Focus: Mexico September 2013

Transcription

1 Focus: Mexico September 2013 The Great Commission Global Prayer Movement See each monthly issue at

2 Mexico United Mexican States For 300 years the Catholic Church dominated Mexico. Recent times have seen it stripped of much of its privilege and power, while retaining a high degree of cultural influence. Catholicism in Mexico is very diverse in expression. The Alpha course is having a positive impact within Catholicism. Most Mexicans are culturally Catholic but not practicing; only 10% are regular churchgoers. Many others blend elements of Amerindian spiritism, including gods and goddesses, into folk Catholicism. Pray for renewal to spread and deepen by the Holy Spirit s power, and for the polluting influences of ancient gods and the spirit-world to be broken among those with Christo-pagan beliefs and practices. Geography Latin America s third largest country Population 112,336,538 Annual Growth 0.99% Official Language Spanish (the world s largest Spanish-speaking nation) Languages 297 Capital Mexico City Urbanites 77.8% Peoples 317 (4% unreached) Evangelicals have grown, even amid some opposition in certain areas. Growth is in both international denominations and in vigorous newer indigenous movements. The highest concentrations of evangelicals are in large cities, in northern states bordering the USA and in southern states where there is a higher proportion of Amerindian peoples. Returnees from the USA are influential in bringing evangelical Christianity back with them. Many Mexicans seek a spirituality beyond what they see as empty religious traditions. Operation World CLM: Church-led Movements LLM: Leader-led Movements SLM: Student-led Movements Sunday, 1 September National Headquarters Monday, 2 September National Headquarters Pray to God for wisdom for the formation of a new National Leadership Team in Puebla City. Praise God for healed relationships and growing fellowship among all our staff members. Tuesday, 3 September National Headquarters Pray for a God-honoring solution by the end of this year to the draining legal battle the ministry has been facing for more than 10 years. Wednesday, 4 September SLM Puebla City Ask God to fill us and use us to be able to start new movements in new universities this year. 2

3 Campus Crusade for Christ Mexico Team Campus Crusade for Christ Mexico was founded on February 22, 1962, on the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) campus in Mexico City. For more than 50 years CCC Mexico has been involved in helping to fulfill the Great Commission. Above all we are grateful to God for His faithfulness. Over the next five years we will focus on working with university students, city leaders and the church. Join us in praying for hundreds of newly involved, growing disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ! Cover photos: Family and Old Man, by Debra Tucker Thursday, 5 September SLM Puebla City Friday, 6 September SLM Puebla City Pray to God that He will prepare and use both the current and future student leaders to reach their campuses. Praise God for all He did last academic year in the several campuses where we are. Saturday, 7 September CLM Puebla City Sunday, 8 September CLM Puebla City Praise God for the families He has raised up this year to help us to evangelize and make disciples. Pray for disciples God is healing emotionally and spiritually, who are becoming genuine followers of Jesus Christ. 3

4 Be Prepared for the Rain By Mayu Guillen-Martinez Several months ago while I was reading a small booklet written by J. C. Ryle, a question hit my heart: Do you pray? God spoke to me loudly through it. Being honest, our Mexican ministry has come from a poor and powerless prayer movement for years. Because of that our prayer style had to change radically. I gave a prayer workshop the first morning of the Campus Ministry National Conference, which was an uncommon subject, at an unusual time - it was at 7:00 a.m.! Through it I challenged the 100 students who were there to be part of a prayer chain, to pray for the conference and its speakers. Eleven students from different cities responded amazingly and willingly to form this intercessors group. If you have ever tried to form a group like that with students, you know that it is not always an easy task - here in Mexico or anywhere! It was not necessary, however, to push them about keeping their times in the prayer chain. Each of them faithfully assumed their role as intercessors before our Father in Heaven. Every day they prayed during the conference that God would use the speakers and impact the students hearts. Clearly, God made it all happen! After the conference I ed to these 11 students and challenged them to participate in a Facebook prayer group. I called the group Watchmen for Prayer in reference to Psalms 130:6. The response was overwhelming: These students invited even more students to get involved in the group. Actually, we have 52 checking the page daily! Days later I took advantage of the momentum in prayer God was giving us. I summoned the 52 praying people to 21 days in a chain of prayer and fasting, starting April 1 st and finishing April 21 st. From the first day until the 21 st, all of us were praying and fasting for the campus ministry, known in Mexico as Vida Estudiantil. As a result of this period of prayer and fasting, the students from 12 cities had such an exciting time in prayer that they organized prayer meetings during the Campus Crusade for Christ Worldwide Day of Prayer on April 23 rd. We praise God because, without a doubt, He is bringing a spirit of prayer into our students and our staff members too. They have been prepared by the Holy Spirit to band together in this movement of prayer. Our desire is to see in Mexico a foundation of huge 3G Prayer Movements. We are praying that in the months and years to come God will raise up a movement that is truly Godattentive, God-dependent, and God-responsive! 4

5 A good place to get a small but flavorful taste of God s work, deserving fully alert prayer Prayer List for a Movement Reborn Because of our focus for the next five years, Campus Crusade for Christ Mexico is in the process of making some important changes. These changes will cause necessary adjustments and transitions for our staff members. By God s grace we will be working steadily and diligently in these three mission critical components: Student-led Movements (SLM). Leader-led Movements (LLM). Church-led Movements (CLM). You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, he may give it to you. John 15:16 With our current staff, we are on our way to forming strong and healthy local teams. Pray that spiritual movements will grow in Mexico--especially the SLM--so that we can have more young people getting involved and becoming staff members in the near future. Also pray that God would open doors for CLM in our country. Pray for LLM; ask God for strategic ways to reach influential leaders in the government, political affairs, business, and education. Pray that we would trust God and have a passion for Him and the Great Commission. Pray that we can grow in faith and perseverance during the dry times. By His grace we believe better times are coming, and that we will yield abundant and lasting fruit for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Monday, 9 September CLM Puebla City Tuesday, 10 September SLM Queretaro City Thank God for the big, new place for our Sunday meetings and the 80 people who come each week. Ask God to enable us to encourage our current group of disciples to reach other important universities in the city. Wednesday, 11 September SLM Queretaro City Pray about financial support of the campus ministry staff, that God will provide new donors who invest faithfully in their ministry. Thursday, 12 September SLM Queretaro City Praise God for the student leaders in our movement; they strongly sense a burden to reach other students with the gospel. 5

6 Friday, 13 September LLM Queretaro City Praise God for influential leaders who are participating enthusiastically in disciple groups in Cuernavaca City and Mexico City. Saturday, 14 September LLM Queretaro City Pray to our Lord about the consolidation of the volunteers leadership in Queretaro City, that they may bring their friends to Jesus. Sunday, 15 September LLM Queretaro City Pray that God will use our lives to train business leaders from different churches in how to share the gospel effectively. Monday, 16 September SLM Merida City Ask the Good Shepherd to raise up faithful, new student leaders. Our current student leader is in his senior year. Tuesday, 17 September SLM Merida City Pray for students in the movement, as they grow in their spiritual lives and learn practical lessons in depending upon God. Wednesday, 18 September CLM Mexico City Praise God for showing His mercy and faithfulness through Juan and Vicky Romero s 50 years of service in Campus Crusade Mexico. Thursday, 19 September CLM Mexico City May the Romero s love of their Lord continue to deepen and may they always be able to discern God s perfect will for their lives. Friday, 20 September CLM Mexico City Please pray for the Romero s health challenges: Juan has Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and Vicky has Lupus (SLE). Saturday, 21 September SLM Mexico City Ask God to bless the UNAM Summer Project with CCC Korea; pray for transformed hearts and good follow-up of the students. Sunday, 22 September SLM Mexico City Pray for multiplying discipleship - for effective, fruitful training of student leaders in several other universities. 6

7 Photo: Debra Tucker Borders Belize 250 km Guatemala 962 km US 3,141 km Mexico City Population 8,735,400 GDP Per Capita $12, Alternative Names Mexico United Mexican States Estados Unidos Mexicanos Mexico BACKGROUND The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe Calderon. In 2012 the PRI won the elections and it is again in the government. The current president is Enrique Peña Nieto. Monday, 23 September SLM Mexico City Praise God for our partnership with CCC Korea, and for the communion we have among students from different universities. Tuesday, 24 September SLM mission to Costa Rica Pray that Vania can get back to Costa Rica soon to continue her work with students and the women s volleyball team there. Wednesday, 25 September SLM mission to Costa Rica Ask the Lord God Our Provider to fully complete Vania s team of ministry partners and reach the needed financial goal. Thursday, 26 September SLM Oaxaca City Praise God for the fruit He is producing in the campus ministry - for the professors and students who are sharing the gospel. Friday, 27 September SLM Oaxaca City Pray for financial resources and a smooth transition, as a staff family with five kids moves to Puebla City in January Saturday, 28 September SLM Monterrey City Keep asking God to watch over the raising up of a new group of student leaders - faithful and committed to God. 7

8 Sunday, 29 September SLM Monterrey City May we be God-attentive and God-responsive as we make plan for personal evangelism and discipleship in this movement. Monday, 30 September SLM Monterrey City Praise God! We are seeing His work in the ministry with young professionals and His leading in recent marriages. My Prayer Life Notes... My prayer requests... People I m praying for... Answers to prayer... Let s talk about ways you can see Global Prayer cultivating prayer in your movement! On the Web at: Global.Prayer@ccci.org (407) Woerner Great Commission Prayer Center Campus Crusade for Christ 100 Lake Hart Drive 2100, Orlando, FL 32832, USA Were these prayer requests helpful to you? Each monthly issue of Movements Prayer Journal offers current prayer needs from another part of the Campus Crusade for Christ worldwide movement. Get an reminder when the next issue is ready. Sound good? Just send your name and preferred e-address to: global.prayer@ccci.org, subject line: Subscribe. View some of the latest prayer requests and praise items from Campus Crusade for Christ ministries around the world Campus Crusade for Christ