International.
Southeast Asia

Nick and Courtney’s first Christmas in the city was an exciting one. They hosted a women's ministry craft night in their home where Courtney shared an advent devotional. The ladies had a blast and had a late night because no one wanted to leave! The church hosted a big Christmas celebration service and gathered everyone together to share a meal afterward. Everyone was encouraged to invite someone. Usually, they have 60-70 on a Sunday, but on this day, they had 127 people! The majority of the guests were of different backgrounds and most had never been to church before.

After the Christmas Day service, Nick and Courtney opened their home to anyone who perhaps felt lonely and didn't have any other plans for the day, for one reason or another. They ended up having 20 people show up, everyone enjoyed fellowship and food. 

  • Praise the Lord for the many people who came to church for Christmas! Pray for fruit and that many of these guests would return.
  • Pray for the Lord to grow his church through their ministry.
  • Pray for Nick, Courtney, and their children to be able to find rest when they can.
  • Pray that they will set up the resource creation work on a good foundation so that they can be regularly putting out solid and compelling content that equips local believers.
  • Pray for more monthly support, as well as, more one-time giving to secure full funding for year 2. 
  • Pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of the locals to bear fruit.
North America.
Fireside Baptist Church // Elizabethtown, KY

Fireside Baptist Church is in the midst of transition. They are transitioning to a single staff pastor, accompanied by a non-staff pastor. Pastor Jesse Stewart is stepping down from pastoring to pursue further theological education. Going forward, Wayne Luna will be taking a greater role in teaching and leading. This is a significant adjustment for the church and for Wayne. 

The church is prayerfully considering a biblical counseling program at Fireside in 2025.  They really desire to equip their people for the work of the ministry, and there seems to be a great interest in it. The difficulty is working out the logistics of how to do it, timing, the duration of commitment, etc. The more they are in Elizabethtown, the more they see two emerging distinctives that set apart Fireside from other churches in the area: meaningful membership and church discipline. It has been a struggle to communicate these doctrines to people who come to Fireside. 

  • Praise God for the years that Jessie has poured into pastoring at Fireside. 
  • Pray for the transition of elders to go smoothly and for Wayne as he balances life around ministry. 
  • Pray for the potential biblical counseling program and wisdom in how it should begin.
  • Praise God for the significant financial donation to Fireside, which allows them to be more financially stable.
Kentuckiana.
Speak for the Unborn

Speak for the Unborn (S4U) is a sidewalk counseling ministry started out of Immanuel that seeks to walk alongside women considering abortion, plead for the lives of their infants, and share gospel hope. The Lord has blessed S4U with significant growth, and the ministry is seeing churches join the S4U network across the United States and Canada. Over the next few years, S4U plans to launch two new trainings aimed at equipping believers to winsomely and clearly articulate the biblical position on life and share gospel hope with those considering abortion.

  • Pray for the gospel to go forth powerfully in states that currently permit abortion. Pray for saved souls, saved infants, and strength for S4U volunteers and network churches.  
  • Pray for churches in states where abortion is illegal. Pray that they would continue to exhort their members, care for single moms and their children, and boldly speak the truth in love to those considering abortion. 
  • Pray for S4U. Pray that the Lord would provide financially, that the staff would be strengthened in the Lord, and that churches and volunteers would continue to be encouraged. Pray also as they continue to expand around the U.S. and Canada, that the Lord would raise up more partnering churches, pastors, and volunteers.
Unreached.
Kaur of Indonesia

Location:

Sumatra

Population:

50,000

Ev. Christian:

0%

Main Language:

Kaur

Spiritual Beliefs:

70% Islam

Bible in Heart Language:

No

The Kaur are one of the original peoples of the Bengkulu Province. The Kaur people have been Sunni Muslims since the 17th century. They acknowledge the spiritual realm and are fearful of spirits and curses.

  • Pray that existing churches in the Bengkulu province would be strengthened.
  • Pray that God would embolden the nearby believers to share the gospel with the Kaur people.
  • Pray that many Kaur would come to Christ soon.