 11:9-14

Sunday, 30 September

1 Chronicles 16:23-27

Pray for the Josh McDowell Ministry staff to walk closely with the Lord each day and experience His joy in new ways on a daily basis.

Ask God to liberally give wisdom and direction to our executive team as they make decisions regarding the Josh McDowell Ministry.

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