Week of Prayer or International Missions
November 28 – December 5, 2021
National Offering Goal: $185 million
The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® is an annual offering collected by Southern Baptists to support international missions. The offering was officially named in 1918 by Woman’s Missionary Union in honor of the missionary to China who urged churches to start it and give sacrificially.
This offering is unique from other mission offerings in that 100% of gifts provide for missionaries all over the world. It is a valuable part of Southern Baptists’ 175-year history of reaching the nations with the gospel and vital to reaching the vision of a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:9).
The LottieMoon Christmas Offering® is a registered trademark of Woman’s Missionary Union.
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 dates are the last Sunday in November through the first Sunday in December. Your church can choose this date or another time during the Christmas 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
Churches connect with missionary task
Central America and the Caribbean
Tim and Tina Louderback and Sean and Shelley Blacksten are passionate about equipping and connecting churches with opportunities to serve in Central America and the Caribbean. The Louderbacks and the Blackstens serve with the International Mission Board in Panama, and the Louderbacks lead the Americas Connect program.
Video forthcoming
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for inroads for Indigenous believers who are reaching the lost.
- Pray churches who participated in Americas Connect will continue to pursue opportunities to serve.
- Pray the Lord will facilitate more church connections. opportunities to serve.
Day Two
Missionaries welcome efforts to push back darkness
North Africa and Middle East
The mission strategy of Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma was forever changed when their missions pastor read a statistic: “5% of missions work is done in North Africa and Middle East.” After reading this startling fact, Mike knew the Lord was calling him to lead his church in reversing the statistic in their own mission strategy.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray that God will call out more churches to join the work to reach NAME peoples with the gospel
- Pray for more long-term missionaries in the fields among the unreached.
- Pray that the light of Christ would break the barriers that keep many from hearing the gospel.
Day Three
Couple equips Hispanics and Latinos in South Asia
South Asia
IMB workers Skip and Kim Meyer* have spent their lives on two very different mission fields but with the same purpose: giving hope to people who need it and equipping others to do the same.
Video forthcoming.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for Hispanics and Latinos as they serve in hard-to-reach regions of South Asia.
- Pray for the Meyers and other IMB missionaries as they serve in areas in great need of the gospel.
- Pray for more Hispanics and Latinos to answer the call to serve.
Day Four
West Africans take lead in sharing Bible stories
Sub-Saharan Africa
Mrs. Lombena transitions with ease from the standard West African greetings into the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery.The Togolese man listening to the story is quickly attentive to her vivid storytelling. What follows is a lively discussion about the truths and implications of the Bible story she had crafted into his native tongue.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for the African orality trainers as they continue to organize and teach others how to effectively use Bible storying to share and teach God’s Word.
- Pray that the graduates of IBBT will put into practice the orality skills they have acquired when they return to their towns and villages.
- Pray for the unreached people groups of Sub-Saharan Africa, asking God to confirm in their hearts the truth of the stories they hear.
Day Five
Turkmen search for security, hope
Central Asia
Critically broken. These words describing the lives of Turkmen families are heavy with the weight of millions of hard choices.
Video forthcoming
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray that the desperation the Turkmen feel would make their hearts soft toward the good news of Jesus.
- Pray that God will heal the deep wounds in believing families and use them to build His church.
- Pray that God will turn the hearts of Turkmenistan’s leaders toward the needs of the people and that they will rule with wisdom, justice and mercy.
Day Six
Prayer and miracles transform
Southeast Asia
Stephen and Erin Spencer* minister in a region of Southeast Asia where tribal warfare is ongoing, civil unrest is on the rise and foreigners are blacklisted from entering certain regions. However, the good news is entering homes and hearts. One of these hearts is a woman who goes by the name “Momma.”
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray with Momma that the Lord will continue to move in people’s hearts.
- Pray for the Spencers and for other IMB missionaries in Southeast Asia who are ministering in places of civil unrest.
- Pray for courage for the new believers.
Day Seven
Taiwanese believers commit to global spread of gospel
East Asia
When IMB missionary Jeremiah Farmer* moved to Taiwan, he recognized a need in the churches—no one was being sent out as missionaries.
Video forthcoming.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for HIM to continue to prosper and send out more Taiwanese missionaries with each passing year.
- Pray for Taiwanese missionaries who have already been sent out; pray God would bless their ministry.
- Pray for IMB missionaries and Taiwanese Baptist partnerships to continue to grow for the sake of the gospel.
Day Eight
Churches grow and multiply in Czechia
Europe
When Larry and Melissa Lewis and their family moved to Czechia in 2009 as IMB church planters, they knew they had tough job ahead. Only 29% of the population acknowledges the existence of a god and less than 1% choose to follow Jesus. In fact, Czechia is well known for being the most irreligious country in Europe.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for the Lewises and Daniel as they lead Mozaika and for the leaders of other new churches beginning in surrounding cities.
- Pray for the Bible training center for pastors and for the ten men who are training for future ministry.
- Pray for two new IMB families coming to join the work in Czechia this year.
