“’Truly I tell you,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’” Luke 18:29-30
The Mission Statement of the World Mission Prayer League states that: “We are a Lutheran community committed to: … pray for the advance of His kingdom;” Our vision statement adds more detail; “this means that we are not, primarily, a sending organization. We are fundamentally a praying “league”, a community of men and women who are committed to prayer as a key methodology for advancing the Gospel of Christ.
We are a sending agency but our primary work is not to send but rather to pray for the advance of the gospel. About one out of every 80 of our praying members is currently serving on the foreign mission field. Most of us are called to pray, support those who go, and make the gospel known in our own communities.
However, it is the few who have been sent that are on my mind this month. Here in the office we have the opportunity to pray for many who are about to head out into service. They are leaving behind family, friends, comforts, culture, traditions, jobs and many other things that are difficult to leave. They are going in obedience to the call God has put on them. Many are going for the first time and others are returning to service after some time back home. The departures are all bitter sweet moments complete with the contentment that comes from being in God’s will as well as the pain that comes with saying goodbye.
It is for these few among us that I want to ask for special prayer for this month. Our global workers represent many different stages in life and many life experiences, they come from different back grounds and have different struggles which we are not aware of but God knows. Please pray that our all knowing and loving Father would meet all of their needs even as they all work to serve those to whom they have been sent. Pray also that God would grant them grace in their lives and ministry.
In August we were able to pay all of our global workers 100 percent of the target allowance. We used $54,250 from the general fund to meet all of the needs leaving the general fund balance at $50,564. At the end of July the benefits fund had a balance of $215,868. Thank you for your on-going support.