AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

ATTENDANCES SWELL IN BRITAIN’S CHURCHES

WORLD PRAYER ASSEMBLY: LET THE ‘NEW WAVE’ OF HIS GLORY FILL THE EARTH

MUSLIMS FIND JESUS AT HIGH COST

IRAQ WELCOMES IRANIAN MILITIA

PRAY FOR THE CHRISTIAN MINORITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

GLOBAL YEAR OF PRAYER FOR MOZAMBIQUE 2012

ATTENDANCES SWELL IN BRITAIN’S CHURCHES

Church attendances in the United Kingdom, in freefall for so long, have started to rise again, particularly in London. Some churches have seen truly dramatic rises in numbers, according to Peter Oborne, writing for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. Oborne says change is afoot in Britain’s churches. He says that with the chill wind of austerity blowing through the country, religion’s warm embrace looks more and more inviting. Oborne writes that for many years it was accepted that Christianity was all but dead, an anachronistic relic of the past whose foundations had been destroyed by modern science and rationalism, left behind by the cultural and sexual revolution of the Sixties.

Church attendance — which stood at around 50 per cent in the middle of the 19th century — had declined to around 12 per cent in 1979, or 5.4 million. By 1998 it had almost halved to 7.5 per cent and when the most recent census was conducted in 2005, it was discovered that only 6.3 per cent of the population, some 3.2 million, were regular churchgoers. “The number of people calling themselves members of the Church of England has collapsed to 20 per cent, according to the latest British Social Attitudes Survey, down from 40 per cent as recently as 1983. More than half of all Britons, according to British Social Attitudes, say they have ‘no religion’ and never attend a religious service.

Churchmen judged that there were just too many alternative attractions –Sunday shopping, sport, and the relentless secularism of the age. Only Islam, fuelled by immigration and a more disciplined and certain faith, appeared to be growing. Oborne says. “As the second decade of the 21st century gets under way however, there is a change of public mood. There have been many wonderful things about the last half-century, but it is impossible to deny that it has been an era of materialism and selfishness with the teachings of the church being mocked and suppressed. It may be that in an age of austerity, we are coming back to the profound and ancient verities of the gospels.”

Oborne says that Pentecostal churches are meeting a vast yearning for spirituality and cater for congregations of 10,000 or more. Recently, the Redeemed Church of God attracted a 40,000-strong congregation for an all-night prayer meeting in London. Oborne states that London Hillsong attracts a global congregation and has seen its membership rise from 200 to more than 10,000 in 12 years. This exuberance has spread into Britain’s cathedrals too. According to Lynda Barley, the head of research at the Archbishops’ Council, attendance at Britain’s 43 cathedrals rose by 7% last year, with 15,800 adults and more than 3,000 children attending Sunday service.

More than 1.7 million attend Church of England services in the average month. This figure is far more than the number who attend football matches, often said to be Britain’s favourite weekend activity. Churches are today finding all kinds of new ways of connecting with the local community.” The National Trust chairman Sir Simon Jenkins has tellingly observed: “As neighbourhood facilities such as the post office, the shop, the pub, the surgery, the police house, the branch library and the village school disappear, it is ironic that the one ubiquitous beacon of local community in a secular society is one that has stood since the Middle Ages, the church steeple.”

More than 1.5 million people now use their churches as a base for voluntary work, according to the National Churches Trust. In Islington, for example, a group of churches provide night shelters for the homeless during the winter months. Jacqui Mair, a civil servant, marshals an army of volunteers who provide dinner, breakfast and a comfortable night’s sleep for the men and women who come in for a night of sanctuary. “Churches are starting to regain some of the social function they enjoyed in the Middle Ages. During the last century churches became hushed and sacred places, but they are starting to regain their cultural heritage to stretch the Christian message,” Oborne writes.

The Rev Paul Turp at St Leonard’s, Shoreditch also takes pleasure in breaking the rules, Oborne reports. Turp insists that people come first and foremost to his church in order to experience holiness and that his job is to “respond to the spiritual needs of the congregation. I try and do what Jesus did, because I think he was really rather good at it.” Completely unstuffy, Turp tells his congregation to “come as you are” and has no hesitation in using his famous church for theatre and music schools, concerts and plays. The picture outside London is not quite as rosy, but the dramatic decline in church attendance over the last few decades has nevertheless slowed, Orborne says.

In the book “The Death of Christian Britain”, the sociologist Scot Callum Brown argues that the collapse of churchgoing in Britain was very sudden. “In unprecedented numbers, the British people since the Sixties have stopped going to church…have stopped marrying in church and have neglected to baptize their children.” Oborne says the book was written in 2003, and there is every reason to accept that his sombre conclusion was true for the time. “But something has changed,” Oborne says. When church attendances began to plummet in the Sixties the only value people were prepared to accept was freedom. That became the trump card and the only way of looking at the world.

The Church is however good at articulating other values. James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, agreed: “I’m firmly of the view there’s a spiritual impulse in everybody. But this impulse is episodic. At times of bereavement or trouble, people open up and become more sensitive to the Christian faith. I believe the same happens with society. When the material world gets knocked people are forced to think again and that’s when Christianity has something important to say. People are aware there’s a big shift in society happening, even though they might not understand it. So I’m not surprised that the ground is now more fertile for the spread of the Christian message.”

Source: ASSIST News Service

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WORLD PRAYER ASSEMBLY: LET THE ‘NEW WAVE’ OF HIS GLORY FILL THE EARTH

You have an opportunity to shape history by participating in the World Prayer Assembly (WPA). WPA 2012 will be a “new wave” to strategically connect and empower the global prayer and mission movements as 5/6,000 Christian leaders from up to 220 nations join with the Lord and each other through united prayer, leading to Spirit-inspired action to transform our world. It is being arranged and co-hosted by leaders of the Indonesian and Korean prayer movements, two of the most powerful prayer forces in the world, with the support of international networks such as the International Prayer Council, the Global Day of Prayer, and in Australia, the Australian Prayer Network.

The ultimate goal of the World Prayer Assembly is two-fold: to see the knowledge of the glory of the Lord filling the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14) and the fulfilment of Jesus’ prayer that His followers become one so the world will know He is it’s Creator and Saviour (John 17:21). WPA 2012 will learn from and build upon what the Body of Christ has experienced through the worldwide explosion of prayer efforts since the last International Prayer Assembly (Korea, 1984), by linking together prayer, mission and marketplace ministries from all church traditions, denominations and social spheres.

Together we will seek to hear from the Lord, His plans to engage and direct the global prayer movement, so that every nation, city and rural area throughout the world becomes filled with ongoing intercession and Spirit-inspired action until His Kingdom’s values are fully manifested there. Prayer networks and ministries worldwide will meet with those who are prayerfully working for transformation in all spheres of society such as government, education, business/marketplace, arts and media. Ministry leaders coordinate their efforts to advance world evangelization, ignite spiritual revival of the Church, and champion social justice – so that His glory will fill the earth.

WPA 2012 will also encourage the next generation to become cutting-edge leaders for Christ in prayer and mission. The WPA will unite a large proportion of Christ’s Body to cry out to God for breakthrough in the issues of our time. During the WPA, 100,000 believers, including 20,000 trained child intercessors, will gather in the national stadium of Jakarta for a massive prayer meeting. It will be linked live to 200 cities of Indonesia in which there will be a further 2 million people gathered. Combined with the Global Day of Prayer broadcast via satellite TV, tens of millions of additional people will take part from other parts of the world, uniting their prayers to shape the history of our world! For more information about the World Prayer Assembly or to register your interest in participating, please see the website at http://www.wpa2012.org/ or write to [email protected].

Source: World Prayer Assembly organising team

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MUSLIMS FIND JESUS AT HIGH COST

Thousands of Muslims worldwide are having encounters with Jesus Christ through dreams, visions and personal visitations, according to British missionary Paul Tew. Paul has told of a series of extraordinary meetings with former Muslims who have converted to Christ through a supernatural revelation. When two sisters saw a note on a telegraph pole advertising a ‘Christian meeting and healings’, they went along and witnessed the blind seeing and the lame walking. Discovering that such miracles were authenticated in the Bible, they asked their family what the Koran said about them. They were threatened with sulphuric acid, but escaped to a ‘safe-house’ run by Christians.

One of the women told of a subsequent encounter with Jesus himself. “I was sitting on my bed and Jesus came and sat next to me.” The leader of this safe-house, in a Middle Eastern country, was asked what he would do if the police came, for it is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity in many Islamic countries. He stretched out his arms, saying: “They would take me first.” Another family who experienced the miraculous deliverance of their daughter from demon possession when they turned to Jesus (Isa in the Koran), subsequently found, that upon opening the Bible, their house became bathed in light even though the shutters were down to keep out the bright sun.”

Paul went on: “God is revealing himself to Muslims in miraculous and dynamic ways. In one country there are hundreds of mullahs who have turned to Christ. Many youth are also turning to Jesus. But new believers face terrible persecution. Another Middle Eastern convert was given 30 seconds to leave his house by his own father, or else he would be killed. Paul also told of over 2,000 Christians in a North African country who are locked up in metal containers where they virtually cook by day and freeze by night. Many die in there rather than renounce their faith. Many Christians face death every day. It’s just amazing to see their joy. They expect to be persecuted.”

Source: Open Doors

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IRAQ WELCOMES IRANIAN MILITIA

Asaib Ahl al-Haq was one of the deadliest insurgent groups operating in Iraq during the nine-year war. The militia bombed “military convoys and bases and assassinated dozens of Iraqi officials,” They even tried to carry out kidnappings as the last NATO forces were leaving the region. Since the withdrawal of troops in December, a series of deadly attacks have threatened the political stability of Iraq. The government’s strategy is to make peace with as many insurgent groups as possible. Many are sceptical of this plan. They believe it could backfire, potentially handing Iran greater influence in the region.

Please pray for:

* the leadership void in Iraq to be filled with men and women who will govern with integrity, in humility and the fear of the Lord. Pray for the salvation of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Ask the Lord to give him wisdom in dealing with insurgents and the challenges of leading Iraq in the aftermath of war.

* Christians to be strong and very courageous in sharing their faith and in helping stabilize the nation.

* plans by insurgents, terrorists, and militias to disrupt the government to fail. Pray for the salvation of the members of these groups and for both Shiite and Sunni Muslims to have the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Pray they would put their faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Source: Windows International Network

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PRAY FOR THE CHRISTIAN MINORITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Please pray for the Christian minority in Nigeria’s Muslim dominated north. After the Christmas bombings, public outcry has forced the President of Nigeria to act, declaring a state of emergency and promising to “crush” Boko Haram. In response Boko Haram issued “a 3-day ultimatum,” ordering the Christian minority in the North to leave within three days or face attacks. Subsequent bombings and a shooting have announced the expiration of the deadline. By their actions Boko Haram are trying to draw in local Muslim extremists scattered throughout the north. The government of Nigeria opposes Boko Haram, but is severely hampered by corruption.

Please pray for:

* violence to cease and for Boko Haram’s attempt to trigger ‘religious cleansing’ to fail. Pray that God would strengthen the government of Nigeria to fulfil it’s God given mandate to create security and enforce the laws.

* God to provide for and protect the Christians in the north as they face widespread discrimination and threats of violence.

* the behaviour of Christians under threat to glorify God and serve as powerful testimony to the Muslims around them.

Source: Jubilee Campaign

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GLOBAL YEAR OF PRAYER FOR MOZAMBIQUE 2012

Mozambique is populated by about 23 million precious souls – each one is a solid reason why we should pray for this needy nation! When one of these turns to the Faith, heaven rejoices. Based on 2 Chronicles 7:14, Church and Prayer leaders are calling for a global year of united prayer for Mozambique. In Mozambique believers will be encouraged to:

. Pray and Fast throughout 2012 using a fasting and prayer chain. Each province to take a month of the year to fast. . Every province fasts again in December, 2012.

. Families to pray together during daily family devotions.

. Prayer partners of the same gender to pray regularly.

. Local assemblies to pray every time they meet

. Christians in the marketplace to pray at break time during the day

. Solemn Assemblies will be organized for the last Sunday of each month

If you wish to pray for Mozambique a Prayer Guide is provided on the website http://www.prayformozambique.com/

Source: Global Day of Prayer

Australian Prayer Network