Week of Prayer for North American Missions

March 3-10, 2024
National Offering Goal: $75 Million

The North American Mission Board serves a diverse and complex region comprised of the United States, Canada and U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

Here, the North American Mission Board sees a mission field that needs the hope of the gospel. With your partnership, we’re committed to taking this hope to cities, small towns and college campuses.

Your prayers and gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® provide support for thousands of missionaries. These men and women are planting new churches in unreached communities and meeting needs through compassion ministries. Every day, lives are being impacted and transformed.

The needs are great, but the living hope of Christ is greater. Thank you for reaching out with hope to your own community and for your passionate support for North American Missions.

Week of Prayer

The Week of Prayer is annually observed by SBC churches to pray for missionaries, their ministries and their families. Prayer is the fuel for spiritually sustaining missionaries in places where the gospel is greatly needed, but often opposed.

The official date is the first Sunday in March through the second Sunday. Your church can choose this date or another time during the Easter season to participate.

In addition to downloading these items, if your church needs additional prayer guides or envelopes, please contact us at the Helpdesk at helpdesk@brnunited.org.

Day One

Lost

281 million is a big number. How big? When someone says the word “missionary”, it’s perfectly natural for most people to think of someone in a faraway place. That makes sense. There’s a vast mission field “out there.” But for some people, putting a name and face on just one or two of the estimated 281 million lost people living “right here” in the U.S. and Canada changes everything.

Pray:

• God to call out more laborers who will make Jesus known everywhere in North America
• Churches to develop a passion for missions in the hearts of their people to pray, give and go.
• Every believer in North America to see their neighborhood as a mission field.

Day Two

Jefferson & Carol Hernandez
Sterling, Virginia

Many years ago, Jefferson and Carol Hernandez had an American dream. They came to the U.S. looking for wealth and prosperity. But when they found something much better than that, they started a church called, appropriately enough, Campo Blanco (White Field). Now, in a place where Latin American immigrants are arriving seemingly every day, Jefferson and Carol are making Jesus known to their Hispanic neighbors. Read their story

Pray:

• Opportunities to build witnessing relationships with Hispanic immigrants.
• Leaders who’ll one day leave Campo Blanco to start more new churches.
• Families in the church to grow in their devotion to Christ.

Day Three

Joseph & Kristen Gibbons
Las Vegas, Nevada

It’s 1,914 miles from Joseph and Kristen Gibbons’ old home in Alabama to their new home in Las Vegas. It might as well be a millions miles. Several years ago, the Gibbons left their comfortable, Bible Belt Community and moved to “Sin City” to start Favor City Church. Now, Joseph and Kristen know all about culture shock. But they also know all about the power of the gospel. Read their story

Pray:

• Wisdom to effectively disciple new believers.
• The people and resources Favor City needs to start more new churches.
• Opportunities to share the gospel with leaders at the school where Favor City Church meets.

Day Three

Faith Garland
Boston, Massachusetts

Sometimes it takes a prodigal to know a prodigal. Maye that’s why Faith Garland, a missionary at the Send Relief Boston Ministry Center, has so many opportunities to make Jesus known. Faith’s troubled past helps her connect with strippers, prostitutes and other women in Boston who’re in danger of being trafficked. She leads volunteers out onto the streets where they share the hope of Christ with the prodigals they find there. Read her story

Pray:

• Faith and her volunteers to build witnessing relationships with people who are trafficked or abused.
• More churches to learn about and join the fight against human trafficking.
• Endurance, encouragement and safety for Faith and her volunteer teams.

Day Five

Alayu & Yegile Dubale
Denver, Colorado

There was a time when Alayo Dubale would’ve described Lemma Azene as his “cheif persecutor.” That’s because 40 years ago Ethiopia, when a teenage Alayu gave is life to Christ, Lemma was the one who sent him to jail. Now, however, Alayu and Lemma are best friends who along with their families are planting churches that are making Jesus known to the 50,000 Ethiopians who’ve come to live in Denver. Read their story

Pray:

• Encounters that will turn into witnessing opportunities.
• A new, more suitable building where Alayu’s church can meet and do ministry.
• God to grow not just Alayu’s church plant, but the two additional works they’ve launched.

Day Six

Josh & Beth Glymph
Jacksonville, Florida

The Glymphs are an eclectic looking family and that’s just the way they like it. In addition to their two biological children, Josh and Beth Glymph have three adopted children. God used their experience with adoption and foster care to start and grow Refuge Church, a very unusual church in a very unchurched neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. Read their story

Pray:

• Foster and adoptive families like the Glymphs to grow in their love for Jesus and each other.
• New witnessing relationships to form out or Refuge’s foster and adoptive care ministry.
• Families who’ll be willing to help plant more churches in Jacksonville’s other unreached communities.

Day Seven

Noelson & Edna Chery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Their worship leaders is 16 years old. They meet in a karate studio. The sermon is in English, or Haitian Creole, or sometimes both. But the most unusual thing about Philadelphia’s First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church might be this: Noelson Chery and his wife Edna never had any intention of starting this church. And yet here they are, baptizing new believers and watching God grow a very unexpected church plant. Read their story

Pray:

• Noelson to have time and energy to devote to First Haitian Metanoia Baptist Church.
• A dedicated space where their new church can meet and do ministry.
• Growth of mentoring relationships between young and older believers in the church.

Day Eight

Found

When God sends missionaries like the ones featured here into places where the gospel has not yet reached, amazing things happen. Today there are more than 3,000 Southern Baptist missionaries making Jesus known in communities all over the U.S. and Canada. They’re starting new churches, meeting physical needs and baptizing new believers. This is what happens when you pray: the gospel spreads.

Pray:

• North American missionaries to reach more like Rony, Elizabeth, and Maki who need the hope and love of Christ.
• North American missionaries to have all the resources they need to plant churches and meet needs.
• God to call and equip more missionaries to make Jesus known in North America