Focus: Agape (Western Europe) April 2012 The Great Commission Global Prayer Movement See each monthly issue at http://globalprayermovement.org
Crescendo reaches out to artists in the world of classical music. Sunday, 1 April PALM SUNDAY Mark 1:1-3 Praise God for blessing the work of Agape in Lisbon and for sending a new staff couple from the U.S. to join the team in Portugal. Monday, 2 April Mark 1:4-8 Pray for Finland s Vivamo Bible Village Easter outreach to attract large crowds 2-8 April, the cross and resurrection truly touching hearts. Tuesday, 3 April Mark 1:9-11 Pray for effective Easter outreaches in Spain, Finland, Cyprus, Greece, etc., when many people are more open to spiritual matters. Wednesday, 4 April Mark 1:12-13 May God be glorified as the Dutch Agape Media team evaluates its top priority projects, among many new opportunities being presented. Thursday, 5 April Mark 1:14 Ask God to provide for needs of those working to bring the gospel to the people of London, a city of strategic influence and unique challenges. Friday, 6 April GOOD FRIDAY Mark 1:16-20 Pray as participants for the Agape Europe School of Movement Leaders are selected this month, leading up to a September launch. 2
Signs of Hope Western Europe Area Leadership Team Campus Crusade for Christ International Western Europe: 419 million people Evangelical Christians: 2.5% The name for Campus Crusade for Christ International in Western Europe is Agape Europe In many countries of Western Europe, evangelicals are growing in strength and confidence. The evangelical presence in mainline churches is growing stronger, and dynamic new fellowships and networks are bursting on the church scene. The Church of England, for example, is significantly touched by renewal, and especially by discipleship programs like the Alpha Course. New prayer movements such as 24/7 Prayer, the Global Day of Prayer, and the March for Jesus, are mobilizing large numbers of believers into corporate prayer. Pan-European ministries such as the European Evangelical Alliance, Mission-Net, Hope for Europe, and ProChrist are beginning to form a stream of hope. There is a growing movement that recognizes the need for spiritual unity and cooperation among believers in the face of increasing marginalization. Followers of Jesus join across denominational, national and ethnic boundaries to have a greater influence on this very secular continent. Trends that are opening doors for Christian witness: Disillusionment with the emptiness of secularism. Economic and political upheaval and uncertainty. Militant atheism becoming increasingly ugly and anti-christian in some areas. Christians immigrating from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, reminding people that Christianity is truly a global faith. Saturday, 7 April Mark 1:21-22 Pray that the National Sport meeting of 200 athletes, 7-9 April in Albi, will contribute to building a spiritual movement of sports people in France. Sunday, 8 April EASTER Mark 1:23-28 Pray for a CCC Switzerland partnership that over 10 years has launched church planting movements in more than 10 unreached people groups. Monday, 9 April Mark 1:29-31 In partnership with the Roman Catholic Church, 45,000 DVDs of Archivo Cero (File Zero) will be distributed to the schools of Catalonia. Tuesday, 10 April Mark 1:32-34 Agape Europe has projects in some sensitive countries. Ask God to protect our staff and give them wisdom in how best to present the gospel. 3
A good place to get a small but flavorful taste of God s work, deserving fully alert prayer Heartbeat Tallinn Twenty years ago the people of Estonia defied the Soviet Union, which had ruled them for nearly 60 years, by joining hands, forming a human chain across the country, and singing traditional folk songs. This Singing Revolution, as it was called, led to freedom. In the two decades since independence, Estonia has emerged as a dynamic country striving to catch up with its European neighbours. But years of mandated atheism nearly wiped out Estonia s religious heritage. Surveys show that faith plays little or no role in the lives of the typical Estonian, and Estonia has one of the world s highest percentages of nonreligious people. Christianity has a positive reputation, but it is seen as irrelevant or uninteresting. The Estonian staff of Agape (Campus Crusade for Christ Western Europe), responded to this challenge by inviting Agape Europe to hold an all-staff gathering in Tallinn, the capital city, and combine it with a city-wide outreach. Heartbeat Tallinn, as this event is known, will bring together more than 1,000 staff members from both Eastern and Western Europe, as well as many disciples and their friends, to show Estonians that Christianity is relevant today and offers satisfying answers to people s deepest needs. Pray for Heartbeat Tallinn, July 24-30, that God will open doors, prepare people s hearts and provide sufficient funds for European staff members and students to attend. May Heartbeat Tallinn be the spark that ignites a spiritual awakening in this lovely little country! This summer, Heartbeat Tallinn will include a Christ Day Estonia event. Christ Day, pioneered by the Swiss ministry, features people carrying flags with the coat of arms of each community of a country, as they gather together to pray for their nation. (At right) Tallinn, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. 4
Over the years, campus ministry in Spain has progressed slowly. Spanish students overwhelmingly reject organized religion, for they associate it with a past political regime and repression. But recently Agape Spain (Campus Crusade for Christ) has seen good response in Valencia to a new strategy Q groups pioneered by staff member Nacho Marqués. A Q group involves four or five students, believers and nonbelievers alike, forming a community and exploring together what it means to follow Christ. Once a month several Q groups gather in a larger meeting. They eventually multiply into a movement. Last fall Spanish staff members were discussing Granada the city in which Ferdinand and Isabella commissioned Christopher Columbus to sail west. Granada s STINTers (short-term international students) were heading home, leaving campus directors Garrick and Dziu Roegner alone on campus. That day the topic on everybody s Samuel Palacios (above, red shirt) and Nacho Marques (below, blue t-shirt) talk to students at the University of Granada. minds was Heartbeat Tallinn (see Prayer Espresso article). Why not do the same thing here? asked someone. Let s bring all our staff together for a week in Granada! An excited discussion followed, resulting in a plan to bring everybody to Granada to try to start a Q group. But the Roegners knew it would be a challenge. They and their team had had hundreds of spiritual conversations at the University of Granada, with little longterm interest. If anything were to happen, God would have to do it. So they backed up the outreach with a significant prayer strategy. Prayer requests began going out months before the outreach for university doors to be open, for a room in which to meet, for God to prepare students hearts. Come early March, all campus staff members had gathered in Granada. They asked God to bring five students to an introductory Q group - a stretch of faith, according to Dziu, for even two or three new students would be unusual at a Christian event. Teams set up information tables and laid down a large poster with the words, Who is Jesus to you? Students wrote down their thoughts things like, Jesus is the root of Western decadence or An imaginary being. At the same time, other teams walked the campus and prayed. During the introductory Q group itself, a team prayed on campus, while the moms prayed together as they watched their kids. And God answered! Some 15 people came to the meeting, beyond their wildest dreams. In Spain, says Dziu, you don t get that many people at any kind of campus meeting! What will this encouraging beginning look like one year from now? God knows. Let us pray alongside the staff of Agape Spain for a wildfire of spiritual movement, spreading out from what the Holy Spirit has ignited in Granada. Wednesday, 11 April Mark 1:35-39 Ask God to call labourers into His harvest in Ireland. Many suffering people there are in desperate need of Christ s hope and forgiveness. Thursday, 12 April Mark 1:40-45 Pray for fruitfulness as the Agape UK First Acts team faithfully works to win, build and send immigrants and those seeking asylum. 5
Friday, 13 April Mark 2:1-2 May God use the European All-Staff Conference (Heartbeat Tallinn, 24-30 July) to reach Estonians, build up each other and send out workers. Saturday, 14 April Mark 2:3-5 In this organizational phase of Heartbeat Tallinn, pray for Estonia staff to be safe from the enemy s attacks and to depend solely on God. Sunday, 15 April Mark 2:6-12 Pray for all the evangelistic projects during Heartbeat Tallinn and for the different European national ministries preparing them now. Monday, 16 April Mark 2:13-17 Pray right leaders come to Int l. Leadership Forum in Tallinn, 27-29 July, to learn about Christ Day movement and country-wide prayer networks. Tuesday, 17 April Mark 2:18-22 17-18 April evangelistic event in Linz and Salzburg, Austria: Pray for speaker Tony Anthony to speak powerfully into the hearts of the students. Wednesday, 18 April Mark 2:23-28 Christ Day Paris (2 June) and Tallinn (28 July): May Jesus be honoured, countries blessed and a permanent net of prayer cells established. Thursday, 19 April Mark 3:1-6 Pray as StudentLife Netherlands seeks creative ways to bring students to the Father heart of God and prepares a fourth ministry in Tilburg. Friday, 20 April Mark 3:7-12 Upcoming Swiss course for divorced/separated couples: Pray that the attendees will experience a renewed intimacy with the loving God. Saturday, 21 April Mark 3:13-21 Pray that the staff and volunteers in Sweden will be encouraged by God as they meet together for their annual conference today. Sunday, 22 April Mark 3:22-30 Worldwide Student Network makes significant contributions to Western Europe movement building. Pray these partnerships become even more fruitful. 6
Each year thousands of people walk El Camino, a famous pilgrimage route in Spain. Campus Crusade Spain owns a cottage along the route, from which they minister to the people walking by. They also send groups of students to walk the route themselves. Monday, 23 April Mark 3:31-35 Pray for preparations for children s and youth summer camps at the Refuge in Portugal, especially for the sports outreach camp in June. Tuesday, 24 April Mark 4:1-9 We have open doors with projects linked to culture and humanitarian aid. Ask God to guide us to define the right projects and countries. Wednesday, 25 April Mark 4:10-20 Pray for the work in both Finnish and Russian prisons. May God s love be brought through the Finnish musicians and evangelists. Thursday, 26 April Mark 4:21-25 Pray for more than 100 people who will be coming to Paris from Canada, the U.S., Hong Kong and Taiwan to reach students with the gospel. Friday, 27 April Mark 4:26-29 May-June: Chemnitz Christians are uniting to introduce the lost to the Lord and His Church, using a version of the website gottkennen.de. Saturday, 28 April Mark 4:30-34 28 April - 6 May, eight AIA Netherlands sports camps: Pray that the participants will understand how God can be relevant in their lives. 7
Sunday, 29 April Mark 4:35-38 May God transform the challenge of the financial crisis into many opportunities to serve and help meet spiritual needs of the Greek people. Monday, 30 April Mark 4:39-41 Thank God for Women s Breakfast movement in Switzerland with its 260 staff members. Pray for younger members to be called into this work. 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: www.globalprayermovement.org E-mail: Global.Prayer@ccci.org (407) 826-2006 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 e-mail 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. http://globalprayermovement.org 8 2012 Campus Crusade for Christ